Living the charmed numismatic life...

RYK

With all of the unethical dealer behavior, post office snafus, ebay non-payers and non-senders, misrepresenters, overgraders, dippers, crackers, strippers, grading disappointments, burglaries, scandals, and miscellaneous calamities that occur with great regularity in numismatics, I feel lucky sometimes that I have been spared most of these tragedies in my numismatic life over the last several years. Sure, I have been disappointed with a couple grades "awarded" by PCGS, I have bought some coins that I should have returned, and I have had to return some coins that I should not have ordered or received in the first place. I even lost a $12 large cent in the mail in an ebay transaction and have been treated like a termite by the hometown auction firm/ coin shop.

For the most part, I think that I have lived a pretty charmed numismatic life. I have made key contacts early (thanks, in part, to this forum), I have been able to get most of the coins I have sought, and mistake coins have been easily sold with an overall break even outcome. I have never been ripped off, never lost an important or expensive coin in the mail, and almost never been dissed by a dealer on the bourse (Mark Feld, I won't count that )I have almost always been treated very well by everyone from my wife (who pretty much allows me to do as I please) to the dealers to the mailman (who waits until he knows we are home to make coin deliveries). I have made numerous new friends along the way.

Perhaps, it is good luck, perhaps attitude, or perhaps my ignorance (ie. I do not realize how badly I am getting screwed). It all seems pretty easy. Does anyone else feel this way? Frankly, if the coin hobby were the struggle that it seems to be for some, I would have been out of here long ago.

coindeuce

IMHO coin collecting should be like fishing. If they're jumping into the boat so fast that you're in danger of capsizing, that ain't fishing. A little work , lots of patience, and a relaxed approach make the rewards seem a whole lot more appreciable. I rarely keep a coin that I was able to aquire without a little bit of diligence and risk. Otherwise, it's just accumulating, not collecting.

DUIGUY

No guts , no glory . No pain , no gain .

dizzyfoxx

<< <i>No guts , no glory . No pain , no gain . >>



No "color", no personality!
...most of the time.

johnsim03

Hi Robert:

Excellent posting. My sentiments are similar to yours, all in all. But, you said it
much better than I ever could...

John

BlindedByEgo

<< <i>

Perhaps, it is good luck, perhaps attitude... >>



Perhaps it's 'cause your just a cool guy. I've always appreciated your contributions here. I hope to meet you in person at a show smoewhere. Going to Long Beach?

mrearlygold

Mercury

Other than a few coins I bought raw from a dealer at the first coin show I ever attended, I agree with you. The forum has been a blessing, helping me to avoid the more common serious mistakes. Yes, I have been disappointed a few time by grades or failures to crossover. However, so far they have not hurt to bad and hopefully I have learned from them and will do better in the future.

Live and LEARN

Mercury

Boothill40

having only been back to activly collecting for a short time (2yrs) I have to say most of my experiences have been positive, eBay has thrown me some curves but in general I get the sense that most dealers I've dealt with are strait up and honest I've most likely bought from some forum members on eBay I use the name too5150 so to you I say thanks and look to continued transactions---Tom

Deadhorse

If you deal with eBay, it's probably just a matter of time.

Several years ago I lost $800 to a rip off artist who headed to South America. I guess I was lucky to some degree as some people lost as much as 20K.

That guy actually made a few headlines as he ripped off a total of around 200K. None of it was recovered.

He had a good scam, he was an excellent seller in higher end gold and operated for around 8 months with 100% positives over a few hundred sales.

Myqqy

It all seems pretty easy.

I'm glad you posted this. All in all, I've very much enjoyed my endeavors in numismatics, and have mostly been treated well. I think this forum helps, and it helps to find some trusted folk along the way who can set you up with some nice finds. And some of the trick is what you choose to focus your attention on- the nasty folk who try to screw others, or the great people who far outnumber the others....

Boothill40

I tend to focus on the positive encounters, the negative I just chalk up to lesson learned and press on---tom

ibzman350

No complaints from the peanut gallery.

I too have lived a charmed numismatic life.



Herb

Mercfan

<< <i>With all of the unethical dealer behavior, post office snafus, ebay non-payers and non-senders, misrepresenters, overgraders, dippers, crackers, strippers, grading disappointments, burglaries, scandals, and miscellaneous calamities that occur with great regularity in numismatics easy >>



I think that the BIG one on everybody's list should be burglaries. We all should give numismatic thanks if we remain among the majority of collectors who've never had their collections stolen. I have a couple of friends who've had their entire collections stolen, and THAT is a serious numismatic misfortune.

No matter how many "widgets" it might be judged to include, every day that I still have my coin collection is a good day!

WaterSport

I agree, I have no complaints. In fact, one point that really makes for happy collecting is the education component. Speaking for myself, I know I have come a long way thanks to you forum folks. But I still like a gamble now and then. For me, I can go to a casino and drop $20 bucks and walk out and say that was my entertainment. Likewise, if I think a commom coin on Ebay may be worth $20 becuase its just that close to a Cherry pick example and it arrives as common, well, I was entertained.

WS

Longacre

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

MrBreeze

What a terrible idea for a thread. I can't believe you are trying to be so positive.

I have found that my collecting life has been exactly what I made of it. I always define my role in any event. By doing this, I never have the ability to say, "I got screwed, or I can't believe that happened to me." Inevitably, each of us has some responsibility in each instance of, what may be considered, buyer's remorse. Whether you ignore potential red flags, chase items for no other reason than the right of ownership, or attempt to overcome the age old maxum of, "if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is," you will more than likely find that you "should" have known better.

RYK, one question.

Do you believe that the "problems" you mentioned, "occur with great regularity in numismatics?"

RYK

Do you believe that the "problems" you mentioned, "occur with great regularity in numismatics?"

If you read the thread titles here, and some of the threads within, it would appear so.

What a terrible idea for a thread.

I may have jinxed myself. Next week, I will post from the hospital that after chasing the mailman down the street for my registered mail package, a got hit by a car, kidnapped, taken to my bank at gunpoint, had my box emptied. While filling out the police paperwork, my wife learned that these coins were not really "a couple hundred dollars" and assaulted me with a machete

MrBreeze

I understand what you are saying about the boards, but do YOU, in your collecting life, believe these problems are as rampant as the boards would indicate, or is it some degree of our "social makeup" to vent about the negative, and not promote the positive?

cladking

There's little I can say or I might break the magic.

tradedollarnut

Does the wife know about the strippers?

JadeRareCoin

With all of the unethical dealer behavior, post office snafus, ebay non-payers and non-senders, misrepresenters, overgraders, dippers, crackers, strippers, grading disappointments, burglaries, scandals, and miscellaneous calamities that occur with great regularity in numismatics,....

You forgot to add "weenie coins" to that list.

CharlieB

Robert you said it well.

I feel blessed that I have been involved in numismatics since I was a young teenager.
There is something that separates us from the rest of society and I can't put my finger on it.
We talk a different language from others and there never seems a way to close that gap.
Know what I mean? When I am sipping my coffee in the Balt Convention Center lobby at
8:30 am waiting for the doors to open I feel this wonderful presence of intelligence around me.
I chat with strangers and we get excited just talking about coins, gold, instability in the world.
When the doors open it's all Adrenalin. The rest of you must experience the same thing?

joefro

SanctionII

I have overall enjoyed my time in the hobby. I have made some mistakes (buying coins for too high a price as a result of not learning up on the subject matter), but that was quite a while ago. The money I spend on coins is discretionary so if I lose some of it, no big deal.

I have not sold much, so I am not very familiar with that side of the hobby yet. When I do sell, I expect that I will be in for some surprises, both bad and good. At the end of the day though, regardless of whether I lose money, break even or make money on the coins I have, the sales proceeds will be used by me, or my wife, or my kids for whatever I/they choose.

Heck, I suppose that if I ever come down with a case of "liberal white guilt", I may just give the money to the government so that it can use same to help the "oppressed and depressed".

messydesk

<< <i>Does anyone else feel this way? >>

Yup.

Russ

<< <i>No guts , no glory . No pain , no gain . >>



No balls, no blue chips.

Russ, NCNE

SDCollector

No complaints here. I've only been at the hobby for about 4 years. I still try and be patient and make sure I'm making the right decision before I purchase. I've made a few mistakes, but they were my own fault...no one else to blame.

I suffer from a severe case of buyer's remorse, and occasionally I will sell too quick to my local dealer, but again that's my fault. And I know I take hit selling to a dealer instead of direct.

As long as you stay within your budget, find a dealer you trust, and read a few good reference books, you'll be fine in this hobby.