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The more my passion increases the further I move to the fringe

BoosibriBoosibri Posts: 12,370 ✭✭✭✭✭
As I become more knowledgeable, connected and passionate, my collecting interests have moved further and further from the center of common collecting focus areas.



I'm now interested much more in world coins, I've taken an interest in rare Irish proofs and patterns amongst other things. My heart and wallet are still tied to no mottos $5's but my interests have definitely broadened.



Has this happened to many of you as well?

Comments

  • SonorandesertratSonorandesertrat Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭✭✭

    30-50 years ago, I was collecting foreign coins: Swiss shooting talers, Austrian to 1938, and selected talers from German territories up to the 'Second Empire.' After a hiatus (grad school), I started collecting Barber halves and Standing Liberty quarters (both sets completed in ChAU), plus modern proof sets. I sold almost everything in 2007-8. When I began a rebuilding phase, I decided to get serious about building a good working library as well. As I started doing this, my interests began to shift to older U. S. coinage (particularly large cents) and also early U. S. Mint medals. My library has significantly changed my views of various aspects of U. S. numismatics. During the market run-up, I also began buying nice-looking Latin American and European gold for melt-near melt and filled two Dansco blank albums with coins (sold 18 months ago). I am still trying to decide what I really want to collect when I grow up.
    Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA

    RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'

    CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,017 ✭✭✭✭✭
    How is this for fringe ? ??

    image
    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • TopographicOceansTopographicOceans Posts: 6,535 ✭✭✭✭
    There are a lot of very cool world coins, but I don't know much about them so I don't buy many.

    They are lower priced, but if I see an expensive one that I like I have no clue on what the value is so I shy away.
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,017 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: TopographicOceans
    There are a lot of very cool world coins, but I don't know much about them so I don't buy many.

    They are lower priced, but if I see an expensive one that I like I have no clue on what the value is so I shy away.
    so research it.....

    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • ElKevvoElKevvo Posts: 4,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sure....I did not get bored with US coins but as my collection grew and I ran into the wall of 'What would I like to add next?' I branched out more into world coins. There are a lots of really nice designs, history etc. out there. Main focus is still US but I don't shy away from worlds.



    K
    ANA LM
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,942 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: bidask
    How is this for fringe ? ??

    image


    That is awesome.

    And I agree about the fringe thing. Bust halves and Barber pieces generally bore me to tears.

    My Box of 20
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • FlatwoodsFlatwoods Posts: 4,246 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think it happens to most people if they collect long enough.

    Whether you just get bored with what you are doing or you gain

    other interests by being exposed to them in some way.



    It happens.



    I tend to think the massive amount of information available today makes it worse.
  • RB1026RB1026 Posts: 1,469 ✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Boosibri

    As I become more knowledgeable, connected and passionate, my collecting interests have moved further and further from the center of common collecting focus areas.



    Has this happened to many of you as well?




    Yes! I now am focused on areas I would never have dreamed of as a younger collector (Colonials, early America era World Coins, Medals, Washington numismatic pieces, etc)



    I think for me, it has definitely been a refinement of my tastes and a narrower focus on historical pieces that has come with my own maturity. It's much more about history and scholarship for me at this point than it is about $$$ gain or set completion.



    Great topic Boosibri!



  • bolivarshagnastybolivarshagnasty Posts: 7,352 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Agreed, great topic. I find myself moving around within the US coin field, gaining experience in the areas I delve into. Lincolns, Jeffersons, Mercs, Toned Morgans, and now modern gold commemoratives are the latest fling. Still have a long way to go to learn the US series, before I end up where you are.
  • MrEurekaMrEureka Posts: 24,394 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A few years ago, a younger dealer looked into my showcase, saw a handful of US coins, and said "I didn't know that you handled US coins!" So yeah, I guess I've wandered off a bit over the years.
    Andy Lustig

    Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.

    Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
  • SeattleSlammerSeattleSlammer Posts: 10,048 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Weiss, your Box of 20 layout is spectacular! Love it.
  • SeattleSlammerSeattleSlammer Posts: 10,048 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My attention over the years has gone between Morgans, Walkers, World, Esoteric Medals, Classic Proofs, Lowballs, Slabbed, Raw, Tokens, Barber, Seated, Early Copper, Cheap Gold, Patterns, Misc. Whatever.....and repeat. I generally always seem to come back to especially attractive Morgan widgets. image
  • shorecollshorecoll Posts: 5,447 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Seattle...I once got 5 coins away from completing a Morgan set and realized I actually couldn't stand the things. image
    ANA-LM, NBS, EAC
  • BIGAL2749BIGAL2749 Posts: 742 ✭✭✭✭
    In years of collecting, the last 22 have been early US type but in the last several I branched out into home grown colonials.

    Home grown as in NJ, Ct,and Vt that were made in the US but the newest exception are French coins that may have circulated not only in New France but also the colonies.

    That starts with Louis XIV (1638-1715) through Louis XVI right till the French Revolution in 1792.

    A very big variety and at relatively low prices and I'm having fun.
  • WalkerfanWalkerfan Posts: 9,670 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It's tough to be focused on just one thing and it takes a lot of discipline.



    But the more I know and the further I go; I am still just centered on Walkers.



    I feel that numismatics is like a sport and to really excel---you must choose just one and focus on it.



    Someday, when I complete my Walkers---I may buy some SLQs or CBHs or Morgan GSAs or maybe a Saint or two.

    Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍

    My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):

    https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/

  • Jackthecat1Jackthecat1 Posts: 1,122 ✭✭✭
    I still collect US coins, but I really feel that I get more bang for my buck with foreign coins. For instance, my current budget does not allow me to have any US matte proof gold coins, but I own both a 1902 sovereign and half sovereign in matte proof.
    Member ANS, ANA, GSNA, TNC



    image
  • coinlieutenantcoinlieutenant Posts: 9,319 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I hear you Brian.

    I am about to have a discipline event. Check the bst in the next day to week. image

  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,942 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: SeattleSlammer
    Weiss, your Box of 20 layout is spectacular! Love it.


    Gracias. Just got two of the previously ungraded pieces back from ATS. They're posted now:

    My Box of 20
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • ShadyDaveShadyDave Posts: 2,217 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Weiss
    Originally posted by: bidask
    How is this for fringe ? ??

    image

    /////////////////////////
    That is awesome.

    And I agree about the fringe thing. Bust halves and Barber pieces generally bore me to tears.

    My Box of 20




    Very nice collection. Great combo of US & World coins!
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    'Fringe' collecting is anything away from a specific individuals main interest.... since this is

    the U.S. coin forum...anything else - of which there are a multitude of examples here - is fringe.

    Most of us have some 'fringe' examples for various reasons....Hail to the fringe.... Cheers, RickO
  • BoosibriBoosibri Posts: 12,370 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: coinlieutenant

    I hear you Brian.



    I am about to have a discipline event. Check the bst in the next day to week. image







    I look forward to that! Good to see you posting.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,516 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You can have the fringe. I'll unhem the skirt , or skirt the edge, if you prefer.

    Short story…

    A few years ago a woman came into the shop. I remember paying her $3900. for 3 $20 Gold Liberty Double Eagles.
    She said she was going to help her sister out and that was the reason she was selling. When I asked her where she got the coins she relayed this story :


    "I had a woman friend who was much older. At first I just used to visit her. Eventually , I became her caregiver. Not long before she died, she said to me : "Should I pass away, I want you to take my dresses in the closet. They're for you', so when she passed, I took them home".

    Since this woman took the dresses hanging in the closet , it reminded me (my mom always said 'women's clothes may go out of fashion but they always come back in style. ) .
    So she went on ; "One day I decided to clean and press the dresses to iron out any wrinkles, but realized how straight they hung, all in the closet ". Thus, she took one out and laid it on the bed, with the hem hanging over the edge of the bed, When suddenly the dress just slid off the bed. It frightened her. Then she'd realized the old woman had sewn something heavy in the hems of all her dresses. image

    I never asked how many she actually got and she never told me. That kind of put me on the fringe, then and there.
  • SkyManSkyMan Posts: 9,493 ✭✭✭✭✭
    World coins, heck, I've moved so far to the fringe that my coins aren't even on the Earth...


  • 3keepSECRETif2rDEAD3keepSECRETif2rDEAD Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: shorecoll
    Seattle...I once got 5 coins away from completing a Morgan set and realized I actually couldn't stand the things. image


    ...curious I am...what were the 5 coins?
  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 23,773 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Congrats... You are living the dream.

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • mercurydimeguymercurydimeguy Posts: 4,625 ✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Boosibri

    As I become more knowledgeable, connected and passionate, my collecting interests have moved further and further from the center of common collecting focus areas.



    I'm now interested much more in world coins, I've taken an interest in rare Irish proofs and patterns amongst other things. My heart and wallet are still tied to no mottos $5's but my interests have definitely broadened.



    Has this happened to many of you as well?




    You have mastered the your former "trade" and came to the hard realization that in US Numismatics you are limited by a) how much money you have, b) similar designs and strike types.



    And you've probably also realized that the chase is actually the fun part...



    Combine all of these things and US Coins become less interesting to astute collectors.



    There are fascinating tokens, ans SCD's, and foreign coinage that have far more interesting stories, etc.. and can be acquired without being a millionaire.



    Anyhow you are definetly not alone, I am doing the same thing with my 1869

    Set of Everything image

  • Hi Brian, remember me ? Wait till you get bit by the Roman Gold bug....
    Those little guy's will really wreck your checking account.. Haaaa :-)
    Support your local Coin Shop
    LM-ANA3242-CSNS308-MSNS226-ICTA
  • BoosibriBoosibri Posts: 12,370 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Of course I remember you. I always try and stop in the shop in Davison when I visit my in-laws.
  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,630 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Part time dealing, which I'm slowly phasing out of, allowed me to handle a lot of cool and interesting coins and currency, if only for a short time.
    But I wound up wanting keep a lot, so it wasn't real profitable LOL.
    I still love my walkers, but got bored with them. Early and middle date large cents are still plenty interesting to me. And when I want a break from them,
    I have a lot of neat Darkside coins squirreled away to look at.

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • ebaybuyerebaybuyer Posts: 2,984 ✭✭✭
    years ago I "discovered" a niche of 19th century numismatics that range from fairly common to possibly unique. few others are interested in these which keeps the fighting to a minimum, yet trading with fellow enthusiasts is easy given that even the common pieces may take a few years to locate. no sleepless nights if they wont slab, wont cross, went 5 points less than expected, no registry sets, we enjoy the items for what they are, without having the burden of plastic and stickers, it increases my interest tremendously
    regardless of how many posts I have, I don't consider myself an "expert" at anything
  • NapNap Posts: 1,751 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Progression of the rare coin collector:

    1) I have raw coins and they are rare

    2) I have raw coins and I now realize they aren't that rare

    3) I have raw coins and I am buying coin books and now I understand them better

    4) I have raw coins but I am buying some slabbed coins because they are expensive and I'm not that good at grading yet

    5) I am gradually replacing my raw coins with slabbed coins

    6) I am looking for high quality PCGS and NGC coins with CAC stickers to replace earlier less appealing coins

    7) I am now buying rare varieties and am more confident in my ability to grade and determine authenticity

    8) I am specializing in an area and buying only eye appealing coins that are slabbed

    9) I am buying eye appealing coins and I don't care about PCGS vs others, stickers, and heck I don't even care if slabbed

    10) I have raw coins and they are rare


    image
  • WillieBoyd2WillieBoyd2 Posts: 5,254 ✭✭✭✭✭
    When I was a kid in the 1960's I saw a film called "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" on television.

    I was interested in coins then and when I saw the huge Mexican Peso in Humphrey Bogart's hand,
    I started looking for coins in movies and later in television programs.

    image
    "Say, Mister. Will you stake a fellow American to a meal?"

    image
    https://www.brianrxm.com
    The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
    Coins in Movies
    Coins on Television

  • DCWDCW Posts: 7,567 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: SkyMan
    World coins, heck, I've moved so far to the fringe that my coins aren't even on the Earth...




    Hahaha. Ain't that the truth? !

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,799 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It certainly did happen to me. Then, I moved so far to the fringe that I fell off the edge. image

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