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Turning into an obsession!!

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ChrisInJesup

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As I go through my raw coins, it occurred to me that at one time I was just collecting American coins. Just looking for that next coin to fill a spot. On occasion I would pick up a foreign coin and put it in a storage box to protect it. Life was simple then.

I had some slabbed coins from PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS. So I decided to go to these websites and learn something about their services. NGC caught my attention the most (as well as their registry), so I registered and started sending coins in to be graded. Now I could place these coins in a registry and I can show what I have to someone without having them with me.

It was when I decided to collect one specific item (JFK related) in coinage for a custom set, that when things changed.  I started to get coins from around the world and when I did, I started looking at that country's coinage. Soon I was buying that country's coinage, mostly proofs, to add with my existing coins from that same country. British Virgin Islands is my top country in my collection, followed by Malta, Solomon Islands, San Marino, and on and on. 

Soon I started to realize I had coins even NGC either doesn't have a country listed like the Republic of Guinea (Not to be confused with Equitorial Guinea or Guinea-Bissau) or doesn't have a consensus of a specific coin because a rarity. For example, the only coin in 2007 for Rwanda is a Dian Fossey gold coin that I submitted. Soon I was looking for coins that were very hard to find in all corners of the world online. 

Then 2020 was the year that snapped me back to reality. Normally I have a specific allowance for this hobby, that year I spent 3 times that amount.... oops. I realized I was obsessed!! I had to take a step back. I started to reflect on what lead me to this obsession and get back to moderation. Winning the award also help me realize how big my collection has become. 

While I decide what coins I will be sending in to get graded, I realize that a lot of the coins had some very nice artwork.... some were unique in design.... and some were inexpensive.... some are rare.... maybe that's why I was obsessed with collecting these coins. 

So this year will be the year (2021) rating only. I'll go through my collection and start getting my raw coins slabbed.

No purchases this year to make up for last year. Just so I can keep my sanity :) 

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Sounds like a plan! Watch out though, like most plans, yours is easier to make than it is to follow! Especially when coins you don't currently own are tugging at your heart and wallet! hm

Edited by gherrmann44
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1 hour ago, gherrmann44 said:

Sounds like a plan! Watch out though, like most plans, yours is easier to make than it is to follow! Especially when coins you don't currently own are tugging at your heart and wallet! hm

Like a New Year Resolution LOL. I'm still waiting on some from November & December to be delivered from overseas. They slowly trickle in, so it will help take the edge off the withdrawals! LOL

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Here's an obsession that puts all of you furlongs ahead of me.  After they took silver out of U.S. coinage, I took a sabbatical.  In 2018 I took a look at eBay and not surprisingly found something that appealed to me: an absolutely stunning 1904 20 Bolivar Venezuelan gold piece with stunning eye appeal.  I do not recall what the bidding started at but knew something all the others bidders did not.  Though I did not know what it was, did not need it -- or what it was really worth raw, I resolved to make it mine. I outbid 33 others for no other reason than to be the winning bidder. Other than that, I had no interest in it. I paid $333. for it and eventually had it graded shocked to find that PCGS, which assigned it AU58, did not find it to be of Uncirculated quality. That, respectfully, is obsession.

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1 hour ago, Quintus Arrius said:

Here's an obsession that puts all of you furlongs ahead of me.  After they took silver out of U.S. coinage, I took a sabbatical.  In 2018 I took a look at eBay and not surprisingly found something that appealed to me: an absolutely stunning 1904 20 Bolivar Venezuelan gold piece with stunning eye appeal.  I do not recall what the bidding started at but knew something all the others bidders did not.  Though I did not know what it was, did not need it -- or what it was really worth raw, I resolved to make it mine. I outbid 33 others for no other reason than to be the winning bidder. Other than that, I had no interest in it. I paid $333. for it and eventually had it graded shocked to find that PCGS, which assigned it AU58, did not find it to be of Uncirculated quality. That, respectfully, is obsession.

That's kind of what happened last year with some of my coins. Like I found a nice Austrian coin... the only thing was it was my birth year and was strikingly a clean proof. So I bid for it. So then when I got it... I said... I can't have an orphan coin.... so I bid on 4 more proofs... so I then went "OK, let's stop that!". But NOOooo..... I do it again... 5 times more....ugh!

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tell someone you trust to mail you coins from your own collection.  getting coins in the mail takes the edge off.

Edited by deposito
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Just now, deposito said:

tell your wife to mail you coins from your own collection.  getting coins in the mail takes the edge off.

LOL.... If I was married I might try that LOL

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2 minutes ago, deposito said:

tell your wife to mail you coins from your own collection.  getting coins in the mail takes the edge off.

anyone you trust

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On 2/14/2021 at 2:08 PM, thisistheshow said:

Let me just take this moment to say that your idea for a custom set is very interesting. Well done! 

If you haven't, take a peak at what I have in it. I call it the "Camelot Collection". It's a work "in progress" and should take a jump this year.

https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/wcm/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=29690

I have a few JFK coins (one gold & 3 silver) in my current batch at NGC being rated. I have more gold and silver JFK coins to send in, but I'll wait for my 37 coins to return.

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