Guest Stujoe Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 <p align="center"><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/articles/g1o.jpg" width="242" height="241"></p><p align="center"><i><b>The Hobby of Kings?</b></i></p><p align="center"><i>by Stujoe</i></p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1"><b>C</b>oin Collecting has often been called the Hobby of Kings. Additionally, the little attention that coin collecting gets in the national media almost exclusively focuses on the multi-million dollar, glamorous U.S. coins such as the 1804 Dollar and 1913 Liberty Nickel and the recent 1933 Saint. I have always felt that this leaves the incorrect impression that coins are a rich man's hobby. Nothing could be further from the truth.</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">Many coins can be purchased by anyone who has even a small disposable income. I am certainly not a rich man and yet I am a collector with a wide variety of different coins. The majority of coins that I own were purchased for not more than a few dollars; less than a lunch at Mc Donalds or a large pizza from your favorite pizzeria.</p><p align="center"><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/articles/lincoln55.jpg" width="242" height="227"><br>1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">A good example is the 1905 Indian Head Cent shown at the top of this article. It is a beautiful coin with plenty of history and yet very inexpensive. Some coins can be purchased for even less than that. The 1955 Lincoln Wheat Cent show above was acquired for less than a dollar. I find it a very pleasing example of this popular series. The nicely toned, silver Washington Quarter, shown below, was purchased for just slightly more than the value of the silver it contains.</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">In addition to those examples cited above, there are many, many more coins that can be acquired by the collector on a budget. I have not even touched on the non-U.S. coin collecting opportunities or the collecting of tokens, medals and other numismatic items.</p><p align="center"><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/articles/mm25.jpg" width="240" height="259"><br>Toned Reverse of a 1964 D quarter</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">One can also begin their coin collecting journey, and many do, by collecting from pocket change. This has the benefit of getting one familiar with coins while not "buying" anything that can't be "sold" later for what one "paid" for it. New collectors entering the hobby from the State Quarter program could easily continue their quarter sets back to 1965 just from what they find in change. They could also speed up the process by getting rolls from the bank and searching them. It can actually be a pretty challenging task to find the best examples you can this way. All the 'rejects' can be re-rolled or spent.</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">So if you are a new collector or someone interested in starting a collection, do not let the impression that coins are a Rich Man's Hobby dissuade you from this fun and rewarding hobby. There are a multitude of coins that are within the budget of almost anyone.</p><p><img border="0" src="http://www.stujoe.com/images/invdot.gif" width="25" height="1">None of the coins in my collection are expensive but I enjoy them and the hobby just fine. Indeed, I must be a King.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just carl Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Nice view point. However, if you read pages 395 to 403 in the latest edition of the Red Book, that sort of make me feel it is to late for the biggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roaddevil Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 well actually it is called the hobby of kings because in the olden days like medevil times only kings could afford to collect coins that were rare and expensive and it was kings that started collecting coins first. e.g :- (not a medevil king but never the less a king) king farouk of eygpt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roaddevil Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 and i think king charles I, some other english kings and some french kings (all of them are named lousie lol confusein to remember). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 great POV...its my point of view being a collector without deep pockets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The PCI Guy Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Stu you don't like Washington Quarters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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