So how did you do with your 2019 Collecting goals ??

WaterSport

So how did everyone do on their collecting goals this year??

I guess mine were better than I expected after I look back. Basically, I started out 2019 with 2 goals. One was to hit 90% complete on my Showcase set on CONECA top 100 Lincoln RPM’s. That did not happen, in fact I fell back from 87 to 86 percent complete because I traded one of those RPM coins – the 1918 D/D RPM 1 in 63 BN to an unnamed collector. He sort of taps me on the shoulder now and then when he wants to trade for something he wants and I always need. We really do not have a friendly conversation parse, it’s always just business. He does not do the registry thing, but must have a fabulous set from what I can tell. So this year’s trade was his ICG MS 65 1943 DDR for my 1918 D/D. The 1943 DDR would have been an upgrade in any MS grade for my XF 45 example but to my surprise it crossed at PCGS as a MS 66.

I have another trade still in the works with another unnamed collector on another Forum who I have never met but trust him immensely as he is beyond a doubt the best Cherry Picker of Lincoln cents bar none. He has numerous discovery coins listed on Wexler’s site and is attempting a complete variety set of all RPM, DDO, DDR, etc. One day I saw a list he posted of what he was still missing and I was shocked to see I had a coin he needed. So, I sent it to him saying find me something I need. Well, its coming soon and I trust it will be a good one. It will be my first coin of 2020.

Anyway, I bought or traded almost twice as many cents this year (45) compared to last year (27). But while my raw Capitol Board set is up to date with all the 2019 Cents, my slab set is not – that too will be a 2020 goal.

Another goal I had was to continue the upgrade of my modern proof 69 DCAM Lincolns with PR 70 examples. This was a continuation of an effort started in 2018. I never could bring myself to drop $300 to $2000 on these cents like so many did years ago so with the purchase of my 1986 I am good for now. Likewise, my goal has been to cherry pick a PR 69 DCAM 1998 S Close AM proof. Hopefully that will happen in 2020 as well.

I had the good fortune of starting 2019 with some cash after selling off some upgrades. That cash bought me 2 difficult varieties. A raw 1945 DDO that graded MS 64 RED and a ANACS 1992 D Close AM in AU 55. Here again luck was with me for what I over paid in my opinion for the 1945 DDO, I made up for getting the 1992 D to cross to AU 58. And with those 2 purchases it brought my total needed number of Lincoln varieties to 9 left. So you can bet those 9 will be part of my 2020 goals.

Since I have but a few varieties left its been rewarding to just upgrade some of my existing Lincolns. As a cherry picker you just never know what you will find. As I was searching an auction site I discovered the second most scarce 1911 D RPM. I had the top pop example at AU 53 and was able to push it up to AU 55 with this pick. But it can’t last for long as someone should grab that spot with a MS example soon. And Finally, I posted on another tread my shock again in not only cherry picking a 1930 D RPM # 2 (it’s so hard to see) But I was very please to have it grade MS 63 BRN. A very nice upgrade for my VF 35 example.

My main goal for 2020 will be to continue the hunt and upgrade a few more varieties if I can find them until the next revised edition of the cherry pickers guide is published sometime in the future. I would like to hear your report on your collecting goals for 2019 (if you had any) and what if anything you hope to accomplish with your collection (s) in 2020.

WS

privatecoin

Met mine. Finished my pcgs set of Franklin halves. Now deciding whether to target upgrades all next year or try to finsh my Roosevelt dimes or Washington quarters.

BillDugan1959

I had a decent financial windfall mid-year and several bucket list gold coins were obtained. Also did very well in the Numismatic books acquisitions. I was overall very fortunate this year and I am grateful to the Deity and to my late father.

For 2020 and beyond, there are still big items left on the bucket list.

oih82w8

Completed my 7070 (no gold) again. Attributed a few varieties. Not a bad year...but it's not over yet!

Smudge

Main collection done, but still tweaking, better dates and higher grades etc. Picking up odds and ends that interest me.

Walkerfan

Finally found my 1921 P Walker in GEM from an old Registry set that was sold off...not something that I had anticipated but was a nice surprise. Been looking for quite a while. Also, reached the halfway point in my Standing Liberty Quarter One Per Date Set. Yes, it was a good year. Also, picked up a MS 64 1885 CC Morgan. Been wanting one of those for over 20 years but just never bought one.

mcarney1173

I was about 30 coins into my Dansco 7070 set at the beginning of the year, now I’m down to just 6 holes to fill (motto/no motto seated dollars, 20 cent, etc). After that I’m moving on to the gold type page. Working on the 7070 this year got me even more interested in silver dollars, classic commemoratives, and large cents so I have a lot of things to work on.

Biggest achievement was completing my first album set- Regular strike Silver Eagles 1986-2019

CCGGG

Didn't have any specific goals but looking back over the year, I sold a ton and bought a few... Funny thing is, while I have a lot fewer coins now, they are worth much more than when I had many more...

toyz4geo

Goals? Nobody told me I was supposed to set goals for this. Bummer. At least a new year is on the horizon and maybe I can get with the program.

Kliao

@toyz4geo said:
Goals? Nobody told me I was supposed to set goals for this. Bummer. At least a new year is on the horizon and maybe I can get with the program.

Never thought of making collecting goals. Might start one

BryceM

I had fun with this fantastic hobby and that’s always been the primary goal.

Jimnight

I can't complain!

bearcave

Got back in again, does that count?

amwldcoin

Quiet Year for me. Waiting on news from friends that the grading Gods have got their senses back in order.

Cameonut

Far exceeded my goals due to the tremendous economy we now enjoy.
Finished a date set of capped bust halves - but still need a couple of overdates.
Half finished on a old type gold set.
Barely sold anything other than one 20 piece lot to Great Collections - they did a GREAT job.
Hoping for more of the same for the next 5 years.

derryb

Using modern gold profits, I hit my goal of stacking 10,000 ASEs.

ike126

I can't complain at all bought 8 DMPLS and finished my mintmark set for it besides the Denver mint. Wanna cut back on some plastic and fill a type book or something else like my earlier memories

BJandTundra

Just like the USA Men's Soccer Team in a World Cup Final!

bolivarshagnasty

Acquired a few modern toners, but mainly worked on an error box of twenty. Haven't got all of the pics taken and still have a few to cross over to PCGS. Should be able to share early next year. Would consider this a good year.

acloco

Couple of classic modern proofs added - 1913 Lincoln & 1937 WLH. A Matte Proof has been on my short list for several years. WLH has always been on the list, but the right coin surfaced at the just right time. Buffalo proof is still on the list, but not obtained yet.

NSP

At the start of this year, I wanted to complete my 1831-1838 bust quarter date set in F to VF range. I needed three dates: 1832, 1833, and 1836. I managed to get an 1833, but fell short with the other two. The 1836 is fairly available in the grade range I’m seeking, but I haven’t found the right coin with the perfect combination of eye appeal and price. The 1832 turns up much less frequently, though this is to be expected since it’s the scarcest date for the sub-series. Maybe 2020 will be the year!

JBN

A good year. Made good gains on half dollars for my Bust and Seated sets. Was underbidder on others; such is life. It is a great hobby and I'm enjoying expanding my collection.

Eric_Babula

I didn't really have any specific coin goals to start the year. But, I did create some as the year went on:

1. Rekindle my love of numismatics! Get back into reading about and talking about coins (join one or more forums, since RCC is pretty much gone). Check!
2. Get a macro lens for my DSLR and start practicing coin photography. Check! Lots of work to do, here! I need to figure out how to carve out more free-time, so I can practice more, and get some photography advice from a couple people who generously offered it to me!
3. Start to re-read some of my coin books. Check! I might re-read all of them, eventually.
4. Create a list of coin books I want to acquire. Check! Of course, that list will likely change and grow!
5. Decide on which coin software I want to purchase, to catalog my collection. Check! I decided on Exact Change, and bought it a week or so ago - I like it a lot, so far! I've entered about 290 coins so far (but no pictures yet - see #2 above).
6. Start looking at and organizing my collection with the intent to reevaluate and prioritize my collecting desires. Right now, my collection is like my brain: scattered! I have a little bit of a bunch of stuff, from years of undisciplined hoarding! Well, I've kind of started this daunting task, but have tons of work to do. When I figure out what I want to keep, and what I want to collect going forward, I will need to sell the remaining stuff, which will hopefully get me some money to get more of what I really want! This also depends on me carving out more free-time. Work really gets in the way of my fun! Gotta also figure out how to retire - maybe that should be another goal!

Next year's goals will likely be more of the above. I don't really plan on purchasing any new coins for a while. But, you know, never say never!!!

neildrobertson

I'm getting to the bitter end of some of the series I've been working on after adding ~150 coins this year, mainly German Empire and Germany minor coins. I'll need to focus on key dates more next year, so I can start checking more series off the list.

I think I'm a year or two away from having something that really feels like an accomplishment. I'd like to increase my budget for 2020, but I'll likely be holding it flat. Keeping the budget flat has worked out that last few years since prices have been trending down more than up.

DCW

It has been one of the best years I've had collecting. Added a good number of Joseph Merriam rarities to the collection,while putting away some outstanding tokens and medals to the Box of 20. Can't wait to see what 2020 brings!

coinbuf

I have no set goals other than to enjoy my coins, but I did add a couple of widgets so I suppose that means I exceeded.

sparky64

Not a very remarkable year for me.
I went in intending to acquire a key date or two for my silver washington quarter set but that didn't happen.
I did pick up a couple of nice CBH's which is a series I really like.

One long time goal that I will accomplish next year is attending winter FUN.
I'm all set and cant wait.

ctf_error_coins

I set my coin business goals at the first of the year.

In 2019 I met my year-end business goals by the first quarter so I upped my year-end business goals at that time.

I hit my updated business goals by the second quarter so I had to re-up my year-end business goals at the time.

Blew away my year-end business goals by the third quarter but did not up the year-end goal, decided to just let it ride.

2019 was by far the best growth spurt my coin business has ever had. It will be hard to meet that growth rate in 2020 but I will try my best.

I will be setting my 2020 coin business goals soon.

ricko

It is very nice to not have goals...My strategy exactly.... therefore, at the end of the year, I am very happy with what I have accomplished Cheers, RickO

jedm

It's always nice to hear about other folks' accomplishments for the year. I was able to get the last upgrade I wanted for my Washington quarter set this year, the '36 D - and I found a nice 1834 N5 large cent that's been on my list for a while- for my redbook variety large cent set. Not sure what I want to go for in 2020, but I do usually set a couple goals to keep me motivated.

WildIdea

Buying stuff is never the problem, lol I find a way! I still want to get my photo stand set back up and image them before the end of the year. I finally located a key piece of hardware that was on holiday in my clutter. My last ditch effort will hopefully be some time between Christmas and New Years.

CCGGG

My goal(s) for all my collectable hobbies (coins, cars, guns) has been to reach a point that I'm totally satisfied and done with my collection. My problem is every time I think I finally know what I really want, and when I get there, I move the goal post. Maybe it's because I don't want to be finished!

calgolddiver

goals ?!?!?! buy cool stuff ... accomplished !! filled some holes and started some new gigs !!

johnny9434

I did alright with it. nothing big to speak of but hey, im happy with it

dbldie55

My goals for the last few years has been to find an 1890 FS-301 5C and 1900 FS-801 5C in mint state. Will be a goal for 2020. I didn't find them, and no one else has either.

I did upgrade almost my entire Liberty Nickel set, as well as finding some variety upgrades for my everyman variety set and a new pop 1/0 cherry picker variety for my Mint State Liberty Nickel variety set.

The most work was done with my Canadian 5C sets. Since no one seems to grade these, I submitted over 60 of the coins and have mostly completed the sets. I ended up with many top pop coins to go along with it. Still need to find some of the rarer variety coins.

Overall, it was a good year for my nickel sets.

Azurescens

@bearcave said:
Got back in again, does that count?

Absolutely does! I didn't think I'd have income for coins until 2020 but business is booming and I've been back at it a few months. Starting 100% fresh is nice. I haven't referred to my other collections for growth, as I'm rebuilding from the ground up.

I want things to be a little different this round so I'm staying away from my other pieces for a bit. I don't recall what exactly I have but that's ok. They can sit for a while.

New decade, time for some new direction. Loving my new purple and blue bullion pieces and two of my capped bust girls just found forever homes and I'm really having a lot of fun that I didn't get to have before. Going to be adding some crusty seated and Morgan here shortly.

And everyone's been great or helpful every step of the way as per usual.. don't think I could ever leave this hobby forever. I can afford travel now so I guess I'll be going to shows.

DCW

Bumping this to reflect on how we all looked back on 2019 and forward to 2020

TurtleCat

Goals? I’m supposed to have goals? Now ya tell me...

ctf_error_coins

I should meet my year-end (dealer) goals.

I never upped my goals as I did in 2019.

Covid put my growing business into slow motion in 2020.

DBSTrader2

My ONLY goals for both 2019 & 2020 were to keep current on my 2019 & 2020 U.S. & Canadian coins in our folders.......... and I've failed so far on both.......

Along

I probably bought twice as much as I expected because of COVID and extra time at home. Also sold a little which I wasn’t planning on doing either.