Grading has been a concern of mine since I discovered I had been played the sucker with my first buffalo nickel collection. Almost every single coin in it that I bought from dealers was overgraded at least one whole grade. I barely did better than breaking even on it during a time prices were rising quickly.
Then I found I couldn't get the best morgans because there was always someone with deeper pockets ahead of me.
So I went after clads and chased the finest. Without competition I didn't need deep pockets. Of course eventually I'll have to send the coins in for grading and then I might just have start worrying all over again.
When my interest started to wane, I just basically stopped buying and with little interest, I didn't bother to sell anything. I think the whole show scene, flippers, rippers and grading process is what burnt me out and I can't stomach the idea of the walk of shame selling to dealers and no serious time to market them myself if I wanted to, so I just went on pause, hoping either the business of the hobby changes or my interest does. Even now, flush from inactivity, it'd take a lot more than it used to for me to fork over much cash for a collectible coin right now.
I guess I can relate with the op but not the selling part.
@Purfrock said:
Sorry to hear about your declining interest. Personally, I have a few hobbies or passions (aside from work) and when one becomes a bit stale, I focus more of my attention on another. I think many people with that enjoy coins have the inclination to pursue many forms of entertainment that falls under the umbrella of collecting. So if it were me, I'd leave my core coins in the bank/safe, think of some of the other interests I've thought about pursuing in the past and give them a shot. If in a year or two you still have no desire to pursue coins, consider letting the rest go.
I'm doing a lot of pre winter bonsai prep right now.
My other hobby with any expertise is guns, but theres too much idiot focus on them and they're getting stigmatized.
Maybe bottle caps!
@WildIdea said:
When my interest started to wane, I just basically stopped buying and with little interest, I didn't bother to sell anything. I think the whole show scene, flippers, rippers and grading process is what burnt me out and I can't stomach the idea of the walk of shame selling to dealers and no serious time to market them myself if I wanted to, so I just went on pause, hoping either the business of the hobby changes or my interest does. Even now, flush from inactivity, it'd take a lot more than it used to for me to fork over much cash for a collectible coin right now.
I guess I can relate with the op but not the selling part.
That's about where i am with coins. Have a bunch, happy with collection, look at them every once in a while, not buying more, but not selling either, browse the forum frequently, but don't participate in "the market"
ALMOST same here. But I've only kept the ones it took a LOT of effort to find and even some of those are now turned into cash.
I'll just let the ones I have sit and remove appx. $5000-$10,000 a ....month.... from purchases.
I've gone darkside and discovering FUN again.
Whatever CAC has done, it has removed a bit of money from the US market.
Ain't that swell?
MY "wonder if I should keep" coins are GONE
Strange that the process took about a year and I don't miss them at all.
Weird.
Chalk up another departing collector to an overdose of beans.
I see myself in 20 years about how you feel now; just turned 50 and your few keepers and occasional newp you show are about all that's left on my want list.
BillJones is another saying similar, he's met most of his collecting goals, and finished a spectacular type set.
I have one more coin wave to surf, buying 1793-5 copper and gold and 1796 silver, except I'm a few grade levels down and a few problem coins more than your boys' ilk, i still expect it to be fun.
Restarted collecting about ten years ago and have been reading this site since I found it, but first post. This topic resonates with me as I share the OP's sentiment. While I try to follow "buy the coin and not the holder", it's increasingly hard to avoid getting blasted at sale if I upgrade (at least in the non-top-pop, non-super-rarity pond in which I fish). I also must assume that every coin I buy is in a maxed out holder.
As long as every coin I buy will be a permanent part of my collection, it's no problem as any profit or loss is not realized, I could afford the coin and I love the coin so who cares? But when budget allows an upgrade it's painful to take a sizeable loss for a beautiful coin, with the biggest loss for "wrong service and no bean", but even for "right service and bean".
That caused me to reassess. I started by culling all coins that I considered peripheral to my collection (mostly common moderns in not super high grades). The next step for me was to redefine my type set to include only a single example of each major type, so just my favorite seated liberty. I as well haven't missed the coins I sold. Going forward, my collecting will be greatly diminished with few upgrades and I'm unlikely to find the remaining type at a quality/price combination I'm comfortable with. From this threat, it's nice to know I'm far from alone.
And just wait until more than ONE of the most influential dealers declares they will ONLY buy PCGS AND BEANS
Sneer if you want, but you'll see what it's like when "unbeaned" coins are pure trash.
Think it won't happen?
Comments
Grading has been a concern of mine since I discovered I had been played the sucker with my first buffalo nickel collection. Almost every single coin in it that I bought from dealers was overgraded at least one whole grade. I barely did better than breaking even on it during a time prices were rising quickly.
Then I found I couldn't get the best morgans because there was always someone with deeper pockets ahead of me.
So I went after clads and chased the finest. Without competition I didn't need deep pockets. Of course eventually I'll have to send the coins in for grading and then I might just have start worrying all over again.
When my interest started to wane, I just basically stopped buying and with little interest, I didn't bother to sell anything. I think the whole show scene, flippers, rippers and grading process is what burnt me out and I can't stomach the idea of the walk of shame selling to dealers and no serious time to market them myself if I wanted to, so I just went on pause, hoping either the business of the hobby changes or my interest does. Even now, flush from inactivity, it'd take a lot more than it used to for me to fork over much cash for a collectible coin right now.
I guess I can relate with the op but not the selling part.
I'm doing a lot of pre winter bonsai prep right now.
My other hobby with any expertise is guns, but theres too much idiot focus on them and they're getting stigmatized.
Maybe bottle caps!
That's about where i am with coins. Have a bunch, happy with collection, look at them every once in a while, not buying more, but not selling either, browse the forum frequently, but don't participate in "the market"
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
ALMOST same here. But I've only kept the ones it took a LOT of effort to find and even some of those are now turned into cash.
I'll just let the ones I have sit and remove appx. $5000-$10,000 a ....month.... from purchases.
I've gone darkside and discovering FUN again.
Whatever CAC has done, it has removed a bit of money from the US market.
Ain't that swell?
MY "wonder if I should keep" coins are GONE
Strange that the process took about a year and I don't miss them at all.
Weird.
Chalk up another departing collector to an overdose of beans.
Maybe ya just been there done that.
I see myself in 20 years about how you feel now; just turned 50 and your few keepers and occasional newp you show are about all that's left on my want list.
BillJones is another saying similar, he's met most of his collecting goals, and finished a spectacular type set.
I have one more coin wave to surf, buying 1793-5 copper and gold and 1796 silver, except I'm a few grade levels down and a few problem coins more than your boys' ilk, i still expect it to be fun.
Need to get the kids thru college 1st.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Restarted collecting about ten years ago and have been reading this site since I found it, but first post. This topic resonates with me as I share the OP's sentiment. While I try to follow "buy the coin and not the holder", it's increasingly hard to avoid getting blasted at sale if I upgrade (at least in the non-top-pop, non-super-rarity pond in which I fish). I also must assume that every coin I buy is in a maxed out holder.
As long as every coin I buy will be a permanent part of my collection, it's no problem as any profit or loss is not realized, I could afford the coin and I love the coin so who cares? But when budget allows an upgrade it's painful to take a sizeable loss for a beautiful coin, with the biggest loss for "wrong service and no bean", but even for "right service and bean".
That caused me to reassess. I started by culling all coins that I considered peripheral to my collection (mostly common moderns in not super high grades). The next step for me was to redefine my type set to include only a single example of each major type, so just my favorite seated liberty. I as well haven't missed the coins I sold. Going forward, my collecting will be greatly diminished with few upgrades and I'm unlikely to find the remaining type at a quality/price combination I'm comfortable with. From this threat, it's nice to know I'm far from alone.
And just wait until more than ONE of the most influential dealers declares they will ONLY buy PCGS AND BEANS
Sneer if you want, but you'll see what it's like when "unbeaned" coins are pure trash.
Think it won't happen?
How long?
tick tock.
I could not agree more.
If more though like this the hobby would better off!
I love the hobby too.
Now that I have divested of the even possible "maybe" stickering of the greater part of my collection.