Title: Convergence of Two Hobbies
Tags: schilling violin strauss numismatics numismatist coin
Blog Entry: I'm a violinist. I started playing violin when I was in fourth grade. I graduated from high school in 1972, so you do the math. I also collect coins. I started that hobby on Christmas Day 1962 when I was given two Lincoln Cent folders by my Grandparents. (By the way, my Grandfather also played the violin, but nobody told me that until after he died.) It's a neat happenstance when you find that different pieces of your life seem to fit into a single jigsaw puzzle. Several years ago I started working on my coin collection after having let it rest for a while, when I came across a 1967 50 schilling coin from Austria. The coin commemorated the birth of Johann Strauss. And the obverse of the coin featured the composer/violinist playing his instrument. Naturally I had to have one! How often is it that you can connect the dots between different areas of your life...even if the dots really don't have much of a connection! I acquired a nice one, and let it rest. I should have researched a little more. Recently I found that the 1975 100 schilling coin also depicts the man and his violin, as does the 1960 100 schilling note. I don't necessarily believe that this is an example of the Harmonic Convergence that was so popularly discussed several years back. It's not a sign of the approaching Apocalypse, nor was it mentioned by Nostradamus. It is, however, a neat chance to merge two interesting hobbies that have drawn me in for almost a half century. Of course, now I am on the lookout for more examples of violins depicted on coins and notes. It's not an obsession or a quest, but I'll be keeping my eyes open for these coins in the future! <a href="http://coinspace.org/file/pic/gallery/1987_view.jpg" target="_blank">View the coins here.</a> Art Haule <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/icollectcoins" target="_blank">I Collect Coins</a>
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