Is Coin Collecting a Form of Magic? Part 1.

I have been thinking about magic lately.

Actually, I have been thinking about magic for the last 20 years. When I started writing One Coin is Never Enough, I started with the premise that something magical happens when a collector chooses to acquire a coin. In the book, I used the example of taking a coin out of circulation.

At the moment when a coin is removed from circulation, it ceases to be an object defined by its utility (e.g., money); instead it becomes something special, something symbolic. I called this transformation a magical process. Hence, the coin becomes part of the personal narrative of the collector. It now has meaning -- or should I say -- meanings that take it far beyond "money."

A Civil War Cent either of two ways.
It is similar to many found on the killing field; It was found on the field.

All told, collected coins become talismans via the "rite of collecting." And, we treat them as such -- with respect.

Sometimes the magic is just image magic. For example, an 1828 large cent represents a coin from the Civil War. We don't know if that particular large cent was in the action, but we do know that large cents just like it have been dug from the killing fields. The similarity has vitality.

Sometimes the magic stems from contagion. For example, we suspect that 1828 large cent is from the Civil War when it was dug in a killing field. It was probably held by a warrior (and, it was lost ... oh, I hope the young man survived -- but we can never know that). Such a cent -- from the killing field -- has vitality that comes from the touch of a warrior.

The necromancer coin collector prefers coins with contagion. But sometimes similarity will have to do. Both are magical properties. Both give the coin vitality. But now you see why worn and battered coins have a vitality that grading guides and market indices miss.

I will explore magic in upcoming posts. Next up: Vitality.