THE 1936 DOT CENT THAT GOT JOHN REGITKO STARTED

John Regitko of Toronto, Canada writes:

I always wonder how...and why...some members of the Waterloo Coin Society started collecting coins. I think my start is somewhat unusual in that I was thoroughly disappointed with my first visit to a coin dealer. But I caught the bug anyway and stayed in the hobby for the past 60-plus years.

During my school days, I worked most evenings and week-ends at a Cigar Store (now called a variety store or mini mart), where we sold ice cream, soft drinks, magazines, newspapers, candies, confectionary items such as candies and chocolate bars, cigarettes (underaged employees could sell cigarettes back then) and a-hundred-and-one sundry items. I used to find George V, George VI and the newly minted QEII coins, even a number of "Victorias." I put the older ones into a small box which would become part of my pay at week's end.

I had come across ads by Subway Coins & Stamps owned by Neil Carmichael, advertising to buy certain dates and denominations of Canadian coins

Although I accumulated a number of coins, I consider the beginning of being a true coin collector the day I became so excited for finding a 1936 dot cent.

The 1936 dot cent was on top of the list of their "wanted" ads, offering to pay thousands of dollars for it.

And I had found one that an unknown customer had presented as part payment for a purchase!

I took the coin to Subway Coins & Stamps in Toronto. I was greeted by Neil Carmichael, the owner. When I showed him my rare find, he pulled out a copy of the Charlton coin catalogue (which I didn't know existed) and opened it at the page showing the Canadian 1936 dot George V cent.

Even though there were a number of customers waiting to be served, he took the time to educate me, to my great disappointment, as it turned out.

Apparently, the dot had to be below the date, not above it between parenthesis.

The rare type listed in the catalogue, much to my chagrin, had a small dot between the 9 and the 3 below the date. The one I found had a much larger dot between parenthesis above the date...just like millions of others. Darn!

The want lists from the dealers didn't illustrate it. How was I to know that the big dot in the brackets ABOVE the date wasn't the one I should be looking out for?

I credit my start as an organized coin collector not because of my ongoing quest to find an elusive real 1936 dot cent (that nobody has ever found in circulation), but due to the time a dealer took to educate me.

I visited Subway Coins & Stamps on numerous occasions after that, as payback for the time he took to educate a young beginning collector, always adding different dates to my collection. I started with Canadian 1-cents, advancing to 5 cents, and later moving up to the silver coinage. I recall one time spending the princely sum (to me) of a whole $2 on a coin I wanted to fill a hole in the blue Whitman holders that I also had purchased from him.

Every time I see a George V cent, I still think of Neil Carmichael and the kindness and patience he showed me so many years ago. I also became a believer in the adage "Buy the book before you buy the coin" and how important customer relations is during the first contact.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
EDITOR PROFILE: WAYNE HOMREN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n36a15.html)

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