Options
Ruminating on all things life and coins.........
DBSTrader2
Posts: 3,460 ✭✭✭✭
All:
Faced with the reality of continued unemployment and coping with the impact of the loss of vision in one eye on my ability to truly visually appreciate my collection as much as before (even just the glare/reflection of light off a shiny coin or slab can drive my "good" eye batty, and trying to read dates even with a magnifier can be hard), I spent some time today looking thru my collection's "extras", trying to put it all into better "focus" (pardon the pun) and reel myself back in from all the various directions I've spun off into over the years.
My first realization, of course, is that I always have been, and always will be, a tiny fish in a great big ocean. Going to coin shows no longer excites me, as there are fewer and fewer displays (if any) of the types of coins & "junk boxes" I like to look thru since I started out as a kid. Adding most of the silver-based denominations after 1964 as I did meant I never truly amassed any giant hoard of silver other than those coins filling holes in my Whitman folders. Unfortunately, for me, the nearby shows I now still have access to have turned primarily into mass displays of gold & silver slabs and little else. I might find a garage sale or flea market with someone selling coins or with junk boxes, but they are usually WAY overpriced. So I continue on my way, making a few trades now and then, but mostly just trying to keep up with each year's issues to stay current. I will always be a small-time collector purely for the fun of it, developed in my youth....
My second realization is that I have been a "hoarder" for no good reason of some items from recent circulation (like the various Jefferson nickel obverses & reverses from the early 2000's, State Q's & Bicen Q's & H's) which, while they won't be made again, were made in such huge quantities as to be a waste of time and money. While I have stopped collecting them out of circulation, I finally really need to start putting some of them BACK into circulation. Same with the few extras of each P & D state Q or Pres. $1 I've held on to, just in case anyone I came across might need one, etc..... It's not so much that they add up to big bucks, but the fact that they'll just be 1 more thing for my survivors to have to eventually go thru & determine what I was thinking & whether or not they should continue to save them or cash them in..... I have come to the realization that I can't save everything. Instead, I should make it so that whatever I save, my wife & kids understand meant the most to me & to try to keep all those intact going forward.
A more recent realization I came to was the proliferation of some sets of Whitman folders in my collection, where I have started & continue to try to maintain more sets of some denominations than I really needed to. When I started as a kid, it was 1 set for me. Then I added 1 for each son as they were born. But then I kept adding, to the point where I have 5 complete JFK sets and only 2 sons. Even where I have just 3 sets, it's finally dawned on me that I truly only need to maintain 2 sets for each denomination/type. If I were to pass on today with "my" set in addition to the 1 each son already has, it would still be "overkill". I figure I really should re-align my collection so as to re-name/pass down "my" set to my firstborn, and his more complete 2nd set to my younger son. Then I could sell/trade the new "extras" from what is currently my younger son's 3rd set to to try and fill a few more holes in the streamlined 2 remaining sets. I'd save a lot of time & money looking to fill only 2 holes of each type/mintmark each year vs 3, 4, or 5 - - especially where, in the case of ATB Q's, JFK halves, and Pres/Sac $1's, the only way to get most or all of them is by paying a premium to the Mint anyway.... For the time being, I'd still save the now-"extra" silver from our 3rd set, unless I could do some date-swaps...... There's no real need to continue collecting & buying for "extra" sets above 1 each for my kids, as the reality of it is neither one will continue with the collecting bug as I have done, and I expect they will only "maintain" going-forward at best. My hope is that each son's collection will be something to enjoy & appreciate as a "piece of me" and what I loved to do. They'll have to figure out for themselves what to do down the line with their sets among THEIR progeny.....
While I know the steps above make sense at this point in my life, I'm still left a bit saddened. My participation in the hobby I have loved for so long will never again quite be the same..... but the reality of things is what it is....... It's time to start re-shaping and streamlining my collection.....
I'd like to thank a LOT of people on this Forum who helped re-ignite my collecting passion over the last dozen or so years since I found this site. I have many of you to thank not only for physical sales, trades, contest wins, and complete acts of generosity over these years, but for always being there with interesting and thought-provoking posts and responses to many of the questions I posed since joining up. You have no idea how much I have appreciated your help and friendship all this time. I will still be on this Forum as I change course, just more likely in "sell" mode for a while.......
I have set up a post on the US Coin BST Forum and will add items that no longer fit into my "core" collection as I come across them. I hope I set up the link to it correctly (I can't figure out why I have such a mental block in that area!).
Thanks again, and maybe someone (YN's?) will see something they like over there......
Yours truly,
- - Dave
Link: http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=841543
Faced with the reality of continued unemployment and coping with the impact of the loss of vision in one eye on my ability to truly visually appreciate my collection as much as before (even just the glare/reflection of light off a shiny coin or slab can drive my "good" eye batty, and trying to read dates even with a magnifier can be hard), I spent some time today looking thru my collection's "extras", trying to put it all into better "focus" (pardon the pun) and reel myself back in from all the various directions I've spun off into over the years.
My first realization, of course, is that I always have been, and always will be, a tiny fish in a great big ocean. Going to coin shows no longer excites me, as there are fewer and fewer displays (if any) of the types of coins & "junk boxes" I like to look thru since I started out as a kid. Adding most of the silver-based denominations after 1964 as I did meant I never truly amassed any giant hoard of silver other than those coins filling holes in my Whitman folders. Unfortunately, for me, the nearby shows I now still have access to have turned primarily into mass displays of gold & silver slabs and little else. I might find a garage sale or flea market with someone selling coins or with junk boxes, but they are usually WAY overpriced. So I continue on my way, making a few trades now and then, but mostly just trying to keep up with each year's issues to stay current. I will always be a small-time collector purely for the fun of it, developed in my youth....
My second realization is that I have been a "hoarder" for no good reason of some items from recent circulation (like the various Jefferson nickel obverses & reverses from the early 2000's, State Q's & Bicen Q's & H's) which, while they won't be made again, were made in such huge quantities as to be a waste of time and money. While I have stopped collecting them out of circulation, I finally really need to start putting some of them BACK into circulation. Same with the few extras of each P & D state Q or Pres. $1 I've held on to, just in case anyone I came across might need one, etc..... It's not so much that they add up to big bucks, but the fact that they'll just be 1 more thing for my survivors to have to eventually go thru & determine what I was thinking & whether or not they should continue to save them or cash them in..... I have come to the realization that I can't save everything. Instead, I should make it so that whatever I save, my wife & kids understand meant the most to me & to try to keep all those intact going forward.
A more recent realization I came to was the proliferation of some sets of Whitman folders in my collection, where I have started & continue to try to maintain more sets of some denominations than I really needed to. When I started as a kid, it was 1 set for me. Then I added 1 for each son as they were born. But then I kept adding, to the point where I have 5 complete JFK sets and only 2 sons. Even where I have just 3 sets, it's finally dawned on me that I truly only need to maintain 2 sets for each denomination/type. If I were to pass on today with "my" set in addition to the 1 each son already has, it would still be "overkill". I figure I really should re-align my collection so as to re-name/pass down "my" set to my firstborn, and his more complete 2nd set to my younger son. Then I could sell/trade the new "extras" from what is currently my younger son's 3rd set to to try and fill a few more holes in the streamlined 2 remaining sets. I'd save a lot of time & money looking to fill only 2 holes of each type/mintmark each year vs 3, 4, or 5 - - especially where, in the case of ATB Q's, JFK halves, and Pres/Sac $1's, the only way to get most or all of them is by paying a premium to the Mint anyway.... For the time being, I'd still save the now-"extra" silver from our 3rd set, unless I could do some date-swaps...... There's no real need to continue collecting & buying for "extra" sets above 1 each for my kids, as the reality of it is neither one will continue with the collecting bug as I have done, and I expect they will only "maintain" going-forward at best. My hope is that each son's collection will be something to enjoy & appreciate as a "piece of me" and what I loved to do. They'll have to figure out for themselves what to do down the line with their sets among THEIR progeny.....
While I know the steps above make sense at this point in my life, I'm still left a bit saddened. My participation in the hobby I have loved for so long will never again quite be the same..... but the reality of things is what it is....... It's time to start re-shaping and streamlining my collection.....
I'd like to thank a LOT of people on this Forum who helped re-ignite my collecting passion over the last dozen or so years since I found this site. I have many of you to thank not only for physical sales, trades, contest wins, and complete acts of generosity over these years, but for always being there with interesting and thought-provoking posts and responses to many of the questions I posed since joining up. You have no idea how much I have appreciated your help and friendship all this time. I will still be on this Forum as I change course, just more likely in "sell" mode for a while.......
I have set up a post on the US Coin BST Forum and will add items that no longer fit into my "core" collection as I come across them. I hope I set up the link to it correctly (I can't figure out why I have such a mental block in that area!).
Thanks again, and maybe someone (YN's?) will see something they like over there......
Yours truly,
- - Dave
Link: http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=8415430
Comments
To this, I submit, do not be disheartened. Think of the other numismatists out there that will be able to enjoy some of the beauties that you have "hoarded" through the years.
You have been a steward to some rarities that may not otherwise exist. To that, I say, thank you!
- - Dave
I then refocused my Morgan efforts to VAMs. Getting rid of the distractions allowed me to enjoy the hobby more. Instead of chasing coins to fill holes in multiple sets, I could focus on one thing and have fun. Having a limited budget, I started searching melt buckets. I pulled many MS Morgans for low prices and had fun in the process. Even got into the 21 scribbles VAMs...
RAYBOB:
You mentioned in your response that you built a nice VAM collection searching thru "melt buckets" sometime post-'07.... WHERE/HOW does one find businesses that still allow one to do such searches? I'd LOVE to find such a place in the Philly area!!
One of my fondest memories as a youngster growing up outside of Philly was visiting my grandparents in Center-city, walking with them several miles down to "Smelter's Row", and searching for hours on-end thru Maxwell House coffee cans full of "melt" silver for coins to fill my collection holes. I'd end up picking up as many as I could afford/justify as an 8-year-old at an "expensive" 4x face! Unfortunately, back then, I was just starting out into silver (it was already post-1964), and only looked at Merc's, Roosies, and Wash's. I passed up on Barbers entirely, as well as SLQ's, Franklins, Walkers, Morgans, & Peace. BOY, do I regret never having started them earlier!!
- - Dave