Do you ever impress yourself, looking at your own collection?

LanLord · July 27, 2003 12:22AM

Not that I have a particularly great, or even really good collection. Many of the people here on the CU forum have shown stuff that just blows my socks off (and therefore I am envious as hell), but every now and again, when I look at what I have been able to piece together, I gotta just mutter,"[Cosmo_Kramer_Voice] Oh yeah baby![/Cosmo_Kramer_Voice]".

Maybe it's just my unique form of lunacy, or maybe I'm just easily impressed. But to think of owning these pieces of history, and wondering who may have held them, spent them, saved them with the knowledge that they would one day be valuable. That's what just get's me going.

Just wondering if anyone else feels that way sometimes?

Lakesammman · July 27, 2003 12:26AM

I have looked many times and thought, "boy am I one lucky sucker to have this coin". If they incite feelings of remorse, it's time to sell it.

wingedliberty · July 27, 2003 12:28AM

and a recuring theme for me sometimes is thinking to myself: "Wow, I can't believe I only paid x$ for this coin", Thinking that is always fun and looking at the coin again and thinking it twice.

Brian.

jonesy · July 27, 2003 12:30AM

Oh Yeah Baby!!

kyleknap · July 27, 2003 12:31AM

I spend most of the time looking at pictures of coins I used to have and thinking to myself "you dumb*ss why on earth did you sell that?!!'

Kyle

stujoe · July 27, 2003 12:32AM

If I didn't impress myself, I wouldn't collect them because I sure am not trying to impress anyone else!

1jester · July 27, 2003 12:34AM

Even though my collection is rather small, I do enjoy looking at, and wondering about the previous owners, and the connection with history in general. Also, I do feel fortunate to own some nice pieces!

ColonialCoinUnion · July 27, 2003 12:35AM

Well, no. But I am surprised that some average Joe (me) can buy some of these coins - and I'm surprised they haven't all been sucked up like a big vaccuum by the numismatic equivalent of Bill Gates.

Do you know what i mean?

cladking · July 27, 2003 12:40AM

Great thread. Great posts.

As a boy I had recurring dreams of finding vast treasures and boxes
of coins. The dreams started going away as I started collecting more.

Never have them anymore but it sometimes seems I'm living one.

66Tbird · July 27, 2003 12:42AM

<< Do you ever impress yourself, looking at your own collection? >>

That is why I collect. For each time I look it's like the first.

ER · July 27, 2003 12:54AM

Yes. But, then there are days when I think to myself, what the heck am I doing spending tons of money on these old junks

. Do you guys ever have these feelings, also? Tell me I 'm not the only one.

LanLord · July 27, 2003 12:56AM

<< Great thread. Great posts. As a boy I had recurring dreams of finding vast treasures and boxes of coins. The dreams started going away as I started collecting more. Never have them anymore but it sometimes seems I'm living one. >>

Indeed, I can remember as a little boy, paging through a redbook looking at all the really expensive coins and wondering what they looked like, who could afford them.

Now I know what they look like and who can afford some of them. There are a hell of a lot that I can't afford, but maybe if my lotto ticket comes in...

barberlover · July 27, 2003 2:13AM

I wish I hadn't needed to sell about half my collection to pay bills with, but I still enjoy the coins I own, but to tell you the truth I think after seeing some of Cardinals coins last week, I'd rather have his collection then mine !!!!

Les

JoyofCollecting · July 27, 2003 2:30AM

We are talking coins.......right?

Dog97 · July 27, 2003 3:04AM

LanLord asks: Do you ever impress yourself, looking at your own collection?

No. Actually I'm filled with shame when I look at my collection.

There's the beautiful blue & red peripheral toned 1887 Morgan with perfect toning except for the slight partial fingerprint that disrupts it. Well it was cheap, the seller had a restocking fee, so I threw it in the safe of no return.
And the 1897 R&B IHC with the partial print on the obv that I owned for 10 years and never noticed the print until I scanned the coin last year.
And the 78CC DMPL Morgan with the black spot @ star L-2 that disrupts the beautiful cameo & killer mirrors.
And the 83-O with the crescent & some textile tone that I paid $300+ for. It lists in the PCGS Price Guide for $42.
And the V-Nick that's strike is flat enough to land an F-15 on. It's in an ANACS holder to. Never mind that it has beautiful blue, purple, & green toning.
And the 85-O Morgan that I thought I was buying a flourescent vivid green monster. Hey I didn't know the seller ehnahces his pictures and it really was dull blue. Well I didn't have that model in blue so into the safe of no return.
And a MS62 Barber dime. It's original. Looks like an original dog turd with a greenish red tint.
And a V-Nick from a Heritage Long Beach Auction. It looks full Cameo but don't say that in the holder. No fingerprints or dip spots, really a decent loking coin. The juice made it cost almost $800. It listed on the PCGS site @ $500 then. Now I see the site lists it @ $800. Hmmm...strange. Maybe I made an "investment?"
And a high priced CC DNPL that I bought from Teletrade years ago. I sure wouldn't crack it out and try to resubmit it raw I'm here to tell you.
I guess I don't need to mention the 5 or 6 Modern PCGS Proof 70 DCams that I own, huh?

Yep, you guys think I'm a picky hardcore grumpy old collector but if you ever saw what I really owned you would run me off the forum on a rail.

Shamika · July 27, 2003 3:20AM

You know you still have the love when you can look at even one of your coins and wonder how'd you get so lucky to obtain it.

stman · July 27, 2003 3:38AM

<< Yep, you guys think I'm a picky hardcore grumpy old collector but if you ever saw what I really owned you would run me off the forum on a rail. >>

Dog... Please say it isn't so.

cointagious · July 27, 2003 3:41AM

<< Do you ever impress yourself, looking at your own collection? >>

yes. and the stuff i've sold is even more impressive.

rainbowroosie · July 27, 2003 6:35AM

Yes, my coins do impress me. I am a "color junkie" and my dimes and quarters match up (favorably) with any set in existence. I only see them every two or three months and it is always a very pleasant visit to the bank.

clw54 · July 27, 2003 6:49AM

I don't know about being impressed, but there some that I'm real glad I have. Here's one I think is cool.

oldcameoproofsguy · July 27, 2003 6:58AM

I'm down to three slabbed coins, but I am putting in a bid on a 20$ Kellogg; that would make one heck of a fourth coin. My safety deposit box was one of the largest the bank had. When I pulled the box out, the weight of it really impressed me. Now I can carry my entire collection in my shirt pocket.

BTW, my consignment at Heritage went very well and that impresses me also.

1jester · July 27, 2003 7:07AM

"But, then there are days when I think to myself, what the heck am I doing spending tons of money on these old junks. Do you guys ever have these feelings, also? Tell me I 'm not the only one." --ER

No, you're not the only one. Sometimes I just think to myself, "Why in tarnation do I do this?! What the heck are these things good for anyway?! I'm wasting my life away!"

coinlieutenant · July 27, 2003 7:15AM

Good posts. Most of the time when I look at my collection I am very impressed. Very relaxing for me to sit down and enjoy looking at something so old and yet so beautiful.

Then sometimes I think agree with ER and I say what in the hell am I doing here? They are just pieces of metal. ..... That goes away very quickly however. Thankfully....

John

Gemini · July 27, 2003 7:35AM

Surprisingly the older I get the better some of my toned coins look...
No I'm not losing my eyesight

but some of the coins I bought 20 years ago or so actually have taken on additional toning and serendipously have improved themselves!
Many now look better than when I bought them.
I guess like a fine casked wine they are mellowing through time and aging just right along with me.

cladking · July 27, 2003 7:46AM

<< 

Yep, you guys think I'm a picky hardcore grumpy old collector but if you ever saw what I really owned you would run me off the forum on a rail. >>

I bet you're just being a picky hardcore grumpy old collector and we'd all be impressed if we saw your chamber of horrors.

cladking · July 27, 2003 7:57AM

Doubt is always a very human emotion. Logically it doesn't make much sense to pay
huge premiums for little discs of metal no matter how scarce or attractive, but it's also
very human to want to beat nature into a manageable and understandable system. It
is also very human to like shiny and hard to obtain wealth. Sure, someday everyone
may come to his senses and then we'll be out all this money, but in the meantime (and
then some) we'll just continue our aberrent ways.

Hey, at least you're collecting something that everyone has long agreed has real value.
Much of my collection is still considered just so much junk by many collectors and had no
real premium until a few years ago. Talk about doubt!

The impressive part is in knowing the amount of effort and knowledge required to ass-
semble any sort of meaningful collection. Not to mention the time, money, blood, sweat,
and tears.

cherrypickincoin · July 27, 2003 8:01AM

I impress myself quite often with the extremely fast pace in which I put sets together. I ask myself the same questions as those mentioned above but another one that comes to mind is that, despite my collection being worth quite a bit of money, I often feel that it isn't good enough, that I need more, that I can't stop. It's almost an inferiority complex that I can't explain.

coinkat · July 27, 2003 8:54AM

yes... but probably not how it may be meant here. Sometimes I may not fully appreciate certain a coin at the time purchase and over time I like it more.

mercurynut · July 27, 2003 9:29AM

There is a certain part of my collection that I have impressed myself with mostly because of the patiants it took to get the coins I needed in the greades I eventually could afford.

Cam40 · July 27, 2003 9:03PM

I feel , and I,m sure I,m gonna make alot of friends with this post ,is the size and value of ones collection is just
a testament to how much money and free time one has.
It also helps if you live in a coin-rich part of the country. That doesnt even matter too much any more
with the advent of the internet. You want a coin? Nine times outta ten you can find someone via the net
to sell you what your looking for.
Do I sound jealous? lol

I had the coolest dream the other night. I have to share....you know when your having the dream,
you dont really know your dreaming so thats what makes it so cool. You think its really happening.

so I,m walking through a grocery store on the way out, just before the exit I,m looking down and noticed
someone kicked a penny. An old brown penny, and as I went to pick it up I thought I noticed the reverse
had a `chain-link` design. I picked it up without looking at it further as I couldnt wait to get it home to
examine it more. I just knew it was a chain cent and was freakin. Also another coin I saw and picked up
just about two seconds after grabbing the chain cent, was a very weird looking error Lincoln. Something like the
one I really did see on this forum.
It all seemed to be about a 10 second dream but I sure as hell remember seeing and reaching down to get that
chain cent. Wow.

I,m sure that dream was once a reality for someone many many years ago except they wouldnt
have been walking through a supermarket when it ( chain cent ) was discovered.

MadMonk · July 27, 2003 11:48PM

I keep my collection in a safe deposit box. Occasionally. I'll go pull it out, bring it home, and yes, I'm impressed. Mostly the Franklin part of my collection. I collected mainly toners, and real nice, mellowed brilliant coins...it's still makes me wax lyrical....

mojorizn · July 27, 2003 11:57PM

I'm impressed by my 14 year old son's collection. He's got a good eye when it comes to matching up Buffalo nickels. So far he has all the '13 Type 1 coins in VF and only lacks the '13-S to finish up the type 2's. Pretty good when you consider he does this on a $20 a week allowance! Might take him a while for that VF '13-S.

MOJO

KlectorKid · July 28, 2003 12:00AM

Doesnt really impress me because I havent really gotten any where with it but when I get more gold and finish my newest love for IHC and FE's in date/mint set form. Then I will be really very proud of my collection.

291fifth · July 28, 2003 12:31AM

Impress if the coin is nice. Depress if it isn't. How much was paid is also a factor as being "buried' in a coin kills the enthusiasm.

CharlieB · July 28, 2003 12:32AM

Yes and I also get a quick high. Collections aren't built overnight.

When I look at my coins I go back in time. I am in total
awe at how their beauty has been preserved over the
years. To be able to hold one of these coins in my hand
and know that hundreds of people, including dealers,
collectors and previous owners probably did the same thing,
well it just gets to me.

pmh1nic · July 28, 2003 12:39AM

Impressed might be too strong but I enjoy the coins I have in my collection. I've tried to collect and not accumulate so each coin holds some special interest to me.

I am very IMPRESSED with many of the coins other members have shared (via pictures posted) with us. From some of the Franklin's (those monsters Lucy and Frank put up every now and then) to the Early Dollars in the Cardinal collection, Baley's signature Half Eagle that I covet (Father forgive me

) and his raw type set coins, Mr. Commem's Branch Mint Gold and even an occassional Colonial and Modern.

nwcs · July 28, 2003 12:52AM

Usually with my super nice mercs and war nicks I'll drool over and over. And for a few of my morgans. But I still enjoy looking at them all.

Do you ever impress yourself, looking at your own collection?

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