I really like Dave Lange's USA Coin Album

[Hoot]

Every month, Dave offers up some great numismatic insight that is great to read. This month he writes on the joys of collecting from circulation as a kid in the 1960s and into his teens. That's also when I got started, so it struck a chord. I particularly liked this:

 

There was a tremendous sense of adventure then, never knowing what old coins awaited in the day's pocket change. Nothing I found was ever worth much more than face value at the time, but it instilled in me a sense of wonder that has sustained my interest in numismatics ever since. While the current generation of collectors has its own motivations for pursuing coins, the thrill of collecting from circulation is a memory I will always cherish.

 

Dave mentions growing up on the west coast, where I also grew up. Much of what was said was as if from my own memories. Great fun - thanks Dave.

 

This very subject is what motivated me to write the beginner's section in Con Values for May, entitled "Great Finds at Face Value." Collecting from circulation may have changed a bit, but many aspects of the joy of it remain the same as in yesteryear.

 

Hoot

[spy88]

An excellent topic and one I can associate with! Back in the early 60's, I had the distinction of being able to walk into our local bank and go straight to an officers desk (back then, there weren't any bars or walls separating the customers from the tellers and officers, just a waist high swing door). At the desk, a teller would bring me $10 worth of rolled cents to go thru. When I pulled any out, I'd replace it and put my name on the wrapper, to indicate I'd searched it but also if it was short, the teller would let me know the next visit. Never had a short! I'd spend hours there going thru every roll they had on a weekly basis. This when I was 11 or 12.

 

Now I work for a casino. At one time, I started buying $200 bags of Jeffs to search thru. Found many good dates including a 1939 DDR. I can still remember the thrill of seeing it under my loupe and realizing what I had! Don't know why I stopped doing this as it brought so much fun back into the hobby for me! And now that I think about it, I'm going to make it a point to start doing it again.

 

There's a world of difference in the thought process that goes on when wondering about the history of a unc coin vs a circ coin. Both have probably done their share of traveling from owner to owner, but it's like one is a purebred and the other a homeless mutt. They both have unique personalities, good and bad points, but both still worth having!

[TomB]

Hoot, although well meaning, I believe you mis-read Dave's statement in that he grew up in the 1960s. That would be the nineteen-sixties, not the eighteen-sixties pardner!

 

By the way, on a serious note, did you know that Dave collects old coin albums? It's true.

[Hoot]

And now that I think about it, I'm going to make it a point to start doing it again.

 

That excellent David! I do this also upon occasion. The tellers think I'm a bit strange (which I am) and perhaps an eccentric who waits for long periods of time between visits. Typically, I dress badly and don't shave but when it gets intolerably itchy. (You saw me at my best!) I also ride an old bike and have been told (by the local postal employees) I look like the unibomber. So, carrying around a sackful of circulated coins suits me well. Ramble, ramble... I'm very glad you'll return to the circs! BTW, I recall your story about the 39 DDR . What a superb find! I can just imagine how your heart must have raced!

 

Hoot, although well meaning, I believe you mis-read Dave's statement in that he grew up in the 1960s. That would be the nineteen-sixties, not the eighteen-sixties pardner!

 

Dag-namit! Festus! Where's my six-shooter?!

 

By the way, on a serious note, did you know that Dave collects old coin albums? It's true.

 

Yes! In Baltimore I asked Dave what he collected and he mentioned coin albums. Pretty cool. Ever since, I look at the used albums when I go into coin shops. I suppose I should ask at used book stores. I do look for old coin books at used book stores and have had a little success.

 

Hoot

[michael]

[Architecht]

For anyone who's missing the reference, this is the NGC enewsletter he's referring to:

 

http://ngccoin.com/news/enewsletters.asp

[DWLange]

I'm just back from two weeks out of the office, so I'm catching up on the boards today. Mark, thanks for the nice words about my column. It runs first in Numismatist, the journal of the ANA, and is then reprinted in the NGC Newsletter.

 

I do collect coin albums and have for many years. My goal is to own one of every edition of every title for every maker. Since there are multiple editions for the long running issues, such as the blue Whitman folders, this collection really adds up. I maintain a detailed catalog of everything I've found, and this is perhaps the only area left in American numismatics for pioneering research. It could result in a book one day, though I'm not certain how much demand there would be.

[Hoot]

Great effort of album collecting, Dave! As for this:

 

It could result in a book one day, though I'm not certain how much demand there would be.

 

I'd be first in line. Heck, I bought conder101's book on slab types! I think that albums have a lot to tell about collecting of the 20th century and beyond. Have you ever found any coin boards or something like them that pre-dated those of the 1930s?

 

Hoot

[DWLange]

Other than wooden coin cabinets, there is almost nothing in the way of coin display products before 1928. That was the year that M. L. Beistle introduced what is better remembered today as the National Album, the name given Beistle's product by the copyright purchaser, Wayte Raymond. I've never found one of these bearing the imprint of The Beistle Company. All seen carry Raymond's name or that of his successor, A. W. Faxon. Also found are unauthorized Meghrig brand clones of the Raymond product.

 

I have a few anonymous, slide type coin albums that look very old, but without any kind of imprint I have no way of knowing exactly when they were made. Vintage ads in coin publications can help pinpoint many products, but these mystery albums don't appear in any ads I've seen. The fact that the pages are secured by leather thongs does tend to confirm that they are very early.