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Buy the best you can afford?
BIGAL2749
Posts: 742 ✭✭✭✭
What is meant by the best one can afford?
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What do dealers frequently say Alex ?
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
The cool thing about collecting error coins is that you can buy the "BEST" major error coins at any price range from $5 dollars for a nice 50 % off center lincoln error to tens of thousands of dollars for something more exotic.
What is....
What do dealers frequently say Alex ?
And the winner is....
Besides living expenses, higher priority items are college educations for your kids and funding your retirement.
Once you have those taken care of, then buy the best you can afford.
You just need to keep what you can afford in perspective.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
mark
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......
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
buy coins that fit your budget and don't overspend
*https://photos.app.goo.gl/zhzgx5nmxk4H2sM59
simple
buy coins that fit your budget and don't overspend
This.
When buying something that you plan to keep for a long time and that you want to extract enjoyment from, it is best to stretch a little to get what you really want. It isn't license to max out the credit card - just a different version of:
"you get what you pay for"
or
"buy once, cry once"
or
"the bitterness of poor quality lasts much longer than the sweetness of a low price"
etc etc etc.
The biggest obstacle for me has always been figuring out exactly what "the best" is. Once I'm confident about that, I don't hesitate to pay up for something I believe in. There's a lot more to it than the number on the label or the advice of one individual, especially when their opinion is biased by the desire to make a sale. What's a new collector supposed to do? For my primary collecting interest, I started with junk eBay problem coins and gradually worked up to slabbed MS63 Peace dollars with issues. Those gradually were replaced with MS64/65 coins with a bit more care in their selection. Finally, many, many coins later I have a set of 24 coins, and I'm still not happy with 5 or 6 of them.
Buying the book helps, but there's a lot to be learned in the trenches while acquiring and disposing of coins in the collection. It would have probably been cheaper to skip all the upgrades and transaction costs by starting with the absolute highest grades I could afford, but I learned a tremendous amount along the way and had plenty of fun. It's possible (I hope) that the tuition paid as I went along will be offset by higher quality in the "final" collection.
What is meant by the best one can afford?
To me, it can mean buy something now in your budget even if it may not meet your standards. Examples include hole fillers.
I like another approach:
Buy what you like, Don't buy what you don't
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
Most everything in life that I've ever stretched for has paid major dividends for me. I'll roll with that. Quality trumps most everything. That goes for all price points. Being cheap, frugal and cutting corners I have usually paid the piper
mark
Quite frankly, the people starting in on the dealer bashing I would imagine have pretty marginal collections. The concept is to priority quality over quantity, not to increase the overall amount of capital allocation one chooses to make towards rare coins.
Latin American Collection
What is meant by the best one can afford?
To me, it can mean buy something now in your budget even if it may not meet your standards. Examples include hole fillers.
I think it generally means the exact opposite of that.
When I started collecting by buying, rather than roll searching, I was working on many sets at once. I was still concerned with quality but I was spending at most $25 on a coin. I got a coin for graduation, that was a duplicate so I exchanged it for a really nice AU half dime that I just loved. It was much nicer than the other coins in my type set and I remember hearing the "best you can afford" mantra around the same time. The idea stuck.
If coins are strictly a hobby and have no monetary goals, you can make your own rules. But if you want the coins to act as a type of an investment, I think the advice is sound--you may have to get out of your comfort zone when making your purchase to have the best chance to make a profit in the long term.
What is meant by the best one can afford?
To me, it means "if you're going to invest, make it something that will see ROI " (return on investment)
On the same token, it means with coins that if you keep putting off buying what you like, it's probably unaffordable.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
This.
Coin Rarities Online
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
You must also determine the optimal collecting grade (the point at which the difference in quality is much smaller than the difference in price) and try to collect as close to that point as you can.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
The hobby can be profitable but it can also cost you money, just like any other hobby.
If you collect coins as a hobby, then the best you can afford is how much money you are willing to give up for your enjoyment of your hobby.
Latin American Collection
Im shocked at the percentage of the forum who completely has lost the plot on this.
There's a reason people shop at WalMart
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Im shocked at the percentage of the forum who completely has lost the plot on this.
There's a reason people shop at WalMart
Quality leaves little room for regret.
Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots
However, if what you can easily keep track of and manage is 60 pieces (3 slab storage boxes), then you should tailor your budget to fit that particular inventory goal. More expensive pieces can be added later. You could have one box devoted to gold, another to dollars, and the last one to anything else whether US or World. I know of a guy who does this with the rest of it in currency (stacks) so he has no problem filling his cases at shows. Whatever room in the cases the coins do not take up he can easily fill it in with currency. In this way he can travel lite with everything in one briefcase. Out of town shows he just may take the currency (much lighter than coins, does not set off metal detectors) and buy any coins he may want at the show while his coins are back at home in his ebay store at retail.
Today I'd say you are best off buying the best you can afford within reason. I like "threshold coins." Those are pieces that are in the best grades, just before the prices to up to the next star system. You can buy the super expensive high grade coins if you like at a huge premium, but bear in mind that the exit strategy might have limited options, a least from my perspective.
Buy the best coin at price which makes you comfortable is a better strategy today.
some other coins for a while.... but mainly, if it is a hobby, do not worry about investment, just enjoy the pleasure of the coins. Cheers, RickO
simple
buy coins that fit your budget and don't overspend
jackpot. that works best for me
I'm done playing devil's advocate. However, few are rarely disappointed, who enjoy the hobby at any level.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
I like "threshold coins." Those are pieces that are in the best grades, just before the prices to up to the next star system. .
My thinking is that if you want to do things right, and if the finest known coins of a series are not good value, then it would be best to collect something else.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I like "threshold coins." Those are pieces that are in the best grades, just before the prices to up to the next star system. .
My thinking is that if you want to do things right, and if the finest known coins of a series are not good value, then it would be best to collect something else.
I think it depends on what type of collector you are and what your budget is. For example, if you're a type collector...I think the "threshold coins" Bill mentions make perfect sense. Take With Motto (Type 3) Saints, according to the PCGS price guide (which yes, I realize is not the end all be all) a 66 retails for about 2370 while a 67 will set you back 12K. Unless you've got an unlimited budget, it's hard to imagine that a carefully selected 66 is not the ideal coin for you over a 67 that could cost 5 times as much.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
My view is that you should focus on buying the right coins. Patience is the real key. The right coin could very well be much less than you can afford, and it may require stretching a bit outside your comfort zone. All of this can only be measured once the collector has the knowledge necessary to know what the "right coin" is.
This is not a dealer bash post, in fact just the opposite. Great dealers are the ones that focus on educating his/her client on the "right coin" concept. But in all honesty great dealers are few and far between.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
I always took this to mean "Don't buy coins with holes in them."
But political tokens can be okay.
The reverse makes this one rare, and I am quite sure that it was used during Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign.