Great article on how NOT to build a collection
tradedollarnut
Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
tradedollarnut
Posts: 20,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
Comments
merse
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
anything a specialty dealer could have done for you from 2001-2012. Sometimes violating all the rules does work...by picking a very simple series in
very simple condition (ie like circ or low grade MS $20 Libs. or Saints or $5/$10 Libs).
Fwiw I know collectors that followed most of those rules and still took a bath. Timing is a big part of doing well in coins. And telling collectors that they have to sit
tight for a decade or longer presents its own problems. I still get a chuckle out of this "freshness" concept. It's not so much how good the coin is, but how fresh it is?
The market is now about holders, stickers, sniffers, and poppin' fresh dough. If you want to be a big dog in big coins then Doug's advice is well taken. But I think for
95% of collectors out there, the last thing they should attempt is a complex collection. That almost ensures that it will take you many, many years to figure it out as well
as having to heavily rely on a mentor/dealer for your success. It will take most collectors 5-10 yrs just to get a feel for what orig surfaces are. Pick your expert dealers well
because probably <10% of them perform at the highest of levels and really know what they are doing. Better yet, find a series where you don't have to rely on an expert. Give
yourself 5-10 yrs to come up to speed on the complex series if your are collecting in high grade MS/PF. Personally, I like the box of 20 or 40 concept rather than assembling a
set for "sets" sake. There is often so much dead wood in a typical set that you are probably better off just going after the underrated/underpriced semi-keys or scarcer dates.
Not many of us get a chance to assemble a TDN quality Trade or Seated dollar set where each and every coin is essentially "it" for the date. Buy good coins with potential, at the
right price, in the right market conditions, from the right dealers. Figuring all that out takes research, time and effort.
It's your money, spend it wisely. Buying in the top 5% isn't always worth paying the extra 20-50% to get there. There's plenty of sound values in the top 10-30% as well.
Best advice I can offer is live and breath coins for 2 years without buying a thing. Learn everything you can and figure out what's what. Then buy your first coin. In 2 yrs those same
coins will probably be cheaper than they are today. It's not 1970, 1980, 1990, or 2000 anymore. The rules from 2010 on are a little different. Pittman would have had his work cut
out for him today.
Hmmmmmm
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
<< <i>Hmmmmmm
Nice set coinsarefun! A "simple" set that most anyone can understand. And it doesn't hurt that there's an ounce of silver in every coin.
<< <i>Fwiw I know collectors that followed most of those rules and still took a bath. >>
His article doesn't talk about buying coins to flip and make a profit. He's talking about building a great set. Yes, it's great if the value increases, but making money isn't the mark of a great set of coins. Similarly, losing money isn't the mark of a bad set of coins.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
<< <i>Hmmmmmm
<< <i>If you are going to collect a series like American Silver Eagles, you can be an I Can Do This Myself type of collector who lives on the plains of Montana, never goes to a coin show and seldom even visits a local brick and mortar coin store. >>
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
<< <i>
<< <i>Fwiw I know collectors that followed most of those rules and still took a bath. >>
His article doesn't talk about buying coins to flip and make a profit. He's talking about building a great set. Yes, it's great if the value increases, but making money isn't the mark of a great set of coins. Similarly, losing money isn't the mark of a bad set of coins. >>
Not talking about flipping. I'm talking about buying nice coins from 1989 to 2003 and basically breaking even or losing money on them by 2009-2012.
How many people truly build "great sets?" I know of TDN, Justhavingfun, the Pogues, Duckor, Simpson, Cardinal, James Stack, Norwebs, Eliasberg, and others like them. So we're talking about the top .1% of 1% of all collectors. Most of the people building great sets are doing so with the intention of not losing great sums of money....or any money for that matter. They realize their collections are at market risk. But they buy at the right times for the right price with a longer term view. TDN built a great seated dollar set in basically 5-7 years. It was for the long haul at first. In the end he got an offer he couldn't refuse. It is more often than not, about the money in the end. "Great sets" that took major losses are quite rare. I can't even think of one off hand. More often than not, the sets weren't really that great, and the market timing was horrible (ie poor advice from mentors). One of the most overused cliches in the coin business is "building great sets." Yeah, great sets make great money for the selling dealers and auction houses. That's why so many of them are "great." I personally feel that making money is a sign of a great set. Show me a "great set" of date series coins that lost money. Whale sets are usually never "great" sets. Venturing into the arena of "great set" building is 10X harder than it appears, even with all of Doug's tenets met. I'd bet for every 10 people that attempt it, only 1 succeeds with some of those 9 taking some expensive losses along the way. I don't recommend it for 99% of collectors. The 99% should focus on building "good" sets or accumulations of coins. I'd have a somewhat different set of 8 rules for them. KISS and control the risks. By employing all of Doug's 8 thumbrules, one can actually increases their risks. Rule #9 isn't even there which should discuss the massive price differences of PCGS vs. NGC, stickered vs. unstickered, + vs. non plus, etc. Market pricing is of questionable footing when you have such a distortion in a single MS/PF grade point. I know if I were a whale looking to build the fudgiest of sets, I'd want a Jim Halperin, Dave Akers, Warren Mills, or JA type of person in my back pocket. Not gonna happen for most of us.
Most collectors never collect gold or even have a Dahlonega specimen in their collection.
I'm ambivalent about it, but there's always an opportunity to learn from someone else's point of view and I'll take it at that.
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BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
<< <i>
<< <i>Hmmmmmm
<< <i>If you are going to collect a series like American Silver Eagles, you can be an I Can Do This Myself type of collector who lives on the plains of Montana, never goes to a coin show and seldom even visits a local brick and mortar coin store. >>
>>
I didn't know living in the middle of Los Angelus, within miles of ten Coinshops
And traveling to three states along with going to shows made me a simple minded
collector in the boonies
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
I was rather intrigued by his third point, specifically where he speaks about "sight unseen" from an auction image(he adds about a return privilege). I tried to make this same point a while ago and was roundly dismissed by the forum as wrong. I still think it is good advice.
I have made the same point and generally, Keets, but it is a "tilting at windmills" argument, and even I violate the rule from time to time.
Now that's a great set!
Those that bought in 1980 or 1989-1990 had better plan on going through 5-10 coin cycles if they plan to recoup their dollars. Even then, the dollars they get
paid back with will have a fraction of the purchasing power that they did in 1980 or 1990. Maybe the best thing to do these days is NOT to build a collection.
Buy what you like because you like it. Don't get too carried away. Having a complete set is no badge of honor in the coin hobby. And very, very sets bring a premium over
the sum of their parts, even really good or some great sets. The only coin sets I have ever completed in my 50 years were circ wheat cent Lincolns 1941-1958.
I had 2 of those...lol...no 55/55. I never got the urge to build a great set...at least not one I could afford. I knew that my "great" set would far exceed what I could afford to spend.
So I was content to buy what I felt were a few dozen great/good coins...and even some not-so-great ones that were just too cheap to pass up.
<< <i>IMO, it's possible to build a great set on a budget. Choose the grade that you can afford and then buy the finest coin for the grade that you can find. Spend whatever reasonable premium it takes to upgrade each specimen as many times as it take until your set is unimprovable in that grade.
Now that's a great set! >>
For the past 3 years, I've been completing my Morgan collection. Initially I shunned slabbed coins ala RickO. But when all the affordable raw coins were in tow and it came down to the semi-keys and keys, there was no way I was going to spend 3 or more figures on Raw.
So I settled on MS-63-MS64 for the entire set. I've submitted 16 of my own Raw coins to PCGS since and I can count 4 Genuines, 1-AU58 and 2-AU55s (all 6 of which I purchased as "GEM BU").
Lesson learned.
But where I disagree with the author is that a "collector" must specifically narrow his/her focus to a single set. And that to be knowledgeable, one must not collect everything like I do.
I've been posting here since 2006 and lurking since before 2005. I don't attend Shows and there is no B&M store in my rural area.
What's the difference in having 10,000 coins worth $100 K say, versus having a proverbial "box of 20" valued at $1million?
To each his or her own.
Collect what pleases you. It's a freakin' hobby for cryin' out loud.
Everyone should enjoy what they collect, w/o having to deal with Articles like this that abase those whose "collections" are deemed unworhty
JMHO!
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BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
<< <i>Interesting read. I would agree with the author's self-described "snarky" with respect to his article. I'd even say elitist.
Most collectors never collect gold or even have a Dahlonega specimen in their collection.
I'm ambivalent about it, but there's always an opportunity to learn from someone else's point of view and I'll take it at that.
I'll agree with you and find it quite humorous that Silver Eagles and Dohlonega Gold were even mentioned in the same blog with regard to collecting advice.
The name is LEE!
<< <i>IMO, it's possible to build a great set on a budget. Choose the grade that you can afford and then buy the finest coin for the grade that you can find. Spend whatever reasonable premium it takes to upgrade each specimen as many times as it take until your set is unimprovable in that grade.
Now that's a great set! >>
I'd say its a really good set. The best one can do on a budget with limited means (ie 99% of us). If your budget is trying to build the greatest VF-XF Lincoln cent collection it's gonna be
a debate on whether each coin is a perfect, can't be improved VF or XF. Yeah, it could be a great set. But how many people in the end will recognize it for how great it is and reward
you for your efforts? I disagree with the constant upgrading premium as over time that's just burying you in lost premiums of 10-30%. This is where the "great" set gets lost for me.
I'd buy the first really nice VF30 that comes along and be content with it. I'm not going to fret that a nicer VF30 shows up 2 years later for 30% more money. Let that coin go towards
the next great set for someone else. As I said earlier, most collectors should or need to be content with finding that 1 out of 5 or maybe 1 out of 10 coin. They don't need to step it up
to buy the best 1 out of 50 or 1 out of 100. I've never understood the upgrade game unless your goal is to build THE finest set in the world. This reminds of Bruce Amspacher's story
from the 1980's when he was commissioned to build the "finest" set of slabbed MS65 Roosevelt dimes. At that time there were very few slabbed Roosy dimes of any date. It wasn't
worth it yet to do it. So Bruce spent $5,000 to build a set of MS65's with most of that money going to grading fees. It had a "great" set and possibly the only gem set of ts kind...at the
time. Today that set would be worth almost the same as if it were raw. Building great sets is always great....for the dealers.
One of the "greatest" sets I've seen lately was the "holey" Dansco 7070 recently presented here. What a fun project! It probably wans't terribly expensive either.
In this day and age I honestly don't feel bad for a person who is too stupid to do their homework. Information, help, relationships, and a large number of respected opinions have never been easier to find. I live in the absolute middle of nowhere where the nearest (small) yearly show is a three hour car ride away. I don't know a single collector within an hour's drive of where I live. Still, in the two years since I got back into active collecing, I've attended four major shows and developed a first-name relationship with at least a half-dozen dealers. I have learned a ton and more importantly I've learned that there is well more than a ton that I don't know yet. I've made a few mistakes along the way, but education goes a long way toward mitigating this. I buy less frequently, but with more help and input than I had initially. Location isn't the handicap that it once was. People that don't or can't bother to inform themselves deserve exactly what they get.
Maybe we should be grateful for the ignorant masses that soak up all the dreck in the hobby. Somebody has to buy that stuff, right? Without them, there would be no floor to the market, weak as it is.
<< <i>Two different ways to look at it. I've always felt that in classic coins where the next grade up doubles or more that god's gift to the undergrade is a bargain at a 30% premium. Quality is a continuum but prices are lumped into discreet levels by the price guides. An entire set of such coins generates an excitement that causes dealers and collectors to stretch to acquire it. >>
I've been trying to figure out how to express something I've been ruminating about for a while. Basically it's that there are coins with desirable attributes that are not reflected by their numerical grade. These are the qualities that make coins less than fungible. This idea doesn't really apply at the very top where there are only a handful of specimens at the top grade. There, the numerical grade automatically means something very special. A grade or two lower, where coins are reasonably plentiful, there can be wild differences in the "personality" of a coin. To me, a 1921 Peace Dollar in MS63 with perfect hair and feather definition is a very speical coin and should sell for much more than the average 63. The best coins to buy are those with special attributes, especially when they can be had for the regular price or at a small premium.
The best example of this in my series (Peace Dollars) is the 1928-S. The very nicest 64 (or 64+, if you'd like) can be had for $2,500 or so. The very ugliest MS65 coin will not be sold for less than $15k with a solid specimen selling for around $25k. If you can find one, a solid 64 with gorgeous luster, reasonable strike, a touch of nice original rim toning, and a couple of little bagmarks is easily worth a 30% premium!
<< <i>A contrarian article would be violating all of Doug's rules while building a collection of basically bullion coins. Those would have far outperformed
anything a specialty dealer could have done for you from 2001-2012. Sometimes violating all the rules does work...by picking a very simple series in
very simple condition (ie like circ or low grade MS $20 Libs. or Saints or $5/$10 Libs).
Fwiw I know collectors that followed most of those rules and still took a bath. Timing is a big part of doing well in coins. And telling collectors that they have to sit
tight for a decade or longer presents its own problems. I still get a chuckle out of this "freshness" concept. It's not so much how good the coin is, but how fresh it is?
The market is now about holders, stickers, sniffers, and poppin' fresh dough. If you want to be a big dog in big coins then Doug's advice is well taken. But I think for
95% of collectors out there, the last thing they should attempt is a complex collection. That almost ensures that it will take you many, many years to figure it out as well
as having to heavily rely on a mentor/dealer for your success. It will take most collectors 5-10 yrs just to get a feel for what orig surfaces are. Pick your expert dealers well
because probably <10% of them perform at the highest of levels and really know what they are doing. Better yet, find a series where you don't have to rely on an expert. Give
yourself 5-10 yrs to come up to speed on the complex series if your are collecting in high grade MS/PF. Personally, I like the box of 20 or 40 concept rather than assembling a
set for "sets" sake. There is often so much dead wood in a typical set that you are probably better off just going after the underrated/underpriced semi-keys or scarcer dates.
Not many of us get a chance to assemble a TDN quality Trade or Seated dollar set where each and every coin is essentially "it" for the date. Buy good coins with potential, at the
right price, in the right market conditions, from the right dealers. Figuring all that out takes research, time and effort.
It's your money, spend it wisely. Buying in the top 5% isn't always worth paying the extra 20-50% to get there. There's plenty of sound values in the top 10-30% as well.
Best advice I can offer is live and breath coins for 2 years without buying a thing. Learn everything you can and figure out what's what. Then buy your first coin. In 2 yrs those same
coins will probably be cheaper than they are today. It's not 1970, 1980, 1990, or 2000 anymore. The rules from 2010 on are a little different. Pittman would have had his work cut
out for him today. >>
With all due respect, I'd pass on Mr. Winter's article and use the above as your coin collecting Bible. As a Cajun I know would put it, "true dat."
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Ain't that the truth!
With all due respect, I'd pass on Mr. Winter's article and use the above as your coin collecting Bible. As a Cajun I know would put it, "true dat."
There are many ways to skin a cat. Depending on your collecting goals, your personality, and temperament, DW's advice might make perfect sense (try to put together a half-way decent set of Dahlonega $5's or New Orleans $10's without following the "rules"), be irrelevant (SAEs, spouses, 7070 sets, anyone?), or just get in the way (generic $10's in OGHs).
Stretch is dealer speak for overpaying. You end up buried in a nice coin. For every example you can show me that i am wrong i can find you 100's that lost money. You can stretch for a 1913 nickel or a ... but watch out for those nice commons.
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
<< <i>I believe in the Roadrunner approach. I think just about every coin i have stretched for (overpaid because...) has sold as a loss compared to the lower end grade coins that can be bought and sold sight unseen.
Stretch is dealer speak for overpaying. You end up buried in a nice coin. For every example you can show me that i am wrong i can find you 100's that lost money. You can stretch for a 1913 nickel or a ... but watch out for those nice commons. >>
I have to disagree, I have had a different experience than you.....stretching for a coin is part of learning to collect, building a better collection, and have more fun doing so...I posted a thread that was discussed here Stretch for a coin thread The goal is not to stretch for hundreds of coins....only the special ones...... I think this is what Doug means by number 6.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
He really pressured me into trying to buy it, exasperatedly saying, "I do all of this legwork to find coins and then clients just walk away from them and don't agree to their deal!"
Needless to say I will not do any business with this dealer anymore, and his phone calls go straight to voicemail.
<< <i>There's a difference between stretching and breaking. I'm more than willing to stretch for a great coin but will not pay stupid money for one and this depends on doing some research yourself independently of what a dealer tells you. I had a dealer that I worked with a bit say he had a perfect coin for me (I had been looking for it for quite a while and he knew this) and I gave him the price range that I was looking to spend on it (about 50% over the priceguide for it). This is a fairly rare coin but not one that's impossible to find, but he then came back with a price more than 2x over my maximum. In that case, stretching would have definitely buried me in it - he was looking for MS64 money for an AU55 so I walked away, especially considering an MS62 CAC fell 20% in price over the last two sales, one year apart.
He really pressured me into trying to buy it, exasperatedly saying, "I do all of this legwork to find coins and then clients just walk away from them and don't agree to their deal!"
Needless to say I will not do any business with this dealer anymore, and his phone calls go straight to voicemail. >>
I just had a great experience with a dealer who represented me at the NYINC....bought a 19th century early crown that appears to be a pop one from both services, but used his great eyeballs.....I have not been disappointed yet with using him. As far as price I think I paid a new record.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
<< <i>I just had a great experience with a dealer who represented me at the NYINC....bought a 19th century early crown that appears to be a pop one from both services, but used his great eyeballs.....I have not been disappointed yet with using him. As far as price I think I paid a new record. >>
A pop one certainly changes the math and is definitely worth pointing out. In my case, it was only an R4 US coin - relatively scarce but available in a range of grades whenever they do come up.
to buy expensive coins strictly from images (without a return policy), and not to race through the
process. If you are in a hurry, you're probably going to have to shell out a big premium to dislodge
great coins, or settle for less desirable ones. For some people, the former option may not be a
serious concern.
I don't necessarily agree that time of sale has anything to do with the quality of the collection. As RR
stated, maybe one receives a stupendous offer immediately upon completion. If the process took
years, there was plenty of time to savor ownership of most of the coins along the way.
Hoard the keys.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"
The psychology of collectors is quite interesting, and it is usually after learning a lesson or two or more from the School of Hard Knocks, that any of us collectors ever realize that the people most expert about coins are ususally the dealers. This sets up some potential conflicts of interest. It doesn't have to be a negative relationship; it just needs to be understood by all parties and worked out to the best for all involved. In order to navigate successfully through the waters of numismatics, and avoid the many sharks that can attack, requires an education about coins.
It is a hobby, yes. But many of us would like our time and resources put into our hobby to have the potential to net us a gain, sometime down the road.
<< <i>There is no one-size fits all answer for approaching how to collect coins. I appreciate Doug's advise and there is a lot of experience and help expounded by him, not only in this most recent blog, but others he has written. I consider him one of the top coin dealers and one that would be very helpful to anyone trying to build a nice collection in the areas that he is most expert in, particularly older, rare gold.
The psychology of collectors is quite interesting, and it is usually after learning a lesson or two or more from the School of Hard Knocks, that any of us collectors ever realize that the people most expert about coins are ususally the dealers. This sets up some potential conflicts of interest. It doesn't have to be a negative relationship; it just needs to be understood by all parties and worked out to the best for all involved. In order to navigate successfully through the waters of numismatics, and avoid the many sharks that can attack, requires an education about coins.
It is a hobby, yes. But many of us would like our time and resources put into our hobby to have the potential to net us a gain, sometime down the road. >>
Well said. MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Maybe albums have something to do with this. When coins are in an album I tend to look at the pages and it is sort of "so what?" When each coin is in a slab or alone in a holder, I really study each piece more closely.
<< <i>I have never understood the mentality that has collectors selling their complete sets as soon as they have finished them. I get as much or more enjoyment for looking at the coins after the set is done than I do when I'm building it. I've owned coin for as long as 50 years if they were part of set or something I viewed as special.
Maybe albums have something to do with this. When coins are in an album I tend to look at the pages and it is sort of "so what?" When each coin is in a slab or alone in a holder, I really study each piece more closely. >>
That's interesting. I would suggest that the albums tend to hold coins together and look more like something that has been completed and intact, rather than a stack of slabs. I have held onto an album set of Franklin halves for 35 years. Countless looser, less affiliated and more ephemeral coins have been jettisoned. But that's just me.
Overall though, once again I am indebted to roadrunner's advice.
<< <i>I believe in the Roadrunner approach. I think just about every coin i have stretched for (overpaid because...) has sold as a loss compared to the lower end grade coins that can be bought and sold sight unseen.
Stretch is dealer speak for overpaying. You end up buried in a nice coin. For every example you can show me that i am wrong i can find you 100's that lost money. You can stretch for a 1913 nickel or a ... but watch out for those nice commons. >>
My approach in my area weighted by the fact the gem type and choice/gem seated REG set fever has never really taken off. Except for a brief period from 2006-2008 where two
big dogs were beating each other up to buy the pop top seated quarters I can't think of a period where being top dog really mattered. And once those guys backed off the prices
plunged on a lot of pop tops. In gem type and seated there's nowhere near the stretching required for great coins as there tends to be in the high demand date sets like SLQ's,
Walkers, Buffs, Mercs, Saints, $10 and $5 Indians, Lincolns, Indian cents, Lib nickels, etc. Because there is no real REG set demand in type coins, a really nice MS65 or 66 RE half gets
a lot of respect even if a couple of MS67's would be the pop tops. Most of the gem type and gem seated coins I have stretched for I've ended up losing money on if I didn't sell them
into a bull market. Great values and deals from 2004-summer 2008 became loses by January 2009. Ironically, most of the great coins I did end up with I didn't have to stretch for as
there was little to no competition for them. If there was a stretch, it was typically no more than 10%. The one time I stretched by 60% to get a finest known pop top, I was lucky to
make a small profit on that coin after 27 yrs of ownership! In fact, I bought that pop top gem at the very bottom of the worst coin market in my lifetime in 1982. A better course of
action would have been to sell that in 1989/90 when I could have doubled my money in 8 yrs. The coin has not gotten close to its 1990 peak again. I constantly remind myself how a
$5400 investment in Microsoft in 1982 would have fared vs. that pop top I bought for $5400....lol. I've never relied solely on a dealer's opinion on any coin I've purchased. If I can't
determine the quality and value of the coin independently, I don't feel comfortable being there.
I recall around 1983 being offered some major seated rarities by one of the country's leading seated experts. I just couldn't get my hands around the quality they were stating they
were....nor the price. Good thing too because even by the 1989 peak I would have still been buried in those coins. I'd still be buried today as well. Deciding not to stretch that
30-50% at that time for what were probably the best available was quite wise. Some finer specimens have since popped out of the woodwork in the following 30 years. In retrospect
I'd have fared much better just sticking with better date circ seated coins as I did when I first started out in 1974-1975. Great upside potential with zero downside risk and no dealer
input required. You couldn't have asked for a better setup. It just took 30 yrs to play out...most of it in the last 10-15 years. Amazing how better date circ seated coins put in a 20x to
35X increase over 35 years.
<< <i>I constantly remind myself how a $5400 investment in Microsoft in 1982 would have fared vs. that pop top I bought for $5400....lol >>
It's easy to pick the winners after the fact. How would your $5400 investment have turned out if you'd saved your money and bought Enron in 1990?
<< <i>
<< <i>I constantly remind myself how a $5400 investment in Microsoft in 1982 would have fared vs. that pop top I bought for $5400....lol >>
It's easy to pick the winners after the fact. How would your $5400 investment have turned out if you'd saved your money and bought Enron in 1990?
It was more about opportunity. I bought that seated coin out of Stack's Robison sale in 1982. There were a few dozen neat coins in that sale I could have purchased instead. All would
have performed greatly into 1989 and even 2009. I just stretched on the wrong one. Anything really gem in silver type coins purchased in 1982 was hard to beat. That $5K could
have also purchased a choice AU 1802 half and 2/3 of the way to a choice unc 1801 half. Heck, the gem unc 78-s half and choice proof 39-0 half were in the $12-$14K range. It
wasn't about missing out on Microsoft, it was about stretching for the wrong coin at the wrong time/price in the RIGHT sale loaded with amazing alternatives. All those other coins
could have been bought w/o stretching. I just think I ran into the potted plant at the wrong time.
I did get to experience an Enron moment....only not with $5400 but with $55,000. My employer of 13 yrs went Chapter 11 in 2002 and along with it my 401K in company stock.
They eventually got the ship righted by 2004 but the company stock became worthless. I couldn't have done any worse with Enron. Been there, done that.