Coins

Like many coin collectors that grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Lincoln Cent provided the perfect pathway into coins and coin collecting by offering three key positive aspects for a young collector: Lincolns were 1.) familiar, 2.) accessible, and 3.) cheap.  Fast forward 50 years to today and my interests have morphed into collecting eye-appealing toned coins – not surprisingly I have retained my love for Lincolns.  Some of my collection is highlighted below. 

My Initial Interest in Coins

When I was 10 years old, way back in 1967, I stumbled across those, now infamous, blue Whitman Coin Folders in my local drugstore and was instantly mesmerized.  I bought both Lincoln Cent Folders: Book One (1909-1939) and Book Two (1940-present).  It seemed, to my 10 year-old mind at least, like I was embarking on a fun and challenging treasure-hunt to chase down all the coins for each of those slots.  That started me on a multi-year quest of Lincoln Cent roll-searching, trying to fill every slot in my two Whitman Folders. 

After a long 40 year hiatus from coins between 1970 and 2010, my interest rekindled.  Some of my re-invigoration may have been due to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, which got me thinking more about gold and silver coins as a hedge; another factor was the increased accessibility of all things numismatic via the internet (ebay, auction houses, and online resources); and the final factor was the  advancement in digital photography, which made it easier for high-resolution, detailed coin images to be freely viewed and shared.