Numismatics,
or Coin Collecting
July 31, 2017
That
initiated a nascent interest and devotion for the activity of collecting not
only metal coins but also paper currencies of any and all countries in the
world. And in my personal case, the infectious
drive to collect extended to most anything that caught my fancy, like ball pens,
baseball caps, pencils, even assorted wrenches. BTW, that orphaned coin is
still in my possession.
I
cannot be described as having the kind of driven or addictive interests many
collectors exhibit, but simply as being egged on by the kind of random and
unplanned spark of interest one could generate going about one’s everyday
living of life, by simply allowing oneself to get taken in by serendipitous
opportunities that enrich the hobby.
And
as fate would have it, I got employed in the local banking system, which
provided fertile grounds for me to pursue my avocation. And when the family migrated to the US, the
wife for her turn got employed by a bank and spent almost a quarter of a
century under its tutelage. Opening more
productive opportunities to broaden and make richer the collection that was
slowly approaching critical mass.
Now,
many years later, I can take stock of what I have gathered as accounted by the
least efforts expended, and even with scant resources set aside for its
purposes.
I
may now own over a thousand pieces of coins from different parts of the globe
filling in about two dozen folders, and with some loose special ones lying
around. All of them mounted and inserted
into folders. And another separate folder for the paper currencies that are
part of the hoard. Heavy and substantial enough, that one would be hard-put to
carry all of them singly if they were all loaded into one big suitcase.
Thus
at this more relaxed stage and at a time when one feels the time ripe, I am
setting aside more time to sort, assess, and do research on the assorted items
in my possession.
It
would be safe to assume that the collection has over the years accumulated
substantial values in dollar amounts.
At
a rather leisurely pace and time, I am slowly getting ideas of the probable and
possible values these coins may have on the markets, from the low ends to the
highest possible.
In
US Numismatics, the silver Morgan dollar is the darling of many, the Holy Grail
for some, idolized and desired for its beauty, design, size and silver content.
Similarly then, the over two dozen
pieces I have enjoy a special place and regard.
But
so do the many others from different parts of the globe, and spanning many
mintage years of their existence. And for many due to their age, demonetization
has caught up with them. And thus those
who continue to hold on to them, consider their numismatic values instead, or
the melt value of the metals they are made up
In
many European countries especially those who have since joined with EU, their
old currencies have been all replaced with the EU coinage and currency making
the former all demonetized and out of circulation.