Dad started collecting pennies as a child. In fact, the majority of his collection is pennies. I can remember him sifting through his collection of hay pennies and buffalo nickels. He would always remind us to minimize the contact with the coin by holding it by the edges. In some cases, we were only allowed to handle the coins with a cloth.
These are some of the coins from Dad's collection. I'm (slowly) working to scan them to digital pictures. Once they're all digital, they'll be easier and safer (?) to share. Thus far, I've scanned the National Coin Album book, the coins that are in individual cases, the 1817 - 1855 pennies, and the paper dollars.
Pretty cool, right?