Poll Question: If you had to tell someone one story from your collection to get them hooked on numismatics, what would it be?

My grandfather and I have collected together for many years. He had several rolls of pennies that sat in his part of the collection. I knew he had worked for the Treasury Department after WWII. It wasn't until after he passed away in 2022 that I found out not only were those rolls of uncirculated pennies all error coins. From 1958 to 1961 and 1962. 400 pennies total. All were proof coins, uncirculated, and with various errors such as double dies, off-center, rim stamps, and die cracks and chunks missing from them. I had opened and sold a few. Way below what they were worth. I haven't had any graded yet. Probably should do that. But I'm a procrastinator. Lol.

Name and Address withheld

My story began at a live coin auction years ago. There were about 35 to 50 people there. It was a typical spread of coins and mint sets. As the Morgan & American eagles disappeared, so did the crowd. The display case was getting really empty with only Nickels and cents left to auction off. One last coin was a one-cent 1803 Draped Bust in really bad condition. Having not bought anything that day, I had to get something to take home. The bidding started out at $5 and rose to $10 quickly. What the heck $15 I bid, the others stopped bidding, and I thought I was set up. Well, I got my books out and researched the coin and found four different varieties of this coin. As mentioned above, it was really in bad shape, and I could not say what variety it was, but NGC was able to identify it as a Large Date, Small Fraction, and gave it a grade of G-4. I quickly look at my price guide and jump with happiness. So, my $15 copper cent just turned into Gold. I still have that coin plus many other finds. I have been very lucky throughout the years, buying raw coins and having them graded. This story is factual, and I tell it over and over again to anyone interested in coins and history. Buy the book first, then the coin, and forget the holder; it is only their opinion, but sometimes their opinion produces gold!

Happy Hunting.

Richard S., Lexington, Tenn.

There are many stories concerning numismatics. My best one is, if you go to an auction, look at what's for sale. I mean, really look at the items. I went to a coin auction and looked at a bag of coins, some foreign and some domestic. I really looked the coins over and went back a second and third time. I bought the bag for a nominal fee, and when I got home, I checked them out, and to my disbelief, the coin I thought I had seen was real. It was an American $5 gold piece. I took it to the local coin shop for verification, and it's real. You never know what you will find in bags of coins. Things like that are what keep me coming back.

Good hunting.

Name and Address withheld

If I had to tell someone one story from my collection to get them hooked on numismatics, it would be that the joy of coin collecting led me to find a “reverse calf layer missing” Mississippi Statehood quarter in a Dr. Pepper vending machine in 2002. This error coin was sent to PCGS and graded MS63 and is worth much more than the face value and grading fees that I paid. The thrill of finding the coin is much more meaningful to me than the value of the coin, still to this day.

J. T. Abshire, Address withheld

I remember my first trip to a coin store. My parents took me downtown to a coin shop when I was 8 years old. When I was shown various coins & reading the values, I got very excited. I remember holding a buffalo nickel, it was worn & I could barely see the date, & it really triggered an excitement inside of me that I never felt, along with the actual design. I was in total awe. I was so hooked at that moment. A moment that I will never forget. Then I discovered more denominations of coinage. I have been a numismatist for almost 60 years.

Name and Address withheld

It depends on who the someone is: a young person or an adult. Although the topics are actually connected. As you can tell, my primary collection area is Ancient Greek, although American coinage is my second collection. 

Young person: the historical story of Alexander the Great and conquering the known world at the time. 

Adult: The historical story of Cleopatra VII. The only and last Egyptian Ruler during the ~300-year Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruling period to speak Egyptian. To give birth to Rome's Caesar's only known biological child, Caesarion (Ptolemy XV), and to have an affair with Marc Antony, and then commit suicide after losing Egypt to Rome's First Emperor Augustus. 

 And yes, there were actually seven Cleopatras. Although Cleopatra is the term for ruler, her name was actually Thea Philopator. 

Those are my two interesting stories. 

Dan Ralston, Address withheld