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If you don't "really, really like a coin"...

MrEurekaMrEureka Posts: 24,419 ✭✭✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum
...the price doesn't matter. Just pass.


Agreed?
Andy Lustig

Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.

Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.

Comments

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,846 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Disagree. What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • dohdoh Posts: 6,457 ✭✭✭
    Actually yes. I just was going through this very predicament. I found a coin...a stunner...a centerpiece type of addition, but I just couldn't quite swing it financially. (Not yet anyway). I thought perhaps buying a lesser coin from the same series or another series I enjoy would satiate me...but no. Why spend the money on something you don't truly love? Every day I move closer and closer to the box of 20.

    Positive BST transactions with: too many names to list! 36 at last count.
  • nicetoning42107nicetoning42107 Posts: 1,162


    << <i>Disagree. What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit? >>



    Exactly my thoughts.
    A lie told often enough becomes the truth. ~Vladimir Lenin
  • gecko109gecko109 Posts: 8,231 ✭


    << <i>Disagree. What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit? >>




    BINGO!
  • ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,688 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Andy, I just did this a few months ago. I was offered a problem free Unc. Classic Large Cent that just wasn't quite there for me, so I passed. If the coin doesn't sing to me, I don't want it.

    The people who disagree with this statement assume they can flip the coin. In this market, I wouldn't assume anything unless a particular coin is stellar for the grade and in high demand. The coins I have been seeing have either been "throw away the sheets and write a blank check if you want them" or they are real POS.
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,028 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Julian says allcoins are worth some price.image
    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • fcfc Posts: 12,793 ✭✭✭


    << <i>...the price doesn't matter. Just pass.


    Agreed? >>



    i think this is an interesting thread and wish to compare it to other
    hobbies i have.

    i collect and read comic books to this day. i do not buy many anymore
    and simply try to find the very few i desire the most. the main point
    of buying comic books is to be able to read the story since there is
    no reprints. Since i know that most of a comic's value is based on
    the condition i seek out the finest i can afford, often Mint state and
    sometimes the best looking book i have ever seen offered. 200
    dollars goes a long way on a comic book especially when it is obscure.

    I really really have to like a comic book now days to pay more then
    25-50 cents for it. When i walk into a comic book shop i ask about
    the rare stuff i want and then go directly to the bargain bin for cheap
    reads.

    So after typing this out and thinking it through i have to totally agree.

    I do not want to own a coin that i do not really really like unless the
    price is basically free. Think a dollar or two.

    I think that my days of buying coins for 100s of dollars is over unless
    it speaks to me in a special way.

    I also think that 95% of coins are over priced right now based on
    how they look to me.. from circulated all the way to MS (except finest
    knowns. Something about owning the best condition wise coin that
    is always appealing to me due to its preservation state.)

    I also think that most collectors do not think this way thus the run
    up in prices for almost everything across the board and my disillusionment
    with the current market. The fill a hole mentality, the registry set thing,
    and the have to buy every week fix is quite sad in my mind.

    Once the hype dies down and the core collectors are left, i fully expect
    this market to crash in a big way for 95% of the items for sale.
  • MrEurekaMrEureka Posts: 24,419 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit?

    Ah, I forgot how many of you are collector/dealers! And of course I agree.

    But my original point was that you shouldn't put a coin in your collection unless you "really, really like it", even if it's a bargain. Should have been clearer.
    Andy Lustig

    Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.

    Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,846 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>The coins I have been seeing have either been "throw away the sheets and write a blank check if you want them" or they are real POS. >>



    Very interesting. Where have you been looking at coins?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • Rob790Rob790 Posts: 547 ✭
    I've never meet a coin I really really didn't like. So if the price is right, I'd probably buy it. With some coins the right price may be near melt... but I think all coins have some redeeming merit.
  • GoldenEyeNumismaticsGoldenEyeNumismatics Posts: 13,187 ✭✭✭
    If you're going to sell me a dollar for 90 cents, I'm going to buy.
  • RedTigerRedTiger Posts: 5,608 ✭


    << <i>What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit?

    Ah, I forgot how many of you are collector/dealers! And of course I agree.

    But my original point was that you shouldn't put a coin in your collection unless you "really, really like it", even if it's a bargain. Should have been clearer. >>



    The other issue is how difficult a coin is to find. If a person is building a set, and has been scouring the Internet and bourses for five years, looking for a certain coin in a certain grade with a certain look, they'd might be wise to snap up the coin, even if it seems overgraded and/or seems overpriced. Either that or be prepared to wait another five years and maybe find yet another overgraded/overpriced coin. Depends on how patient a person is, and how long they expect to live, and if they want to complete their set.

    Most collections have average coins bought at average prices. By definition, most coins are near average, and most prices are near average. Many collectors want to think their coins are superior, or their coins were bargains, but in most cases, the odds are they are somewhere in the vast middle. The thing to try avoid are average coins at a high price, and low end coins for an average to high price and there are plenty being offered.
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  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Even if your buying it to flip, you better like it somewhat in case you get stuck with it.
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • veryfineveryfine Posts: 1,763 ✭✭✭
    This is a generalization that I always see floating about the forum.

    Take me, for example. I sometimes buy coins that I like, but do not necessarily LOVE or "really really like." Why? Well, if I scrutinize any coin long enough, I won't buy anything. There is such a thing as being TOO PARTICULAR.
    I am a big fan of MS-63s and MS-64s, but I would LOVE MS-65s and MS-66s. I accept the negatives associated with the lower mint state grades, and compromise by saying, "for the grade, it's a very nice coin, or the marks are commensurate with the grade, or the muted luster keeps the coin from a higher grade, or the strike is slightly below average", etc.

    I like my coins, but always want better and better and better. If I had a fortune to spend, there would be more coins singing to me.
    To put it bluntly, I will crudely state that COMPROMISING SUCKS when you have expensive taste.


    image
  • SilverEagles92SilverEagles92 Posts: 6,787 ✭
    I agree 100%. I've bought coins in the past ignoring this rule, only to sell them weeks later because I don't like them.
    image
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  • MidLifeCrisisMidLifeCrisis Posts: 10,550 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>But my original point was that you shouldn't put a coin in your collection unless you "really, really like it", even if it's a bargain. Should have been clearer. >>


    I am not a collector/dealer and I completely agree with your original point.
  • 09sVDB09sVDB Posts: 2,420 ✭✭✭
    If it's for your collection, agreed. If it's to flip for a quick profit possibly
  • charleycharley Posts: 2,071
    ...leave it for the next collector that might like it. Respectfully, John Curlis
  • veryfineveryfine Posts: 1,763 ✭✭✭
    What if you need a coin for you collection, have been searching for years and finally found it. This scarce coin is an acceptable example for the grade, neither fantastic nor unattractive, and the price is fair. Does this coin have to "sing" to you, or will you grab it while you have the chance? Let's assume the aforementioned coin is "average" for the grade.
    No, it does not result in a coingasm, but you are reasonably comfortable with your purchase. You like it, you buy it. What's wrong with that? Some coins sing and others just hum nicely.
  • vplitevplite Posts: 1,385 ✭✭✭


    << <i>...the price doesn't matter. Just pass.


    Agreed? >>



    Unless you can buy for bullion. But I know that's not what you were getting at.

    As a collector, the correct answer is: "Just pass."

    Coins are usually like buses, if you miss one...

    fc is right about the current market. I am buying virtually no coins.

    The Golden Rule: Those with the gold make the rules.
  • IGWTIGWT Posts: 4,975 ✭
    Am I supposed to buy coins I don't like? image I can't afford to buy coins that I don't like.
  • ColonialCoinUnionColonialCoinUnion Posts: 10,087 ✭✭✭


    << <i>my original point was that you shouldn't put a coin in your collection unless you "really, really like it", even if it's a bargain. >>



    I agree with that, but many collectors seek completion and prefer to fill a hole rather than stare at an empty space. And if that's what they want to do with their money, who am I (or you, for example) to tell them their approach is 'wrong'?

    It's a hobby for cryin' out loud - let's let people enjoy it however they want.
    Coin Rarities Online
  • veryfineveryfine Posts: 1,763 ✭✭✭
    I want you all to take a good hard look at your coins and ask yourselves some questions, responding honestly:

    As you examine that half dollar you fell in love with and married, please inspect with a more discerning eye. Does that "minor" mark bother you? Is the toning just a trifle overkill for your taste? Is that "well-hidden" spot starting to jump out at you? In hindsight, do you want something better? Maybe you've always wanted something better. After all, you can always do better, but you LIKE your purchase.

    But there's a strong possibility you don't LOVE it.
  • FilthyBrokeFilthyBroke Posts: 3,518 ✭
    I'm on a limited budget. An acceptable coin comes along, I sometimes buy it ( both fitting my budget and appealing to me). Then a better one comes along, or I have a bit more money to upgrade, I sell the old and buy the new.

    It's just always been like that with me. The price does matter all too often.
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 23,843 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Andy;

    I appreciate where you are going with this but in the final analysis, doesn't it really boil down to rarity and how often that coin may surface in the future?

    I do not think there are rules that apply without considering the coin and its rarity combined with the consideration as to the probability of having the opportunity to purchase it again in a higher state of preservation.

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • veryfineveryfine Posts: 1,763 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I'm on a limited budget. An acceptable coin comes along, I sometimes buy it ( both fitting my budget and appealing to me). Then a better one comes along, or I have a bit more money to upgrade, I sell the old and buy the new.

    It's just always been like that with me. The price does matter all too often. >>


    A refreshingly honest answer, and I agree with you.
  • zeus135zeus135 Posts: 1,043 ✭
    As with a lot of topics on this board, it depends if you are a collector or an investor.

    My humble '63 mint registry set, not much, but it's mine!
  • NHSBaseballNHSBaseball Posts: 2,470 ✭
    If you collect by die variety, sometimes you grab what you can get and hope to upgrade later! Maybe this is the "filling a hole" mentality, but it sure is fun!
    "College men from LSU- went in dumb, come out dumb too..."
    -Randy Newmanimage
  • jhdflajhdfla Posts: 3,030 ✭✭✭
    I agree, and I understood the point you were trying to make, that this meant coins for your own collection as opposed to coins to sell for a quick profit. Sometimes its hard to resist a nice coin that's "almost there" esp if it is a date you have been looking for or a coin that is rarely offered. I'm reminded of what was told to me by a dealer, now deceased, who was one of the first to offer and understand true gem material. Regarding coins that are not all there, at least in gem grades, if the flaw is there when you buy the coin it's going to be there as long as you own it, it's ot going to go away or be less bothersome over time. If anything, it will bother you more knowing it's there.

    John
    SeatedQuarters
  • FullStrikeFullStrike Posts: 4,353 ✭✭✭




    << <i>Disagree. What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit? >>







    Lightbulb moment


    Ah now I understand why some top-tier Dealers sell crap-coins once in a while, especially to lower-tier buyers like me. image

    I guess that they think that poor folk like me are dazzled by their hoity-toity reps and will accept anything they send me. image


    image
  • GeminiGemini Posts: 3,085 ✭
    I have bought a couple of different Hard Times tokens that were kind of beat up but not cleaned and so I fiqured until better examples present themselves I'll hold on to them, plus the price I paid for them was pretty reasonable. One was Bucklins Interest tables and the other was Phalons Haircutters. Actually through time they kind of grew on me and so far I'm keeping and enjoying them more and I have come to fully accept them as keepers. They have been through enough Hard Times and now both are enjoying their retirement. image
    A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Disagree. What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit? >>

    i agree

    K S
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭


    << <i>What if you know that you can flip it for a quick and easy profit?

    Ah, I forgot how many of you are collector/dealers! And of course I agree.

    But my original point was that you shouldn't put a coin in your collection unless you "really, really like it", even if it's a bargain. Should have been clearer. >>

    i disagree!

    K S

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