Collecting coins and other valuables was once known as the "hobby of kings". During the Renaissance, coins were collected by scholars fascinated by the artistic, cultural, and historical elements of this hobby.
What is collecting today? A free time, part of life, or maybe a hobby that can turn into an incurable and even contagious disease? Today, collecting is not just for the greats. Now everyone can hold a valuable piece of history in their hands.
The collected samples become not only beautiful things to display, but also acquire a spiritual value that provides more than just an aesthetic or financial return. Florinus wants to introduce you to three different people who share a passion for collecting and tell you about their experiences. Some of them started their way as a collector in early childhood, while others accidentally discovered this hobby, which transformed into serious collections.
In this article, we will talk about how collections are born, what benefits and value they create, and also share tips for beginners. Moreover, we will tell the stories of collectors, which we hope will serve as an inspiration for everyone who is going to dive into the world of numismatics. These stories are a great opportunity to look at the world of collectors in a different way.
Meet Gintautas Maciulskas - a professional numismatist who can be proud of not only an impressive collection but also many years of experience in the world of numismatics. He began to take the first steps towards numismatics as a child. As he says, then he did not know anything about it, but a great desire led him forward. Many years later, the collection of Gintautas contains impressive samples. The main direction of his collecting is Lithuanian coins.
Every educated person must be interested in the culture and history of the country, and coins are the area that provides historical knowledge and is a symbol of identity. Gintautas agreed to share with us some of his impressive collections. In the photos, you can see certified Lithuanian euro and litas coins that have received the highest ratings.
Professional numismatist and coin expert Gintautas Maciulskas especially appreciates good quality coins. Words that a collector told him as a child are well imprinted in his memory: "Never buy a coin of poor quality." And as Gintautas himself says, this advice worked 100 percent. His collection also boasts exceptional specimens:
“By purchasing a good quality coin, you will pay more, but over time it will become much more valuable. A good quality coin does not lose value. There will be no more such coins, and all the best ones are already in collections. The number of numismatists is increasing, but the number of coins is decreasing,” says Gintautas about the quality of the coins and their demand.
The collection of Gintautas also has certified coins that have received the highest ratings. As he himself assures, it is important to certify coins not only to determine their condition and authenticity, but also to avoid disputes among collectors. Perhaps one will believe that this is a coin of such denomination, while the other will not agree. Certification and professional assessment always removes all doubts. As the Lithuanian proverb says - you need to separate the wheat from the chaff, so in the world of numismatists - a frequent collector turns to professionals to determine the condition of a coin.
Passionate collector Edgaras Zivatkauskas can be proud of an equally impressive collection. It has a collection of over 80 different banknotes from around the world with breathtaking mountain views. The direction of collecting is really unique and interesting. And many are forced to ask: how did the idea to start a collection of banknotes depicting mountains come about?
“One of my friends collected banknotes with hydroelectric power plants, and as a mountain lover, I myself went to the mountains, so I thought, why not try to collect banknotes with the image of mountains? This is how the birth of the collection began,” Edgaras shares.
Edgaras also shared his experience of putting together such a niche collection:
“There are pages on the Internet where banknotes of all countries are posted, you study them, collect those that are, and then, as I call it, the hunt begins. There are pages where they are sold, there is a collectors' club, someone helps to buy abroad - this is how the collection is gradually collected, ”the collector shares his advice.
Edgaras himself admits that he started his career as a collector with 2 euro coins. He says that at first he simply collected euro coins from circulation, then he began to buy them up. The collector assures that when you buy another new coin, you will no longer want to collect coins from circulation. As he says - it's not so beautiful. This is how it began - first I collected, then I bought. A little later, the collector began to get acquainted with banknotes:
“Basically, I prefer paper to metal, it has more beauty and watermarks. Paper money is like a work of art, it has more details,” says Edgaras about banknotes.
The collector admits that it took him about 3-4 years to collect exactly the collection that he agreed to show us. But the beauty and value of collecting is to take your time, as he himself says:
“If you find everything and buy it right away, all the charm will be lost and it will not be interesting. So I'm building up the collection little by little,” he assures.
The mountain collection is really impressive and there is a lot of care and effort behind it. Banknotes are stored in a special album designed for banknotes, and many of them also have references - the name and height of the mountain:
Sometimes the beginning of collecting can start with just one random birthday present. This is how it all started for Kristupus Seliuginas, who is not only a collector but also the head of the Florinus region, who works with numismatic values every day. Kristupas agreed to talk about his collecting path.
“My collecting began in 2015 when for my birthday I received a pocket album for sets of circulation euro coins. I started collecting all the euro coins that I received as a change in stores or that my family members gave me,” recalls Kristupas.
Its main direction is coins with a face value of 2 euros. As he says, at first it was collecting, which later led him to buy coins.
“After I collected a large number of coins, it became difficult to catch something new in circulation that I did not already have, so I started buying from numismatic dealers. Thus, the collection has expanded significantly, it already consists of 800 euro coins," he says.
Although the collection is really impressive, and will soon exceed the sum of 3 zeros, but, as Kristupas himself assures, there is no end to the collection of euro coins.
“Certainly, much is still missing and one can say that this is an endless collecting, because countries that have introduced the euro can issue two or even three new commemorative coins every year. For example, in Germany, a new coin is minted for the same occasion by 5 different Mints (marked exclusively with the symbol and letter of their Mint), so there is already a lot in this country,” says Kristupas about the peculiarity of collecting coins with a face value of 2 euros.
The collector also wants to pay attention to the features of coin storage. Working with numismatic values, Kristupas often notices and receives questions from clients who are interested in how to store coins.
“The easiest way to store coins is to put them in sheets sorted by year or country. If the collector is more responsible, he seeks to protect these coins from environmental factors as much as possible - the coins should be placed in premium quality ultra-capsules or in paper holders that can be placed in a special album or in luxurious wooden boxes,” he shares storage methods for coins.
He also points out that only professional and specialized tools should be used to care for coins, since in his practice one often sees coins that look like they have been cleaned with a knife or sandpaper, which irreversibly damages the coin and its value.
Gintautas, who has been collecting for many years, is not shy about his expressions and says that the main thing is to know what you want to collect.
“If a person says that he likes everything, different coins, it means that there is no need to start collecting yet,” says Gintautas.
He remembers the words of an experienced collector, heard by him in childhood:“First of all, choose a theme that you like. Do not collect everything at once, choose one thing. For example, Lithuania, Poland or Germany. Well, even if we take two countries or something specific, the main thing is not all at once,” he shares his memories.
“If you collect everything, even from the circulation, it will have neither residual nor numismatic value. Such coins are just to take, look at and go buy ice cream,” Gintautas jokingly shares his advice.
He is echoed by Florinus' colleague and collector Kristupas, who jokingly emphasizes that collecting is like an incurable disease, but at the same time it is an excellent source of information.
Kristupas also agrees that it is important to choose the direction of collecting and what really “catches”. He also emphasizes that when starting to collect coins, it is worth investing in copies in the best condition:
“It is possible to start collecting coins from circulation, but they will have a higher value if they are in excellent condition, so I would advise you to consider a small investment in new, unused and unmarked coins.”
Are you also a collector and have an impressive collection of exceptional pieces? Share stories with Florinus!
