Why an ardent Registry Set collector finds happiness on the dark side

Justhavingfun

I'm unabashedly a Registry Set collector and if you check out my Shield Nickel, Jefferson full steppers, my Standing Liberty Quarters, or any of my 18 US Philippine Registry Sets, you'll see that I've had a fair share of success at it.

But the Registry Set Forum is a bore, and I find myself drawn like a moth to the flame to this Forum -- and I've wondered about it. Why?

Part of the reason is that the Registry Set collectors don't realize that the sets are really hocumbe, buncombe, and bosh. A marketing phenomenom of immense power, but not a collector-friendly concept. So most Registry Set collectors take themselves too seriously, and don't (metaphorically) smile, laugh, josh about, and generally speaking have fun with their coins.

If someone knocks a person's Registry Set ranking down from #19 to #20, we get a thread about the "catastrophe." Much weeping and wailing; much envy of the sets ahead of them. And no simple, plain appreciation of the coins they do have.

And the other side of the equation is that simple, plain appreciation of grovey coins is what I get here. The collectors here seem to be real coin "weinies" like me. They enjoy their coins. They have fun. One person collects bears on coins, the next collects bares on coins. This one collects holed coins; that one Anglo Saxon coins. Still another posts a humongeously beautiful Hungarian Qwatchit and everybody really gets off on it. It's interesting and it's fun. The people here are enjoying themselves.

And I collect to enjoy myself. Besides all the schtuff I already collect, I've begun collecting Thai coins, and they're a whole bunch of fun. Really beautiful coins and rich in the history of a history-rich country. I've begun to teach myself to read Thai, so I can collect better. Gawgai, kawkai, kawkwat, kawkwai, sosalah ... are some of the 44 consonants I have to pick up in their strange script, to say nothing of the vowels. But it's coming, and it's fun.

And that's what I come back to over and over again on this Forum -- the guys and gals here have fun, and I don't think what's the case for most of the Registry Set collectors. Nuff said.

Warm regards from the world of Registry Sets!


Just Having Fun

spoon

I consider the Registry Pokemon for adults... not that there's anything wrong with it!

I'm just wondering how they pulled it off without a song full of subliminal messages!

newsman

I consider the Registry big business, and slightly corrupt. Fortunately, those traits have not infected the Darkside.

Welcome!

bosox

Welcome,

Once in a while I own up to possessing a complete Buffalo nickel collection in VF-AU, but I'd rather spend my time with my Canadian large cents or my WWII collection of occupation governments and governments-in-exile mintages.

Rob

1jester

We are all JustHavingFun!!

cosmicdebris

See Oscar gets it

MacCrimmon

Registry? Bah!!!

Actually, I say to each his own, just have fun doing it (whatever "it" is), and don't get too stressed out in the process.

Speaking of slabs and such, I'm having so much fun CRACKING OUT some recent purchases from NGC slabs....they are so much easier to image this way.

Gosh, these NGC slabs are so very "vice friendly", unlike the edge profiles on certain TPGs. Maybe I should buy a scroll saw to be safer on PCGSs of the world.

...crack....crunch.....crack....crunch......more pics later this weekend.

cosmicdebris

cladking

Thai coins are among my favorites. It's a shame that the mint polishes so many of the collector versions though.

I especially like the tin coins but the silver are fantastic too. Even the more modern stuff is fun.

wybrit

The registry concept is something I do not understand at all. I have often said (and written) "if collecting coins becomes more about investment and less about having fun, then stop doing it." Certainly if there is fun to be had in participating in a registry, go for it.

Justhavingfun is right, we are just having fun here!

Sylvestius

<< <i>...crack....crunch.....crack....crunch......more pics later this weekend. >>




aahhh musical heaven to my ears, such wonderous sounds to be heard all across the lands. Heaven is a pair of tinsnips.

weresteve

<< <i>I consider the Registry big business, and slightly corrupt. Fortunately, those traits have not infected the Darkside. >>



... ummm ... ? ... UK gold and the first year of issue for Euros are already included in the registry sets. Tho' at this point it looks like nobody has taken much of an interest. Canada seems to be a different matter tho' at the rate MadMarty is going on the proofs ...

Sylvestius

<< <i>

<< <i>I consider the Registry big business, and slightly corrupt. Fortunately, those traits have not infected the Darkside. >>



... ummm ... ? ... UK gold and the first year of issue for Euros are already included in the registry sets. Tho' at this point it looks like nobody has taken much of an interest. Canada seems to be a different matter tho' at the rate MadMarty is going on the proofs ... >>




I've seen a few guinea sets up on there.

Luckily nothing Anglo-Saxon yet.

coinrookie

The registry is a good idea as long as you remember it is a hobby. I have a few sets, but they are no where near the top and that is fine. Life is too short to always have to be competing to be number one in every facet. The Dark-side is a place for sheer enjoyment. Where else does "cracking a coin out" mean actually liberating a coin and returning it back to it`s raw state and not for the purpose of a higher grade. What a novel concept. The Dark-side lets you slow down and smell the roses.



Steve

WhiteTornado

I could never be part of the Registry Set crowd simply due to the high costs of submitting numerous coins. Plus I don't get the whole idea of an MS-65 suddenly turning into an MS-66 upon a resubmission. And then the value of it goes up like 5 times.

The only time I've ever submitted any coin was a U.S. Quarter Eagle, and that was to ANACS. Bought it raw from a dealer who turned out to be unethical, and I just wanted to make sure it was real and not fake. Turned out to be real but cleaned, but that's another story.

One of the great things I like about the Darkside is that people can have fun with coins without going broke in the process.

MadMarty

Like DarthHall say, Feel the power of the Darkside!!!

AuldFartte

<< <i>And the other side of the equation is that simple, plain appreciation of grovey coins is what I get here. The collectors here seem to be real coin "weinies" like me. They enjoy their coins. They have fun. One person collects bears on coins, the next collects bares on coins. This one collects holed coins; that one Anglo Saxon coins. Still another posts a humongeously beautiful Hungarian Qwatchit and everybody really gets off on it. It's interesting and it's fun. The people here are enjoying themselves. >>



That is what does it for me, too !!! We do tend to have fun and enjoy our coins here.

to the wonderful world of the Darkside

weresteve

<< <i>I've seen a few guinea sets up on there.

Luckily nothing Anglo-Saxon yet. >>



I doubt anything Anglo-Saxon registry sets would wind up being created ...

As for me ... wouldn't mind UK decimal for starters ... perhaps moving backwards in time at a later date ...

Sylvestius

<< <i>

<< <i>I've seen a few guinea sets up on there.

Luckily nothing Anglo-Saxon yet. >>



I doubt anything Anglo-Saxon registry sets would wind up being created ...

As for me ... wouldn't mind UK decimal for starters ... perhaps moving backwards in time at a later date ... >>




Part of the reason for shifting my focus back to the Anglo-Saxon period was to ensure i could escape the pending slabbing mania.

Justhavingfun

Good morning Spoon and Newsman:

To me, the real trouble with the Registry Set concept is that it shifts the emphasis from in collecting from the coin to the plastic. If you have a lovely MS66 and there's an ugly (or misgraded) MS67, there's enormous pressure on you to snatch up the 67. The plasic rules, not the coin.


I'd rather spend my time with my ... WWII collection of occupation governments and governments-in-exile mintages. Thank you Bosox! That collection of World War II occupation currencies (and currencies of governments in exile) must be absolutely fascinating. What a great idea. Thank you for sharing it with us!


Thank you 1Jester and yes, having fun is what it seems to be about over here.


And thank you, too Cosmic Debris! I don't know if I'd every make a "true" darksider because I do try to collect top Registry Sets.

But I really enjoy the positive energy emanating from this Forum, and the fascinating ideas/collections of the participants -- like Bosox's. And while I collect Registry Sets, I try to do it on my terms, not theirs. So I pass by so-called upgrades that aren't really upgrades.


Warm regards from Bangkok,


Just Having Fun

coinkat

Collecting can take many forms... and as you said... just have fun. If it the Registry or if chooses to remain in their own world, that is the colectors choice.

Justhavingfun

Dear MacCrimmon:

Yes, I can call the Registry Sets hokum, because of the emphasis they place on the small paper insert instead of the coin. And for other reasons, including but not limited to ...

-- the coins chosen for inclusion in Registry Set. To wit: Can anyone seriously be thought to have a complete collection of Standing Liberty Quarters without the overdate, which is one of the two most famous and sought after coins in the series? Yet, I see one series after another with glaring errors like that.

-- The Registry Sets are "other driven". It's not so much how good or satisfying your collection is, but how it compares with other collections.

But at the same time, the Registry Sets have an element of truth that obviously resonates with many. The Registry Set helps people think of their collections positively. People like to think of their children in a positive light and to coin collectors, their collections are their children.


Hello CladKing:

The modern Thai coinage is beautiful, even if often too shiny, as you correctly point out. But the old schtuff is even more fascinating including the old "bullet" coins that I've just begun collecting. And it's interesting showing the old coinage to modern Thais. That the baht, for instance, was once a large silver coin simply blows their minds.


And Wybrit, you got it right. This Forum is about fun.


Gotta go get my morning exercise in now, and then breakfast. Good night to you; good morning to me.

Best wishes from Bangkok,


Just Having Fun

MadMarty

and what am I, chopped liver????

cosmicdebris

<<And thank you, too Cosmic Debris! I don't know if I'd every make a "true" darksider because I do try to collect top Registry Sets. >>

Oscar you are not the only one around here with registry sets. HERE'S one of mine. It did not start out as a registry set but somehow I dared DAvidHall to slab them for free and give me a special label and the rest is history.

Conder101

<< <i>I consider the Registry Pokemon for adults >>


A wonderful way of putting it!



<< <i> Can anyone seriously be thought to have a complete collection of Standing Liberty Quarters without the overdate, which is one of the two most famous and sought after coins in the series? Yet, I see one series after another with glaring errors like that. >>


Sure you can have a complete set without the overdate. What is the overdate? A die variety. I either collect by date and mint, in which case I don't need to add a couple of specific die varieties in order to have a complete set, or I collect by die variety in which case there are DOZENS if not hundreds of die varieties you would have to get in order to have a complete set. Date and mint plus major varieties? Well then you get into the question "What exactly are the major varieties and how many are there?". Now you have a set that can be defined any way you want. an every definition can be different.

Justhavingfun

"The Dark-side is a place for sheer enjoyment. Where else does "cracking a coin out" mean actually liberating a coin and returning it back to it`s raw state and not for the purpose of a higher grade? What a novel concept. The Dark-side lets you slow down and smell the roses.

Hello, Coin Rookie: you got it right.


"Plus I don't get the whole idea of an MS-65 suddenly turning into an MS-66 upon a resubmission. And then the value of it goes up like 5 times."

And hi to you, too, White Tornado: I didn't know tornados had colors, but then I'm a city boy, born and bred in Brooklyn.

Anyway, an MS-65 doesn't suddenly turn into an MS-66 upon resubmission. It either was or wasn't a 66 all along. What resubmission does is allows a collector (or dealer) to give PCGS a chance at correcting a mistake and giving the coin the more accurate grade.

But what the Registry Set encourages is the repeated resubmission of a true MS65, correctly graded, until at long last the coin finally gets the MS66, which is the wrong grade. Then the Registry Set collectors, myself included, feel max pressure to buy the misgraded coin to "upgrade" their collection. But the reality is that all the collectors do in a case like this, is upgrade their paper certificates. The coin itself is often a downgrade.

The only effective way I've found to deal with this is to "just say no." Buy the coin not the plastic.


Warm regards,


Just Having Fun

Justhavingfun

Is that really you, Mad Marty? Great outfit. Can I presume from the costume and picture that you're a science fiction fan, too? And it's not only a great outfit. It looks like you're holding a great medallion, too.


And thank you auld fartte, were Steve, and Sylvestius. Saxon coins are indeed a neat way to avoid slab-o-mania. Those were wonderful coins posted on a different thread. If I knew how to make a link, I'd link to there, and since I don't, I'd be happy if someone else put on link from here to there.


Best wishes,


Just Having Fun

cosmicdebris

<< Is that really you, Mad Marty? Great outfit. Can I presume from the costume and picture that you're a science fiction fan, too? And it's not only a great outfit. It looks like you're holding a great medallion, too.>>



Oscar that is a Photoshopped image of David Hall.

Justhavingfun

Thank you Coin Cat, and I think you're right on!


Mad Marty: Yup, chopped "top gai" (chicken liver) you be, with some salt, diced hard-boiled egg, and garlic. Yummmmmmmmmm


Thank you for showing us that spectacular matte proof set, cosmic Debris. That's the sort of neat thing I find here rather than on the Registry Set side, even though that is a Registry Set.


And Condor; I want to speak to your good point. I just gotta break from coins for business, and see if I can make some money.


Best wishes,


Just Having Fun

Justhavingfun

Condor 101. You're right, and I was wrong. I didn't think so at first, but the more I reflected on your post, your point came home. Thank you!


Just Having Fun

Aethelred

I come home from a coin show in the morning light
My wifey says when you gonna live your life right
Oh wifey dear Darksiders are not the fortunate ones
And Darksiders they want to have fun
Oh Darksiders just want to have fun

XpipedreamR

Why does Conder101 almost always get called Condor?

Toren

I must admit it's true I take my US coin collection more "seriously." Sometimes it's almost a relief to go back to my darkside coins and just, y'know...have fun instead of worrying about grade, and is the coin PQ, and is it "hot," and...well, you get the idea.



Great history of Japanese coins here.