SENIOR MOMENT: A hobby about money

By BETTY MUNSEY/Columnist

Occasionally I would search under sofa cushions or on well-traveled sidewalks looking for lost coins. Even lowly pennies were considered valuable when purchasing pieces of penny candy either from the local store or from a pinball machine.
Some of you may be a numismatist (the proper term for a coin collector). You may have been collecting the new state quarter series since they were introduced by the U.S. Mint.  You may have a penny-shaped cardboard holder half filled with pennies you’ve collected over the years.  You may have silver dollars, a gift from your granddad, Uncle Joe or whoever tucked in an envelope at the bottom of your underwear drawer.
True coin collectors enjoy collecting coins but do it in a more systematic order. They have researched the value of coins by using books readily available in area libraries or by going to the government Web site, http://www.USMINT.GOV. You can also call the mint for information at 800-USE-MINT. Whereas coin collectors are a helpful group of people, they are concerned about security measures. Valuable coin collections often fall prey for burglars, so collectors prefer to remain relatively unknown.
Coin collecting is a valuable hobby for children especially when they are encouraged to research the history of coins and why certain coins are more valuable than others. Since coins have different mint marks identifying where they were made, the children will learn a little geography along the way.  Taking the child to a coin show is not only a bonding experience between the generations, it might spark an interest in coin collecting that will remain with the child throughout his lifetime. It’s a wonderful hobby to transfer from our older generation to the next. Unlike many hobbies, coin collecting can’t be rushed and requires persistence and patience.
We silently hope that one of our coins will be the one to make us millionaires.  A fellow found a 1789 coin using a metal detector.  Even in its slightly deteriorated state, the first appraisal was for $350.
A family in Windber, Pa., became numismatists in a strange manner and were rewarded richly. They were disassembling a home on their property that was beyond repair. While moving a bag of old coins in an upstairs bedroom, they found a hole in an adjoining wall. One of the former owners must have loved old coins and found the safest place to store them was in between the wall studs. Mounds of old coins were stashed all the way to the first floor level. The value of the coins hasn’t been revealed.
Coin collecting is a wonderful hobby for all ages regardless of whether we’re hoping to beat today’s current inflation factor or whether we just want an enjoyable pastime.
A retired Extension agent, Betty Munsey lives and farms in Bland County.