Is hoarding foolish? What do you hoard?

epicrecipe

I've read a couple of posts today where people discuss the long term financial mistake of hoarding coins. They point out that if you had invested the money at a modest return as you saved it, you'd have much more money today. Of course, they are technically right, but it smells a bit too academic. The reasoning is sound, but it's developed in hindsight. What simple investment vehicles can one contribute so little so rarely and get a 7-10% return.

There are benefits of hoarding coins on a small scale. Hoarding offers relatively quick tangible results. As one saves, they can appreciate how quickly saving adds up - an important lesson in learning how to build wealth. Once they become aware of their savings, they're more apt to decide to save where they previously would have spent unconsciously. It's empowering to have extra money relatively effortlessly especially when it yields something meaningful like a nice dinner with my wife once a month or an annual weekend retreat. Some people get the enjoyment of sifting through the coins. Others hedge on a boost in numismatic value. And a hoard is liquid.

I hoard pocket change and cash it in to pay a bill every few months or bankroll a poker game. I also hoard sacs and SBAs I get as change from machines at the post office that I'll probably deposit in my daughter's savings account. My mom gave me a small hoard of half dollars that piqued my interest in this hobby. Not sure what I'll do with it.

It's tough to balance these real benefits against the theoritical alternative. I'm not talking about massive hoards that border on being compulsive. Just small hoards from pocket change. Am I wrong?

What do you hoard, how big is it and what do you spend or plan to spend your hoard on?

hamiltonjh

dont know if this answers your question but....

I save (hoard?) all my change and cash in about every 2 years. A few weeks ago, we cashed in and had about $550 in quarters dimes and nickels. So, we pulled a little extra cash and bought a Hitachi DVD movie camera.



Sure, we coulda put it in the bank, but it's just "fun money".

Smitty79

<< <i>What do you hoard? >>



Delaware state quarters.



<< <i>Is hoarding foolish? >>



In my case, probably.

hamiltonjh

how many you got Smitty?

Smitty79

I'm only up to 21 so far not including the mint state P and D quarters in my Whitman album. I don't know why but whenever I get them in change, I set em aside. Probably cause of it being the first state.

epicrecipe

hamiltonjh,

Yes - that's what I was curious about. Cool camera!

hamiltonjh

21 is a hoard?

the camera is fun and basically cost us 1/3 retail from saving pocket change.

Smitty79

Even Ikeguy had to start smoewhere.

hamiltonjh

I guess I'll read about you in CW someday with 4 tons of Delaware SQ's huH?

Smitty79

Don't hold yer breath.

hamiltonjh

well...considering how long De SQ's have been out...if you only have 21, you better pick up the pace

Smitty79

Yea, I should.

I should add, I've only been saving them for about a year or so. I don't get them in change all that often so I don't see hoarding very many.

Cam40

from change?
copper cents,
1982 zincs,
pl zincolns,
1982 nickels,
better-condition-for-its-age stuff
anything that looks collectible.

i have a blast opening bank wrapped rolls of any denom and searching through em.
cheap way to get stuff but you are limited to whats out there in circulation.
rarely if ever any silver dimes or quarters
so its off to the coin store for the real juicy stuff
when finances allow

epicrecipe

My wife collects the state quarters from change. She's very diligent about filling her album.

Steve27

Collecting items from your change is not hoarding. Obtaining and holding onto all the 1914 Barber halvesyou could find, as one collector did, would be hoarding. (In his case they found the coins after his death, so I guess it didn't payoff.)

majorbigtime

My Dad and I hoarded rolls of coins back in the 50s and 60s. I still have most of 'em. They have become entombed in Meghrig coin tubes, and I can't get em out!

They are not worth diddly-squat. The same money invested elsewhere whuld have yielded a nice profit. To me, hoarding sucks!!

hamiltonjh

how much you want for them?

I'll take'em off your hands.

majorbigtime

They are not worth handling, yet alone shipping. I left 'em with a friend in California when I had to clear-out my parents' house a few years ago.

Heck, even Leroy Lenhart won't buy 'em, and he buys nearly everything!!

Kinda makes me sick every time I think about 'em. Outta sight, outta mind!!

hamiltonjh

oh well....

If you end up with them again, I'll pay shipping if you wanna get rid of them

Shamika

I'm pleased to say I've been very good at trying to keep my collection at one piece per dat/mint. I do have extras, but I try to liquidate them at the first opportunity.

ziggy29

Well, since I was one of those folks who brought up the financial angle, let me clarify. If you hoard because you enjoy doing it, that's one thing -- the financial implications are secondary. But if, like my late mother-in-law with her mostly XF-AU bicentennial quarters, or others with wheat cents and the like, someone puts them away because "they'll be worth something some day," and lots of other people are doing so too, then you're all but guaranteeing that they won't be worth much more than face value for a long, long time.

I suppose if it's the only way one can get theirself to save, it's better than not saving at all, though.

cladking

<< <i>Well, since I was one of those folks who brought up the financial angle, let me clarify. If you hoard because you enjoy doing it, that's one thing -- the financial implications are secondary. But if, like my late mother-in-law with her mostly XF-AU bicentennial quarters, or others with wheat cents and the like, someone puts them away because "they'll be worth something some day," and lots of other people are doing so too, then you're all but guaranteeing that they won't be worth much more than face value for a long, long time.

I suppose if it's the only way one can get theirself to save, it's better than not saving at all, though. >>



The perverse thing about human nature is that everyone tends put away about
the same thing because "it will be worth something someday". This of course as-
sures it's unlikely to be worth very much until long after they all give up. One should
not assume on the basis of this one experience that saving things which are current
can not provide a monetary profit in the future, but you would have to save those
things which others are not in order to have much of a chance.

While I'd hardly recommend saving things like current circulated coin in vast quantity
for possible appreciation it should be noted that many of these are almost impossible
to locate more than a few years old. Not only were people not saving new coin in the
late '70's they certainly weren't intentionally saving used coins. It is extremely uncom-
mon to find a roll or quantity of quarters that are over six years old. In fact for most of
the last several decades it's been almost impossible to find a roll that was more than 3
years old. While demand is small the supply is non-existent.

As was pointed out on another thread on this subject the results of this hoarding would
have been much different if the coins were being cherry picked from BU rolls and mint
sets. Even if they had been cherried from circulation for only the scarcest varieties and
the choicest coins the results would be very different.

Those who must hoard current items for profit would be well-advised to seek those which
are not being saved by other people.

kranky

<< <i>Not only were people not saving new coin in the late '70's they certainly weren't intentionally saving used coins. >>



I always found it fascinating that in the short span of about 15 years, things changed from massive hoarding of rolls and bags, to complete indifference. In the early 60's people hoarded new coins on an immense scale to where the Mint took the mintmarks away.

razorface1027

I still hoard wheaties for some ungodly reason.

100proof1957

i just hoard pocket change,mostly for Vegas money !

poorguy

I have been hoarding bank rolls of and BU state quarters!! Yeah, I know it's retarded. I figure it will all come to profit when I have 80+ complete whitman albums of straight-from-the-roll quarters. I anticipate that complete sets will be hot on eBay right when the 50 state quarters program is over. Some people like to do things the easy way and just buy the set when they stop making these quarters. It's also a no-risk investment. I get-em at face and if they aren't hot when the program is over, I got cheap Christmas gifts for my large family.

I have been storing them in an artillery shell crate in my house. I have so many that I can't lift it. At last count I had over 4,000 quarters.

Coinerww

I have over 100 state quarters in circulated condition.
over 500 lincoln pennies.
over 100 linclon wheats.
over 200 nickels and 50 dimes.
over 30 dollars
over 10 half dollars
over 5 ikes.
2 morgans
25 or so liberty nickels.

GoYankees

I hold onto any silver coin I find.

I also fill up an an empty half-gallon bottle of Gatorade with quarters that I get in loose change or from bottle/can deposits. Once the Gatorade bottle is full, I roll them up and cash them in and use the money to buy coins.

ms70

I used to hoard Bi-centennial Quarters. I had about $100 worth. Eventually I changed my desire to do it and cashed them in, putting
the money toward a new coin purchase.

DanArgent

bicentenials are the realy funny thing that people horde almost everyone that I know whether or not they collect other coins will pull bicentenials out of circulation if they see them and put them in a sock drawer. I have about 50 or so bicentenials just because I find them interesting and I have a whitman book filled with them. But some people expect them to increase in value which they wont if everone is saving them just like they are.

one time I got 10000 quarters out of the vault and looked through them to see what the chances of finding a bicentenial was. I maneged to find about 20 or so.

coinandcurrency242

I have been hoarding the state quarters. Also, I would hoard the new nickels but have not come accross one yet. Maybe someday I will see one.

fishcooker

I used to hoard bicentennial halves.

If you ever went to the bank and got 3 rolls of halves, only to find evey stinking one of 'em a circulated, jewel-lustered 1976 half.......

that was my hoard!

Topdollarpaid

for me its

Silver Certificates

full rim V nickels, and Barber coins

With liberty Indian cents

Pocket watches

Proof coins pre 1936

tokens and medals

alergar

I have one 20 coin mint roll of Silver Eagles 1986 thru 2004.

anablep

<< <i>I'm pleased to say I've been very good at trying to keep my collection at one piece per dat/mint. I do have extras, but I try to liquidate them at the first opportunity. >>



I try to do the same thing. But I set aside any silver, wheats, silver halves/40%-ers, etc.

lava

I hoard, but I don't want to say what, because I don't want to give anyone ideas.

CoinGuy42

I hoard BU rolls of Lincoln cents, nickels and dimes. A local retailer in my neighborhood receives fed wrapped BU rolls so I get them all at face. Every time I stop by to purchase gasoline, milk, etc., I always buy a few rolls of whatever he has and I salt them away. I have about 300 rolls of various denominations. My plan is to leave these to my yet to be born grandchild.

I also hoard, just for the heck of it, circulated PA and DE SQ's, and older quarters (65-69) and older cents I receive in change.

On my way home today, I purchased 11.00 of BU coins (cents and nickels). I never plan to make a profit off these, but I do hope that my grandchild will enjoy them some day.

Art

JamesW

I am 42, started collecting coins when I was 12. I have never spent or sold a single coin that entered my collection. Anything that doesn't make my collection goes in containers and spent every few years. I have never spent a bicentennial quarter (foolish no doubt), half dollar, or dollar coin. Of all my collected coins only 74 are in slabs. 16 of those are Kennedy halves in NTC slabs that I regret, but I have since learned.

route66

I hoard pocket change to pay for my yearly membership at the local golf club. I have started to hoard one bag of each Memorial Lincoln Cent. [saving for 2008/09] Am also starting to hoard PCGS 1909 cents. P's and S's. No particular reason, I just like the coin.

khayse

I hoard everything.

Smitty, I have a bag of 100 Delaware quarters that I was thinking of putting on ebay.

-KHayse

Conder101

Lately I've been hoarding 1791 Hampshire 89 Conder tokens. I have nine of them so far. Two proofs, three Uncs and 4 circulated ones. I think I may try and stop when I get to an even dozen. (If I tried I could probably reach that in a month.)

I also have a weakness for 1795 Hertfordshire 4 Conder tokens. I have four of them, all proofs. My favorite one is one I picked up a few months back that came from Mathew Boulton's personal collection (Boulton was the manufacturer who coined them in 1795. His collection remained intact until late in 2002. I got it from the dealer who purchased most of the collection.) So I am only the second collector to own this 200+ year old piece and I got it (basicly) directly from the coiner himself.

jdimmick

I dont think it would be a good idea to hoard key date coins that are consistently available on any given day at current prices. If you could have picked them up say two years ago, it probably would have been a great investment, but at the current level today, thier is more bottom side potential than upside IMO? Not all key dates, but the ones that are always available (over-supply)

jim

atarian

i save (hoard) and coin basically pre 1964 . whether its wheats silver older jefferesons stuff like that i hold on to. also i save ( and do see it as hoarding) old paper money older than 1963 series. i scored 10 $ from 1934a series and held every one. they are cool and i think are so cool i must keep every one i get. yet anything newer than 1963 i just spend

dorkkarl

i hoard cracked out slabs.

no, i'm serious!

K S

BillJones

I have perhaps 60 rolls of wheat cents that either came from my grandmother's estate or that I picked from circulation over the years. I've kept them mostly as something to remember from the grandmother. At the time of her death in 1976 she several hundred dollars worth of junk silver that I sold on behalf of the family. If I only waited three or four years it would have been worth 7 or 8 times what I got for it in 1976, but who knew?

I also have maybe 20 rolls of circulated full date Buffalo nickels that I purchased years ago. Since then the price has increased from $4 a roll to around $20.

Beyond that my core collection is a well-organized group of nice collector coins with virtually no duplicates. As such I’d say that it is the antithesis of a hoard.

TONEDDOLLARS

Toned dollars and spare change to pay for them

morganbarber

I hoard Wheaties and S mint business strikes.

Lightside

Since 1999, I have hoarded every silver proof state quarter I can get my hands on. The pop on these is very low; and we all can see that their value has risen very nicely. My safe deposit box is getting full.

I'm hearing that the silver Texas proof in going to sky rocket.

Any opinions on the silver 2004 proof sets, with the two nickels? Possible low mintage? Fast appreciation?

DanArgent

to those of you that horde bank rolls. If you get them from your local mini mart, about 80% of fed bank rolls are just mixed circulated coin that banks have turned it. At the bank that I work at an armoured car arives about once every two weeks. Before it comes we make a call to the fed telling them what denominations we have to much of anf what denominations we need. We then make a trade. The huge bags of quarters and stuff that we give them are from circulation and they go and roll them and distribute them to banks that need these rolls. Then retailers come into the banks and request rolls. We give them the bank raped stuff that the fed gives us. thats not to say that a lot of bank raped rolls arn't straight from the mint about one in five are but if your just hording bank rolls expect most of them to be just like hording pocket change.

Dan

Bear

I hoard every 10,000 piece of currency that comes my way.

Still waiting for one to come my way.

bushmaster8

I used to hoard 1914-S quarters. It paid off big time. I got most at around $10/per. Then one day they went up about 600%!