Hello All! New-Old Coin Collector

I have been collecting coins and other things, somewhat informally for decades. As a kid in the 70s, I found wheaties, Indian head nickels, and silver in my change. I still look (and for metal purposes separate and save nickels and any pre-1982 pennies). A couple of my favorite coins are Flying Eagle cents and Mercury dimes (I picked the Mercury obverse for my avatar, but would ultimately like a flying eagle).

I have gotten caught up in old hobbies since my dad passed (photography being a key one), and with the current drama around silver I am reviving coin collecting. I have been buying silver, including coins, and being very careful about what I buy. I am developing capabilities to screen (magnet, caliper, micrometer, scale/density, etc.) and find it is not always as straight froward as I hoped. I am probably not serious enough to invest in a $1k-2k analyzer, but am pretty capable at basic metrology ( I am an engineer who designed precision tooling in the past, so know what is needed, but do not have access to the sophisticated equipment any more). Regardless, it is largely for fun, and I am enjoying rediscovering discovering some of the treasures I bought in the past. The internet is so much better today, and I am understanding through research what I actually have (including tokens, coins, medals, exonumia, etc.).

I look forward to asking questions and participating in conversations on this forum, as well as reinvigorating my collection(s). My general interests include metals and alloys as money, metrology, coin grading, and US coins (as well as some foreign coins).