Collection Questions

Personally, I feel that everyone should collect at least one thing, if not more. I started collecting sports and non-sports cards growing up and slowly moved to comic books. Every once in awhile I would trade the cards for comics and would usually get the short end of it. At the time, I did not care because I was getting rid of something by heart was not into and getting something new I would treasure more. At about the same time my grandparents got me and my brother a couple of Whitman folders for Cents and Nickels. I would always go through my change and search for one to fill a hole or better condition. Since no one else I knew collected coins I had no one to ask questions and learned some things the hard way (like putting low circulation coins back into circulation because I thought the circulation number meant the future price) and finally had me quit doing it all together.

As I got older I started collecting toys, especially Star Wars, and lucked out that one of my best friends and a few co-workers did the same. We would go out at different times and places and find what ever we could and help each other get the pieces they were missing. I did this for about 5-6 years knowing it was more of an investment than collecting and had to give most of them up when times got hard. Then I moved to where I am and after a few life experiences started collecting coins again. I do not tell hardly anyone what I do and even less of what I have, out of my entire collection only my wife has seen it all. My kids have just started getting into it and it has been fun helping them understand what they are looking at and collecting what they want and not what dad wants.

As much as I trust most people there is no way I am going to let them know what I have and what I spend on it. I have seen a few friends do this with their collections and a few months later it has been stolen. If you really want family and friends to understand what you do start slow and ease them into it. The item that helped with my wife and kids best was a book for kids about collecting coins that covers most type coins for the 20th century and the more current trends (statehood quarters, birth years...) and makes it easy to see what is available. Because of this my kids have started off with cents and are wanting to move on to their own sets (Kennedy's, nickels..) and I could not be happier.

I do not display that much because I do not want others to know what I have. If you came into my house you could easily find a ton of Wheaties, a few foreign coins and some silver pieces but nothing that would kill me if taken. Just be careful, for some reason there will always be someone out there to steal it if you turned your back long enough.