| By :
Mark Etinger
The Hobby of Kings. The collecting of coins is a hobby that dates back as long as printed money has been in existence. Whether it be for the future value or for the admiration of the artwork, coin collecting is a fantastic, popular hobby that has enthusiasts just as passionate about it as they were hundreds and thousands of years ago. For me, coin collecting was something I got into at around the age of twelve or thirteen. It was at this point that my father, an avid coin collector with boxes and shelves filled with coin holders and coin folders, lost the ability to accurately read the tiny year prints on his collectibles. He enlisted his only son's help in reading the dates, and coin collecting quickly became something we did together. It always made for great holiday and birthday gifts. Whether it was a rare British pund with a serial code misprint or just a slicker set of coin folders, it was never difficult to shop for my father. Nor do I imagine was it hard to shop for me. We went to coin collecting events together; fairs and conventions. We swapped stories and items with other enthusiasts And most important of all, we shared not just a coin collection, but a tremendous amount of wonderful memories. I still wonder to this day if my father's eyes truly had gotten so bad that he could no longer read the print, or if it was just his clever way of including me in his favorite hobby. I don't think it was a coincidence that this father-son bonding event occurred at an age, for me, when spending time with my parents was starting to become "uncool." Nevertheless, coin collecting has lived on as my favorite hobby, and the only one that I've truly pursued to the fullest throughout my being. My own son is still a bit too young to enjoy the subtle pleasures of coin collecting. In fact, he's still at the point where, if I were to hand him a quarter, he'd see it more fit to put it in his mouth or up his nose rather than safely tucked away in the proper coin album. But there will no doubt come a day when I'll pull out a couple albums from my coin storage, sit him down and show my offspring the true pleasures of history's greatest pastime: The Hobby of Kings. And if he doesn't immediately fall in love with it, well, I'll just lie to him and tell him I lost my reading glasses.
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