The Coin Shortage (of fresh collectible coins)
jonruns
Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭✭✭
In addition to a national shortage of coins for change there is a shortage of fresh collectible coins. Or perhaps too many people chasing the ones that do appear for sale.
What are you doing to adapt?
It’s a tough time to be a buyer. The pandemic has made many people wealthier, if they are not making more money they are spending less so there is more money for things like coins. And with no shows the internet is just about the only game in town, and everyone has access to the same pics and pricing history, not much is going to fall thru the cracks.
Personally I have all but given up on completing my Obverse mintmark old gold set of 8 (I have 5)...these coins are just too popular now and DWN is receiving 9 calls in the first hour after posting a 38-C in VF35. There is no hope at being the first to call.
In response (I hate the word "pivot") I have decided to put the Obverses on hold and embark on a new collection which features coins that are a less popular but still challenging enough so that a new purchase might only come along every six months or so.
What about you?
Comments
I can understand your frustration, I had the same feeling when I was doing rare gold. The issue I always felt was that I want the coin to be rare, not the opportunity to be at the front of the line to buy it. And being at the front of the line wasn’t about being the first person, it was about being chosen. I’m sure that this is a requirement to ensure that me, and people like me, all got a share, but in the end it was a fact for me migrating to world coins.
My advise, don’t give up on the obverse set, but make your desire clear to your dealer of what you are after, and be vocal and ready whenever newps post. I do like the idea (and generally follow the practice), of collecting things which others didn’t quite see the same value in, but I found to be of greater value than others. For me this was undervalued dates in US gold.
I hope something works out for you.
Latin American Collection
I target shoot a lot more.
I am happy I am not seeking to build/complete sets anymore (of course, that could change)... I like being able to just browse around, and if some special (to me) coin pops up, I get it. Reminds me of the song 'The Happy Wanderer'....
Cheers, RickO
Start collecting world coins like the ones of us who are smart
. With US coins, there is little available for arbitrage these days. Jump into a world country or set and start collecting. There are fewer knowledgeable dealers/collectors, so you can make cherrypicks a lot easier, there are a lot of cool and rare designs and sets you can start. The best part is, the coins (on average) are much more reasonably priced for what they are 
compared to comparable US coins.
Keep your other US gold set going and use your new world collection to fill in the gaps of time between US gold pickups...
I collect 20th century gold exclusively. This year prices have skyrocketed. Tons of common / bland $20's out there right now but anything nice is snapped up.
I check dealer and auction sites daily. You need to have a hair trigger if you see something you like. I have missed out on a handful of coins by hours or even minutes this year.
I saw a nice Saint a couple weeks ago and it was gone before I saw it, within a couple hours of posting. Contacted dealer anyway and he said to get on his preview mailing list. So I guess you do have to be part of the club to get a shot at anything good.
Also I'm on a bunch of these mailing lists and almost never get the messages. Maybe they go to my spam folder? Or am I not really "in?"
My Gold Type Set
Unless you’re able to open your emails immediately the good stuff is going to be long gone. I didn’t even waste my time contacting a dealer last week. I was two hours late to the party.
Finding new inventory has been extremely difficult and expensive (pay way up or loose the coin
)