Hey everyone! It’s been a while since our last “9 Questions,” so today we’re bringing it back with my friend Eric Rosenberg of Narrow Bridge Finance, who’s also a fellow finance blogger.
It’s fascinating to learn how people get into this hobby and discover what they collect—I really hope you enjoy this series as much as I do. If you’re interested in joining in, just click here for more details. We’d love to feature you!
Let’s dive in!
My all-time favorite coin is the 1909 VDB penny. That year was the debut of the Lincoln cent, a design we’re all familiar with, marking a significant shift for the U.S. one-cent coin. The VDB represents the initials of the artist who created the Lincoln image, but not all 1909 pennies featured them. That circulated penny is worth over $6.00, which is more than 600 times its face value!
Back in elementary school, I had a friend who was into coin collecting, and I tagged along with him and his dad to some coin shows and local ANA meetings. I bought the latest Whitman coin folders for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters and started filling them with coins I found in my pocket—plus a few I swiped from my parents’ pockets, purses, and coin jars!
That friend and I even started a coin collecting club at school, and I’ve been collecting ever since!
The best coins I found in circulation were during my time as a bank manager, where I got first dibs on the best picks from the teller drawers. Finding a couple of Buffalo nickels was pretty awesome.
I prefer finding coins in circulation or sorting through bank rolls, so I don’t spend much money filling specific spots in my collection. I spent over $5 on the 1909 VDB penny and about $3 each on 1981 Susan B. Anthony dollars to complete my SBA collection.
Most of my coins come from bank rolls, so almost all were great bargains at face value. I once filled nearly every Kennedy half dollar in my collection by grabbing a box of .50 coins from the local credit union—talk about a deal!
Primarily, I collect to complete my albums; I’m not often buying, selling, or trading. Though tempted, I’ve never really pursued it. A few bad trades from my days as a sports card collector pretty much scared me away from trading.
I enjoy collecting circulated U.S. coins because it’s fun and inexpensive. While filling my albums with rare coins is challenging—and they’re getting pretty full—I still get excited when I find something I’ve been searching for years.
If you’re just starting, try not to spend too much money all at once.
The most valuable coin I know of is the 1794 Flowing Hair silver/copper dollar, which is valued at an astonishing $10 million! If I could get my hands on one of these rare, historical U.S. coins, selling it would definitely allow me to retire!
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Eric Rosenberg is a finance blogger at Narrow Bridge Finance, where he offers financial advice for young professionals, drawing from his own experiences in banking and tackling large student loans. Be sure to check out the personal profitability project to get started!
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Want to be the next person featured? Answer our 9 questions, and let’s make it happen!
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[Photo credits: 1941-1974 cents // 1795 flowing hair dollar]
