Are you still in love with coins?

PuddlePirate

I have one actually 8). My father gave it to me in 62 when we lived in Newfoundland at Harmon AFB. I have ALWAYS loved ships (until I had to get underway for six months at a time and learned all about "hot bunking" and "chumming" for real). I'll have to get some pictures up I think, love the old square riggers!

cladking

Welcome aboard.

We often talk about coins being worth what a willing buyer and seller agree to.
It's also true that they can a great deal more value sometimes.

Askari

Welcome aboard, PuddlePirate!! Your sentiment is ours exactly, which is why so many "Liteside" collectors have converted. Here, you can collect any way your heart desires: modern or ancient, circulated or not, slabbed or free, and so on ... whatever is meaningful to you!! And that's the way we like it!!

1jester

Great thread. I don't have much to add, but I do feel that at least for me, a great draw to coins is their function as a time machine, as Aethelred puts it. I too like history, and coins are the easiest way to get in touch with it. I mean, to actually come face to face with history, not just imagine it, or read about it, or watch films or documentaries about it on TV. Coins ARE history, and furthermore were used in commerce, so therefore are really vital links to our past as human beings. Addding the artistic value of coins to that, and you have very wonderful trappings of a noble hobby.

I don't find myself buying too many coins lately (last 6-8 months), and when I do, I try to concentrate on extremely high grade coins in a very narrowed-down field of interest. However, I do love to read about, look at and talk about most all types of coins. Naturally, the friendly atmosphere of this forum adds to the fun factor, as has already been said.

Vive le Dark!

JamminJ

I'm currently more engaged coin-wise than I've ever been.

However, I know exactly how you're feeling coin wise as I went through exactly the same thing myself. Back in the waning days of my US collecting it had become very blah. I was collecting bust quarters which were expensive when I began and became more so as I went along. I bought coins I didn't really like just to fill a slot in the set. It was pretty clear that on my path I was likely to drift out of the hobby.

Three things turned it around for me:
1. Discovery of a darkside nitch which really, really jazzed me
2. The decision to put in the effort to become as knowlegeable as possible
3. Making some good contacts to share the victories, defeats and other war stories with

I've been over point one before how I started with first world war coins, became especially enamored of the Austrian and drifted back in time to the Holy Roman Empire so I won't recount it here.

As to point two there's a "Numismatic New Years Resolution" thread around here about my strategy to advance my collecting. I wanted to learn how to grade and detect problem coins and laid out a roadmap to accomplish this. Included was attending an ANA grading seminar, using TPGs to check my progress, viewing lots and lots of coins and hanging around with other knowledgable people.

Progress has been substantial. I made it to the grading seminar last summer. Most Saturdays are spent pouring over auctions and dealer inventory. Over the past year I've submitted about 400 coins to NGC and the grading spread between us has been narrowed substantially. In the past 250 coins I received only 2 surprising bodybags and can correctly call the the AU/MS liners about 80% of the time.

As for point three, I started by inviting all the local coin people over to my house for a six foot hero and coin show & tell a few times. Several are presentable in mixed company and well versed in the hobby: shirohnichaan, jom, elcontdor, strat, toningintheblood, tjkillian, truthteller, melikecoins and especialy gmarguli. I've become a popular guy with several of the local dealers and they are usually happy to share tips and stories, time permitting. This forum and the much maligned NGC forums are also great fun when used properly.

That's how I stayed engaged in our wonderful hobby. My advice for someone in a rut is as follows:

First of all, don't do anything rash. Selling off coins that cannot be easily replaced shouldn't be done in haste. If you have truly decided to move on there's plenty of time to sell later. After becoming thouroughly enmeshed in the darkside I sold off all but one of my bust quarters - keeping only the one that sparked my interest orginally.

Next, take some time off. Coins are nice in that they don't get jealous if you spend time doing other things. During you hiatus think of what originally drew you into your now tiring specialty. History? Thrill of the hunt? Artistry? Prospect of a full Dansco? Comradery? Also there's no harm in working a small side set while you ponder the future.

Finally remember that as a hobby it should be fun. If you're having fun everything is OK and if not things need to change. If you need some suggestions on where to head next here are five types of coinage that I simply don't have the time or money to collect in addition to the HRE: Japan, Peru, Danzig, Byzantine, Roman Provincial. Feel free to adopt any or all as your own.

-JamminJ

MacCrimmon

<< <i>Over the past year I've submitted about 400 coins to NGC and the grading spread between us has been narrowed substantially. In the past 250 coins I received only 2 surprising bodybags and can correctly call the the AU/MS liners about 80% of the time. >>


Good for you, JamminJ.
Nice to see you taking the numismatic arts to the next level.

Watch out for that gmarguli though....I hear he's a menace.

coachleonard

absolutely-- but there was more of a sense of wonder about old/historical coins back in the early 80's, when i had access to only one coin store, no internet, no coin shows. So i had little exposure to ancient coins, medieval coins, US colonial coins-- and when i could finally afford one and bought it through mail order, it was a really major 'WOW' when it arrived at my small town college post office. I'd turn the history of that coin over and over in my mind-- something i still do.

syraq

I keep coming back again and again, reading each and every reply. If I say that it's beyond my wildest expectations, it would be an understatement. It's not the number of pages and replies - without the word giveaway in the title -, it's not the DPOTD, it's not even the little poem that Laurent composed or the genuine support noted in a couple of other threads.It's the fact that without aiming for it, this question really struck a chord in the hearts of everyone who posted a reply, and perhaps many others who simply agreed with what has already been written. I can find a way by choosing parts of almost every reply from the first to the last. Yes, Neptune, I have recently found another (unrelated to this) hobby that not only takes a big part of my free time but also has the (unfair perhaps) advantage of being new and more seductive, and I'm sure phut will understand, there's room for only one big love at a time. But it's also genetic , as stork says , at least I feel this way, and ever since I can remember myself, I liked collecting things, everything that appeared to me that the world of the future oughta be able to see , through me as the safekeeper. An attitude, a gene no doubt, in big contrast with another gene that, ideally, wants me almost posessionless, and free to move at will with the minimum of needs.Wether I take a break or not,sell later or not at all, move on to another direction and which one, the answer is here, but most of all, some really wonderful people are here, from Alaska to Israel, from Connecticut to Poland, from Korea to Canada, and more. Others are new and excited , others have a more mature affair with their ups and downs , others have even broken up with their coins for a while! -I thing it's best if we don't see each other for a while - but we all treat it as love, not as a simple hobby. You really overwhelm me.





Dimitri

newsman

<< <i>I keep coming back again and again, reading each and every reply. If I say that it's beyond my wildest expectations, it would be an understatement. It's not the number of pages and replies - without the word giveaway in the title -, it's not the DPOTD, it's not even the little poem that Laurent composed or the genuine support noted in a couple of other threads.It's the fact that without aiming for it, this question really struck a chord in the hearts of everyone who posted a reply, and perhaps many others who simply agreed with what has already been written. I can find a way by choosing parts of almost every reply from the first to the last. Yes, Neptune, I have recently found another (unrelated to this) hobby that not only takes a big part of my free time but also has the (unfair perhaps) advantage of being new and more seductive, and I'm sure phut will understand, there's room for only one big love at a time. But it's also genetic , as stork says , at least I feel this way, and ever since I can remember myself, I liked collecting things, everything that appeared to me that the world of the future oughta be able to see , through me as the safekeeper. An attitude, a gene no doubt, in big contrast with another gene that, ideally, wants me almost posessionless, and free to move at will with the minimum of needs.Wether I take a break or not,sell later or not at all, move on to another direction and which one, the answer is here, but most of all, some really wonderful people are here, from Alaska to Israel, from Connecticut to Poland, from Korea to Canada, and more. Others are new and excited , others have a more mature affair with their ups and downs , others have even broken up with their coins for a while! -I thing it's best if we don't see each other for a while - but we all treat it as love, not as a simple hobby. You really overwhelm me.





Dimitri >>




There's no way I can add to that except to say:



Great posts, Dimitri, and everyone else!

1jester

So, Dimitri, what is this other "love" you allude to that it displacing your interest in coins? Are you now collecting things that have a tendency to become jealous of each other...

syraq

No Jester, it's unrelated to collecting and is not very much in accordance with "collecting" , "acquiring", "amassing" etc. It's a little more spiritual and more physical too.Perhaps even more demanding at least in the beginning. But it would be unfair to hijack my own thread talking about my new hobbies and interests. The most important conclusion that comes out of these replies , is the genuine love for the hobby, that allows a little bit of unfaithfulness, boredom , even a break, because love is tolerant ,defeats the obstacles and conquers all .

newsman

Those interests can be coin-related, too -- especially if she gets jealous of your coins.

Darkhorse

One buzz I get out of collecting is impressing people with the coins or medals I have. It's a dirty shamefull buzz that makes you proud of what you have.
Hopefully I can help you make scores of people jealous of you and your collection soon.

syraq

Thank you DH, hopefully you'll do much more than that, because impressing and making people jealous of my posessions is not and has never been among my priorities. But I could use your services for other purposes, and offer you a nice and memorable weekend in return.You wouldn't want me to mention cash for such a noble cause now, would you?