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Are you lost in the past?
291fifth
Posts: 25,242 ✭✭✭✭✭
Have you thought about the way you collect versus current trends?
Are you hoping the "old way" with albums and hole-filling of dates and mint marks will return to prominence?
Do you refuse to give in to gradeflation and stickerization?
Perhaps a return to the past would be of benefit to the hobby.
What do you think?
Are you hoping the "old way" with albums and hole-filling of dates and mint marks will return to prominence?
Do you refuse to give in to gradeflation and stickerization?
Perhaps a return to the past would be of benefit to the hobby.
What do you think?
All glory is fleeting.
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I am more willing to pass on a coin if the price isn't what I think it should be. There was a time when I was too willing to pay more for less in my quest.
I watch more like a sniper. I constantly search in my free time and sometimes get lucky and pick off a fair priced coin within minutes of it coming on the market.
I will not pay 1¢ extra for a CAC stickered coin. I won't buy hype. I will buy the coin. When I do buy a coin that has a CAC sticker I scrape it off.
I do keep a few albums around for coins that are not my main interest.
My main interests are in plastic and I appreciate the TPG opinions. However since I'm not an expert by any means, I have more interest in a TPG picking up
on something I might have missed such as cleaning, authentication, altering, etc....
So I guess I'm not too far departed from the current trend, but not 100% with it either.
Edit: Wow! I can't even type correctly today. Need coffee.
The web has been great for our hobby in general, and now I can easily skip the overpriced, overstickered or unappealing coins with a simple swipe of a tablet or mouse.
You have the power to make the hobby what you want it to be. No one is forcing you to get that +, sticker or that 3 seconds for your hoped for grade.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
I believe you may have a wrongly skewed perspective if it is your belief that the "old way" you describe is gone. it is alive and well and probably dominates the Hobby more than you would willingly accept. even many of those collectors at this site who could be considered advanced routinely fill holes. the problem, from MyLoftyPerch, is that the collectors that you have drawn your conclusions from observing form a very small percentage of the Hobby overall. I realize that the advent of Third Party Grading and all aspects that these services entail have somewhat distorted the picture many see, old school is still prevalent.
what I find interesting in seeing a wide variety of collectors is when I observe a guy who is involved with slabs that would otherwise seem to be old school, but I see that with computers, the internet and cell phones. many people in general hold onto the old in their daily lives but accept the conveniences and forward progress that our society offers. the HobbyOfKings in no different.
BTW 291fifth, I am not alone in my observation that you tend to have a very negative view on things in general and the Hobby in particular. for my own part, I reached out to you and tried to meet you at a show but you resisted. I consider you a knowledgeable person and think you could bring more to the forum than the "doom and gloom" you tend to persist in talking about. please give us something positive.
A few months ago I asked if any of the members of our club had a set of Kennedy half dollars to bring in because I did not have many of those coins show for a presentation. They laughed, because to them it seems like I have everything, but I really don't have very many of those coins.
As for 70s coin shows, you had a lot of money there were some great coins available at the bourses. I can remember seeing a gold plated example of a $50 gold piece (half union pattern), Matte Proof gold in quantity and some other rarities you seldom see outside of major auctions today. Yes, you were on your own when it came to grading and authentication, still the market seemed to be more robust in what there was to buy as opposed to today.
Just consider the source.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
The coins I bought ten years ago are in 20 year old slabs. No real desire to reholder them now as I like the older plastic and knowing the copper is stable. I feel they are getting Fresher by the day. Just holding because I really don't see the material I was buying offered anymore and if so, not for the prices I was paying. Getting older too, sounding like a timer spouting how coffee used to be a dime! I wanted the prices to go up after I bought right? Selling now to a dealer would basically net what I paid retail for back then, so not really interested in putting more money on the sidelines. Just staying realistic about their growth and I'm spoiled enough to just like having some of the dates in my possession, instead of making another house payment or something way more practical. I'm what I call fully invested and have met most of my goals.
But I'm young enough to keep my eyes open for the right coin or two I feel have legs to climb within the next 20 years. Still interested in staying current within the hobby. Getting ready for the big sale of sorts if I can time it right with the 2035 bullion run up, my health and exit the hobby while I still have the stamina to enjoy the dough. If I kick early my loved ones can enjoy the spoils.
P.S. I know this has nothing to do with the thread in question, but I needed to put it out there for "the few… the proud… the NUMISMATISTS"
EOM
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
Old school, new school, no school.....still floats my boat.
doing a monthly coin show, there is still a strong hole filling base of collectors out there. Though a large percentage will not move up
to the next level in the future. Its when you sell that you realize the common fillers will always be just that.
just saying
the different corners of this hobby all have life of their own
my ex girlfriends mom buys a redbook each year...still at 74
she never spent a penny over face value as her collection is from circulation only
mind you an old bank teller who started in the 50's...from what little she disclosed i surely would of been in for a treat had i ever went back to new hampshire and viewed her books and assorted rolls
it was none other then I who showed her the first pcgs slab when i gave her grand daughter a proof ihc as it too was her 1st time seeing such
truly my perspective is too limited to make statements about any part of this hobby
Not really sure what you mean by the old way, but the future looks bright to me because of the internet, so many eyeballs .....
Old school, new school, no school.....still floats my boat."
I could not agree more. I pursue my hobby the way I do (collecting half dimes by date, mint, die marriage and even by die state), and I choose my coins (and my scotch, too, by the way) to impress only one person on this planet ... myself. I care little about current trends, or popular mores of the collecting community. To me, coin collecting is a very personal activity, and should be pursued in whatever manner the individual decides, without regard to what others might think. If this is perceived by others as the "old way", so be it. My daughter says I do not adapt well to change, anyway.
<< <i>Have you thought about the way you collect versus current trends? >>
Sure, I've given it some thought. One thing I do not try to do is "keep up" with moderns, pretty much end all series at 1964 or other convenient date, and type sets at 2000, with a few exeptions here or there when something in the enormous river of world government NCLT bullion, private bullion houses and experimental minters, coin carvers and colorizers and packagers and labelers and on and on. I'm kind of a "one of every kind" collector and if you don't put limits on it somewhere, there are no limits to what you "need"
Are you hoping the "old way" with albums and hole-filling of dates and mint marks will return to prominence? >>
I do not know about "hoping" as much as just keeping going that way myself, at least for a US type set 1793-2000 and my specialty sets of draped bust quarters and halves by variety, most of the coins are raw, or if in holders, they are worth just as much out of the holder or in a different holder, meaning the value does not depend on the plastic or sticker. Indeed, some of the coins have problems like wrong holder or right holder but "genuine" such as my 1796 dime and 1805 half eagle, which will be cracked for an album
Do you refuse to give in to gradeflation and stickerization? >>
Yes, I do not pay extra for a coin that would be worth less if cracked out or the sticker peeled off. I think that's great that there is collectible plastic and paper tags, and that a lot of people are making a lot of money providing this stuff, but I just do not want to spend my money that way. I'll buy a coin in a PCGS holder if it comes that way and is priced right for what it is outside of the holder, and many times I will break it out of the holder and put it in an album or safeflip.
Perhaps a return to the past would be of benefit to the hobby. >>
I always cringe when people refer to "the hobby" (or for that matter, "the economy", "the climate", "the stock market", "the real estate market", "kids these days", or whatever, because the averages are made up of huge numbers of data points along multi-dimentional curves of intersecting individuals, groups, and intersecting trends, and much prefer analysis of specific regions, sectors, and specific concepts to such general terms.
What do you think? >>
I think that I myself have completed my second plateau in the coin collecting.
The first was from age 8 to 15, and included the usual introduction to coins (thank you Bicentennial!), completion of a decent XF-BU 20th century type set and the easy pieces of the 19th century US coins with the odd denominations, some seated and capped bust coins, and chunks of a couple of sets such as silver Washingtons, Franklins, Roosevelts, and quite a few morgans and peace dollars. This era was about 1975-1982, and I was starting to get work cutting lawns, cleaning pools, painting rooms, etc... so had a little income to spend.. I sold quite a bit of silver at $30+/oz and used the money to buy a few more type coins as well as start to buy movie tickets and pizzas, gasoline and parts for my dirt bike, and later, a few coins were sold to pay for beer and weed and dates. After that, locked the coins up to look at occasionally over the next 20 years, while I finished high school, college, and went to work.
In the late 1990's I had a little income and the internet was starting up, and I picked up buying and selling coins again (thank you Ebay!) and completed a collection that would have been a dream for my 12 year old self... from 1999-2002 I bought lots of gold coins and rolls of BU silver, and from 2002-2011 sold off much of the gold and silver bullionesque coins to buy older and rarer type coins such as the easier draped bust and early gold, and built sets of draped bust halves and large sized bust quarters by variety. I've now reached a point in my late 40's that the remaining coins I would like for my collection start at about $4000 and go on up from there in any decent condition (Fine or better, or higher detail with slight problems) and I just do not have the extra funds to buy them, nor the time to "do coins" as, did I mention, also picked up a wife and a house and two school age kids, and worked for a couple of startups companies that keep me super busy (even banging out a long post like I used to do 10 years a go is getting to be a rare thing) anyway, coin buying especially but also coin viewing, coin posting, everything coin has really slowed down for me, while "the coin industry" has gone into hyperdrive.
So, someday in the next decade, I hope there will be another, third boom for me, either I will make a lot of money in stock or real estate or in a business venture, or the gold and silver prices will bubble again (I've seen two, can we get a third before I croak?) or I'll retire and maybe have the chance to finally get my 1793 copper, my small eagle 1795-1797 gold and silver, my fat head 1813-1833 gold, etc. Until then, not buying or selling much at all (but starting to eyeball bullion again) and just sort of floating along, checking in here and at ebay occasionally, and once in a while, visiting the bank boxes and taking a look for a ten or twenty minutes at a time.. and pictures of the coins, something I didn't have in the good ole days.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>Have you thought about the way you collect versus current trends? Are you hoping the "old way" with albums and hole-filling of dates and mint marks will return to prominence? Do you refuse to give in to gradeflation and stickerization? Perhaps a return to the past would be of benefit to the hobby. What do you think? >>
It's hard for me to get away from my roots of "hole-filling" albums ... but I like the way I have combined the old with the new by using state-of-the-art digital photography to create virtual albums. This way I can combine professionally graded slabbed and photographed coins with the old album/board style of collecting.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
I buy some slabbed (and unslabbed) Modern Bullion and raw Large Cents. I might slab a coin when I think it's the best way to sell it. Sometimes, I don't bother. I've cracked out my share of coins that don't need to be in plastic. I have one Registry set for fun. Grading services are selling an expert opinion and encapsulation. I don't consider professional grading to be part of my definition of collecting.
I don't even know what the current trends might be. I simply enjoy coins and I hope that I've developed some proficiency along the way.
I knew it would happen.
I don't worry about grades or Full Bands or especially stickers! I can tell nice coins just as well as JA!
To each his own. I know some out here won't buy a coin that is not CAC. Me I couldn't care less.
Collect what you like and like what you collect!!!
JMHO
<< <i>I don't let the prevailing winds decide what or how I collect.......AND NEVER WILL.
I don't worry about grades or Full Bands or especially stickers! I can tell nice coins just as well as JA!
To each his own. I know some out here won't buy a coin that is not CAC. Me I couldn't care less.
Collect what you like and like what you collect!!!
JMHO >>
Hoard the keys.
#2 Yes. They are the same
#3 Not "THE" old way. Have you stopped beating your wife? Yes or no.
#4 Well, have you stopped beating your wife? Same type question.
#5 I think you must have sold your coins too soon
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
I try to complete sets.
Most if my collection is raw. Most is heavily circulated.
I keep my coins in a wooden cabinet (although high value stuff is in the safe box)
I don't have a registry set.
I don't have any stickered coins
I've never submitted to a grading service. I buy coins in holders for the authenticity guarantee
I buy at auction occasionally but most of my collection is from private transaction with other collectors or dealers
I try to track down coin provenance and history whenever possible. (I have identified some of my British coins in publications dating back to 1903)
<< <i>Are you lost in the past? >>
I'm modern enough for someone who thinks old school (1890's) and may be the world's last ancient Egyptian.
I do think in terms of sets but I'm a generalist so most of my sets are very open ended. If I "complete" one
I'm likely to just include varieties or similar items. Some of my collections are incompletable anyway because
no examples of many items still exist and some are excessively rare so I'll never stumble on them.
I do have a sort of 1960's perspective with coin collecting but if I'm guilty of living in the wrong place and time
it's only because I spend too much time in the future. Even history is just a precursor to the future and collect-
ing, for me, is a goal for the future.
No, I'm not lost in the past. ...Just obsessed by it.
<< <i>Have you thought about the way you collect versus current trends?
Are you hoping the "old way" with albums and hole-filling of dates and mint marks will return to prominence?
Do you refuse to give in to gradeflation and stickerization?
Perhaps a return to the past would be of benefit to the hobby.
What do you think? >>
Sometimes.
No.
Yes.
Maybe in a few ways, but not many.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.