Collection vs. Accumulation

daltex

I think most of us have both. I mean we say we collect "coins", but we don't, really. We may collect Short Set Walkers, or Modern Mint Products, or a type set or a box of 20, but not everything. But I think we often buy, or at least acquire, coins that don't fit our collection, like when our next door neighbor who knows we collect returns from Canada and gives us her change, or when we buy a lot to get a coin we want, or just because it's too cheap not to buy (I had about two and a half rolls of 1973 brown Ikes), or coins we get for other reasons (my wife was asked to bring "tokens" to exchange with leaders of her company all over the country, so we purchased three rolls of New Hampshire quarters, but the company announced this very close to the meeting and she ended up only exchanging like eight quarters).

I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this, but it caused me some thought. I mean @joeykoins had his recent MS 67 "W" quarter which was clearly part of the accumulation as he got rid of it as quickly as he could. I guess that, and watching my accumulation cross the auction block, made me think of this.

1Mike1

Accumulations happens because we like coins. Collections happen because we love coins.

Walkerfan

Most of us have a focus or a ‘method to our madness’. However, there is nothing wrong with buying coins as types or just because we like them. As an example; I have a couple of mercury dimes and buffalo nickels that I picked up just because I liked the quality, dates and the holders were cool. I also have three 1945-S walkers. I didn’t need the other two but I just picked them up, because the price was right and the quality was good (One had very unique and beautiful toning, while the other had an exceptional strike).

silviosi

I collect. This it for me a my topic, my pleasure, my air. I have accumulation because I study coins from different aspects for my own good feeling to wrote about and brink to others. But accumulations for me always will finish in wild.

MS66

What?

winesteven

Accumulations are perfectly fine, and I fully understand one buying a coin just because they like it, and it speaks to them. Not for me though, at age 72. I’m trying to make it easier for me (or my heirs) to sell my collection when that time comes.

Steve

ricko

A collection is, in fact, an accumulation. You 'collect' what you like and the coins 'accumulate'. To'may'toes, to'mah'toes..... Cheers, RickO

WaterSport

Accumulations are what keep people from staying focussed on a "collection" and tie up funds (and space). But then again, there are no rules in this hobby.

WS

Jzyskowski1

I’m in with the “my accumulation is my collection “ crowd. Thanks 🙏

OAKSTAR

I have to be honest, when I first saw "Accumulation" in the title, my thought immediately went to hoarding.... which I believe in most cases carries a bad connotation.

I was thinking just the opposite for what @1Mike1 said. I was thinking; Collections happen because we like coins. Accumulations (or hoarding) happens because we love coins.

Mr_Spud

I’m in the process of trying to turn my coin accumulations into organized collections and then plan on selling off duplicates and coins that don’t fit in with my more organized collections. It’s going to take years to do so though.

Cougar1978

I am in the accumulation group. I like diversity, stacking favorites. Collections of a series can put one into expensive key dates straining budget.

cameonut2011

To me it comes down to the intent of the person obtaining the pieces. Someone who finds a mini hoard of gold coins in a deceased person’s estate when the decedent obtained it as bullion and/or happenstance and had no interest in numismatics would be an accumulation. Some one who intentionally purchases pieces to hold or actively looks for pieces is building a collection whether there is thematic purpose or not. A box of 20 of random coins some one finds interesting is every bit as much as collection as is a top PCGS registry set of classic coins based on series, date, mint mark, etc.

lkenefic

I think I have a little of both. My Type Set (Dansco 7070) started off as more of an accumulation of odd type that the 7070 served to somewhat organize and give me a collecting goal. Once I finished it, my energies drifted more towards early copper. For that collection, my first goal was a Middle Date/Late Date date run... I'm now looking at Redbook varieties and certain late die state Newcomb varieties. So, I suppose it's more of a collection that's now morphing into an accumulation...

Smudge

I just call my accumulation bullion.

Shane6596

I'm in the accumulation camp. No rhyme or reason, i just buy whatever catches my eye. Good grades thru MS grades. Raw coins here and there. Anything goes from 1794 - 2023. Doing mostly slabbed stuff currently, like 99% slabbed. Almost no raw recently.

I'm just having fun with it.

Zoins

@daltex said:
But I think we often buy, or at least acquire, coins that don't fit our collection

Does this depend on how the collection is defined?

I'm guessing things like the Saddle Ridge Hoard would be considered an accumulation.

Zoins

Who had some of the greatest accumulations?

I'm guessing some would say Virgil Brand qualified. Anyone else? Perhaps Eric Newman?

Here's a thread on Virgil Brand's collection / accumulation:

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1046512/virgil-brand-the-most-underrated-coin-collector-of-all-time-or-the-king-of-coin-collectors#latest

Tom147

A good question that I've never thought of. What would you call a sizable amount of the same series of coins, like 1500+ slabbed of the same denomination ? Not particularly high dollar but still close to 6 figures total. Multiples of the same date & mm. in only 3 different grades. I've called it my collection, but is it more of an accumulation. After reading the OP and comments, now I'm not sure what I have.

hfjacinto

I've posted this on other forums.

I was recently over a friends house as he had asked to see my new acquisitions. We ended up having a discussion regarding what is a collection and what is an accumulation.

He has a few nice large sized, a few fractionals and a small amount of random small sized. Kind of like what I have.

But he called mine a collection while his was an accumulation.

His reasons are that:
A collection has focus
A collection has an end goal
A collection can be described in a sentence
A collection can be shown with a process (for example my US collection starts at colonial and kind of ends in 1966 with the last of the red seals)
A collection has value (eg a certain minimum standard).

To him, he says he has an accumulation as
An accumulation is made up of things
An accumulation has no start or end
An accumulation has no standards (value/grade/condition)
An accumulation can’t be described as a type set or a small sized set, it needs sentences to describe
An accumulation has no focus, he can add as he sees fit. It has no limits.

So this is a collection.

This is an accumulation.

winesteven

@hfjacinto said:
I've posted this on other forums.

I was recently over a friends house as he had asked to see my new acquisitions. We ended up having a discussion regarding what is a collection and what is an accumulation.

He has a few nice large sized, a few fractionals and a small amount of random small sized. Kind of like what I have.

But he called mine a collection while his was an accumulation.

His reasons are that:
A collection has focus
A collection has an end goal
A collection can be described in a sentence
A collection can be shown with a process (for example my US collection starts at colonial and kind of ends in 1966 with the last of the red seals)
A collection has value (eg a certain minimum standard).

To him, he says he has an accumulation as
An accumulation is made up of things
An accumulation has no start or end
An accumulation has no standards (value/grade/condition)
An accumulation can’t be described as a type set or a small sized set, it needs sentences to describe
An accumulation has no focus, he can add as he sees fit. It has no limits.

So this is a collection.

This is an accumulation.

>

I wish I could check BOTH the “Agree” button and “Like” button.

Steve

daltex

@Zoins said:

@daltex said:
But I think we often buy, or at least acquire, coins that don't fit our collection

Does this depend on how the collection is defined?

I'm guessing things like the Saddle Ridge Hoard would be considered an accumulation.

I tried to do that in my OP, but I guess I wasn't entirely clear. A collection is sort of "coins you buy because you want to have them" while an accumulation is the coins that come along "not on purpose", for example the other coins in the folder you bought because you loved the '32-D Washington, or the other four coins you bought in the proof set to get the cameo half, or anything you bought not because it spoke to you but because you thought it was too cheap.

I think generally an accumulation consists of, or largely of, coins that you'd be willing to sell if you could get a "fair" price.

Did that clear things up?

Jzyskowski1

Yes. By that definition I do have such coins. I usually give them to my grandson and some of his friends who have seen his grandpa in the office working on his collection and inquired about it. Bingo, opportunity knocks and they receive a coin. Thanks 🙏

Downtown1974

By my definition, I am definitely in the “collection” camp. I let go of anything and everything that doesn’t fit into a set I am building. I have learned to become disciplined and focused on my coin collection purchases and I couldn’t be happier. Not only does it save me time, but it saves me money.

BillJones

You could accuse me of being an accumulator because my collection is quite diverse. I have U.S. coins, tokens, presidential campaign medalets and medals. I have a Confederate paper money collection and a type set of U.S. fractional currency. I have a collection of coins from British kings from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II. I have Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to around 430. I think I might have hit a wall. The last ones are really tough.

You could say that’s an accumulation, but I could write at least a paragraph, or perhaps an essay, on every piece. There are also links between many of those diverse holdings, like fractional currency and Civil War tokens, or a George III guinea and a U.S. $5 gold piece from the same era. (Why were so many early U.S. gold coins melted?) So is it a collection or an accumulation?

daltex

@BillJones said:
You could accuse me of being an accumulator because my collection is quite diverse. I have U.S. coins, tokens, presidential campaign medalets and medals. I have a Confederate paper money collection and a type set of U.S. fractional currency. I have a collection of coins from British kings from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II. I have Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to around 430. I think I might have hit a wall. The last ones are really tough.

You could say that’s an accumulation, but I could write at least a paragraph, or perhaps an essay, on every piece. There are also links between many of those diverse holdings, like fractional currency and Civil War tokens, or a George III guinea and a U.S. $5 gold piece from the same era. (Why were so many early U.S. gold coins melted?) So is it a collection or an accumulation?

As I suggested, if you have it on purpose, it's part of a collection. This easily clears that bar. Not that anyone here needs my validation.

Oh, and "on purpose" doesn't include "Gold hasn't hit $2800 an ounce yet, so it's too cheap to sell."

USMC_6115

"Collection vs. Accumulation" or Hoard?
I have a few sets I'm working on here and there... I have accumulations of gold and silver, no completed sets
For whatever reason, I have hoarded 1972 IKE Type 2 dollars. I used to grab them RAW from Ebay every chance I got when they were in decent shape and reasonable. I still look for them, but now it's mostly overpriced, crappy coins. And lots of mislabeled IKE Type 2s usually with "D" Mints or Types 1 & 3 labeled as Type 2. It's been fun, but not focused.

Anyone else have any hoards?

lkenefic

@USMC_6115 said:
"Collection vs. Accumulation" or Hoard?
I have a few sets I'm working on here and there... I have accumulations of gold and silver, no completed sets
For whatever reason, I have hoarded 1972 IKE Type 2 dollars. I used to grab them RAW from Ebay every chance I got when they were in decent shape and reasonable. I still look for them, but now it's mostly overpriced, crappy coins. And lots of mislabeled IKE Type 2s usually with "D" Mints or Types 1 & 3 labeled as Type 2. It's been fun, but not focused.

Anyone else have any hoards?

@Ownerofawheatiehorde

As far as hoards go, this one is impressive...

NeophyteNumismatist

Cool thread! As a new bright-eyed, bushy-tailed collector, I fight the urge to accumulate every day. There are just so many US coins that I do not have (even as types).

There are many series (like Buffalo or Jefferson nickels) where I have two or three coins, and flirt with the idea of building-out short sets (like War Nickels). Those coins were beautiful and affordable... so I went for them.

I recently started collecting with nothing (both coins and knowledge), so just memorizing the designs and choosing my direction was a process. One thing I decided early was that I would not buy duplicate coins. I started far too late in life, and enjoy too many series/designs to buy the same coin twice.

I stay focused most of the time. I see those coins in the corner of my eye, and I like them... but, I know buying them will eat into budget for my main collection (half cents). Even a fairly accessible, straight forward series (like War Nickels mentioned above) would push my half cent goal further out. So, I decided that I would stay focused on half cents and put ~85% of my annual budget into that set until it is "complete" (by my definition). That said, I do like other coins and often think about the prospects of my next series.

I am not sure if I am a collector, or if I am an accumulator. I am just a neophyte trying to learn as much as I can, and build a nice _____________________. (Enter "Collection" or "Accumulation" in the blank)

oldabeintx

Once I complete or get close to completing a collection goal, I move into another area of interest. Some upgrading, but I prefer to move "sideways". For example, I just began a small collection of coins affected by the 1873 coinage act, after noticing that I already had several 1873's in my incomplete First Year and :Last Year type sets. After collecting Netherlands coins used by colonials, I started collecting lion dollars by province as they have different characteristics. Keep it fresh and keep learning.

Shamika

I have a small "accumulation" of coins. But it has been decades since I purchased anything that I wasn't specifically looking for. I never want to hear myself say "Now why did I buy this"?

ShaunBC5

As my budget grows, the more what I got when I was a kid looks like an accumulation. When I’m more focused, everything else looks like an accumulation.
Every purchase, though, was bought with intent to collect, at least in that moment.
Just about everything I own fires into a collection of some kind. It just depends on how I parse it out.