Numismatics – Coin Collecting

Let’s start with coin collecting, though the study of numismatics includes the collection of coins, currency, tokens, medals and other similar items.

Coin/Currency collecting does not have to be something that one day one wakes up to this great idea, drops all other avocations, and concentrates on coin collecting. It could be something incorporated in one’s typical and normal daily living of life.

After all, money is ubiquitous in our daily life. We can’t possibly survive in a social setting without money for any length of time.

Thus, for example, we wake up and attend to our usual chores. We work. We get home to relax. Turns on TV and watches the news. One stubborn piece of news that has been at front and center has been the case of the missing teen, Natalee Holloway. Vacationing in the country of Aruba, she disappeared one night and hasn’t been found all this time, all of almost 6 months, I think.

But anyway, how much does one know about Aruba, other than that it is situated down there, in Central or South America in one of a score of island nations dotting the Caribbean? It is essentially a tourist destination, with hotels and casinos and nice beaches.

But do you know what money or currency it uses?

Knowing its currency, one can know some things about the country, too.

Here’s a picture of some of its currency notes: (Click On Image To Enlarge)



Its currency is called the Aruban florin, which is equal to 100 of its cents. But within Aruba, one can also carry US Dollars, Netherlands Guilders, or Antillean Florins, which are easily exchanged or accepted. Mentioning those foreign currencies gives one some clues with regard to its history or maybe peoples.

All notes are issued by Centrale Bank Van Aruba.

The picture also tells us that there are outmoded and redeemable notes outstanding. They may be good collectible items, before they are eventually demonetized and thus taken out of the public’s reach.

First, The List

Let’s start with a list. How appropriate. A hobby on lists. Anyway, a list of the more common and popular hobbies and pastimes that regular people can and do engage in.

The list below is collated from WiKiPedia:

Animal-related
• Fancy (animal breeding) - Keeping pet or show animals
• Animal rescue (injured or orphaned wild or domestic animals)
• Beekeeping
• Dog breeding
• Herpetoculture
• Horses

Aquariums
• self-Maintaining Home Aquarium

Arts and Crafts
• Blacksmithing
• Crochet
• Dollhouses
• Doll making
• Drawing
• Embroidery
• Enamels
• Knifemaking
• Knitting
• Miniature figures
• Origami
• Painting
o Figure painting (hobby)
o Tole painting
o Watercolor
• Pottery
• Quilting
• Scrapbooking
• Sculpture
• Sewing
• Stained glass
• Stamping
• Warm glass
• Weaving
• Wood carving
• Woodworking

Collecting
• Antiques
• Artwork
• Ashtrays
• Autographs
• Beer Cans
• Books
• Bottles
• Calendars
• Candlesticks
• conifer cones
• Bottle caps
• Christmas accessories
• Cigarette cards
• Classic videogames
• Clocks
• Coasters
• Coins
• Collecting fossils
• Comic books
• Currency
• Dice
• Dumpster diving
• Enamels
• Found objects
• Hats
• Keychains
• Lighters
• Lunchboxes
• Microchips
• Miniature models
• Patches
• Phillumenism, i.e. collecting matchbooks and matchboxes
• Photographs
• Poker Chips
• Postcards
• Posters
• Quotes
• Records
• Collecting Rocks and Minerals
• Scale models
• Scissors
• Shopping lists
• Shot glasses
• Souvenirs
• Spoons
• Stamps
• Swords
• Teddy bears
• Thimbles
• Trading cards such as baseball cards
• Wine labels
• Yardsticks

Computer-related
• 3D computer graphics design
• Animation design
• Computer games
• Computer programming
o Open source and the free software movement
• Operating systems, e.g. GNU/Linux
• Photoshopping
• Retrocomputing

Cooking
Any food/drink you feel like making

DIY (Do It Yourself)
• Home Repairs

Electronics
• Amateur radio and CB radio
• DIY audio
• Designing and building electronic circuits
• Hardware hacking
• Robots
• TV and FM DXing

Film-making
• Animation

Games
• Board games
o Backgammon
o Checkers
o Chess
o Chinese Checkers
o Go
o Monopoly
o Pente
o Rummikub
o Tournament Scrabble
o Stratego
• Card games
o Bridge
o Poker
o Backgammon
o Gin rummy
• Dominoes
• Role-playing games
• Wargaming, sometimes with miniatures

Internet-based hobbies
• 43things.com
• Blogging
• BookCrossing
• Currency bill tracking
• Geocaching a modern day form of treasure hunting
• Google Whacking
• GPS drawing
• Newsgroups
• Wikipedia

Literature
• Constructed languages (conlanging)
• Learning foreign languages
• Reading
• Writing

Model (scale model) building
• Live steam models
• Matchstick models
• Military models
• Model aircraft—civil and military
• Model cars, including radio-controlled cars
• Model commercial vehicles
• Model engineering
• Model houses
• Model figures—historical and military
• Model military vehicles—including armored vehicles
• Model nations
• Model railways/railroads
o Backyard railroads
• Model rockets
• Model ships—civil and military

Motor vehicles
• Antique cars
• Car washing
• Kit cars
• Motorcycles
• Off-roading
• Trucks

Music
• Musical composition and MIDI composition
• Singing and playing musical instruments

Observation
• Amateur astronomy
• Geyser gazing
• Metrophilia
• Transport spotting
o Aircraft spotting
o Bus spotting
o Train spotting

Outdoor nature activities
• Backpacking
• Birdfeeding, birding, and birdwatching
• Butterfly watching
• Camping
• Caving
• Canoeing and kayaking
• Gardening, including forest gardening, organic gardening, wildlife
• Geocaching
• Kite flying
• Mountain climbing
• Rafting
• Rock climbing
• Rockhounding (rock and mineral hunting/collecting)
• Skiing
• Stone skipping
• SCUBA diving
• Walking

Performing arts
• Amateur theater
• Dancing
• Magic tricks
• Singing

Photography
• Darkroom work, i.e developing films and enlarging photos in black-and-white or color
• Kite aerial photography

Puzzles
• Crossword puzzles
• Jigsaw puzzle
• Word seek puzzles

Research-related
• Genealogy
• Hagiography

Restoration (refurbishing)
• antique machinery
• Early computers
• Houses
• Sailboats, early motorized boats

Sports or other physical activities
• Archery
• Baseball, softball, and rounders
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cycling
• Dance
• Fantasy sports
• Freshwater and saltwater fishing, including fly fishing
• Football
• Football (soccer)
• Gliding
• Golf
• Hunting
• Martial Arts
• Racquetball
• Sailing
• Shooting rifles, pistols, and shotguns
• Table tennis where the level of play isn’t really hindered by advanced age
• Tennis
• Ultimate
• Volleyball

Toys of some sophistication
• LEGO, including Brikwars, and Lego Mindstorms
• Radio control toys

And scanning through this huge list, I can pick out some that I already am engaged in. To name them: Coin Collecting or Numismatics, Tennis, Charcoal Pencil Drawing, Collecting Old Music (50's and 60's), etc. I also build my own PCs. As a matter of fact, I am using a self-built PC right now, and surrounded by two more that I also built.

Hey, this is going to be fun. For me, at least.

Introduction

Hello, Fellow Traveler.

Welcome. And let us see what hobbies and pastimes we can think of.