By Brian Kamsoke Contributing Writer for the Daily Star

The first U.S. coin was struck in 1792 when President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others met in Philadelphia. The coin was a silver half-disme (a disme is the original spelling of dime, so a half-disme was equal to 5 cents). President Washington melted his own silverware to supply this first batch of U.S. coins.

Coin collecting first became popular around 1825, though it was considered a hobby of kings.

By 1875, coin collecting began to enter the mainstream, and today there are an estimated more than 5 million Americans of all ages and backgrounds who collect coins.

Indeed, coin collecting today has enjoyed renewed interest, especially with rising commodity and precious metal markets. Gold recently topped out at nearly $1,000 per troy ounce and silver touched $16 per ounce.

As well, commemorative coins and various promotional coin programs (such as the state quarter program, which ends this year) have maintained and inspired coin collecting through generations.

Nine-year-old Bryce McCarthy of Norwich was introduced to coin collecting by his grandfather.

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