When You Started What Was Your First Prized Find That Hooked U?

When I was about 10 years old, I found this coin on my Grandfather's farm in south Texas near a shack where seasonal migrant workers lived. I still have it (obviously).

my grandma had a small brass Lincoln bust piggy bank, in it were some old wheat cents, old Canadian coins, an old, worn Morgan dollar and an 1857-O liberty Seated dime. after she passed dad had no interest in the coins, so I copped them. those old coins in that Lincoln piggy bank hooked me at a young age.

I confess: I'm old enough that collections and tips on my newspaper route routinely included Barbers, Indian Heads, Mercs, Standing/Walking Liberties, etc., so I hoarded the heck out of those (and my tooth-fairy proceeds) and filled all the Whitman blue books. At the same time, three or four of my small-town local banks were always glad to swap me their Morgan and Peace dollars for my piggybank stuff.

Switched to world coins over a period of a few years -- maybe grades 5-7 -- when some of my vacationing relatives got into the habit of bestowing all their "foreign money" on me when they got home from their trips to Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc. It was from one of those little endowments that my First Prized Find emerged, totally captivated my imagination, and turned me into the stalwart "British World" collector I've been for the last six decades.

Here it is...the pirate ship clinched it for me!

My uncle introduced me to coin collecting when I was 7 years old. He gave me my first coin, a 1939 Walking Half in Au condition. He showed me his vast collection of colonials, early gold, and even what he said was a Native American money belt among other things. I was so intrigued that I became a pita by always asking family members if I could check their change. My first significant find was a circulated 1950D Jefferson nickel and at that age I thought I hit the jackpot!

I don't think I still have it but one of my dads Freinds came over and handed me a bag of foreign coins and said
"Here you go"
And then I got obsessed with looking into them

Outstanding!

1909 Lincoln Cent received in change at Winn-Dixie when I was about 8 years old. Showed it to my father that evening and he proceeded to show me the pile of Walkers that he had culled from pocket change over the years. That day ignited the interest. I saved my meager lawn mowing money and bought my first LCS coin soon after, a '57 Flying Eagle (AU setting me back about $7.) The beginning of a long love affair!

My Dad gave me a new type of penny when they first came out. Shinny, 1943 steel cent.