Poll: Do you follow the box of 20 concept?

nwcs

Just curious how many people are trying to follow the box of 20 type of collecting. What that means for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term is that instead of a series or large collection you try to assemble like 10-30 of the best coins you can afford and when you get enough coins you consolidate again so that you always have around 10-30 coins at a time.

ms70

Never heard of that concept.

MadMonk

No, but I have considered it.

michael

no impossible to do with most all collectors

but i bet for most all they can put together a box of 20 outof all they have in their collections

mgoodm3

Not going to happen for now.

pharmer

Too regimented. As Mr. T is wont to say, "Rules is for fools!"

XpipedreamR

If I did, it would be a pretty lame box.

LanLord

No, perhaps 40 boxes of 20 is more like what I do.

A box of 20 sounds like an interesting concept, but I don't think I could limit myself to only 20 coins.

Sometimes I see a bunch of coins that are way outside my area of interest or expertise. I buy them just because.

A few years ago I bought a bunch of ancients because I thought they were interesting.

A box of 20 concept wouldn't last a day with me.

That's not to say that it's not a perfectly good collecting strategy for others, just not me.

Cameonut

No - never heard of it.

I am more like LanLord, I have about 40 boxes of 20 coins.

I have considered selling it all and consolidating to two or three boxes. I would save big money on saftey deposit box rental. But to do that would mean I would have to sell some of my favorite 100 coins - can't bring myself to do that.

fishcooker

Sounds like something a coin broker would promote.

ARCO

The box of 20 rule implies a sort of uber, quality conscious collecting strategy. It is fine for those who like to pass on hundreds of beautiful coins month after month to find that ultimate coin. For me I will buy all the beautiful coins I see....and the ultimate ones when they come along.

If I didn't worry about theft I would empty my swimming pool and fill it with coins, and when it filled I would move the furniture out of the basement and work on filling that.

Tyler

coinkat

It is not for me...

mhammerman

I'm very interested in the concept. As a collector, by definition, I keep a lot of stuff I don't need. Things like dupe mint sets and proof/silver sets, extra rolls of nickels, stray coins picked up here and there, and much more, just a lot of stuff. In fact, I just sold half a sack full of stuff. On the other hand, I have my series so I'm trying constantly to refocus and to not "collect" or accumulate stuff.

So, the box of 20 where I limit myself to a fixed set of coins to upgrade/trade, for each series, then that might keep me focused. Certainly an interesting idea and one of many successful strategies.

lordmarcovan

I like the concept. It has some merit.

I've worked on similar lines before.

topstuf

I try. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But after one discovers just how TOUGH it is to sell coins if you HAVE to, it makes a lot more sense to have to do the procedure as few times as possible.

It also forces EASIER saleable coins on the practitioner.

It also doesn't allow you to COLLECT stuff. Gets out of hand.

Dependent on age. At my age, I don't want a selling CHORE. Just a nice manageable bunch of stuff.

My personal stash goes from bullion to coins and coins to bullion. Trade, sell, buy, whatever.

It worked for me and built from nothing easier than any other way I could think of. Sure wish I had some of the "gone" ones back again. But......well....

If it fits, do it. If not, don't.

Bear

I follow that conceipt in theory, except I have a maximum of 100 coins.

Periodically, I clear out the coins of lesser beauty and perfection and

add a coin or two.

Baley

what, 20 coins and I'm not allowed to have any other coins? no, that doesn't interest me.

I do have 20 or 40 or 100 favorite coins that would be the last to go, and I do thin the ranks occasionally
(ok, continually, but always seem to buy, in the aggregate, more coins than I sell )

barberlover

I posted a thread on this very topic last year, maybe some of you remember.

The theory is not a limit of "a single box of 20" what it is, is to limit yourself to 20 approaved keeper coins at a time. where you review each & every coin in the box, then when you can say that every one is not for sale, not trade bait and are happy with 1 - 20, then you move on to the next box of 20.

So rather then saying its only 20 coins period, its only 20 "keepers" at a time. Then 20 more keepers, all it means is your box of coins has no dogs or upgrades desired before you start a new box, that does not mean a limit on the number of boxes or coins. Its just an attempt to limit the number of times you look at your collection and go "yuck, why & when did I buy this" ?

Les

CarlWohlforth

I like the idea. When I started selling my collection I realized I was a hoarder. My coin collecting buddies are the same. We will buy a duplicate because we like it more or it is cheaper and we think it is a bargain or whatever.

Once my daughter finishes school and leaves home (in about 10 years) I will start over with the box of 20 approach. Maybe....

LindeDad

Maybe twenty boxes of twenty would be more like it. I like to collect sets of coins.

Wondo

I am getting tp that box of twenty. Might end up as a box o'30, however.

RYK

I like the concept, but not the follow-through. I will try to keep my collection as focused and high-quality as I possibly can.

If I were an investor, I would embrace the "Box of 20" concept.

roadrunner

You have to be brutally honest with yourself when evaluating your boxes. If they aren't irreplaceable, and you can live without them, you should. I like the box of 20 concept myself....but now I'm into my 4th box. I'd prefer 1-2 boxes of irreplaceable monsters. Those have been doing fabulously well the past few years. To someone who is mainly an investor or speculator, the box of 20 makes perfect sense and it what I would recommend to them. You can also complete a 20 coin set within the box of 20 concept.

Whether you have 1 coin, 20 coins, or 100 coins, as long as they are all very worthy, you should be fine. It's just that liquidating a smaller number of coins is usually far easier in a strong market.

roadrunner

CardsFan

I try to stick to the two boxes of 20 theory. I have one box of 20 for proof coins and one box of 20 for circ's.... and then a few that sit around in the overflow box.

cdan12

Right now I am trying to cut back to 7 box's of 20. (all lincolns)

nwcs

Right now I'm working to it. I have around 40 coins that are in the "collection" and about 40 I'm going to sell by year's end. I don't think I'll end up with just 20 but I don't think it'll be more than 40. I think of using the coins as rungs on the ladder to better coins. I think that a smaller set of higher quality coins is always easier to dispose of in any coin environment. I ain't no coin investor but I am really starting to rethink my approach.

ColonialCoinUnion

I like it, plus I can't afford more than 20 killer coins anyway.

anablep

Box of 100 for me.






























100 different Morgans.

Stuart

Case of 500 for me...