Admitting that you've lost money on a coin(s).
keets
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With the current state of the Hobby it seems easy enough to say something like "My collection has lost value" and everyone understands. There is a little difference in saying "I Iost money on a coin" which a lot of people are loathe to admit. If that's you, how do you cross the bridge to get there??
For my own part, I am in the black if i look at what I have bought, what I have sold and what i still have. All the same I have made some noteworthy blunders and taken some baths, not easy to admit. I usually keep such mistakes around for a bit to remind me before relegating them to the "hold" box. That's the important part for me because stuff gets in there I have fully detached and I can easily sell them.
Is it hard for you to admit mistakes, take a loss and learn the lesson??
Al H.
Comments
I think it's easier if you just admit to yourself, "This is a hobby. There are no cheap hobbies."
Do golfers add up their greens fees at the end of the year and marvel at how much money they lost?
Do boat owners question the price of gas, and berthing, and maintenance?
Do avid readers question the price and resale value of every book they buy?
Yeah, when the potential is there to actually make money on a purchase/sale, it does enter your mind. But, "It's only a hobby". I don't sweat it much.
It used to really bug me.
Now, I live by that old motto, you win some, you lose some.
Funny how it all averages out to the positive in the end.
What bugs me a whole lot more right now, is with the depressed market,
how many dealers & collectors get miffed, when I hit them with a fair market offer.
Like, I'm the bad guy, because the market is down/way down, and they are buried, asking multiples of fair current market!
Nope. It ain't FUN, but it's happened too often for me to pretend I'm perfect and never lose so I take the "loss" and move along.
The "loss" usually gets put into something else that I like better.
My only TRUE loss would be keeping a coin I don't like.
There are actually a lot of cheap hobbies. Things like tennis, ping pong, hiking and even coin collecting low condition or from circulation come to mind. Of course, cheap hobbies can be made expensive if one has the funds and the will.
I lose money on coins all the time on items that I want to blow out in order to free up cash to buy new better coins.
Business 101
I save them up. When I hit a homerun, I sell them to offset the taxable gain.
Overall, since 1995, far more gains than losses.
It happens and is typical for this market. I had a really bad show recently where they weren’t buying squat - same broke crowd, worthless waste of time flippers, no fresh money coming in, dealers trawling for rips, etc total waste of time, loss after expenses. Online store has beaten shows hands down.
Take your time and sit on it awhile before taking loss. If bay blow out start a couple bucks below bluesheet, realist if not sell reduce a buck or two. Blow out bullion first you might get lucky and retail a numismatic item or two.
Nope. I freely admit I got my Ass whopped when I sell it and move on. I have dealer friends that have coins priced 100%-400% over current value because they were not able to do the same thing.
I would loose if I try to sell what I bought since last year but I am happy with my purchase ........... so I decided to flip house instead
Cut your losses on your losers and move on. No sense in keeping them around, waiting for some miraculous rally.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
I hate losing when I sell. But sometimes I see the writing on the wall, and realize I need to sell for a loss to move on.
No. I have made mistakes, key is to learn from them and move on. No point to loathe on it and drag it behind you. Focus on future endeavors.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
Just think, you could collect wine where you literally piss away much of your investment. At least coins hold some of their value as you appreciate them.
Latin American Collection
I don't recall ever selling a coin for less than I paid for it. However, I have actually lost tons of profits because I neglected to find out where the market was at the time of sale or being too strict with my grading: AU's becoming MS's as soon as I sold them.
That's not going to happen anymore if I sell something .
Still pretty expensive hobbies. Tennis racquets, court rental fees. Ping pong table and equipment costs (table can be expensive). Hiking - good boots, back pack, survival gear (unless your urban hiking).
Why is it easy to tell someone you bought a coin and later resold it for a profit?
Why is it hard to tell someone you bought a coin and later resold it at the same price you paid for it, or at a loss.
When one buys a new or used car from a dealership you know that if you sold it the next day or month or year you would sell it at a loss. No one I know has any problem telling someone they resold a car at a loss.
Same with jewelry, books, furniture, etc.
What is it about coins which makes it hard for someone to acknowledge they resold at a loss?
No.
Although the "learn the lesson" part is harder to evaluate. I enjoyed the coins I've sold while I had them and don't regret turning them over to get other coins I liked better. I didn't buy them to make money and yes, a churn put me in the negative. I see the turnover as healthy on two fronts - new coins I like better and freshening up the collection.
Being that I mainly collect early commems, I have lost my ass. That being said, I have enjoyed these coins so much that there is a cost built in there, I think. I have hit some real home runs over the years, but overall im down significantly. I write it off as the enjoyment factor.
It's natural phenomena ........ called EGO ...... hard to admit you are a looser even to your spouse.
I always told I bought low and sell high to my friends
Buy low. Sell high. Definitely time to buy And buy the best you can afford.
Many, but not all, places have free tennis courts.
A ping pong table can be expensive but it can also be cheap.
For hiking, many people use their normal clothes and sneakers. I’ve even skied in my jeans.
Money comes down to perspective.
My Cherry Picking more than makes up for my mistakes.
WS
As I go through all my collecting years, which are not many compared to most, I'm probably at a loss. When my family has a need, i.e., car problems, paying rent, etc., i'll sell a coin to try and help them. So I sell coins too soon. Hurt's for a while, then I get over it. Short term memory. It's a hobby and I never did expect to get rich.
Business chapter 7.
Loss is realized at the sale, if you don't sell then you never lose.
I've done ok on the things I've sold, but I know I have a lot of stuff that I would lose on.
Collector, occasional seller
If you look at it that way then I do not want to see your inventory.
ALL of My losers are now GONE, all I have left are winners
Business 201
For me. red is the new black.
What I lose on each sale I make up for in volume.
Deutsche Bank Loan Purchases?
Zero Debt.
I have found that having a cash reserve allows one to act extremely quickly with force ( Strong Bid or Offer) to get the best eye appeal out there
Speaking of losers, I bought some bitcoin in Sep/Oct of 2017 and decided to cash out and buy gold around Feb/Mar 2018. Instead of looking at a ton of red on a webpage, I get to look at some fantastic gold on my Dansco 7070 gold page!
No, I have no problems admitting mistakes. Everyone makes them. If someone pretends he hasn't lost money on a coin he is either a) lying, b) oblivious, or c) never sells so no loss materializes during his life time.
It gets easier after the first thousand
Luckily about a half dozen home runs wiped out most of the hundreds of strikeouts.
Probably still in the red, but at least have not completely bled out.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Although I collect as a hobby only, part of the fun is the research to determine realistic prices (always a snapshot of course) to try to minimize a loss at time of sale. I'm really careful about what I buy now and my most recent sales were to fund other coins I wanted. I can say I have mostly sold at my original cost or a slight loss and that is just fine with me. For my most recent sales, I lost a little bit but had purchasing power parity (so to speak) for other things I wanted.
You realize your blunders when you go to sell. When I sold off the bulk of my collection around 2011, it was indeed a learning experience and my "tuition" for numismatics. Coins that I had gotten for what I thought was a fair price, brought 50% or more in profit from a sale. Other coins, mainly key dates, that I thought I had gotten for cheap, ended up being where I lost the most money. ...ie, think 1909-S VDB... (for you newbies... it really isn't that rare of a coin!)
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
I bundle the losers into a trade, if I like the new one it eases the pain. Lol.
You only loose when you sell and I do not sell.
Luckily about a half dozen home runs wiped out most of the hundreds of strikeouts
I had a strange experience where I hit a "HomeRun" that really did that. back in 2009 after that bail-out fiasco I lost my job and was unemployed for just about a year. needing money to survive, I turned to some of the best items I had, swallowed hard and started to sell. the only regret was the reason I had to do it, not in the selling. interestingly, I get to see some of the medals when other members post their pictures.
temporary custodians, that really what we are.
I know some have this opinion and I find it interesting. 484,000 mintage compared to in some cases hundreds of millions more makes it pretty rare to me. The closest in terms of mintage is the 31s at 866,000. Saying it is not rare based on a few other key coins in the series of course does not negate the market dictated price, but is your point that 484,000 is a lot of coins compared to key coins in other series?
For the times I have lost money on coins, I offset the disappointment by thinking of the enjoyment I had owning them. It cost money to have fun - no matter what it is. At least with coins you have something tangible to show for it.
MY GOLD TYPE SET https://pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/complete-type-sets/gold-type-set-12-piece-circulation-strikes-1839-1933/publishedset/321940
I’m heavily into classic commems...nuff said there.
Cheers
Bob
These have always appealed to me but I never collected them.
Now sure seems like it might be a good time to start collecting these. I think that there's good value in the 64-65 grade range, handpicking nice examples for those grades.
Learned dealing baseball cards...
Sell the trash and keep the treasure and keep the cash flow going... baby.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
it hurt the first time. build a bridge and get over it. buy better next time
REMEMBER THAT OLD COIN IS ONLY WORTH FEW DOLLARS IN PHYSICAL MATERIAL VALUE - THIS IS WHY VALUE IS AN ESOTERIC CONCEPT IN MANY WAYS AND IT MAY BE VULGAR TO ASSIGN ANY MONETARY VALUE TO OLD COIN UNLESS YOU ARE A RUSSIAN OLIGARCH OR CHINESE SHODDY GOODS FACTORY OWNER.
-BONGOBONGO
Bongobongo also famously said,
"If you buy what you like, at a price you can afford at the time, then things will be easier. If you buy what other people like, borrow to fund it and expect multiple of return, then you are likely to be unhappy. Bongo say nearly everything depreciates over time. Bongo would not pay $500 for a silver bell this Christmas and expect it to be worth $550 next year, but Bongo knows a Silver Bell is not old coin. Or is it? Bongo maybe not surprised that old coin is like any other limited non essential commodity and subject to the whims of taste and market. Put the coin in book and enjoy it. If it is worth more when you come to sell it, well done. If not, then you have had enjoyment out of it. "
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
so Bob, you're so far under water that fish don't even swim by!!!
ok everyone who says they are ok admitting a loss please post an itemized list.
Admitting to an abstract loss is much easier than providing details ,
I've recently purchased 4 - 2018 Gold Proof Buffaloes . I might add another ( if they don't sell out first) to match the 5 - 2017's I got last year. There's just something about these Big New Gold hunks of medal with an old Classic design. Sort of reminds me of the good feeling I got way back when, after seeing my first Morgan Silver Dollar , as a young Child.
I get the same feeling out of a nice $20 Liberty but these modern Buffaloes are perfect marvels. No other modern junk does anything for me at all.
I sometimes buy very pretty widgets at retail+ and down the road sell them for retail. To me the time I hold and enjoy the widgets is worth the difference in price between retail+ and retail.
Other times I break even.
And far less often I score big on a sale.
But alas, I am just a humble collector.