What convinced you to collect coins?

i know this has probably been asked before but i think its nice to look back and remember where we've been and how we've come along. 1999 was an interesting year for 10yr old me, almost like the whole coin thing was calling me. First the US began issuing the 50 state quarters, then the countdown was on for the release of the Sacagawea Dollar coin. For me that was it, after getting the first 3 state quarters and then a large lot of 1970s-80s Mexican coins I decided I would start collecting. As a matter of fact a week after my decision, i made my first coin trade/swap with the only other kid I knew of that collected coins at my school. I traded one of my 1970s Mexico 20 Centavos for a 1972 Canadian Penny, which i still have. So what's your story?

No one collected coins in my school.

Anyways, the starting point was the rise in the cost of the Queen Elizabeth II coins alongside the discovery of an old coin box behind my cupboard. Plus, I kept a few European coins after my trip in Europe, especially after checking coins (didn't know really why. Maybe an omen?) Finally, the best thing was finding 1997 commemorative 1 Dollar in the market.

Concluding all of above, I started my collection in October 2017. However, my first time using Numista was in July 2017 when I checked a value of a coin that seemed rare but was actually not

The old 'finding a bunch of old coins in your family's possession' kicked things off for me back in 2011, but i didn't get started in numismatics till about 2014 when I was given some 'real' vintage coins (silver sixpences and shillings from the mid-Victorian era to WWII).

For my first coins I'm talking about the 'New Pence' coins from the 1970s from the British side of my family, as well as some coins and stamps from the 1950s-80s of pre-Euro currencies from all round Western Europe. I still remember being really surprised to find out there are professional dealers and shops where people sell old coins as a business when I was younger (and a whole lot more naïve).

I still remember when I was five and found a wheat cent in a parking lot. It all started there but was pretty stagnet not reaching more than 150 coins by the time I walked into a coin shop with some questions. I was not satisfied but before leaving I stopped to look at their case of 5 ounce silver and other stuff. A girl came in with a tiny sack full of foreign coins and the guy behind the counter offered her fifty cents for a 1944 Philippines half, just to give you an idea of the bottom sludg coin shops I have to put up with. (If you have a good shop, count yourself very blessed) She didn’t take his offer and walked out, i fallowed her out and asked what she wanted, she asked $25 and I glanced at them and said yes. That’s when I found numista and I got a pretty good score, I’ve been looking for lots to buy ever since.
So I guess it’s history first and value second that attracts me to coins.

Quote: "redsmithstudios"​A girl came in with a tiny sack full of foreign coins and the guy behind the counter offered her fifty cents for a 1944 Philippines half, just to give you an idea of the bottom sludg coin shops I have to put up with.

​EEK! and i thought pawn shops were bad

Quote: "SquareRootLolly" my first time using Numista was in July 2017 when I checked a value of a coin that seemed rare but was actually not
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​Been there myself, on the flip side its always nice to discover that a coin you think is not rare turns out to be rare.