The passion for collecting coins often begins in childhood when a parent or other relative buys a child their first book for keeping them, and many children drop it as they grow older. Those who continue to collect into adulthood often amass large collections, and they generally know the history of each coin they possess. Some of them will concentrate on one country, rare coins or they might choose to see how many coins they can find from around the world.

Creating a coin collection is often a very personal hobby, and it is rarely shared with anyone who is not another collector. Few people understand the passion that goes into finding coins, and they fail to understand that money is not the issue. For those who have made their own commitment to their collection, it is about completing the collection and learning about the history of each coin.