Q: What initially prompted your interest in the hobby?

A: A child at my elementary school brought a Whitman folder to share for "Show and Tell," and something clicked. I don't think I'd even noticed that coins had dates onthem at that point. It appealed to the obsessive/compulsive aspect of the collector in me. But more importantly was that it made me track down a book about coins in our schoollibrary, which I proceeded to keep checked out for the better part of a year. I could have bought my own copy with what I ended up paying in overdue fees, I'm sure. It was thebook that made me realize just how interesting coins could be, and how you could use them as a means to learn about the world-history, art, politics, geography, math, seeminglyjust about everything.

Q: What is your favorite coin and why (U.S. or international mint)?

A: A lot of my favorite numismatic items are medals: the Libertas Americana medal may be my favorite, though I love the Annapolis Tuesday Club medal. An NE shillingwould be tough to beat if you want to stick to coins.

To read the complete article, see:
Lunch with. . . David Fanning (http://mintnewsblog.com/lunch-with-david-fanning/)