Today my subscription copy of Worldwide Coins came in. I was very surprised to find this article and photo on Pg. 30.
Tracy Thompson of San Antonio, Texas, started collecting world coins nearly 30 years ago when her parents bought envelopes of world coins in a book store at a local shopping mall.
"As I grew up, I kept those coins and enjoyed playing with them," Thompson said. "They were wonderful for imagining far-away places and what might have been happening over there. I still have all those coins and although they are common, cherish them."
Although select world coins are the focus of her current collection, Thompson is also "fond of [U.S.] Flying Eagle cents, Franklin halves and Mercury dimes."
But her real passion makes her purr with delight. "I have a weakness for any coin or token that features a feline on it. So far, I've been able to pick up coins from Biafra and Uruguay, among others, and have a total of 62 coins that show felines, ranging from house cats to the endangered snow leopard."
The oldest coin in Thompson's collection is a Spanish copper cob from 1622. "I am also partial to world silver crown-size coins,"she said, and she is particularly interested in collecting world crown-size silver with "chop marks or counter-stamps on them.
"Coins from the 19th century or earlier also catch my attention." said [tracy Thompson.]
The coinage of Australia, Japan and imperial Russia also are part of her collecting focus. She recently joined a global coin collectors club that meets exclusively on the Internet, the World Internet Numismatiac Society. She hopes the worldwide organization will help expand her knowledge of collecting. She is also a member of the
Knights of the Coin Table collectors group, an online coin forum.
While world coins with cats on them are Tracy Thompson's passion, the Texas-based collector also enjoys collecting world coins that help her visualize life in other countries.
