You As A Young Numismatist (Yn)

I started when I was probably in Jr High also (mid 80s maybe). Started with Mercury dimes (they were cheaper than quarters or halves, but were still cool since they were silver and didn't look like anything in circulation) and got a good start on a set. I recently (within the last couple of years) picked my old Whitman back up, bought a Dansco, and filled in all of the missing coins (except the 16d). I'm kind of doing the same as you...I'm trying to go back now and buy really nice (AU/BU) versions of the set.

I was probably about 8 years old when my dad gave me his Lincoln Cent collection that he started when he was a kid. I worked on the FDR dimes and found some missing wheat cents over the years to go in that set. Eventually stopped collecting coins and got into sports memorabilia in high school. Collected some other things along the way including vinyl albums, comics, books, and some others (bought a couple coins here and there along the way). Last year my uncle passed and left me some old coins that him and my grandfather had put together and that re-sparked an old interest from when I was in grammar school. Found my old sets my dad gave me and that I had worked on, got a nonspecific coin album for those inherited coins. And refound a hobby that is awesome.

I was 9 when a friend of my fathers gave me a Kennedy half dollar. That coin has long disappeared. I have never "stopped" collecting but have taken several "breaks" over the years, once this hobby is in your blood it's always there. I spent some of my allowance and some money I earned working for my father,he was a master carpenter/cabinet builder. I got most of my coins from pocket change and bank rolls.
John1

i was 10 when I started collecting, I got my first whitman Lincoln Cent album 2 months later, and about a year later I started a 7070 album the Lincoln Cent album is now in a binder with the coins being in flips but I'm still working on my 7070 album. thats probably because I'm still a YN and its hard to get the funding

I was very young 6 or so when I started. I would go through my Dad's cash register tills at his hardware store and pick out wheat cents. I'm sure I still have very many of my early stuff, but it's hard to accurately identify it (everything is in 2x2s now). It's in my collection somewhere. I also have some silver dollars my Grandma gave me, those I can identify.

When I was 12ish, my grandmother gave me many coins she had saved, to give me when she thought I was of a responsible age. Of those, I recall a beautiful BU Standing Liberty quarter, can't remember the year - I traded that to a another paper carrier friend for 50 of his customers. I also recall a blueish 1893 Columbian Exposition half dollar, that I had to spend on the Boston subway to get home. Also, in the late 50's, early 60's, the Boston Jordan Marsh store had a very large coin section on the 1st floor, lots of display cases in an open floor setting - I would go in there and buy coins whenever I could scrape up a few dollars, but being bad with money, I didn't keep them long, and then when I was old enough to own a car, everything was gone. Started up again in the early 90's, a little bit of everything U.S. After working for 50+ years, I finally have a few dollars to spend, so I can buy, and not sell! Plus the occasional gift from family...

i started young now my kids 18 and 16 dont have any interest in them at all so its not in the genes.

I must have been around 7 or 8 years old in the mid 80s when my Dad came home with a Whitman folder and bunch of Lincoln wheaties. He must have bought them by the pound. I was mesmerized by the idea of a series and a collection! So many things to sort, look through, and look for in terms of condition. Is Lincoln's head worn? How's the ear? Can you see the folds in the coat?

The coins are history and probably sitting in someone's tin at home as bullion. They all turned green from the acid in the paper Whitman folder. I washed them in salt water (ouch!) but they were super shiny when I was done with them. Back in the folder they went only to turn brown and green again. I wanted to branch out into quarters and nickels back then but it was frustrating with limited funds. The passion was shelved out of frustration to achieve and an impatience to overcome.

Fast forward a few years into the 90s and I start over only to want something else more than coin collecting. I needed money so I popped out the coins from the new set of folders I had gotten (and they were still those damnable Whitmans!) to pay for something like candy or movies. Fast forward again to the 2000s and I repeat the cycle again wondering, why the heck do I have $25 in post-64 quarters doing nothing?! And again, fast forward to the present day and I think I know what I want out of my collection. Staying focused on specific series rather than "whatever" has given me something to strive for. I think it's going to stick this time around.

I never had an allowance but I did get some birthday and Christmas money that I had to stretch back in the day. Never did buy coins. I got almost everything through spare change.

-- Boris