What got everyone started on collecting/buying?

For me it was inevitable, i had a tendency to steal shiny things like keys etc when I was a baby lol. I watched a tv programme some months ago and it kickstarted a bit of a fascination really.

I look forward to using some of my spare income now on buying smaller gold bars and silver coins every month. Wish I started sooner as another means of saving, rather than peeing it against a wall lol.

Mine was following my dad around coin markets, with a list of what he was looking for. Mostly Victorian but we did go back further when it was a good deal. When he died I inherited his collection and just carried on before getting into modern stuff and Germania mint. I do collect banknotes they are so much easier to keep, but i always go back to coins

Great story Tray, I wish that I inherited a coin set. My sisters sold my Victorian coins when I left home at 16 for sweeties from the corner shop in Edinburgh.

Great to see another Scotsman on the forum too. We have 5 or 6 Scots at the moment.

Soon be able to have a game of 7 a side football together!

I have been a collector since a kid. I just love things. It started with Beano comics and moved on to coins, stamps, erasers, other comics, Tudor Mint, Warhammer, Garbage Pail Kids, action figure toys, Gundam Models, Dungeons and Dragons… as you can see, a real nerdy collector. Now I collect grey hairs, bills and pounds around my waist.

Mine was a strange choice. I had a life changing accident. And long story short I was given X amount of money as a pay out. I decided as i was horrible at saving money to invest it in Gold and Silver.
Since then I used that same excitement to start this hobby to help me focus on something that I can do.

I think I have a collector gene too, or maybe I'm just a magpie.
I've always collected books. Well, amassed them really: collected sounds as though there was a method in it.
Then I went on to Crown Derby paperweights, but stopped when so many were being issued that I stopped taking pleasure in them. I would like to downsize my collection if anyone is interested.
Then came studio glass. That started when I saw a beautiful bowl by Peter Layton in a gallery in Nottingham. That interest is alive and well. Glass is such a stunningly wonderful medium, and the artists are amazing. I had a taster session once, and it's a lot harder than it looks.
After that, when I moved to a house with a garden, I found out about carnivorous plants and now have a greenhouse full of sarracenias (the North American pitcher plants). They have the great advantage for me of thriving on neglect. As long as they are always wet - they are bog plants and stand in water all year round - there are only really two times a year when a fair amount of work is needed. I'm in the middle of one at the moment!
Finally, there's silver. I started collecting coins in 2017 when I saw a video about the Queen's Beasts. Then I found that wherever I looked there were other beauties. Then I found Martin's site, through eBay, and didn't let that awful tie in his photo put me off. The rest is history, but I bet Martin wishes he'd come off eBay a year or two earlier.

My story is i watched a video of ace bullion below
https://youtu.be/8C974DfjDTI (copy link into youtube.)
And was really interested in buying silver coins and bars. At first i found it expensive but over time wasn't too bad. Glad i have built my collection to where i an now

The 2008 financial crisis - I had no idea what fiat currency and fractional reserve banking was till then; The greatest magic trick ever!

I see gold & silver as honest money (I doubt it'll ever be REAL money again); I like the fact I can hold it (Don't worry I wear gloves! ). Like how the stack started at 1oz and now 15 years later is over 100oz.

Only concern is nobody in my friends, family & colleague circle gets it, they think I'm some silver foil hat wearing freak ("Why does he buy silver for?")

When I die, will they spend it straightway or just chuck it in the grave with my rotting body?

Jazz wrote:My story is i watched a video of ace bullion below
https://youtu.be/8C974DfjDTI (copy link into youtube.)
And was really interested in buying silver coins and bars. At first i found it expensive but over time wasn't too bad. Glad i have built my collection to where i an now

And yet you still never left a comment on the video.

Admin wrote:

Jazz wrote:My story is i watched a video of ace bullion below
https://youtu.be/8C974DfjDTI (copy link into youtube.)
And was really interested in buying silver coins and bars. At first i found it expensive but over time wasn't too bad. Glad i have built my collection to where i an now

And yet you still never left a comment on the video.

Im forgetting these days

Hi  @TheFrenchDog. That's a great question. For me it was the passing of the Queen. In her memory, I started collecting proof sets and pre-decimal coins with her effigy, plus a few rare Scottish banknotes featuring Her Late Majesty. Then I somehow discovered the Queen's Beasts in October (I had never heard of bullion coins prior to this - I always thought bullion was rectangular, heavy and large, and gold only). It didn't take long until I developed a serious addiction! And a very enjoyable one it is

It started after I joined a local rock and mineral club a couple years ago. Never thought much of precious metals prior.