Collecting Goals....

DepressionscripGuy

So has anyone ever sat back and looked at your long term collecting goals and realize you may never get there? The reason I ask is I have been doing a re-eval for my insurance company on my collection. I've been chasing depression scrip for almost 25 years now. So I have a pretty good collection (at least if you ask me...) along with lots of other side collections.



But what's really crazy is after 25 years, I'm barely over 50% of my goal which is try to collect an example of all known depression scrip and document it on the web.



The last reference on depression scrip was in 1984 and it listed approximately 3259 examples. I'm counting variations and different denominations for each issue.



To date, I've found an additional 413 examples not listed in the book. So that's 3672 different notes on my want list. After 25 years, and visiting thousands of coin shows, thousands of miles of travel, hundreds of coin shops, I have 1883 of these examples. Not to mention all the money spent on what I have actually purchased, there's all the money spent on the chase. So that's just over 50% of my goal. And a big percentage of the notes I now need are the tougher ones to find. So does that mean if I put in another 25 years can I bump that percentage above 80%, 90%, or ??



I've always known I can't get to 100%, some notes are one of a kind and I will probably never see them. I've come to realize my goal is DEFINITELY unattainable and not even close so now it's a "let's see how close I can get" goal and get them documented on my website.



Anyone else have that sinking feeling that you're just are not going to get there?

Tookybandit

That's a huge goal to be sure! Most of my goals are little ones: complete a block set, upgrade a note, get a particular Ch.# example, etc.

Here's to hoping a big depression scrip collection comes to market soon that will turn things upside down for you!

Jim61

Yes, after collecting for many decades. But I have goals, like you, that are most likely unobtainable. For me at least, it keeps me going and keeps me enjoying the hunt. I often ask myself, what I would do IF! I ever completed my sets - what would I do without the hunt?

DepressionscripGuy

Thanks I do too... I've bought many collections over the years or portions of. But there is one big one that got away and think about it almost every week. The Schingoethe collection. The auction house bundled it into 3 lots which consisted of 1 notebook - which I won at a steep price. Then 2 lots containing 1 large box each. After winning the notebook, I couldn't even hit the opening bid on either one of the other 2 lots. I've wondered for years what was in those boxes and I bet it would fill a bunch of holes in my collection. They were so detailed in their collecting.

uzuiwek

I'm with you. I finally finished a goal to have a circulating example of each design the State Bank of Ohio issued last year. When I started, not all of them were known to exist. Now, I'm thinking about trying to put together a complete type set for post-1845 Ohio - which would include the State Bank as well as two other types of banks - it would be about 35 additional notes. At least 5 of them aren't known to survive. But goals are good, and who knows what is hiding out there. One just appeared for the first time last weekend. Good luck!

synchr

Web Feds overwhelmed me, I gave up

STLNATS

Yes and no.



The yes was the 70 piece small sized set on STL City I finished last year. I'd been chasing these for about a decade and was becoming convinced that a couple of the notes even existed only to have the last 3 appear within about 16 months of each other. I'm still chasing STL County, a much smaller set, and am also down to 3 notes, 2 of which I've actually handled years ago which keeps me going.



The no is my Latvia collection which I've seriously collected for decades (now chasing block letters while I wait more the odd whale to come along). My collection received a major boost with renewed independence of Latvia when a great deal of material flowed to the west. Holes remained and in addition to several rare local issues, the key piece I'm still missing is the 1919 25R block A which is a distinct variety issued during the brief Latvian communist government. I bought a collection in 2000 but this issue was stolen in the mail and I've not seen one for sale before or since. Just gotta be patient I guess...

Alex1176

I collect mainly Middle East, and some of my goals are just out of my league budget wise. I cannot spend 150 thousands on one note.

gnat

Absolutely. Having a goal that may not be currently possible (either for financial reasons or unlikelihood of finding certain notes) can be a great motivator to plug along for the long term - provided the goal is not so unrealistic that you just get frustrated. Even if you don't achieve that goal, in the process, there is the good chance that you will put together a collection that is fairly noteworthy. And, you can never discount the serendipity factor - something unexpected and cool coming your way.



BTW: Looking for:

1934B $5 FRN NY face plate 212 (VF or better) or ANY fp 212 Star.

1934C $5 FRN NY Narrow and Narrow Star.

techwriter

Most definitely have re-defined my goals. Since none of my children had any interest in obsolete currency and my obsolete goal was so broad it seemed time to re-think and concentrate elsewhere; so 20 years ago I liquidated the 500+ obsoletes (did save a few special ones).

Retirement, of course, forced an adjustment to the "buy currency" budget. I'm still having fun and I guess that's what's important. I'm sure that along the way these past 20 years I've missed some tremendous bargains but that's due primarily to my ignorance, but I'm learning.

STLNATS

Originally posted by: gnat

And, you can never discount the serendipity factor - something unexpected and cool coming your way.

+ a bunch and probably what keeps a lot of us "veteran" collectors going. And, gotta love the term "serendipity factor" you coined!

DanCong

I have started a lot of hares as they say, but today I completed a PCGS registry set, small sized $5s. I had completed it with some PGM notes earlier, but just got a lower grade PCGS to finish it off - I did not want to crack open the PGM note, but the hole for a pcgs note was annoying me. I really started seriously collecting in 2013, so it has not taken a long time. Anyone could have done it in a month if they wanted to and had the money, but that is "buying" not "collecting". Now of course I can continue to upgrade the notes. I'd like to get a "simple" small sized set from 1 to 100 done, barring some of the silly ones like 1933 $10 silver certificate. I realize there are notes I am not going to collect as my resources are not there to get $500 notes, let alone the 4 and 5 digit small sized. That does not bother me. Finding a nice 1928E Silver Certificate $1 at a reasonable price or the 1935 "R" note at a bargain make the hunt fun. Obviously, getting everything in 70PPQ would be nice, but I am happy with far lesser grades as it is practical. The PCGS registry sets give you a hard count of what goes where and spots to be filled. For that reason they define a goal. For other things I collect, like railway bonds, the sheer number of cataloged ones (over 20,000) make getting one of each an unobtainable goal. So I collect what amuses me, which have no particular number of spots or place where I can say I'm done. I can imagine If I collected depression script, I'd end up limiting it to certain states, or a denomination, or some other criteria to focus it. Once I find that general railroad bonds are no longer amusing I will probably focus to a more specific criteria to make the search more difficult, and the pleasure of accomplishment a little more rarified.

delistamps

I keep myself busy looking for notes to complete Jim61's sets.

Jim61

Originally posted by: delistamps

I keep myself busy looking for notes to complete Jim61's sets.

And you are doing a fabulous job!!!!

luckybucks

Gnat, I'll keep my eyes open for those $5's you are looking for.



Depressionscrip', That is a huge goal. May a giant colection come your way.



On my end, I am ten notes away from wrapping up the $10 1934 LGS set. Until I get well ahead, I will be working on the shorties and cheapies ( 1928B, 1934, and 1935 $1 SC's, $5 1928 USN's and 1934 SC's, etc).



Having a goal is good, but when a good deal comes along, I jump on it, as anyone would.

daveu

I collect serial numbers.



I am trying to get all 254 0-1 binary serial numbers on $1 Federal Reserve Notes. I need 20.



I am also trying to get all XYYYYYYY serial numbers on $1 Federal Reserve Notes. I need 6.



I think the odds are against me in completing either of these sets, but I'll keep trying. We all know the thrill of the hunt.

DepressionscripGuy

Lots of great points... I agree that the thrill of the hunt is the most fun. I always said that if I won the lottery I would be dangerous, but like Dan said, that's buying, not collecting. As most of us do, you kind of keep your collections to yourself. So for me, it's been alot of fun over the years to meet new people and have them share their collection and show me what they have and vice versa. There is a Michigan collector that's been keeping his collection to himself for many years and finally this year I got an invite to come visit him and see his stuff. I need to take him up on his offer as I'm sure he has depression scrip that hasn't seen the light of day for more than 50 years. I've actually started bringing some of my stuff out of the closet and slowly sharing it with certain people. It's nice having some of the things I have, but what good is it if you don't share it with others. Alot of the notes I see on these forums, there's very little chance of seeing them in person....

sellitstore

"I've always known I can't get to 100%, some notes are one of a kind and I will probably never see them. I've come to realize my goal is DEFINITELY unattainable and not even close so now it's a "let's see how close I can get" goal and get them documented on my website.

Anyone else have that sinking feeling that you're just are not going to get there? "

I would suggest redefining your goal slightly to "Let's see how many different examples of Depression scrip I can assemble." Don't define it as "How far am I from complete?" when new material is constantly coming to light, so we really don't know what "complete" is.

This is how I have defined my collecting goal with respect NY obsolete notes. New scrip is constantly being discovered, so I'll never be "complete", so now I look at the positive side-I've assembled over 6000 different NY obsolete notes. Your near term goal should be 2000+ and longer term goal "as many different ones as possible."

If you ever find yourself in the Hudson Valley area of NY (Dutchess County), you can satisfy your curiosity as to what you missed in those other two Schingoethe lots. I have them fully intact and would be happy to make them available for your inspection. Bought them from the Schingoethe auction with the intent to resell but the collector in me took over and I figured that they would make a good start for a future Depression scrip collection. Now you need to win that lottery or find me some good, rare obsoletes to trade.

P.S. That Michigan collector wanted to but some key pieces from me but he was offering way too little, so I kept the material. He was the only person given an opportunity to buy anything out of those lots and he was after me for years. I think that he offered $35-$65 each for the best Michigan notes.

DepressionscripGuy

I would suggest redefining your goal slightly to "Let's see how many different examples of Depression scrip I can assemble." Don't define it as "How far am I from complete?" when new material is constantly coming to light, so we really don't know what "complete" is.

Very good point. I never looked at it that way.... I have alot of "unlisted" depression scrip and yes, new stuff comes up all the time. I come across something almost once a month now.

If you ever find yourself in the Hudson Valley area of NY (Dutchess County), you can satisfy your curiosity as to what you missed in those other two Schingoethe lots. I have them fully intact and would be happy to make them available for your inspection. Bought them from the Schingoethe auction with the intent to resell but the collector in me took over and I figured that they would make a good start for a future Depression scrip collection. Now you need to win that lottery or find me some good, rare obsoletes to trade.

WOW...just WOW...you're that guy??@!? OK, so I'm already starting to plan a vacation trip to come visit that collection... I mean visit with you. Wish I knew that several years ago... I've been all around your area. I use to be stationed in Gronton, CT. I had relatives in Wilkes-Barre, PA and couple years ago I went to Albany to buy a small collection of Specimen depression scrip notes. Incredible.... Thanks for the offer Russell and I will certainly take you up on that offer one of these days.

lettow

Rod:

I suggest you pare down your collecting goals by eliminating Depression Scrip from Wisconsin.

JAD

DepressionscripGuy

Originally posted by: lettow

Rod:



I suggest you pare down your collecting goals by eliminating Depression Scrip from Wisconsin.



JAD

Nope....not happening. Sorry Jim.



Someday you and I need to touch base on those other unlisted notes you've found references too. I need to add them to my master list. Of course that makes my goal even bigger...

drsvenghali

I'm collecting Wisconsin small size nationals by charter, bank name, denomination and type. I keep track of completeness stats even though I know I will never be complete. Either the notes did not survive or I cant afford them. As mentioned before, it is nice to see how far you can get. As of today: 216 of 542 printed or 39.9% and 216 of 490 known to survive or 44.1%, also have 121 of 157 different charters.

DepressionscripGuy

Originally posted by: drsvenghali

I'm collecting Wisconsin small size nationals by charter, bank name, denomination and type. I keep track of completeness stats even though I know I will never be complete. Either the notes did not survive or I cant afford them. As mentioned before, it is nice to see how far you can get. As of today: 216 of 542 printed or 39.9% and 216 of 490 known to survive or 44.1%, also have 121 of 157 different charters.

There we go, percentages.... I have all kinds of different percentages built into my tracking spreadsheet too. Glad to see I'm not the only one that takes that extra step. I even have a table that shows how many notes I'm short for hitting 50% done, 51%, 52%, etc...



48% 1764 -119

49% 1801 -82

50% 1838 -45

51% 1875 -8

52% 1912 29

53% 1948 65

54% 1985 102

55% 2022 139

56% 2059 176

57% 2095 212

KT5Silver

At this point I would say that I would be thrilled to find two hole fillers or four upgrades (total) for any of my three main sets over the next six months. The sets are: 1) $5 SC by block set. 2) $5 Fed Seies set. 3) $20 Fed Series set.