A high school senior from Greenwich is bringing a very modern approach to the ancient pastime of coin collection.

Christian Hartch, 18, was given a small collector's book for pennies by his father, Greg, when he was five. He's been obsessed with numismatics, the studyof coins, ever since, and brought his enthusiasm to thousands of followers on YouTube.

It was the humble one-cent penny that started Hartch on his path as a coin collector.

"That got me really interested," he recalled. "The hobby stuck with me. ... There's a lot of different aspects to it, learning about it is fun, there'shistory, and different trends. And they're valuable, so you have to understand the market, and what makes it valuable."

Hartch was watching YouTube a few years ago when he had a revelation - why not shoot his own videos on coin-collecting? Since August of 2017, Hartch, asenior at Brunswick School, has been posting dozens of hours of footage, and his "Treasure Town" series has attracted some 18,000 subscribers. He discussesvarious coin series, runs a trivia contest, addresses questions from viewers and talks about common mistakes in the field of collecting.

"It's a way to connect, and it gets more people into coin collecting," the high school senior said. "And it's a fun community."

For his own collection, Hartch is a fan of U.S. classic commemorative silver half-dollars, which were minted from 1892 to 1954 and offer a window into thenation's past. "The art on these coins is outstanding. Nice relief, they've been well struck, they stand out from your average coinage," the young collectorsaid.

Hartch is well-read on the subject of numismatics, and he's also gained plenty of first-hand knowledge in the business side of the field. He was the veryfirst customer through the doors at The Happy Coin in Cos Cob when the coin shop opened in 2014.

The owner of the store was pleasantly surprised to welcome an adolescent coin-collector to the shop.

The young scholar will be attending Princeton University this fall, and he is interested in studying the subject of ancient and medieval coins. From hisstart as a collector of shiny one-cent pennies, he wants to delve ever more deeply into the intersection of wealth, beauty, history, archaeology and economicsthat are all tied up in one little metal package.

"There's that indescribable thing," he said, "that you can't put your finger on."

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Young Greenwich coin collector puts newshine on old hobby (https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Young-Greenwich-coin-collector-puts-new-shine-on-13763823.php)