back in the 2010s I was educating myself on personal finance. this led me to gold and silver and the concept of a store of value. I'd go to antique markets and search for gold and silver at below spot prices, often finding tremendous bargains!
While hunting the antique stalls, I was drawn to antique coins (numismatics) and began buying those too. There are some wonderful pieces of history out there, often surprising prices. For example it's quite possible to buy coins that are many thousands of years old for just a few dollars.
Every coin is unique and tells a story from times long passed. For example:
Roman coins would spread far and wide across the empire often keeping the remote provinces in the know on the latest fashion and hairstyles that were in vogue in the capital.
Coinage has been used as propaganda throughout the ages. For example, the Nazi's used the coins they issued as a powerful propaganda tool. Yet, they were not the first to do so, nor will they be the last.
And of course, coins tell an economic and a political story.
Change in silver content of Roman denarii over time due to debasement.
They also record the technical and artistic capabilities of the society that create them.
Hammered coins were made by hand by hitting two dies together with a hammer. Here's a wonderful example of an 800 year old hammered British silver coin. The story goes that they are embossed with a cross so that they can easily be cut into halves or quarters when smaller change is needed.
The first milled coins came about around 400 years ago and were produced in large quantities from the mid 17th century onwards. Machine-made, they are more precise in definition and uniformity.
In the sixteenth and seventh century Britain started producing coins with reeded edges, this was a technical feat and helped to prevent counter-fitting and coin clipping - a practice where a small piece of the edge of the a gold or silver coin is sheered off.
Another exciting thing about collecting coins, is that you never stop learning. I've been buying, selling and collecting coins for over 10 years now, but I still regularly come across items that I've never seen or even heard of before.
Anyway, enough about coins for now. Do you collect anything? Maybe you also collect coins? Or maybe fiat bank-notes? Or do you collect other items? Perhaps it's Pokemon or Baseball cards? Or antiques? Or retro video-games / vintage records? If so, I'd love to hear your story. How did you first start collecting? How has your collection performed as an investment? And how do you benefit in non-tangible ways from your collection?
