Have you ever sold all or most of the coins in your collection...

MidLifeCrisis

...to buy one expensive "wow" coin?

If so, are you happy with the decision? What coin did you do it for? How did that decision effect what you chose to buy going forward?

If not, would you do it? Why or why not?


Edited to add: I'm not talking about limiting yourself to only that one coin, ever. I'm talking about selling everything to buy one coin and then rebuilding your collection around that coin.

TomB

Back in grad school I sold almost everything to buy my 1796 Draped Bust Small Eagle quarter. I did it because I found what I believed was one of the most attractive mid-grade coins for the issue that I had ever seen and I did not want to look another five years, which is how long I had been looking, to find a similar coin. It was a terrific move because I likely would not have become as serious about my complete US type set had I not taken that plunge. The coin is still in my set and I am comforted in knowing that I will never have to replace it.

llafoe

If you have any coins on my want list, I think you should do it!

I'd rather have 100s of coins to enjoy than one coin to watch as its price fluctuates.

MidLifeCrisis

I'm not talking about limiting yourself to only that one coin, ever. I'm talking about selling everything to buy one coin and then rebuilding your collection around that coin.

doh

I once traded/sold 11 coins for a high end circulated 1916-D Dime and 1815 Quarter. I've sold the dime, but the quarter is still with me.

Would I do it again? Yeah, probably...if the coin was in my area of focus. I wanted that 1916-D because I always remember seeing them in AG and Good as a kid, so this piece just blew me away. After a period of time I realized I had a lot of money tied up in a coin that I didn't NEED to own, so off it went.

RYK

I have gutted my collection a couple of times, but for other reasons.

There is no wrong answer. I can see the value of doing what you suggest. It's your collection; do what feels right to you (unless it means scooping me on a purchase ).

Batman23

The closest that I have come is selling off all of my mint/proof sets. The sets from the 1990s and 2000s including the quarter sets and silver sets. I mostly got tired of all the space they took up and the fact I did not ever look at them or enjoy them. The additional "stuff" the mint is pumping out and the fact you can not get business strikes in the mint sets any longer, plus the new mint sets were too large for my stoarage boxes. Yep, sold them all. Picked up an 1877 Indian Cent in PCGS AU53 with the money. I am much happier with that move.

Now as far as the rest of my coins... It would take something very special for me to part with them.

coinsarefun

I just sold over 70 different coins & tokens to buy 2 very
WOW coins and do not regret in one bit. They never really fit into my
collections and the two that I bought bring my collection to an all time new high

Would I do it again?........In a heart beat

What are the new coins?
They are darksiders, so no one would want to see them here anyways




but, if someone wants to see them I will gladly post them

silverpop

nope

no need to

renomedphys

I sold off my entire MS set of wheats so that I could afford to buy a PR65RB 1909 VDB and a Eliasberg PR66RB 1912. Both in OGH to boot. Came up with about $40K to spare, and since I sold them back in Oct. '08, I actually netted a 30-40% profit on the set overall. Here are the pics. I love them both dearly, and still own them to this day:

kurtdog

Now to the question, how many of you having cashed-off on your collections made a profit on it? Don't forget to count-in inflation.

MadMarty

<< <i>I have gutted my collection a couple of times, but for other reasons.

There is no wrong answer. I can see the value of doing what you suggest. It's your collection; do what feels right to you (unless it means scooping me on a purchase ). >>



I'm right there with you.

coinsarefun

Since I was asked via PM to post what I bought with the proceeds of 70 coins.
I will show you, but first a little background on the 2 pieces

Will researching "Novodels" which some may know about but I didn't.
I found this:




<< <i>Steve Pellegrini says in E-Sylum of 2002-09-15 (Vol.5#37) that
Novodels were special coins produced by the Russian Royal Mint in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
They were struck on demand for sale or presentation to favored collectors, almost exclusively of the Russian aristocracy.
A Russian Count or Duke with a hole in his folder, would present the Mint-master with an order for whatever date, denomination
and composition of coin desired. If the dies were extant, fine, if not, new ones were cut.

If the coin in question were so rare that nobody remembered or ever knew how it looked, then an approximation was produced.
Many Novodels were struck of rare dates in off metals, some were of dates which had never existed,
but which the noble collector felt should have existed. The characteristic most Novodels shared (aside from rarity) is whimsy.

It appears that in the area of manufactured rarities the Russian Mint put even the US Mint in Philadelphia in far the shade. Krause lists 602 Novodel up to 1861 >>





NGC population report.............1






NGC Population report..............1






This is my collection so far and I think it really makes it outstanding and well balanced with silver, gold and copper!

09sVDB

Yes I have. About ten years ago I had some keys and a bunch of generic "stuff." I had one of those old Craftsman tool five drawer tool chest full of coins. I parred it down to abou 80 slabbed coins(NGC & PCGS) and became a type collector rather than a set collector. Very happy so far. I have about 120 slabs now in my type set. The only drawback is sometimes I go a long time between NEWPS. The funny thing is because I now have qwuality not quantity the quality is worth much more than the quantity was.

Boom

Yes, I have on several ocassions (various collections & a Registry set) for a range of reasons.

MadMonk

Several times.

adamlaneus

Only time i've sold chunks of my collection is when I decided I did not want those coins. It had little to do with funding for additional acquisition of things I want.
So far, I have not become so enamored with a Truly Expensive coin that it has forced me to sell my collection to acquire it.
I'll probably sell some of my coins soon, starting with the worst. I wonder how I will hide these embarrassing-to-me-to-own coins from forum members. Perhaps I cannot. Perhaps I will start with soft spam.

IrishMikey

Not to buy another coin, but I have sold off nearly my entire collection three times: the first
in early 1980 to buy property, the second to finance my honeymoon, and the third in 1989
when prices just got too ridiculous. I never hit the top of the market, but close enough.