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"Buy the Coin, Not the Holder" - is such an obnoxious cliche
Catbert
Posts: 6,605 ✭✭✭✭✭
I want to vomit every time I read this on our board. It is offered as some kind of brilliant insight or as a truism brought down to readers by Moses. It is now such a hackneyed cliche that it has turned into verbiage that 95% of the board has heard over and over that adds nothing to discussion here. Who doesn't know the concept by now? And, yes there are plastic or sticker collectors who will not be dissuaded just because the bromide is mouthed again and again.
Yes, I got off on the wrong side of the bed today (to use another cliche). 
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
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I could not agree more
Somebody pp in your Wheaties Catbert?
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
My favorite is also when those spouting “buy the coin not the holder” regularly post nothing but PCGS-CAC coins.
Another is, "Buy the best you can afford".
Well, yeah- that's logical and I get the financial gains aspect of it, yet the most
enjoyable coin purchases I make are ones that fall well below that.
peacockcoins
@Catbert
Thanks for reminding all of us again to "Buy the coin and not the holder." Some things are important to repeat over and over again because they don't seem to sink in.
What????
Hmm....I think I will consider this advice, maybe the coin does matter....(ha)
Some things are important to repeat over and over again because they don't seem to sink in.
That's a nice way of saying it! I would probably use more "colorful" language if I'm being honest, but I have been enjoying my time on the forum and would like to continue!
the reason we have holders is because most people are not very good at buying the coin....
People pay big money for Doily holders without regard to the coin inside.
There are some newbies here...maybe they haven't heard it yet? Lol.
Perhaps we can just start using the anagram of "hotter baloney unhitched"
He who knows he has enough is rich.
Buy the coin, sell the holder.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Oh dear.
Buy the holder and crack it open, then throw that nasty old coin away.
Or break the holder and send it in again & again til you run out of money or patience or finally believe whats on the holder
Bst transactions with: dimeman, oih82w8, mercurydimeguy, dunerlaw, Lakesammman, 2ltdjorn, MattTheRiley, dpvilla, drddm, CommemKing, Relaxn, Yorkshireman, Cucamongacoin, jtlee321, greencopper, coin22lover, coinfolio, lindedad, spummybum, Leeroybrown, flackthat, BryceM, Surfinxhi, VanHalen, astrorat, robkool, Wingsrule, PennyGuy, al410, Ilikecolor, Southcounty, Namvet69, Commemdude, oreville, Leebone
I guess I don't understand why something that is essentially great advice rooted in common sense would be so aggravating.
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
What gets me is when people simply reply "Pass" when someone is showing us a coin they own.
Collector, occasional seller
I’m guessing you don’t visit these boards that often to observe the terms repeated use.
It probably made sense before we had slabs. Now, it’s not so simple.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
It IS what It IS
I WANT my dollies!
Keep vomiting, some cliches are important (or would be important if the market wasn't such a wreck).
There are coin collectors, grade collectors, slab collectors - and hybrids of all three....It is a great hobby and should be enjoyed in whatever manner pleases the individuals collecting. In any hobby, there are repetitive aphorisms...None are always true... most are founded in fact/logic. Take what you need to enjoy the hobby... ignore that which you find not applicable. Have fun... Cheers, RickO
"It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is." Bill Clinton
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
The PCGS registry sets are proof that the majority of coins are purchased for the holder, not the coin. It is a truism that is trumpeted a lot, but the reality is the opposite.
the cigar
I'd rather hear this often repeated cliche than to see people parrot Laura's obnoxious spiel about how every coin in the universe that doesn't have a CAC sticker is somehow inferior and should be avoided all while she cherry picks the same (e.g. non CAC NGC coins) and downgrades them so they sticker.
Actually, it is sometimes perfectly okay to buy the holder and not the coin. I do it all the time.
That is dealer propaganda pure and simple. "Buy the best you can afford and that makes sense and/or that you enjoy." I could be a multi-billionaire, and I would still not buy MS68 moderns for five figure prices.
P.S. @Catbert - I know how you feel though. The old mantras about the importance of a coin being "fresh to the market" or "under graded in an [insert old holder type]" elicit the same emotions in me.
Too many today don't know how to grade and are 100% dependent on the grading companies to do that for them to follow that good advice. But I'll admit-I don't know the difference between an MS68 and an MS69. Or a 66 from a 67 for that matter.
Remember @Catbert,
There is no Santa Clause in numismatics.
Buy the book before the coin.
Learn to grade for yourself.
many collectors are not relastic about their own ability to grade and ability to determine a coin that has been messed with. For those collectors they would be better off buying the holder and not the coin. Let's face it, if most people could grade properly there would not be a need for TPG.
TPG is indispensable for authenticity. I agree with your statement-not everyone has the ability or desire to grade a coin on their own. I DO think the TPG are necessary and I don't fault anyone for using them (I do so myself.)
I don't know about that. From a marketing perspective (especially for but not limited to registry sets), they are quite useful if you use them wisely to your advantage. The services add liquidity and aid online sales acting as a preliminary screening tool to limit returns and facilitate commerce. This does not mean that stickers and plastic should be used as a substitute for knowledge and due diligence as collectors and dealers frequently do.
Come on man! Grow some hair, take that "Lol" off the end.
Are you sick of the Patriots too?
"I never had coin-grading relations with that woman"
There was a time when "raw coins" needed "color photos" or the dealer would pooh-pooh you and those B&W photos of your coin.
Just another excuse for "I ain't got no money to be buying back any coins"
I would buy, and have bought coins in holders for one reason. The higher degree of confidence in their authenticity. Grading I can figure out for myself as we all should. Authenticity is tougher and not all have the time or resources to become the expert we probably ought to be.
By the coin crack it out of the holder
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
Well actually it is well documented...
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Buy the coin and not the holder is very pronounced with Barber half's these days. There's a ton a crap out there in problem free holders these days.
Whoa Catbert:
You're among friends, don't hold back, let it all out, TELL us how you really feel
Bob Sr CEO Fieldtechs
I don't agree with you.
Believe the cliché is a SUPERB reminder, that each and every person should evaluate the coin on it's own merit.
After all, TPG's, truly are....just an "opinion".
Cash out and transfer to the dark side, problem solved.
Cash out and transfer to the sunny side AKA HI, problem solved,