It's to darn cold to go outside and play so I need something to do indoors, any suggestions?
Isn't that how people get kids?
Bob:
I suggest collecting coins. Get a folder (from any coin shop) with slots for each date and mint-mark of whatever denomination you choose.
Pennies are always a good place to start. Go to a bank - the more rural the better, get and sort through - say -
2500 pennies. Just be sure the bank doesn't give you rolls of new pennies.
I find it rewarding to recover coins that may be close to 100 years old; unusual but, for me, worth the hunt.
Last year, a bank teller told me that one customer got $200 worth of new nickels each week. It appears he
was able to see the metal in the coins for more than five cents each.
As a rule of thumb, if you buy a coin rom a dealer for $10 and sell it back to him the same day, expect he
will give you only $5.
Bruce
Bruce's suggestion is a good one for multiple reasons including providing entertainment on a cold day.
Pat's Mother , 98 years young, passed away this past October (may she rest in peace). Vina, as i called her, was an avid coin collector all of her life and at her death, had an untold number of coins of all denominations and dates. The family began to sort through the treasure and soon began to realize that if not careful, it could turn into a second job. At first, It was fun but turned very quickly into a burdensome task. We finally decided to lock the collection away in a safe deposit box (a big safe deposit box) and let our children sort through the collection in about 50-60 years.
Now, the real intent of this post is for Bob. Should you take Bruce's suggestion and start a coin collection, your very first purchase has to be a high quality, high resolution, lighted magnifying glass. I put about ten years of wear and tear on my eyes in about two weeks and I'm almost serious about that statement. Double struck coins were fairly common 100 years ago. In addition, some of the metals used in the early days did not hold up to wear and tear very well. Reading the words and dates on some of the coins was just practically impossible.
So, Magnifying Glass, Bob. First order of business.
J
John:
Great story. I almost envy you the task of sorting through those - I assume - thousands of coins but then I realize you are right; it could be a second job.
The only problem I see with passing the task down to other generations is the possibility that the potential of those coins may not be apparent to them and they may get snookered.
I knew someone who, on a lark, took an 1856 Flying Eagle penny - a pattern coin with a total mintage of about 1000,
into a coin shop in a small Pennsylvania town, flipped it on the counter and asked the dealer what how would pay for it.
The dealer's eyes bugged out and he offered $50. The coin at the time was worth about $1200. The response was "No thanks."
I'm sure there are honest coin dealers but I also believe it's not a high percentage, about like baseball card dealers.
Bruce
Bob,
Try Amateur Radio. Learn morse code and give it a shot. I've been active in it since John Fisher (OTC / LDO Ensign) got me started during a tour in Argentia in 1966. Actually, morse code is no longer a requirement since the FCC dumbed down the hobby a few years back.
O.B. Corning
Like your idea OB. Thought of that years ago but never followed up now is time to check it out. On another thought does any one out there collect Zippo lighters I have a 25 anniversary one with COSP logo and 25th on one side and COSL logo on other side with silver anniverary on lid. Got no use for it quit smoking 18 yrs ago. If you collect them your welcome to it.
I'll second the amateur radio hobby. I got involved in the late nineties and it's been great fun on many levels. Most radio clubs have a weekend course that will end with a test for the technician license. Then you're off and running. I find it fascinating that I live in Washington state but have worked stations in Antarctica, Lebanon, Russia, and others. Plus, you'll meet a lot of interesting people.
Coin collecting and Amateur Radio operation are great hobbies. I collected coins as a kid and into my early Navy years. A system sea story: I remember at Centerville Beach in 1979-80 when I received some old Wheat pennies, Mercury dimes, Buffalo nickels and Franklin half dollar pieces as change at the mini mart in housing. I went back three times that day for purchases just to get the rare change. I was told years later that it was Harold Broadway's son or daughter who had used the coins to purchase who knows what kind of gee-dunk. I probably still have those coins in my collection.
I decided my retirement hobbies needed to involve standing and walking vice sitting - I do enough of that as it is. Today I volunteer about 2 or 3 days a week giving guided tours inside and outside the Battleship WISCONSIN BB-64 in Norfolk harbor. It gives me great pleasure to chat about the Navy with all kinds of people from all over the country and from around the world. And it gives me great exercise as well. Works for me.
- Jim
Another road to take is that I volunteer at the Delaware Veterans Home and Delaware Hospice Center. Great way to give back. EKD
Since passing over responsibilities for the IUSSCAA web site and database development, and while trying to keep my brain from turning to mush from chemo and radiation, I decided to establish an Ancestry.com account and document my family's past structure and history. An absolutely fascinating cold weather hobby! I found out many things! One of my multi-great grandfathers was the first to bring the rotary saw blade to North America (Nova Scota) in the 1600s and established one of the first commercial saw mills in this hemisphere! Another was a Hessian conscript who decided that the American quest for freedom was far better than the British hegemonic thrust, so he deserted, traveled via night to South Carolina, and joined the 3rd regiment of Col. Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) loosely portrayed by Mel Gibson in "The Patriot." He was later awarded a land grant in S.C. for his service and built a large tobacco plantation that lasted four generations. He was one of few who used no slave labor to farm his crops.
I've investigated over 3600 relatives to date, and it is a fascinating hobby just for the analysis involved.
It is indeed a great hobby Rick.....I have traced my ancestry back to the 1500s in England. Amoung my notable ancesters are Millard Fillmore(13th pres. of the US) Saumel Eastman, (Of Eastman Kodak), and Mary Baker Eddy (Founder of the Christian Science church)
Trying to get 1st level documentation on them is both frustating and fun.
Howard Tilton (old SO2)
I don't dare ask my wife a question like that!
Roger that Jerry, I see a whole week of in-house chores being complied if I ask that question myself.
Chuck
Bob:
One of my most valuable technical resources is a retired former nuclear submarine CO one of whose hobbies
is recreating stone tools made by early humans. Some call this "flint knapping."
An article in the Mar 1-7 2014 issue of the UK magazine NEW SCIENTIST states that "recreating stone tools opens a window into the minds of those who invented them," first 2.6 million years ago (MYA) and then progressively improved them starting 1.6 MYA, and finally made them into works of art apparently also used for ceremonial purposes.
The article discusses what is called "hierarchical thinking." a mental process by which the ability to envision and execute complex sequences of actions is achieved. Sophisticated stone tools with refined shape and sharp cutting
edges require this ability as does the selection of the best materials, often flint.
From the direction of the strikes made to shape such tools, the handedness of the maker can be determined even though they may have lived more than one million years ago. Not surprisingly, most were - as now - right-handed.
Use of search engines should identify individuals and groups for which this activity is a hobby.
Best,
Bruce
Renshaw: you are older than I thought. Cheers, Ed