5 New Year's Resolutions for Coin Collectors

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Many people are probably thinking about a handful of New Year’s resolutions they’re hoping to check off this new year. But what about some numismatic resolutions?

Below are a couple suggestions from Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez, be sure to check out the link at the end for the full list:

1 – Collect a New Series

Many, if not most, collectors have one or two series they specialize in – forever. And that’s totally normal. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Lincoln Cents and probably always will. I know a few collectors who are die-hard Morgan Dollar aficionados and at least one or two folks who I peg as error-coin lifers. But it can be refreshing to embark on a new series, too. That may be just exactly what jump starts your coin collecting adventures in the new year and may even take you down an exciting path you’ll wonder why you hadn’t explored sooner.

2 – Sell Your Unwanted Material

How many coins are you holding on to right now that you don’t want, don’t need, never look at, and are consuming valuable space in the vault or safety deposit box? Chances are you have at least a few coins that you could sell and not regret it. This isn’t just about making more space, but it’s also an approach that can help you build funds to buy more of the coins you really want. Imagine what you could buy with a few hundred – or even a few thousand – extra bucks…

Full article: https://www.pcgs.com/news/5-new-years-resolutions-for-coin-collectors

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braddick

This was taken from the art world- I think it applies to coin collecting too:

There Are No Shortcuts

“One big misstep that the majority of young collectors make is to start buying too soon. They get excited about the idea of owning something, and they jump before they do enough research. Then, three months later, they realize they’ve made a mistake.

“Collecting requires discipline. People underestimate how quickly they can amass a collection. If you buy just one or two pieces a year, in five years, you’ll have a small collection. You see these exquisite small-scale pieces, and you want to have them. But for a collection to have focus, you’re far better off buying one or two more valuable pieces per year than a larger number of lesser works.”

Collect with a Focus

“Having a focus—or two or three focuses—really helps you develop a richer collection. The relationships between the individual works will be more compelling if some glue holds it all together. And though choosing a focus may seem like a limitation, it isn’t. Even if you only wanted to collect one artist—say, Picasso—and you only wanted to collect his prints from the 1930s to the 1960s, you’d have hundreds, maybe thousands, of pieces to choose from.”

You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

“The amazing—and frustrating—thing about art is that no one can get everything. Not even Ken Griffin can get everything he wants. Bill Gates could offer $3 trillion to the Louvre for the Mona Lisa, but he’s not getting to get it. Just like everyone else, he has to buy what he can. There’s some comfort for smaller collectors to know that we all have to make the same kinds of choices.

“Of course, one of the wonderful things about auction houses is that they are completely democratic. Everyone is welcome, and anyone can bid on anything, and, regardless of who you are or what kind of collection you already have, if you are the last man standing, you will get that piece.”

Enlist an Advisor

“At some point, what starts as a passion becomes a responsibility—both a financial one and a physical one. Some art needs to be taken care of, especially as it becomes more valuable. And a precious collection needs to be adequately insured and properly maintained. Having a trusted advisor who knows you, knows your taste, and is committed to helping you in the long haul is invaluable.

“That’s one way in which auction houses are significant resources to a lot of major collectors. We help them with their appraisals and research. We think of ourselves as a whole art business. We’re big enough, and we have the expertise across so many categories that we can help collectors in a comprehensive way that few organizations can.”

A Collection Is Never Done

“Once you have figured out what you like, and you’ve done your collecting, you reach this never-ending phase of refining and upgrading. You’re always looking back, and sometimes you’re excited about things you bought, and other times you realize you can afford something better. Or maybe it’s not a matter of money. Maybe it’s just a matter of something better becoming available. That’s why, for real collectors, you are never done.”