The history of modern day numismatic collectors has evolved from the interest in monetary tenders that were used for bartering and trading in different societies throughout the world into the use of numismatic coins that are collected today for investment or hobby purposes.
There were forms of coins that were collected in ancient times, but the hobby has evolved to include investment quality coins that are traded as a valuable commodity, today.
There are many varieties of rarity, including errors made during minting and the older coins that are still in excellent condition receive high valuation.
While it is believed that coin collecting dates back to the days of Caesar Augustus, when he gave old coins as gifts, there is evidence the first Renaissance collector was Petrarch, who presented his collection of Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV in 1355.
The first documented book of numismatic coin collecting was from 1514, and many European members of royalty participated in the exchange of coins.
In fact, the nickname, "hobby of kings" was derived for numismatics during this time period.
It was in later years that formal numismatic societies were organized and in the 1800's there were several different societies formed, including The Royal Numismatic Society and The American Numismatic Society.
Machine struck coins are what started the modern day study of coins and any coins from the mid 17th century to the 21st century are pursued by the amateur coin collectors more often than the professional scholars that have studied these coins as archaeological objects that were used for trade and bartering.
Collectors and coin dealers enjoy the study of the coins and their histories in a different manner, while the authenticating and grading of numismatic coins for buying and selling are part of the hobby and investment trading of rare and older coins.
There are scholarly coin aficionados that work with the historical values from the standpoint of learning about previous cultures and how the coins fit into their society and many of the public collections that are in museums are researched by these types of coin enthusiasts.
No matter what the level of interest, those that are experts and collectors might attend coin trading shows, belong to societies and clubs or frequent places that offer old coin collections for sale or trade.
It isn't unusual to see avid coin collectors at estate sales that feature coin collections or visiting antique dealers that might dabble in the old coins that are harder to find.
There are many coin collectors that collect coins with rare-minted errors they happen upon, when searching through their pocket change, but more often, it seems they are apt to use the Internet to find the best deals on authenticated and graded coins to add to their collection.
For this reason, modern day coin collectors and dealers have found more ways to enjoy their numismatic hobby or keep up on their coin collection investments and there is an Internet market that is easy to access when buying and selling numismatic coins.