Everyone knows that a coin has a front and a back, and that you’re supposed to call heads or tails when one is flipped. And, even though it’s theoretically possible, only the most optimistic coin-flippers would think there’s a chance of a coin landing on its edge.

One day while sifting through my grandparent's coin jar I came across a penny that did not look like the rest. Pulling it from the pile, I turned it over and over in my hand fascinated by the image minted onto its surface. While all of the other coins in the jar had the heads of United States presidents on them (my favorite being Abraham Lincoln), this coin had two maple leaves. I immediately went and asked my mother why it was different and discovered that it was from another country. From that day forward I was hooked. What started out as one Canadian penny turned into over four hundred coins and my collection is still growing.I have grown my collection in many ways from a little coin shop down the way to traveling to other countries. My absolute favorite way to learn about and acquire new currency is by traveling. A country's currency is a window into their past history and current culture.� I have traveled to and acquired coins from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, and Canada, as well as various locations within the United States of America including Washington, D.C. where I acquired several commemorative coins and tokens. My mother brought me back money from Italy and my cousin gave me coins from Malawi that he saved during a missions trip. My great-great-grandfather had a coin collection from where he had traveled to Japan and NASA, which was passed down to me. Other friends and family have contributed to my collection through their travels as well. I love learning about the countries of each coin's origin and the images upon their surface.�Another way that I have grown my collection is through attending local coin shows. It is through such a show that I was able to acquire five ancient Roman coins from Hadrian's Wall.� Though they are greatly degraded in quality, I could not resist the opportunity to include such historic pieces. As my mother has several degrees in history, anthropology, and archaeology, we spent many fun hours learning about the coins and life along the Wall. When we were in England we went to see Hadrian's Wall at Walltown near Haltwhistle and I got to see many more Roman coins in the museum there. It was great! I highly recommend growing one's collection through travel as you get to experience the culture that created the currency first hand. It is amazing! What is your favorite way to acquire new pieces? Tell me how you grow your collection in the comments below!

This will probably be my final blog. It's been fun and interesting being a part of this, but the time has come. I have had too many problems with computers recently, and last week was the breaking point. Yes, my writing career must come to an end.I want to make it clear that I've been thinking of this for months, before the recent incident and before the bankruptcy. I am in my 60s and cannot spend any more time, effort, and money fussing with computers. This is not something a tech could fix. There have just been too many issues.I also want to make it clear that I am still a numismatist and always will be. I have enjoyed coins for over 50 years now. I will continue reading and doing what I can. I hope to attend the WFM this summer. I will also visit the coin shop downtown, even though I won't write about it!Those of you who follow my articles, thank you. I have also published non-coin related articles, in addition to publishing 8 romance novels.�

Had a great day downtown today. Best lunch of the year, so far, served by my favorite waiter.� Of course, a stop at the coin shop was on the agenda.

It's that time of year again!�� My change jar is full...� I've been putting all the change I get for a whole year in this jar and believe me it won't hold anymore.� This is an exciting time for me as I have no idea whats in there.� I just "throw" it in...�� haha�� Well gently,� just in case there's a "better" coin in there.�� ; )�� Ya never know!� It will take me awhile to sort through this pile, but as soon as I do I'll let you know what I found and how much $$$ was saved!�� Hope you enjoyed my collection!� Feel free to comment as always!