I agree with everything coins_r_fun wrote in the sister comment will add some of my perspective (your timing is great with this question, btw - I just started t

I agree with everything coins_r_fun wrote in the sister comment will add some of my perspective (your timing is great with this question, btw - I just started taking notes for an essay I'm going to write on this topic. Sorry for the still-raw ideas). There's multiple layers to coins for me: * Art & Science - If you'll allow me to borrow some programming terminology, both the Class and the Instance are fascinating and work on multiple dimensions. The Class in that each design for a given coin is an engraving done with, at a certain time, fine hand tools and represents a snapshot of the public aesthetic of the moment. But each Instance of a coin is also an opportunity for deep variation and aesthetic pleasure. Depending on how and where it was stored, the chemical reactions also can create absolutely stunning (dis)coloration on the surfaces that make a given coin absolutely unique and very desirable. Take these two coins as an example - both the same Class, but two deeply different Instances: https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg * History & Archeology - For the same reason I find it wondrous to go through a museum of historical objects and imagine that this plate was used by that person in some ancient civilization to eat dinner, a very mundane thing that binds us across centuries, I find it equally wondrous to hold a coin from the late 1700s in my hand and imagine that this ACTUAL object could have been used by a soldier coming home from the Revolutionary War to buy a drink at a local tavern, etc., and that through the years it's made its way from person to person to person and eventually into my hands. That is objectively cool, IMHO. * Asset - Unlike many "things" one can spend money on, coins are, if purchased properly, a true asset. You can experience all the joy of retail therapy and gluttonous consumption, if that's your thing, of buying a shiny new toy and it's probably not going to lose value as you enjoy it! So it's not so much "spending" money on coins, it's just moving money into another form. I went to a coin show yesterday and spent $3000 on a very small handful of coins. Trust me when I say I am NOT the kind of person who spends $3000 on things - that would be a stomach-churning experience in many cases. But there was zero guilt, zero stress, and pure fun in buying these coins, because I know that at any moment I will be able to convert them back to $3000 (or more!) cash if I want to. * Transaction - The art of the chase is really kind of fun, too. It's fun to learn the pricing, go to auctions, compete with other people, and experience the thrill of winning a bid that could be hundreds or thousands of dollars below market price (or above if you're not careful!). I won a bid at $900 in an online auction last night for a coin that I'll be able to sell for close to $2000 (if I want to). Does that happen all the time? No of course not - it's a pretty efficient market. But there are moments of inefficiency and it's fun to find and capture them. That's my quick summary!