Beginning to see our coinage as links to the world.

As my collecting continued, I gradually began to appreciate that our coins carry a significance greater than serving as a medium of exchange. They were "markers" of history- a reflection of what was happening at any point in time with our nation and our world as a whole. For example, a great number of our "errors" such as overdates seem to occur at times of world crisis, like wars. Low mintages, and even lack of mintage at all in the 1930's tells a piece of the story of the "Great Depression". Why did it take me so long to see these and other connections to real life?

A parallel development was my growing appreciation of the coiners' art: the complexity of these little metal discs. I began to see and appreciate the science of minting; the dangers of smelting; the difficulties of creating and

implementing "workable" designs with mass appeal.

Not only was my vision of collecting evolving; I was evolving into a Numismatist, and finding even greater joy and appreciation of the hobby.

TO BE CONTINUED (Final Chapter): Collecting's similarities to Sculpture.