I perfectly understand what you mean - I have coins that are like 400-500 years old and I can only Imagine the amount of hands that they passed through and the history that they experienced .I have also wondered about how certain coins from the other side of the world made their way to me - What stories could they tell of their travels .And Lastly In my family there are several coins that my Great Great Grandmother set aside as savings back in the beginning of the 20th century and they have been passed down ever since- some were so new when she set them aside that they still have luster .It is so interesting holding these coins in my hand - the same coins she held over 100 years ago -especially knowing she died way before I was even a dream in my mothers mind .Coin Collecting connects you to people and the past like nothing else and unless you melt down or otherwise destroy them , then yes you are but another temporary owner of the coin in your hand .