How Has Your Coin Collection Evolved Over Time?

I, too, started searching through cents several years ago, which got me back into collecting. My grandfather originally got me started when I was young, but I never seriously started collecting til many years later.

My tastes have changed and I no longer search through cents. I've moved to high grade coins and Virginia bank notes. However, I was into many things along the way to get where I am now. I think we all evolve as collectors.. if we didn't, things would get boring!

Like many in my generation, I worked on the Whitman folders as a kid. Unfortunately, I didn't keep any of them. A few years ago my interest in collecting was rekindled. I started again with Whitman folders of circulated US coins. I also started on US Mint sets. After some time and research here, I decided to start a Mercury dime collection. Have a few different versions of this. Have two Whitman albums of lower grade circulated dimes missing only the 16D and 42/1 key dates. Also started a CAPS album with the goal of putting together coins in the highest grade I can afford with eye appeal that meets my taste. This will take some time to complete as many of the early coins are a bit pricey in high grade.
To help keep myself interested while working on that, I decided on two additional projects. The first is the Whitman Type album that chafemaster mentioned. Since I had a few "single" coins to help start this, it made sense to me. I also decided to start a Dansco Roosevelt album. The plan is to do this with UNC dimes. Hope to be able to post some pictures soon.

As a kid about 1990, it started with grandma giving me a well worn V nickel and a silver certificate she fond in an old dresser drawer. That morphed into always checking through my parent's change, pulling the Wheaties, bicentennial quarters, and Canadian cents.

For my 15th birthday, my dad got me an 1882 Morgan, and I spent most of that year saving up to buy the other mints for 1882. Goal accomplished, although it would be until 20 years later that I picked up an UNC CC.

By about 16, some Classic series had caught my eye, and I started picking up some draped large / Half Cents, bust dimes / Half Dimes, and whatever else pre-1900 that caught my eye.

Then college. Then missionary trips. Then entry level work poverty. Then grad school. Then working in China for a year. This decade covers 15 moves all over the world. Numismatics took a back seat.

In finally settling back down, the bug hit again about 4 years ago, this time with a curious fascination to build off those 1882 Morgan's, and find stuff from all centuries and locals in 100 year increments to the 82nd year if the century. This urge has been relentless ever since. The progress I've made is in my signature. Chop marked Spanish Colonials have been a surprising find along the way I enjoy because of their ties to China. German States have been a lot of fun too, with ties to my paternal heritage. The designs on the medieval Persians and Romans have brought me joy as well.

I still want to finnish up date sets of my draped cents/half cents and Capped Bust dimes / Half Dimes, but cool '82 stuff always seem to win the budget. I'll get there someday hopefully.

Dilly dilly!

On the whole, not very much until relatively recently.

I have mostly been a set builder. All of my sets, including the original Ike set, are housed in Dansco albums. This was pretty much how I rolled for the first thirty years.

In the last ten years I have taken more interest in special sets from the mint. The 2009 Lincoln Coin & Chronicles set got me started.

In the past two years I finally decided to build a graded set of Ikes. As I have said many time, this is to compliment, not upgrade or replace the Ikes in my Dansco.

Despite these evolutionary expansions, the Dansco albums are still there and I still have some holes to fill.

Like most "re-collectors" I've tried to "relive" the past. In the late 50's my father and I collected about everything US, pennies to Morgans, all could be gotten at the local bank counters. I continued to be involved until leaving home abruptly in 1970. In 2013 I inherited a checkbook box of miscellaneous old coins and a mason jar of silver dimes. That began the bug. I "shotgunned" my collections, everything and anything coins and bills I could afford or win at auctions. In 2017 I had to make a decision on direction and goals. I couldn't do all this variety nor do any one area well. World coins, tokens, exonumia, Foreign bills, US bills and my stash of 33,000 bulk wheat cents had to go or b. Now My goals for this year are to complete my US coin sets to an acceptable level, meaning all but unobtanium objects. Complete the organization of same. Then to become centered on a more specific area as 1830's Hardtimes tokens and Ancient through Medieval coins. Exactly e redesigned to be affordable. what of the latter will indeed morph over time as I discover my niche. I enjoy more the discovery and researching the histories behind these coins more than just acquiring an object.

Collects82. What an awesome idea and what incredible success you've had. Wish you nothing but success in you endeavor.

Edit: Is there a link where you've shared your '82s?

I first started collecting Peace and Morgan dollars. I then started collecting Morgan dollars in all different dates, and soon started a Morgan dollar date set (I only need one more coin for it - 1898) . Then I started the 7070, and I have been collecting ever since. My favorite series are the Morgan dollars, although I collect just about everything.

I had completed an Australian gold type set comprising 17 coins, including an Adelaide Pound, before I was 21 years old.
I sold that collection, along with about 100 Roman coins, including two gold, in 1975.

Since then, my collecting philosophy and collection development direction has not changed.
It has always been to cherry pick the whole of numismatics since the invention of coinage 2,600 years ago. That way, well priced bargains are always available. I always do as much research as I can on a coin that I may consider to buy.

The only requirements are that the coin actually saw, or was intended for circulation and was struck before about the 1960's, when silver was withdrawn from the Worlds circulating currencies. That includes significant error coins, off metal strikes and a few pattern coins. The core of the collection numbers about 1,500 coins.

I have a working numismatic library of about 100 books; I am a generalist, not a specialist. Therefore, the CCF is an incredibly valuable learning tool for me, and I appreciate those members with a specialist knowledge that is more extensive than mine. It also feels good to contribute to the numismatic welfare of other CCF members.