Harsh reactions to coin collecting

[learningnumismatist]

Chris more stories are always welcome. As a lot of you know I am long winded anyways. I am glad to hear I am not alone in this. Being criticized is fine with me. It'll pay off in the long run. There aren't any coin shops in my area. A few flea markets with a few collectors. Generally just regular coins. I like varieties a lot myself. And even what people sell for regular prices can be worth a lot more than what they are asking. ITS NOT STEALING if you pay a tenth or less of a price for a coin if that's what they're asking. That's cherypickin! I enjoy it very much. My kids are starting to get into it more. I can't wait till they are more advanced and can actually notice varieties. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. I enjoyed reading them all.

[snowman]

I had to prove to my grandmother a penny is worth more than a penny. So I sold my 1999 wide am for approx. $125 a few years ago. So I guess her griping saying I"ll never find anything worth while all stopped. I couldn't stand it with all the back talking until I got something sold !!!!

[LKLive13]

In the beginning of my collecting I started saving copper cents and my wife always made fun of me for saving all of them. I still look through my pocket change to give a cashier a particular date... My wife stopped giving me crap when I sold a 43 CUD for $40... Now she kinda supports me and will even give me all of her change before we cash them in.

[BadThad]

My wife and daughter still don't understand "penny collecting", even after all these years. They convinced my adult niece that I was going crazy searching all these boxes. One day, my niece came over just minutes after I had found a 1999 WAM in MS-65. She sarcastically said "did you find anything" when she walked in. I said, yeah, look at this....I gave her a loupe and the WAM and explained it to her. She rolled her eyes.

A couple of months later I explained I got the WAM slabbed and sold it for $550. Suddenly, she saw the light! HAHAHAHA

[Arjohn]

I hadn't collected for a long time and my re-entry into cent collecting was to "finish" my Lincoln Cents from 1909 on. Of course the Wheat Cent supply is somewhat depleted and I needed a fair amount of regular and had never really paid any attention to Key-Semi Key dates etc.
My wife was pretty supportive, figuring this would be a few hour a month hobby that would help fill time and keep me mentally active and such since I had retired. Well, one day my Wife's cousin was over and mentioned that he had his collection of Wheat that his mom started in the late 60's and had been accumulating since! That started the searching which lead to LCR and the discovery of Varieties and on and on.
Now I spend more than a few hours a week working on new purchases, sales and searches. My family thinks its cool, a couple of the grandkids like to see the "shiny Pennies, Grampa has" and my eldest grandson got a kick out of seeing the Cent from the year he was born.... The biggest fan? My 87 year old Mother-In-Law! she is fascinated by the stories, the look of the collection and my latest additions (which include all the S-Proofs from 74 on)... Every time she visits here (once a month or so) she has to hear about it.... A few In-Laws ask about it and many save change for me. There is a jar with Cents in it on my bar and another with silver change -- A little sign says -- Take my silver - leave your pennies. I have to empty the jar every month or so and rarely replenish the silver!

[cimperialis]

This is nice thread, thanks for starting it, Fer. I've never been met with criticism or skepticism, just smirks. My wife, friends, and family think it's fascinating that a pocket-change penny can be turned into big bucks, but there is something comical about looking through pennies (arguably seen by the public as the lowliest of money) for rare ones.

[ERRORCENTS]

When i first started getting into Lincoln cent collecting 10 yrs. ago i would tell people that knew me and they said "Why would you waste your time looking at "STINKING" pennies for?...I would explain to them that error's and variety coins are worth a premium...Well they just plain out laughed at me and said you would not get any money for a stinking penny.....Well let me tell you also that My Brother is really the one who got me into coins when we were kids, we got a box of pennies longtime ago and were looking at them. Back then as being a kid we really did not know what i know today.....So i am really glad he dot me into collecting error coins also variety coins.....

Well my Brother got out of it for a longtime until recently he got back into looking.....Myself on the other hand will never give this great hobby up, at the end i will get the last laugh for those who laughed at me all these years and said i was wasting my time.....Till this day i ask anyone if they have any pennies to get rid of and will always continue on doing so.....

Thank you,
Patrick

[jhcons]

Heck I dont have anyone to tell or who cares anymore now that I think about it. I brought that 73-D ddo to the jobsite with loupe to show some guys. They didnt care. Couple say they saw doubling and said cool. Then tossed it back.
I do understand you are excited and want to tell the world right now that they are missing out on something great!!! I know I did I am sure. As time passes you will talk about it less to people and just know that its your little haven or something like that. As for spouse either shes in or out. If shes out I would not recommend trying to shake any sense into her about it. Mine used to travel with me now she could care less about about " double dips double ds " as she so eloquently calls it. But if a store gives her back a new penny she will ask to buy a roll with out batting an eye. AS for the people out there who looks at you crazy for asking for rolls or pennies. Who gives a crap what they think. You will find just as many nice tellers or clerks that will actually save rolls for you once they get to know you are u them. Just keep plugging away. This is one of the best things man ever made besides.... JIM


Oh yea if girlfriend or spouse give you to much trouble about your new LOVE TRADE EM IN!! Coins last a lot longer than relationships do.. Just dont let them take them when they go

[Justafarmer]

Hours at a time, you peer like a mad scientist through a microscope searching for that elusive frankencoin.
Is this you?

You give your wife a big hug when you get home from work. "Are you happy to see me?", she whispers in your ear with a sultry voice. "No, that is just a couple of rolls of Lincolns I conned out of the cashier when I bought gas on the way home." You reply.
Is this you?

Like a birddog on point, you freeze every time you encounter a gumball machine. Standing there daydreaming about the frankencoins you know must reside inside.
Is this you?

You always have your belt cinched as tight as you can because you can’t keep your pants from falling due to the 5 pounds of change in your front pocket.
Is this you?

You vote for the sales tax increase simply because you have determined the increased rate will produce more change every time you purchase something.
Is this you?

You are dying of thirst but realize the drink machine you are standing in front of only accepts change. You pull a dollar bill out of your wallet and start harassing others walking by for change. You finally find someone who accommodates your request. You wait until that person walks out of eyesight, then attempt cinching your belt even tighter dropping the change into your front pocket and leaving without buying a drink.
Is this you?

You wonder about the harsh reactions to coin collecting.
Is this you?

[willbrooks]

I get pissed off when the cashier reaches into the give/take a penny tray so that I can get a nickel change instead of 4 cents.

[liveandievarieties]

YES! That happens to us all the time, some places more than others. At the organic market we like we bought something from the deli- they covered our cents to the nearest nickel, then the same thing at the check stand... it's maddening! I've gone so far as to frequently "take a penny", I don't give many though, lol.

[jallengomez]

After they give it to you, just turn around then and ask them if they can make change for a nickel. Then you get free "pennies."

[learningnumismatist]

I always stand at the line and wait for my pennies. They seem like it's a burden to them bit no bother to me. Could be something I need. You never know what it is till you look. I'm surprised this thread has been this busy! Thanks for sharing everyone.

[liveandievarieties]

Funny coin story-

Years ago money was tighter, a lot tighter. One day when rent was due, I brought home a bag of Kennedy halves. Not cash, not a check, but many, many halves.

My plan was to pick the halves, deposit them and pay rent the next day. When my ex-wife asked where the rent was, and I pointed to the halves I was going through, she FILPPED!

Okay, she was a little unbalanced to start with, but she REALLY freaked out. Screaming, cussing, even throwing things... it took me over 30 minutes to mellow her out to a point where I could tell here that the coins would be spent on rent... but then I couldn't make it make sense to her, that they weren't all coins to keep, that they were going back to the bank.

Ex was mostly "tolerant" but far from supportive of coins. Guess that's a huge part of why she got traded in!

Maybe less of a story than I'd thought, but it's just such a vivid memory. In stark contrast, Charity is always eager to haul bags home from the bank and never hesitates to spend all that we have on a coin deal. This woman isn't going anywhere if I ever have a say in it!

[willy13]

I made the mistake of telling my family that I have a back log of $4000 in boxes of pennies to search. They gave me crap for that. I suppose I can understand that, but its still $4000, just in pennies.

I have been picking up approx. $75 a week for 3 years and I can't keep up with the searching. So the boxes have been stacking up....