Remembering rewards from earlier days ...

Let me start by telling you that I have been collecting coins for the better part of 30 years. I consider myself someone of average means working a white collar job in middle class America. If you are like me and my family you know first-hand that this is not an easy task. We are the ?dying breed? whose shoulders carry much of the financial burden in our great country today.

One day when I was about six years old I found a Buffalo nickel and a Winged Liberty dime in my father?s jewelry box. After he explained what they were I was bitten. During my early collecting days, as many collectors did, I diligently attempted to fill the blue Whitman albums with coins that I received from my father and those that my grandparents had throw in a jar from earlier times. I would dream about having a job and the money to buy those dates that I could just not afford. My father would happily take me to local coin shows where I attempted to fill-in the albums with my allowance and the money that my father could manage to give me at the show. I owe my father many thanks for taking the time to foster my collecting ambition although no one in my family collected coins. He could tell right away that I had the collecting fever and his dedication and encouragement developed a life-long hobby. Today, it is my wife who provides this same encouragement and understanding in supporting my total obsession with collecting. She patiently listens to me explain where I went, what I found and how rare it is.

To this day I continue to fill albums, although my preferred album is now Dansco, as I believe that a true coin collector understands that collecting is not always about slabs, registries, awards and prestige. I do admit that I find myself firmly planted in both ?camps? and happily so as I feel balanced and content in my collecting approach. For those that may have forgotten, do yourself a mighty big favor and select a series, and fill-in an album with higher grade coins than you collected as a kid. I GUARANTEE you will have more fun than you have had in a long time collecting and this is a great alternate activity at the coin shows when you realize that the certified example you went to find is just not available. In keeping the balance, I raw collect series that I do not collect certified.