mpsamus1's Bio
Hi,
My name is Mike S. As of the writing of this Bio (5/01/07), I am 42 years old, married (20 years and counting) with three children ages 14, 16 and 18. I have been collecting coins again for about four years. With that being said, I am no novice to collecting. I originally started with my addiction when I was a young boy of about ten. I found a Mercury dime on the sidewalk and I didn't have a clue what it was so I brought it home and asked my mother about it. I was astonished to learn that it was a real coin. I had never seen anything other than the current "Dead Presidents Society" coinage and didn't realize that there were so many other fascinating and beautiful coins out there. This was the mid-70's, I was about ten years old and that started an obsession that lasts to this day. From that point on I started picking up bottles and doing whatever odd jobs I could find to earn money and every Saturday I had my father take me to the local coin shop and I would spend every dime of my hard earned money on coins. This continued until I was about 12. About that time the owner of the coin shop had a very bad heart attack and was told that he could no longer work, which meant that the coin shop had to close. My father talked to the owner and worked it out so that, basically, we took over running it for him. This meant that by the time I was 13 years old I was able to work (at least to a limited degree) behind the counter of a coin shop. That was a truly memorable experience--one that I will never forget and will always be thankful for. That opportunity also gave me a tremendous learning curve and as we all know, knowledge is critical and the lack of knowledge can be expensive. By the time I was 16 I had discovered the wonders of the opposite sex and my coins took a back seat. When I was 18 I sold everything that I had and have regretted it ever since. By the time that I was 33 I was medically retired from the Army and when I was 38 I decided to come back from my two decade long hiatus and start collecting again. Fishing is another love of mine so currently I am retired and I build and repair fishing rods and reels as well as collect coins. The fishing rod business supplies the funds for me to buy my coins. That way I don't have to go into the "house funds" for my coin money which ultimately keeps me out of the divorce courts.
Thanks For Looking,
Mike