Ever ask yourself.....................

[morganguru]

Why do I collect, when all I can afford are coins/grades that are common. Guess my point is, if it's common today more than likely it will common tomorrow. All I do is accumulate garbage really. Maybe I should just save till I reach 5k and buy one whopper coin, less to keep track of. I think I'm mixing collecting with future potential, don't know. Anyone else feel like I do?

[jom]

Sometimes. If you can wait and save $5k you could certainly buy more than ONE non-common coin though.

 

jom

[newprepper]

You could look at collecting as a goal, I want to accumulate x. buy the commons at good prices, later take a couple and get a really nice coin, over the years you will get there. How many times do you save for something big only to use the money for something else? Look at the common stuff as a savings. This is probably counter to what others think, I look at it as out of bank acct, can't use for something else

[Walkerfan]

Sometimes, collecting less expensive coins is more fun and you can BUY MORE, which is also more fun. It also tends to alleviate many of the headaches associated with expensive coins and shields you from the dirty side of the coin business.

 

Of course, it is better, in the long term, to buy better date and better quality items. Most people who are far along with high end, PQ sets have been at this for a long time period and have improved, upgraded and worked their way up just like with anything else.

 

So, I would say to buy what you can, enjoy it and move up and improve over time. Enjoy the process and learn as much as you can----you will need it BEFORE you spend big bucks.

[morganguru]

Guess what I'll do is save $100 - $150 a week, for 26 weeks, then go look for the best coin for the money. A CBH, DB dollar, preferably 1798 first year of the HE reverse or a screamin DMPL Morgan. I don't need another 81S in 65, a 85O in 64 DMPL or another 01D Buff dollar.

[Hard Times]

Guess what I'll do is save $100 - $150 a week, for 26 weeks, then go look for the best coin for the money. A CBH, DB dollar, preferably 1798 first year of the HE reverse or a screamin DMPL Morgan. I don't need another 81S in 65, a 85O in 64 DMPL or another 01D Buff dollar.

 

Sounds like a plan, stay the course and it will do you well. (thumbs u

 

Best, HT

[mkman123]

Good luck, I can't wait that long, I'd use the money up haha

[newprepper]

Good luck, I can't wait that long, I'd use the money up haha

 

Same here, no willpower

[TomB]

I collect coins that make me happy. Quite a few of them are within the financial reach of nearly all adult collectors.

[AnkurJ]

Maybe collect coins in the middle of the spectrum. Those that are appealing but not by any means common, yet affordable enough to have a good amount.

 

Capped Bust Halves is one such series where decent examples in VF can be affordable.

 

[Keigwin]

I collect coins that make me happy. Quite a few of them are within the financial reach of nearly all adult collectors.

That pretty much sums it up.

Lance.

[brg5658]

I collect coins that make me happy. Quite a few of them are within the financial reach of nearly all adult collectors.

That pretty much sums it up.

Lance.

 

+2

 

 

[Kurtdog]

I collect coins that make me happy. Quite a few of them are within the financial reach of nearly all adult collectors.

...who are still fortunate enough to have jobs in this broken-down economy.

 

I think the government ought to give out coin stamps for those collectors who can't afford better coins. What's more important, coins or just food?

[HCumberdale]

Collect what you love and don't spend more than you are prepared to lose.

If your $2500 coin depreciates to $1250 and it took you half a year to acquire it would you be ok with that? Personally, I would have a hard time with that kind of "loss" even if that loss were on paper only, since most coins I buy for my collection I don't plan to sell. Typically the coins I buy are in the $100 - $300 range and at that price level I'm comfortable "losing" half or even more of it's market value. The advantage of having more mid-level coins than 1 high level coin (aside from the mere number factor) is that "losses" on some coins may be made up for with "gains" from the others.

 

The most important thing in my book is to collect what you love. Who cares if it's common? I've seen many collectors deriving immense pleasure collecting foreign coins at 5/$1. Great investment strategy? Probably not...but then that wasn't the point was it?

[TomB]

I collect coins that make me happy. Quite a few of them are within the financial reach of nearly all adult collectors.

...who are still fortunate enough to have jobs in this broken-down economy.

 

I think the government ought to give out coin stamps for those collectors who can't afford better coins. What's more important, coins or just food?

 

You do what you can. I have a PhD in molecular and cellular biology and biochemistry and had been Director, R&D of a mid-sized biotech company until it essentially went under and laid off all its staff in 2006. I was never able to obtain another position commensurate with my education and professional history, so I opened my own coin business and coin photography business.

[mkman123]

Right on Tom!

[Dudley the 1st]

I never ask myself anything, because I already know the answer!!

[Walkerfan]

Right on Tom!

 

+1

 

Yes, that is a fantastic story, Tom. I bet you're happier now than you've ever been.

[Conder101]

"Why do I collect, when all I can afford are coins/grades that are common. "

 

I'm in the same position, I do it because it is fun and I enjoy it.

 

"Guess my point is, if it's common today more than likely it will common tomorrow."

 

That's true it will be.

 

"All I do is accumulate garbage really."

 

I accumulate pieces of history that I treasure.

 

"Maybe I should just save till I reach 5k and buy one whopper coin, less to keep track of."

 

If I had done that I probably would have given up before I acquired my first coin. And it I had succeeded I would probably have a "collection" of two or three unrelated objects instead of over 20,000 from many times and places.

 

"I think I'm mixing collecting with future potential, don't know."

 

Sounds like it to me. I don't do that. I enjoy myself and don't worry about what it will be worth in the future. The money I spent was my "entertainment money", money that you would expect to be gone after you spend it with no tangible residue, such as for a vacation, going to the movies or theater, playing golf, going to a ball game etc. Not investment money. So any money I would get from the sale of my collection of mostly common material would be compared to the return of ZERO that I would have gotten if I spent it for other standard entertainment. Compared to zero I think I will show a really good rate of return.

 

"Anyone else feel like I do?"

 

I'm sure some do, I'm not one of them.

[James_OldeTowne]

Why do I collect, when all I can afford are coins/grades that are common.

By far, one of the most enormous mistakes one can make in this hobby is using other collections as a measurement of your own. I used to make that mistake, and all it does is make this far more competitive than it's supposed to be.

 

That's why it's meaningless to me when hypesters brag about the finest collection of this, or the highest grade of that.

 

Coins that are out of my reach don't interest me. I truly and entirely enjoy the supposedly "common" coins that I can afford.

[nunfa0]

Too many people get caught up in the "investment" side of the hobby. To me it is all for FUN and I don't care if I lose money in the short term. I may sound like a broken record but my collection is for me to enjoy and I am not worried about what others think. I know a lot of people would think of my collection as widgets but they make me happy and that's all that matters.

[blu62vette]

I was in a similar place a few years ago as you. I switched things up with a different focus, still not high end coins but what I felt was a better value and a greater challenge to collect.

[Kurtdog]

I was on a similar path as you suggest years ago until I reflected on what I was doing and figured it out.

[HiHoAudio]

I lost quite a bit of money in the stock market before I woke up. Plus it never really made me happy. Everyone said I had to do it, so I did.

 

I have never really lost much collecting coins and have actually turned a nice profit once in a while when I decided to sell.

 

Coins make me happy. That really is the important part.

[BillJones]

It all depends upon what you call "common." If it is Proof sets and new stuff from the mint, I'd say you are on the wrong track. I do keep up with the annual Proof sets and modern commemoratives, and I do enjoy them to a point. The trouble is I'd find a steady diet of nothing but those items totally boring.

 

I would also classify coins in low grade or pieces that are unattractive for their grade or with problems in the same boring category. Too many collectors buy these coins and end up displeased with them, and I've made this sort of mistake a few times only to regret it.

 

Another way of looking at "common" is the looks at classic collector coins that considered to be common dates. There I think are many coins that have been lost in shuffle. Over the past decade or more there has been an overemphasis, in my opinion, on key date coins. There are some collectors on this board and more generally ATS who won't buy anything but a "key date." Everything else is just stuff and not worth mentioning or collecting. As a result I think that many of these key dates are overpriced and many of the common coins are under appreciated.

 

Here's a common date, 1908 quarter eagle that is among my favorite coins simply because of its eye appeal. According to the "no common date is a worthwhile collectable" crowd, this coin would not generate much interest. The only coins that MIGHT be "collectable " in the Indian quarter series are the 1911-D and maybe a 1914-D in high grade (MS-65 or better) because the population report numbers are low.

 

This one drips luster, has a pleasing blend of gold with coppery toning and notable absence of marks. It grades MS-64, and as such in not cheap from most collectors perspectives, but it's still view as "common."

 

[djcnonlinear-migration]

Having just resumed collecting after a several year hiatus AND just returning to school after several rough years in the current economy, I have been forced to change my collecting strategy completely. Everything I look at is with my former eye (and budget) and it is frustrating.

 

But, totally do-able. You just have to find what's fun and engaging for a realistic budget.

 

After all, it ain't fun or relaxing if you dread the credit card bills after every purchase.

[BillJones]

 

Back when I was building the core of my collection I used to buy two or three big coins a year, and not much of anything else. I had a decent paying middle class job, and my strategy was to put away X number of dollars per month and pounce when the right coin came along.

 

 

Everything I look at is with my former eye (and budget) and it is frustrating.

 

I hear your frustrations on that account. Coins that used cost one to two thousand dollars, like a nice Bust dollar, are now several thousand dollars, and that is after a general show down in the market. Nice, interesting coins are expensive, but resisting the urge to buy a lot of "stuff" instead of holding off so that you can be the right item when it comes along pays great dividends.

[Ashcan Bill]

Why do I collect, when all I can afford are coins/grades that are common. Guess my point is, if it's common today more than likely it will common tomorrow. All I do is accumulate garbage really. Maybe I should just save till I reach 5k and buy one whopper coin, less to keep track of. I think I'm mixing collecting with future potential, don't know. Anyone else feel like I do?

 

Many years back when I was a younger collector, I focused on 'common' type coins - Seated Liberty, Barber, large and half cents, bust coinage, commemoratives. Around age thirty, I'd lost interest. I ended up liquidating almost everything. But, I had a hunch someday I'd be back so rather than blowing the proceeds, it all went into bullion which I put away. Figured if the bug ever struck again, I'd sell the bullion and use it to rebuild.

 

Now, I'm back. In retrospect, there are some coins I had that I wished I'd kept. Actually most of them. But it was all what you'd call common stuff. When I entered the hobby again for Act II, I had the opportunity to completely reinvent myself as a collector. And I made a conscious decision to go after less common coins (also much less "popular" coins). The series I somewhat eclectically collect now is one most have little to no interest in, though many of the mintages are low and the coins themselves are much rarer than the keys in the popular series.

 

So I have fewer, more expensive, and definitely rarer coins in my collection now that what I had when I was a younger collector. Not by choice as much as happenstance. And I'm happy where I am.

[mkman123]

Remember sometimes the common coins are easier to sell than the big ticket item/rarer item.

 

Far easier to sell $2k worth of morgans which are in demand that let's say a $2k 1922 no d penny unless it has a nice look, etc.

 

Don't judge yourself on others collections as you will always be unhappy. I like billjones collection but am also happy and proud with what I have even if they aren't worth as much