Did you plan out your collection or did it just somehow evolve?
TopographicOceans
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When I got back into coins around 2000 I had planned on building a type set. As a kid, I collected by series (Lincolns, Jeffersons, Roosevelts and Washingtons) in the old Blue Whitman folders.
Even though there are a number of ways to collect by type, I chose doing all the varieties listed in the Red Book.
Of course there are coins that are way out of my league, but I incorporated those in my plan as well. They were in the "If I win $350 million in the lottery" category.
But sticking to a plan isn't always easy and I found myself off on tangents from time to time. I've pretty much completed my set because what is left are coins I can't afford.
So did you start building your collection with a plan and were you able to stick to it?
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No plan. Just started randomly acquiring coins. Later on, I did do a CC Morgan series.... a Kennedy series, a Franklin series.... However, all through that, and now, I tend to acquire coins I am attracted to - that is not to mean strictly aesthetically.... sometimes it is history, design, scarcity... or just because it is gold.
Cheers, RickO
I never have had a grand plan. I have had an interest in older U.S. type coins almost since I was gifted my first Red Book on Christmas Day 1959. I never dreamed that I would finish that collection because some of the pieces were simply too pricey and unavailable to me. Instead I collected all of the early types (1793 - 1807) I could afford and collected all of the types from one denomination from as early as I could afford to the present, for example cents or quarters. For example the last cent I needed many years ago was a nice Mint State Flying Eagle which I happened to buy over the counter at Stacks'.
As for date and mint sets I lost interest for while after I lost my shirt on a set of Indian cents, which I collected in high school and college. I bought high and sold low when the price of those coins was "in the numismatic tank" in the early 1970s. Of late I have done some set collecting which interests me. Two are close to completion although they have been far harder than I ever thought they would be given the current market. The other is at the beginning and will probably give me something to do at the shows. I'll probably discover some "unknown rarities" in that one too, but I hope it won't be as challenging has been for the previous two.
I am more interested in good stories, history and speculations than "the chase." "The chase," which can include over paying for something at auction, gets old for me.
Some collectors sell a collection soon after they complete it. I've seen that several times, most often in the Early American Coppers club where guys like Robby Brown sold everything and then starting buying it back, literally on the day of his auction sale. That's not for me. Once I complete a collection I keep it and keep referring to it for research and enjoyment.
I might do some upgrades and sell the duplicates, but I don't sell stuff off unless I've lost interest. That happened with Indian cents and half cents by die variety. The half cents went because the collection hit a brick wall with respect to varieties. All the coins I needed were "in strong hands," and the few coins that were available were almost all very low grade and very over priced IMO. I also needed seed money for my business, and the half cents provided it.
It is always in some form of transformation...the latest is the 19th Century Everyman Set.
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Always evolving as I never know what oddball thing might show up. I did plan a 7070 (still in progress over 10 years as I only occasionally think of it) and a Japan type set album (done, then re-done in slabs). Everything else just kind of happened.
My collection has been well managed for the past 15 years. Prior to that it was pretty much an accumulated mess.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
It was a plan...of sorts...that has evolved a lot, and that continues to evolve.
Tom
I had a basic plan regarding how I wanted to build my set but it is impossible to predict, as you never know what will turn up and become available.
Sometimes, I've wound up with original coins, when I wasn't looking for them. Same goes for higher (or even lower) graded examples.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Mine definitely evolved. i had no idea I would become a Lincoln Cent hound. Initially I was playing around with type coins, then discovered colorful toning, then really fell in love with color on copper, then sort of fell backwards into Lincoln Cents.
Maybe it's a bit of a full circle as Lincoln Cents is where I started out when I was 10 years old. Now at age 60, i've cycled back to that.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
I like too many. I'm scatter-brained in this hobby, friend.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
I....was... sticking to a plan when I was doing my 7070.
Expensive lesson as I ....skipped getting duplicates of some unbelievable GEMS!
Aiyee!
But....NOW.... coins are my "entertainment."
If a coin appeals to me and seems to be something I will take out of the box just to gaze at, well.....that's my "plan" now.
It evolved. I started out with the categories of "US Coins and Foreign Coins" and evolved to my current main specialties of Numismatic Literature, Sample Slabs, and coins from 1943.
Fan of the Oxford Comma
CCAC Representative of the General Public
2021 Young Numismatist of the Year
My only plan is if I can't sell my entire collection in less than 15 days with minimum lost. I am not buying nor collecting.
I have always had a plan of some sort. sometimes found out I couldn't afford plan. Set up my most recent collecting goals last fall. That was after completing collection planned in 1997. thanks for asking.
Like you, I mapped out what I thought a type set should be, picked grade ranges based on price, (with some listed as "TDE": Too D(ang) Expensive), and pretty much have stuck to it.
But as my tag line says, I'm also easily distracted. I have some tangents working, just because I felt the urge. Walker set, 3-cent nickels, dabble in Bust Halves, etc. But since this is supposed to be FUN, I don't really care, and feel no need to apologize!
I've always been a type set guy. No coin shops ever had any nice early quarters, so once the internet was invented, I decided to form a set of 1796-1828 by Browning die variety and die state.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Other than focusing on CC coins, no I did not plan a dang thing. If I liked it and the price was right I bought it.
bob
I've found it easy to plan my collection like W.C. Fields found it easy to stop drinking. I've done it hundreds of times!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I started out in no particular direction, pulled off the road to check the map and now I'm headed where I think I want to end up.
Evolve
Sort of how the W.C. Fields character in the Paramount film, It's A Giift, manages to obtain a nice home that features an Orange Grove in California during the Depression.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
all over the map Evolved just hit me like wow I actual have some good stuff @keets I probable need to pull over I am now organizing
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
I have learned, or should I say my personality has taught me, that I always need to have something I can collect or use as a distraction for times when the things I really want can't be found. that is a good thing since I believe the best way to form a collection is slowly.
I describe my collecting as ORGANIZED CHAOS.
I began with sets of Lincolns, Jeffersons and Roosevelts. A type set soon followed exposing me to the issues of the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Soon bust halves by die marriage reared their buxom images and an Overton collection began. At first my target grade was VF with original surfaces. My unattainable goal was 400 die marriages. Later I upgraded my target to XF and wanted to own 440 with an XF average. I currently weigh in at 442 and a 37+ average without seeking AU coins. I do have a few but do not buy them attempting to upgrade my average. After getting to a point that new halves were hard to find I expanded to half dimes which are now nearly complete. Somewhere along the way Draped bust halves began appearing. Next dimes began to creep into my collection and am a little past half way. Quarters are my most recent weakness and am approaching half way.
Currently I am also working on Spanish Colonial silver coins minted at Mexico City and Potosi. These are important to me as many were melted to produce the US silver coins I love.
Along the way the need for a comprehensive numismatic library took some of my attention.
The long and short of it is that I have absolutely loved the experience and hope everyone can find as much joy in the hobby as I have.
Many people advise to buy the book before the coin, buy the best you can understand or collect only the best. While I agree with most of that I have always advised to collect to make yourself happy. That way you will always be satisfied with your choices and not have your collection be defined by anyone else.
Happy hunting!
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
My goal was to have one of every business strike coin from 1892 to current- (no gold- no commems). I am short 3 coins- but for now those final 3 are out of my budget. The 3 are a 1916 SLQ, a 1893 S Morgan and a 1901 S Barber Quarter. It will take a some dedicated saving of cash and selling of my dups to get that completed.
I made a conscious decision to create a set of ziHC proof coins in August of 2012 from Rick Snow. Initially i thought RD coins would be the best. I bought my first IHC PR as a 65 RB 1877. At that time Rick told me that BR and RB coins are very acceptible........and then I found some spectacular toned IHC PR . My set of IHC PR coins (Paha Sapa Indians) is now complete, but a few dates would like to be improved. But to the OP question, it was planned and, not random. My future sets will likey not be the same way.
OINK
I've got no plan. As a result, I have a lot of random coins! I did manage to build a few album sets of Franklins, Washies and a mostly complete type set over the years... I sometimes wish I could start over with a more organized approach but have no idea how to start that and I would really miss the eclectic accumulation I've stashed away...
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.