How Coins become Marvelous (Part 1)

The coins we choose to collect are Marvelous!
     So, how do they become that way? I think we need to start with a definition. Marvelous means astonishing on the one hand, and excellent on the other. As a verb, the phrase -- "to marvel" -- suggests that one feels surprised or wonderment.
     During the age of discovery (1500s-1600s), many well-to-do folks (e.g., princes, barons, and the like) had cabinets of curiosities prominently displayed in their homes. These cabinets were filled with all sorts of unusual objects such as fossils, feathers, relics, and so on. All of these items had one thing in common: they stimulated wonderment -- that is to say, they enticed their owners to draw near, with a sirens call, and reach out fingertips first. In short, they were marvelous. It comes as no surprise that these cabinets were called Wunderkammers (meaning "wonder room" in German).
     Nowadays, and particularly in numismatics, the phrase marvelous -- if used at all -- implies that the coin is excellent (the second meaning given above). And we all know what excellent means: it refers to condition grading.  MS-65! In fact, most of what is written in the numismatic press is associated with condition grading -- full details, unbroken luster, and a lot of ranting about over-graded coins selling at inflated prices. Indeed, the numismatic marketplace is an anxious arena of buying and selling and speculating, ugh!

To most, this is just a piece of money.
To many, this is a small hunk of silver to be melted.
But to a lucky few, this is a Washington quarter from an
era when intrinsic value was real & weekly allowances were
greatly anticipated (after mowing the lawn, of course).

     All of this, is far removed from the experience of wonderment that some collectors -- who are the fortunate ones -- feel when they take the time to enjoy a non-slabbed, collector coin, whose only claim to being marvelous is that you just can't stop musing about it. And yes, these collectors touch there coins, feeling the cool metal, picking at it as if trying to get inside the rims where the secrets of history reside. To do this, without a hint of self-reproach, is to discover true collecting: no markets, no competition, just collector and object: face to face.
     So, how do coins become so marvelous?
     Consider this as our starting point: Coins -- like all objects -- can either be used or possessed. Coins that are spent (that is, used) are known by their function: they are money. In this light, a quarter is no more than half a newspaper or a plastic toy from a gumball machine. Such quarters are dateless and without variety -- just money.
     But, at the very moment that we decide to collect a particular quarter, that is to say, remove it out of its functional role, and place it into our collection, then we are possessing it (not using it). We have transformed it into something symbolic. The possessed quarter is no longer pocket change; instead, it is a Washington quarter with a meaningful date and variety. We have elevated the coin to an outer-worldly status. In short, the collected coin has become Marvelous!
     The whole process is kinda magical isn't it? And think about the magician here: it is the lowly collector who decides -- not some expert or taste-maker.