Is owning it for a short while good enough?

My guess is we've all done it. Bought a key or major error/variety or rarity because, well, we always wanted one. Early branch mint gold, first issue, a '93-S, '14-D, SVDB, maybe a 3-legger. A pattern.
And, after a while, the urges wanes. Completing another set forces the sale. Or maybe a non-numismatic event happens...the first born, first house, a career move.
What have you bought to keep forever but later sold? How long did you have it to hold and treasure? Do you miss it? Will you buy another some day? Or was owning it for a while enough?
Lance.
And, after a while, the urges wanes. Completing another set forces the sale. Or maybe a non-numismatic event happens...the first born, first house, a career move.
What have you bought to keep forever but later sold? How long did you have it to hold and treasure? Do you miss it? Will you buy another some day? Or was owning it for a while enough?
Lance.
Coin Photography Services / Everyman Registry set / BHNC #213
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Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Just Kidding. There were coins that I always thought were cool and once I owned them I realized they did not do as much for me as I had imagined. At one time I had a nearly full set of large cents, and then one day I just realized I was just not into them and I sold them to a dealer at Long Beach. Same thing with the Half-cents. Each album took me years to put together and then in a space of a week they were just gone and I have never looked back.
I have a similar story with colonial copper. The first few pieces were captivating, and then one day I sold them all except my George Washington No Button. I went from having sets, to just having one in a type set.
Another one was the 2006 and 2011 Eagle sets. I bought slabbed sets a few years back and was in love with them. I sold the 2011 last year and figured I would keep the smaller 3 coin set, then sold that off this year. I still like them and maybe will buy another later down the road. I slightly regret selling the 2011 just because I had so much fun looking at it, but it would have gone down in value.
Partner @Gold Hill Coin

But really important things are not going anywhere
Eric
Yes, the "sparkle" can disappear for me. I sometimes attribute it to desensitization. Then I realize what that really means - true good are not easy to acquire ay any price. So, I reset my aim. I sell some. My collection likes this strategy. With my postcards if it is a card I have seen twice including mine - I don't collect it. There are very few exceptions such as postmark/date.
Back in 2004-2005 I thought I was out of coin collecting and started to sell off some of the bigger items and my Mercury Dime set, which included a 16-D in 62 and the 21-P and D in 64 to name a few.
Other coins sold were 1796 thru 1804, 1822, 1871-74-CC's and the 1895-O in AU.
Thank goodness I kept a lot before stopping the selling and started collecting. I have not replaced all the biggies, but have a good start.
Eric
As a rule, once a piece is gone, I miss it a lot less than I worried I would when I was contemplating selling it. It's just stuff.
Eric
<< <i>Better than not owning it ever - especially if you made a profit. >>
The Business version of Lord Tennyson!
Eric
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
Most have been toned moderns,silver eagles,Morgans and several other type coins.
But when it comes to tokens I started out with very common and low grade ones. When I learned enough
I began to sell most and concentrate on the absolute highest grade and eye appeal I could find. This forced
me to be very choosy and the collection is very small. When it is done I will probably end up with a total of 30-40
coins and I'm getting very close. So right now I cannot think or see myself selling them as they are either condition rarity and or between
1-4 examples struck.
I feel the same way about my Russian collection as it has taken quite a bit of time and
patience.....waiting for just the right example. I have two Novodel's which I never get tired
of looking at.
to sum it up I have no problem buying and selling anything but I have to keep my
token and Russian collections and don't see myself tiring of them any time soon.
btw.....I just completed the sale of my toned American silver eagle collection along with proofs.
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
<< <i>Thankfully, I have been able to hold onto everything "important" to me. I have sold plenty of "extra stuff" to free up cash but never anything truly important. Interesting thread though. >>
I don't regret selling anything but only not BUYING certain things.
OK, wait----I once sold an 1888 S MS 63 OGH Morgan but that is it for me. And I could get a nice replacement, if I really wanted to.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
AB
Not only are they for me, but I *want* to keep them to hand down to my son.
There are still, hopefully, many years before that happens, so things may change, but in the meantime, they are here for both of us.
I can see people having paths that change, but want I think is wonky, and to each their own, are the folks that just HAVE to buy a name-coin, in order to say they owned it...but, they flip it pretty quickly.
Just wanting to buy/own something for a short period of time is, to me, kind of like a kid wanting to play with a toy then get rid of it because they are immediately bored...but they got it before the other kids.
Not talking buying to flip, but rather, buying and pretending to want to own it for collecting reasons.
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
Hoard the keys.
When I see fresh, interesting material pass a dealers desk, I think that's really neat but when they have to flip it to keep above water, it takes a lot of the cool back out. God bless em, as we all need a brisk market, but I wouldn't even call that ownership but temporary control with a line of credit or other structure. It takes a certain mind set to sell your coins and an even more steadfast focus to deal them, but I'm in collecting/hold mode right now so I don't worry about it.
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>No... I keep them all .... and enjoy them all.... Cheers, RickO >>
I have want lists that I draw up and go after them for years. I have old want lists in my files, and have been pleasantly surprised that I had filled them. As for owning better pieces I generally buy them and hold unless I get an upgrade. Then they usually go by-by.
The only major collection I pulled the pug on was half cents by die variety. I hit a wall I could not penetrate and decided to call it quits.
In most cases I sold those coins to buy other coins that came along that were more important.
I have never looked back and glad I sold what I did when I did.
^^ Captain Obvious has spoken!
already tight so I sent off my entire FS Jefferson collection to TT and my entire Jefferson
PR collection to HA. Went back to work inside 4 months. Regret? You bet!
There was one episode of senility I have to admit to. Several years ago, I had a container
of accumulated circulated Jeffs...several pounds. Decided to sell on eBay. Did it and thought
I got a good price. Then I went looking for a circulated 1939 doubled Monticello I had found
(don't remember where) that I was going to list separate.
Yep, you got it. I then remembered putting it in the container of other Jeffs I had sold.
Turned out not to have been such a good deal!
Rob
Successful Trades with: Coincast, MICHAELDIXON
Successful Purchases from: Manorcourtman, Meltdown
The act of letting it go may encourage it to be loved from a different viewpoint me thinks.
And seeing it passed to a potential lover may indeed be worth more that tucking it away, never to be seen again...
...untill such a time where it gets passed on without a second thought.
All this being said, I still find it hard to part with special items that I cherish the most... but as they say "there is a time and place for everything".
Cheers
It's all about what the people want...
It helps to have plenty of dreck to sell from my earlier collecting days and recent purchases of others' collections. It helps put a dent in the funds required for the next keystone piece, without having to liquidate other higher end pieces.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
<< <i>In a sense, we are all short term owners, some just shorter then others. >>
Or put another way...
Everyone is both a short term and a long term owner. Sell while you're alive, or keep
and leave to a relative in death. It's always going to be one or the other.
I sold the nicest 1802 half cent that I had ever seen for $1,000 - I cherried it off a local bill board for $50, so it was a big, big profit margin. But today, I cannot buy one half as nice for twice the price.
I had the counterfeit 187_ bust half--I paid $15 for it at a local auction and my friend sold it for me to Sheridan Downey for $60 about 1980. I did not realize the value of this piece. Mr Downey highlighted it in one of his auctions some years ago, but I don't know what it sold for.
I had a RB unc. 1864 small motto 2 cent piece that I also just whisked away for song. I made $5.00 on this coin paid $50 for it and sold it for $55.
Also had an Unc. 1861 new Brunswick half cent that I got in a lot of foreign coin for less than a dollar and sold it almost immediately to a Canadian dealer for $100 way back about 1974. This coin is over $1000 today.
I hand picked a full set of full bell line Franklins and sold it for $600 which was grey sheet bid at the time. This was before any third party grading systems.
I did a lot more - these are all the come to mind at the moment.
Now, to answer your question----Is owning it for a short while good enough?
Yes, If you like the profit more than the coin.
Bob