Opening the World of Coin Collecting

When I was a young boy I recall my grandfather saving coins in a little bank in the form of a globe. One of my favorite things to do when I visited my grandparents in the summer was to ask to open "the world" -- my word for the globe shaped bank. Actually, it was sort of an apt name since there were foreign coins in there including early Mexican coins. I could see the sigh in my grandfather's eyes when I asked "how much"?

Undoubtedly, part of what went through his mind was a wish that I could see the value in holding something from another land, from another time. The truth is that I believe I did have momentary thoughts of the coins passage through many hands and many years. When he taught me to focus on the date rather than the denomination, something happened in the analytical part of my mind that still exists. I still can't touch a coin without looking at the date. After asking about one date, I remember my grandfather saying that coin was being spent while he was fighting in the war.

Today there's still something fascinating about holding something that was issued and used so many years ago. In fact, I am surprised that some stamps and coins 50 to 100 years old can be aquired so cheaply. While prestigious auctions may drive the market, the heart of the hobby is in the history and the fascination of rebuilding it piece by piece.

-- James the Web guy