1. USA Coin Book
2. sensei2001's Coin Book
3. My Profile

sensei2001's Profile Page

About Me:

My collection began around 1958, when my Uncle Leo gave me a mayonaise jar full of old coins he had kept on a shelf in his garage.  They were all coins that he had taken from circulation prior to World War I, so they included flying eagle and Indian head pennies, buffalo, shield, and "V" nickels, Barber and "Mercury" dimes, and several odd-ball coins like two- and three-cent pieces.  I probably would have spent them on candy if my father had not told me that they were "little pieces of history" and suggested that I go to the library and look them up.  A few days later, my mother bought me my first two Whitman coin albums and so began a lifelong love affair with those little pieces of history.

At least 80% of the coins in my collection were either given to me by aunts, uncles, and friends who knew of my interest in coins or are ones I found in circulation myself.  For years I sifted through those $50 bags of pennies that used to be available at banks.  And one of my first jobs was emptying vending machines and sorting and depositing the coins.  Later, I became involved in international shipping and I gathered coins from all over the world.  Another 10% or more of my collection are coins that I swapped duplicates for with other collectors over the years, and the last 10% are the rarest coins in my collection -- the ones I've purchased.

My goal is to acquire a near-complete collection of every denomination of US coin in "average circulated" condition.  I don't collect mint-state coins except the recent issues, because the bulk of my collection were all obtained from general circulation and to me represent my family's history ... the coins that might once have jingled in my American ancestors' pockets and purses.  To finance those purchases, I occasionally sell some of the duplicates from my collection, although I find it almost painful to part with a coin that a beloved aunt or uncle gave me.  It's like selling a part of their cherished memory.