Hi all,
I'm a new collector from Australia in my mid forties. My interest in coins is relatively recent, and my introduction to them came via my dad.
During his working life my dad worked in banking at several branches around New South Wales. Turning 80 next year, he has seen a couple of changes to currency and even bigger changes to banking(don't get him started on online-banking), with the gold sovereign probably being his favourite coin. He talks about the 2 that he owned in his life, about how he (regrettably) cashed one in, and had the other set in a necklace which my older sister wears. He's a huge fan of QE2.
I suppose he has a more relevant back story than I do. I have always enjoyed collecting 'things' since I was little, and my own penchant for nostalgia means that coin collecting is a nice fit and a bug that I'm surprised didn't bite me a lot earlier. I'm a graphic designer by trade so I also like to have an opinion on the design of the coins. On some level though, I am probably just facilitating dad's hobby as much as my own. We're both getting a bit of a kick out of it and I think on a long enough timeline it won't cost as much as some other hobbies can. Put it this way, it's not keeping food off the family table. Yet.
I know they aren't to everyones taste, but I am a bit of a sucker for the idea of the SOTD sovereigns (the concept, more than the Matte BU strike). I/we have the Albert & Victoria 200s from 2019, which I was particularly interested in because my son (who share's my dad's name) was born in that year. I also recently ordered the 3 coin set for the Platinum Jubilee, but judging from what I've seen from other recipients, I'm expecting little more than a few coins dancing around freely in a mashed up cardboard box! Ha. Time will tell.
Thanks for all the advice / input I've been reading whilst a 'lurker'. I'm happy to be finally out of the shadows!
All the best,
S.