Were your parents coin collectors?

[Count_Erfit]

It just struck me today that 2nd generation collectors are rare.

 

Those who have FAMILY collections seem to be very rich families where money is no object.

 

I wonder if it is because a new collector just normally could not AFFORD to improve on whatever the folks left if they were serious collectors so the thrill would be gone.

 

Real estate, bonds, stocks, whatever.......income......producing assets don't affect the following generations as they just keep collecting the rents and dividends and add what they can.

 

But coins......? Don't seem to see that.

 

Would you collect coins if your parents had left you a pile of major rarities?

 

[Dermott]

I didn't have anyone in my family other than myself that collected coins until I met my fiance... her grandfather collects.

 

However, the owner of the shop that taught me is a collector and the son of a collector and shop owner.

[Architecht]

It seems like assets like coins typically get sold off as much to create a more convenient way to split the inheritance as anything else...

[goose3]

My grandfather collected. I have his collection, nothing super fantastic but his nonetheless. My dad (his son) also collected and still buys stuff from the mint.

 

I have our 5 year old son collecting. There have been numerous unbelievably kind members that have sent him some goodies.

 

We work together on a dansco US Type album but unfortunately we are down to the nitty gritty.............seated dollars and gold! ouch

[Count_Erfit]

Ahhhh, Goose......I did it backwards. When I started my type set, I started with the dollars. By the time I finished, the "cheap" coins cost as much as the dollars and I couldn't afford the biggies at the time.

 

Got lucky.

 

 

[RobertB]

No one in my family collected, but my deceased grandfather who died before I could remember him. Getting into this is more of me just needing a constant purpose and somehow coins came up and I just jumped in it any haven't stopped in years now. If someone left me a pile of rarities I'd assume that I's still collect and try to improve. But then again.....? who knows?

[SilverEagleCoins]

My collection actually started with my father getting sick of carrying halfs/dollar coins. He kept a change jar just like many of us have one for pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. He was also too lazy to convert them all to paper dollars so they just sat and sat and sat for 20 years. Plus my mom, not knowing any better, would just toss in additional halfs/dollars whenever she found them. What I got was a huge jar of about 100 halfs/dollars in decent shape but nothing spectacular. Most have a dirty looking tone and not a rainbowlike tone but as a kid I was more interested in the old dates than the colors. Add to that the 25 year I let them sit and voila I got a base collection of 45-50 year old coins.

[nwcs]

To differing extents. My mother is a collector and one of my uncles. My grandfather was, too. My grandfather didn't impact me as he died when I was only 6 or 7 and I never really knew him. My mom and her brothers inherited his collection and I looked through it some. But she didn't add to the coins for a very long time due to financial pressures. My brother somehow got addicted and he was the one who wanted me to be a collector. It took a long while, but eventually it worked.

 

No inherited coins for me. And I may or may not leave any behind if I get married and have children in the future. Well, if I do have children some day I probably will leave some coins behind.

 

Neil

[BillJones]

My parents were not collectors, but they encouraged me because it got me to read books and articles.

 

My grandmother hoarded coins well before I was born. She had a lot of Barber coins in bags and such. She started collecting coins in Whitman boards after I got her interested.

[mark]

My father was an enthusiastic stamp collector with a very small coin collection. My mother collected UN stamps. Quite frankly, stamp collections are a pain to inherit. Stamp albums take up a lot of pace and weigh tons. Plus the vast majority of stamps are worth close to nothing. I didn't want to do it, but we sold off most of my parent's stamp collections simply to 1) Give my sister her share, and 2) Give me back the space they took up. We kept a small part, however, as a memory....

 

Mark

[mlovest]

My mother filled out the Whitman folders of silver coins by searching through bank rolls in the '60s. Unfortunately, I actually took some of the quarters and even a Ben Franklin half and bought school fundraising candy with them! Yes, that was fourth grade...

 

My grandfather was really into coins, but he never paid big money. He would go through coin rolls and buy from individual collectors. He had a very large safe in the basement which he let me rummage through a couple of times. It was incredible! Unfortunately, after he died, and even though he stated to my grandmother on at least one occassion that he wanted me to get the collection, my grandmother sold the collection. I did get some nice tokens from the collections and I have my memories. I do have most of the coins my mother collected--no, I didn't spend them all!

 

Cool topic!

[GDJMSP]

My grandfather collected for many years - world coins mainly. I lived with my grandparents for most of childhood. But it was actually my grandmother who got me started at age 7. Been goin ever since. And now - my son collects as well.

[Hoot]

My dad was a hoarder of anything he could find in change or in bags. I inherited the hoard, as I was the one most taken with the bunch of odds and ends. Heaps of wheaties! When I got serious a few years ago, I looked at EVERY coin in that hoard! I even found a 1964-D DDR dime that's now in an AU55 PCGS holder! I also found a nice 1936-S/S buff and a few great coins for albums! I have one brother who collects in parallel with me but is not as "possessed."

 

My daughters are another story. I have one who likes to placate me, "I like collecting! Now, what's a good coin to collect?" And I have one who actually said, "Gosh dad, if you've seen one buffalo nickel, haven't you seen 'em all?" Oh dear, how did I fail?

 

Hoot

[jhar]

My parents weren't collectors, per say, but they had some silver dollars that were given to them by a Great Uncle of mine. I know own that small handful of silver dollars. One of them was an 1892o Morgan. It's in AG condition and is scratched, but it's one of my most treasured coins. I used to love to get it down from where it was kept and look at it. I loved the how old it was. That coin is the reason I like Morgans so much.

 

My father also had the coin jar. Nothing spetacular, but was able to fill several holes in my Jefferson nickel folder.

[chinook]

I got into collecting from my great uncle who gave me a 1854-O arrows half dollar in XF. I thought it was the coolest thing at the time. Really got me excited about type coins.

 

On the flip side, my friend got his fathers large collection (200-300K) and is selling off every piece. It has no sentimental value at all. Fortunately it means alot to me and I will be showing the forum some of the pieces.

[michael]

NO they could care less about coins! other than using them in their daily transactions

 

michael

[Oldtrader3]

My father collected coins, but sold them all before he died. He put together a full BU set of Canadian Large Cents.

[Count_Erfit]

Strange phenomenon, huh?

 

But it bears out my theory that in MOST cases, coin collections do not go down with the generations except in WEALTHY families where the heirs have the loot to continue without being overshadowed by the predecessors.

[Hoot]

My father collected coins, but sold them all before he died. He put together a full BU set of Canadian Large Cents.

 

That was quite an effort!

 

Hoot

[Elbesaar]

My grandfather was a street car driver in Boston in the days when horses pulled the cars. He noticed quite a few unusual coins given as fares. He once got a $5.00 gold coin from a passenger in the collection box. He substituted a nickel for it to keep his money count correct. Odd coins were kept in old cigar boxes, and my father and his father would arrange them in series, date by date. That's when my father got hooked. He started collecting commemoratives and put together a nice set, missing only the Hawaiian type coin. Buffalo nickels in mint state were saved, choice V nickels common and only the choicest ones were put aside. Only choice AU Barber dimes, quarters and halves were saved as new Standing Liberty quarters were newly issued and plentiful, (plus a quarter was a fair amount back in the 1920's and my grandmother wouldn't allow such an extravagnce; forget about half dollars !) After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother handed me alot of those cigar boxes, all filled with what dreams are made of. I becamed hooked then and have collected for the last 40+ years. My father still buys new products from the mint and we spend quite a few hours discussing our collections which are kept in seven large safe deposit boxes at our bank. We only keep scanned images at home now. The collection seems to have stopped with me as the kids don't find them interesting, any all they say is "what's it worth" when I show them a nice coin. My response is that the coin is worth a lifetime of enjoyment.

[MikeKing]

I just found out my father was a coin collector. I heard clinking the other day and saw that he was playing with some quarters. I took a look at them...he was 'testing' them to see if they were really silver. Quite a collection, I said. He had over a dozen sliver Washington quarters. Turns out he's been collecting them, gets them at the Senior Center. He'll pick through the change and substitute his clad quarters for the silver ones. Somone as old as him must be using their hoard as change and converted my dad into a coin collector.

 

I told him I bought a 1/2 penny.

He gave me a peculiar look and laughed and said 'what did you pay for it?'

 

 

[Oldtrader3]

It was quite an effort for my Dad to build a Canadian Large Cent Collection. It probably took him about 3 years of steady effort by him and several dealers (helping him look) to find all the dates and varieties. Some of the issues only have 1 or 2 BU coins extent. This set is way under appreciated for difficulty and value.