I used to collect US coins from every denomination, year, mint, and variety (such as large and small date 1960 pennies). It was kind of like a treasure hunt, knowing you could find something in circulation that was actually more valuable than most people thought it was.
I lost interest in the late 1980s sometime, when I found the volume of new coins dwarfed older coins. For example, for Lincoln pennies, they used to make a few million per year, then a few tens of millions. In the 80s, they started making about 5 BILLION each, and it started drowning out all of the old coins, which basically stayed the same value.
I still pull coins from circulation if I find them valuable. I stopped spending pennies made of copper (pre-1982) for their inherent metal value. I have on occasion pulled a silver or proof coin from circulation. But so rarely, for so long, that I seldom get the thrill of the treasure find.
I used to collect US coins from every denomination, year, mint, and variety (such as large and small date 1960 pennies). It was kind of like a treasure hunt, knowing you could find something in circulation that was actually more valuable than most people thought it was.
I lost interest in the late 1980s sometime, when I found the volume of new coins dwarfed older coins. For example, for Lincoln pennies, they used to make a few million per year, then a few tens of millions. In the 80s, they started making about 5 BILLION each, and it started drowning out all of the old coins, which basically stayed the same value.
I still pull coins from circulation if I find them valuable. I stopped spending pennies made of copper (pre-1982) for their inherent metal value. I have on occasion pulled a silver or proof coin from circulation. But so rarely, for so long, that I seldom get the thrill of the treasure find.