Chronicles of A Numismatist: What it is all about
Happy New Year Everyone. This is going to be one fantastic year. Last year, coin collecting wise, it was truly amazing. Adding to a collection that has now been defined and broken into 2 parts is exciting. I am well underway to have it spoken about and shown later this year or next year... what could I be up to? (Mad scientist voice and curling of hands together as I wrote that).So we all know the FunShow was cancelled this year. I was looking forward in the highest of excitements because I was going to attend the ANA Intermediate School of Grading. Bob Mellor and Steve Feltner, along with Bri, ran 2020’s Basics of Coin Grading Classes that have stayed with me since. I love coin grading. Some might love log home building, others might love transit trucking, but me my career is in finance where I buy and sell money at a Financial Institution I have found, as you already know, numismatics and inside my hobby the art/science of coin grading. Can’t explain it, you don’t have 3 hours to look at one coin and actually you want to be about 10-15 seconds at most per coin to give a grade. But then for me, I recorded the attributes of the coin in my mind so when I get the next one in the same category I quickly recall what defined a Mint State or About Uncirculated or Good and proceed to grade the new coin in my hand. It is fascinating, a challenge, and exciting. I decided I was going to have my own FUN Show, but didn’t know how or what it would be. Well my fiancé was staying with family out of our area for the holidays but was coming down prior to the New Year. She brought one of the Greatest Gifts she could and it was the 5 year old on one side of our family. She calls me “Abuelo” and she too likes coins. She has a small collection of pennies and change she likes. On this particular Saturday she and I were running all around the house causing hilarious havoc. And at one point my fiancé said to her, Ask Abuelo if he would show you some of his coins. She ran over and asked and I said sure. Went to my office and got the big red box, came back to the dining room table and proceeded to show her some World Coins I have. She is 5 so I wanted to see where this precious time would take us. I dumped them all inside of the red box lid and she said WOW. She said, Look at this one it looks like a flower, this one is shiny, etc. . Well, she didn’t know about etiquette and to ask first before touching coins, so I was fortunate to teach her. Which then lead to “How to hold a coin”. To follow with, “We don’t touch the obverse or reverse”. So after those basic lessons she started to look bored. I quickly organized the coins spatially apart from one another and asked her, Which one do you like Best? She picked a Bahamian Cent all Red Copper and Shiny. She then asked me the same question, and I picked a large Nordic coin. To which we both played this game back and forth for what seemed like an hour but probably several minutes but time stopped at that moment and all that mattered was her picking of a coin, answering why she liked it and then scoffing and laughing at the coins I picked because they were not pretty to her. By then my fiancé had come over and she too joined in and took the little one’s side of course, so it was 2 against one laughing at my selections. She said she was having fun and I told her she could have all these coins but they have to stay here for when she visits this year. She was so happy. Coin time led to StuffedAnimal Formal TeaParty Time, which then led to Who can run the fastest from the front door to the mail box and back - on an ice cream and tea time snack full belly... which please someone punch me the next time I give ice cream to a 5 year old. I was ready for nap time ( I had been playing with this ball of never ending energy for 3 hours and was beat) but ice cream apparently re-energizes all the engines and they , 5 year olds, jump higher than before and run around every where and talk faster than a tommy gun being fired, and that fun new game bores them after 2 minutes because Abuelo is not moving fast enough so he now has to be shown what the new running around game is and OH MY LORD!But... that quiet moment before the toddler jail of energy hell where coins were being shared and laughter and amazement of the shiny coins or the tiny coins and seeing her little fingers properly pick up a coin and look at a coin, for me, I was able to have my own home FUN Show and for me, is What It Is About. Giving back to a new generation of young numismatists. Fingers Crossed she stays with this hobby, because it is so rewarding to give back.
