The Hobby of Coin Collecting
Coin collecting is a hobby enjoyed by many around the world. Indeed it is one of the oldest hobbies even from the ancient times, engaged by royalty and academia. A lot can be learned from coin collecting such as history, culture and politics and can be shared with and passed down the generations.
The technical name for coin collecting is numismatics. It is the collection and study of coins as well as the paper money from around the world for their artistic value rather than their monetary face value.
History of Coin Collecting
There has been a lot of evidence that coin collecting was a prominent hobby in the Roman era. Suetonius’ De vita Ceasarum shares that emperor Augustus was fond of old and foreign coins and would give them as gifts to his friends. It is thought that coins have been collected since as long as they have existed.
Some scholars have contested that it is the Italian Renaissance that gave birth to coin collection, but numerous Greek and Roman accounts argue otherwise.
The hobby of coin collecting surged back into popularity during the Renaissance period. During the 15 and 16th-century, ancient coin collecting became the hobby of the kings. In the 17th century the nature of collecting geared more towards serious research.
It became an academic pursuit and a lot of guidelines were published.
Types of Coin Collectors
Novice: This is someone who collects coins as they come across them. They don’t have a specific theme and rely on friends or family to give them the coins.
Hobbyist: This person collects coins as a hobby. They are in the beginning stages and want to own a small specific collection without having to spend a lot of money. They may be a part of the coin club or be affiliated with a local coin shop where they engage in trading.
Generalist: this person has coins from all around the world. They don’t focus on any particular sort of coin. One of Egyptian kings from early 1900’s, King Farouk was known to be a generalist who collected coins of huge variety and scope.
Specialist: This person is the opposite of the generalist and focuses specifically on one sort of coin collection such as a particular historic period.
Completists: This person collects every type of coin within a certain category. A collector named Louis Eliasberg is known to have collected a complete set of all the known coins the United States.
Coin Collecting as an Investment
There is a good market for coins for people who want to engage in trading coins. The price of the coins is often fluctuating and the right move at the right time can yield good profits. Rare coins can bring in top dollars.
About the Author:
Amita Vadlamudi has written numerous articles on varied subjects. Check out Ms. Vadlamudi’s Wix site for food-related articles. Amita Vadlamudi’s professional profile can be found at her About.me Web site.
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