Did you stick to your 2018 Numismatic Goals and what are your 2019 resolutions?
Going through numerous year-end conversations with my team at work, seeing how we delivered on our shared objectives, stuck to training and development plans, all that fun stuff and remembered that we had this thread started last year where members shared their 2018 numismatic goals.
With my wife pregnant at that time and knowing that my numismatic budget will suffer severely due to all the upcoming changes in my life, my goal was to go review my collecting strategy and the coins i had as part of my primary set to see if I have lost my focus on quality and that "wow" factor that truly make this hobby enjoyable for me. I realized that I did. My desire to complete registry sets resulted in my collection having more and more mediocre coins that I, personally, was not happy with. I did a massive (for me) purge and sold-off just over 20 coins, keeping only the examples that I truly appreciated either from the perspective of quality, rarity, or history behind a particular coin.
At the same time, I was able to add 6 coins that I absolutely love with 5 coming as a bulk deal from @OriginalDan (that happened literally while we were in the hospital after having welcomed our little guy) and one from @MrEureka as part of NYINC 2018.
So, how did everyone do? Last year's post had @Boosibri @ajaan @Jackthecat1 @bigmarty58 @harasha @SmEagle1795 @RMW @bidask @mkman123 @Zohar @Abuelo @Exbrit @Stork @cecropiamoth @1960NYGiants @Elmhurst @EVillageProwler @Nap @savitale @BillyKingsley @jgenn
Here are the 6 2018 additions I mentioned in my post. I promise this is the last time I'm posting them
Comments
I don't really remember if I had any goals, but I certainly didn't achieve them.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Nice additions.
I gotta say, I am glad to have been able to pick up a piece of your collection's dreck, lol.
1) Add a few top notch examples to my Latin American type set, specifically the Carlos III and Carlos IV sets
2018: I did quite well in this area adding many pieces all of high quality. Really no Charles IV pieces though I have a 4R that just crossed as a 58. I did add this 4E from El Dorado
2) Add a few cool coins to my World Coins in Ealry America’s set and popularize the set further.
2018: I added a few here most importantly this Daalder. The set seems to be going strong with even Stacks picking up on it in marketing the Cardinal collection.
3) Build out my Mexican Repulbic 8R set
2018: Pretty big fail here, no pieces added and I did try but nothing fit my look
4) Avoid impulse purchases
2018: I did OK I guess.
5) Continue to buy and sell cool coins from Europe with a bit more discipline and a few more buying trips this year.
2018: I actually ended up moving back to the US in May so no success here really but was a great 5-yr run in Europe!
Latin American Collection
I added two coins to my main pillar dollar collection and four to my '60s custom set, although I sold one of those to a specialist collector. A few upgrades and a few more sales through Heritage "buy from owner" rounded out my year.
I finally got to the US Mex convention this year so that was certainly a highlight.
For 2019 I really need to organize my "one crown from each country" set.
And I did wander off a bit even though I kept with the 8 reales theme ...
I do not think I had particular goals per se as far as the year is concerned. That said, I do believe that where I did the best was with books. My library doubled in size and I read as much as I was able. I hope that will eventually translate into better coins. Overall, I am very happy with the coins bought but I have to acknowledge that finding quality coins in my areas (Mexico & CAR) is increasingly difficult and expensive. I had to stop buying for a while as my mum was sick and that was an expensive experience, but that is in the past, she is better, and coins are back! I bought 2 coins this year that made me very happy. A CAR 1844 escudo MS64 from Atlas Numismatics, and my Guatemala 1829 real from Dan Sedwick.
Next year... Who knows. The best part of everything is the hunt. And sharing the coins with coinlovers. So, whatever comes, will be shared here.
Merry Christmas and best for 2019!
PD: I failed Olympically avoiding impulsive buying.
I didn't really have any goals for this year, but some large purchases did push me to finally do some trimming that I've been thinking of for over a year.
After spending way too much last year and in the first half of this year, my goal for 2019 is to cut way back, and only acquire a medal if it's really special.
Virtus Collection - Renaissance and Baroque Medals
I thoroughly surprised myself in 2018, making it the best year yet, adding arguably seven of my top twenty coins and 24 coins over all (most of which would then fall into my second-20). I cannot hope to have an even remotely similar year in 2019 but, as it worked last time, I will again state the goal of adding one important purchase.
Picked up a few Japan pieces, thank you all for sharing !!!
I had a good year. It contributed to the three main sets I was working on. I got rid of a lot of my duplicates I wanted to, and stayed on budget. It was a busy year for me otherwise, so I'm just glad kept things going.
Each year for the past 3-4 years I've told myself I'd submit about a dozen coins to PCGS. Each year I say screw it and put that money towards adding to the collection. It's probably a good decision...but maybe next year...
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
2018 was a great year for me. I started 2 important sets for me that I feel I will collect for a very long time.......no more US coins for me, I'm going dark side for life!!!
Start seriously collecting thai coins. I acquired 2 important books and did lots of research and feel I've become very knowledgable in thai coins and have amassed a lot of coins. perhaps one day I'll be like @TwoKopeiki and get rid of the lesser quality stuff but I feel like I'm hoarding and hoarding them. I did sell some dupes and tons of details coins that I got back from submissions.
Started collecting world crown sized coins and with the help of @tommy44 and some dealers from instagram, local shows, and ebay I've been able to get quite a bit slabbed world crown sized coins that I'm happy with.
For 2019, I'd like to:
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
I do not recall making any explicit numismatic goals for 2018, but my objective has generally been three-fold: (1) pick up one nice piece for my core set (Anglo-Saxon Wessex-to-H2); (2) pick off nice type set additions to my Anglo-Saxon set outside the core as well as nice type pieces for my Italian States (pre-1800) set; (3) do not stray beyond this.
For (1), I picked up a nice Aethelberht penny and am now missing just two monarchs that are collectible in the Wessex-to-H2 run.
For (2), I got a few (yes, some can also belong in the core set but are represented by other pieces):
[from today; see other thread]
(3) These are my strays, but somewhat related:
[need to re-shoot this out of holder!]
[this also needs a re-shoot out of holder]
My numismatic goal for 2019 is more of the same for 2018. And, acquire more books.
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
From the original thread:
Well, the biggest blow was to my budget because I found some awesome coins--both in adding to the Albanian set and a really neat collector in Japan decided to refocus. I sold a bunch of the 'bullionesque' stuff to fund some of the purchases. I'm pretty sure I've sprinkled some of the photos throughout the year.
I also added a couple Japanese error coins, and happily some ancients. I even took the ancients course at the ANA in Philadelphia so that was really cool.
In the last couple months though I've gone on a serious hiatus--time crunches at work, plus I ended up having to buy a new car a couple years sooner than anticipated. I'm one of those 'read everything' sorts, and needless to say that didn't help with available funds. I got an electric car so that involved a lot of new reading and research and (gasp!) other forums!
I did nothing with my vanity website, and I never found the local club. I don't think I bothered with anything for my US type set either. Oh well. So, next year things will pretty much be the same once I get my head around the hobby again...one thing I added to my goals is to do a proper database for my coins too. And, if I get ONE good coin for my core Albanian set, then I'll be happy with that one.
My numismatic goals were very vague so it was easy to meet them. Looking at last year’s thread, I said I wanted to pick up some Anglo-Saxon British coins after I buy a house and trade in my car. I did buy the house and car, so it was an expensive year.
Still, I actually acquired a good number of Anglo-Saxon coins this year, of which 10 were significant:
Eadberht of Northumbria with his brother Ecgberht the Archbishop of York
Aethelred I of Northumbria
Aethelred II of Northumbria by moneyer Leofthegn
Offa of Mercia
Coenwulf of Mercia
Another Coenwulf of Mercia
Burgred of Mercia
Aethelberht of Wessex
Aethelred I of Wessex
Eadwig of England
2018 was an interesting year. Entered the year with not much momentum on my core interests and was flat in my overall coin experience. Decided to dabble a bit and kick the tires of some other areas in the world coin market. Turns out to have been a great turn of events, as it provided a bit of a spark in general numismatic terms and ended up bringing me full circle back to the core collection. I already let some of these impulse purchases go, but some will stay indefinitely. Funny how things work. Looking forward to 2019, I am trying to stay disciplined in the approach and focus on:
1). Sede vacante talers and medals
2). 17th and 18th century Papal State issues
The difference in 2019 will be the definition and parameters for each core set. After picking up some minors in the fall, I decided to expand the sede vacante theme to more broadly include quality bishopric issues from the German and Austrian states. On the Papal States set, I will do the same, pursuing minors to enhance the collection when the opportunity presents itself. By January 31st, this might be thrown out the window, but if I learned anything in 2018, it was a reminder that this is a hobby and sometimes the passion needs another log thrown on the fire to get it sparked again. Recapping the core and the esoteric:
Core:
Papal Status - ½ Piastra – Clement XII (1734)
Cologne – 1761 - 3 Kreuzer (Tuetonic Order) Death of the Grand Master, Clemens August
Bamberg – 1800 – 20 Kreuzer - Christoph Franz von Buseck (1795-1802)
Wurzburg – 1779 sede vacante medal
Mainz – 1729 – 1/8 taler - Death of Bishop
Outside-of-my-wheelhouse additions that are possibly long term holds:
Visigoth – 612-621 - Sisebut
Eastern Roman Empire – 383-408 – Arcadius
Byzantine – 610-641 – Heraclius
Saxony – 1630 - Augsburg Confession - 100 Year Anniversary
"With my wife pregnant at that time and knowing that my numismatic budget will suffer severely due to all the upcoming changes in my life, my goal was to go review my collecting strategy and the coins i had as part of my primary set to see if I have lost my focus on quality and that "wow" factor that truly make this hobby enjoyable for me. I realized that I did. My desire to complete registry sets resulted in my collection having more and more mediocre coins that I, personally, was not happy with. I did a massive (for me) purge and sold-off just over 20 coins, keeping only the examples that I truly appreciated either from the perspective of quality, rarity, or history behind a particular coin."
I too collected some mediocre, common fairly highly graded coins to fill some holes. I've been debating whether I should sell many of the coins that do not wow me, but that is an endeavor that I am not quite ready for at the moment. After reading this thread and thinking about last year, I was surprised on some of the rare and key pieces that I picked up this year. I thought I had a fairly quite year - but that was not the case. I focused on the key pieces while filling some common holes and making a few upgrades. Overall - a successful year. As for 2019, I hope I can keep up the momentum.
I didn't realize that 2K had linked the thread, so here's what I wrote last year:
(1) I did.
(2) I did, and without strongly worded feedback from my wife.
Cool.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
The only goal I stated in last year's thread was continuing to add high grade, eye appealing coins to my Mexican Cap and Rays 8R mintmark set. As @Boosibri stated, this hasn't been easy. To my eye, there has been a lot of NGC coins offered in the marketplace, but very few 64 or higher eye appealing PCGS coins. When they do show up, there are either very often Zacatecas mint coins or incredibly pricey.
Back in late July I was able to add a PCGS MS65 Alamos mint coin off eBay which I needed for my set. This one had an interesting backstory which I think resulted in a nice example being snagged at perhaps a 50% discount to market price. I took a gamble on the auction as the image posted on the PCGS website was of either a German or Russian medal. Knowing that PCGS 65's in this series are almost always 'all there' for the grade, I put in a bid and won the auction. Eventually the correct image for the coin was posted.
I also needed an Oaxaca mint coin for the set and added two from that Engineer collection on Heritage. I only have the Heritage images for now...
I have quite a bit of crossing to do to PCGS in 2019. This will be a new experience for me (I'm green in this area)...I'm sure I'll make some mistakes along the way and for these two coins, I don't really know what to expect. I welcome any comments and advice that can be passed my way!!
On the 1864 coin, I'm sure some will say it is not 'original' and I wouldn't argue that point. But the surfaces are nearly pristine save for a few what I believe are adjustment marks and the strike is so good and is a great example of the high quality of SOME of these early 1860's Oaxaca mint coins. The 1881 coin in hand is really visually stunning despite the images not portraying it in the best light. To be sure the reverse (eagle) is incredibly weakly struck. Resplandores noted two varieties of the cap for the 1881 coins and this is the earlier (and rarer cap variety). I'm not even sure PCGS has a coin number assigned to it.
As a side project, I started a basic Canada silver dollar date (1935-1967) registry set. It's a set that can be completed and I already had some coins pre-2018 but added a handful of attractive ones in 2018. I'm valuing eye appeal over high grades in this one and want to add several coins per year in the coming years. Some tough coins in here, especially the 1945-1948 King George VI issues. Here are a few 2018 additions (just common dates w/ nice color)...
Of late, most of my interest and focus has been with the World Coins Manufactured at United States Mints set. I posted a NEWP (1934 Panama Balboa PCGS MS65) in the North/South America thread and discussed the set a little over there. It's a huge checklist and offers incredible variety to the collector. Working it as primarily as a set of the different types. It is a fascinating group of coins. I've really enjoyed my running conversation with Michael, @mvs7 related to this set and sharing NEWPs and coins of interest with each other. Michael has the #1 ranked set, just an incredibly impressive collection he has put together.
Jeff
Great thread as always. I had a transitional year in moving out of the US. I am literally in a numismatic dessert here in Israel, however, still have an ability to buy and to sell with the help of friends who serve as my eyes and ears. My goal for the year had been to be disciplined in adding to my collection and prune what no longer belongs. The downside is that I get to see the purchased coins in hand only when I travel to the US or Europe. I have also been pruning my ancient type collection, keeping mostly the Greek pieces.
Here are some of the year's purchases:
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
There are some wow coins on this thread thanks for showing.
In 2018 I bought about 60 cap & ray 8 reales from the Heritage “engineer” auctions, 2018 ANA, Chicago world
coin show and from NGC collection offers by Worldwide Numismatics LLC.
I hope to show many of them this next year.
I also bought a PCGS 64 1817 FJ volcano peso to add to the 1817 FD NGC 64 volcano peso I already owned. Both top pops .
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
I may have heard some almost-strongly worded feedback from my husband . 'Are you sure you've sold enough'??? Technically no, but he doesn't QUITE know that. It helps I'm the one that does the bills/taxes for the most part.
And, the car...well...my choice was not his we'll just say. But I love it and it makes me smile every time I see it, so there is that.
Oddly enough today I got a few things in the mail I'd bought ages ago, but thanks to international shipping, just received literally 10 minutes ago. Time for photos and perhaps to get back into the swing a bit more! Very timely OP @TwoKopeiki!
Sadly NYINC does not appear to be in my future this year due to the work schedule (the one that I WROTE!! How wrong is that????), but I'm going to have to make time for Baltimore or even the ANA again.
Best of luck with your move!
I had two goals:
"My goal is to continue to fill holes in this set: https://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/canadian-federation/canadian-complete-sets/canadian-coins-complete-set-varieties-circulation-strikes-1858-1952/alltimeset/3608
And enjoy watching you guys and gals post additions to your sets."
Partly accomplished the 1st by adding 2 and upgrading a few. I actually spent more time with tokens with this one being my neatest acquisition:
Accomplished the 2nd quite easily. The collectors on this forum posted some absolutely gorgeous pieces.
My goals for 2019 are to repeat 2018.
Life member #369 of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association
Member of Canadian Association of Token Collectors
Collector of:
Canadian coins and pre-confederation tokens
Darkside proof/mint sets dated 1960
My Ebay
Two more to finish off a great numismatic year. Thanks again to @OriginalDan for parting with these - he's got an amazing eye for quality.
8 Reales Madness Collection
I have almost all the expensive coins that I want, so will be buying only items $300 and less this year, and will see what I can do. The Mexico 20c discussed here recently looks like a good start.
Super coins 2K.
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
Love the pictures everybody, thanks for posting them. I know what goes into getting proper photos taken and I don't have any decent pics of my latest coins and medals to share at this time. My excuse is that it's been long enough between photo sessions that I seem to have misplaced my camera files chip and the critical USB dock that makes uploading possible. I've turned the house over looking and actually turned up several things I've been missing but not the chip! Might have to break down and order another, but if I do that I should just get a newer camera.
I've also really been looking at my collection a lot lately. I've been collecting pretty fiercely for 22 years now and have been reflecting quite a bit. Looking at what I have to show for my time in the hobby, with both actual coins and more importantly, knowledge gained and lessons learned. I would say the last 3-4 years have really be kind of questioning WHY I collect and what its doing for me. Mostly it nurtures my soul. Less purchases and looking for the WOW coin. I know it when I see it. I just looked at the NYINC sale basically in an hour, if I don't like it at a thumbnail, no since in opening the link. Neat stuff but I didn't see anything that moved me enough to pursue further.
The big change that has happened to me in 2018 has been in medal arts sector, specifically in the German States and Weimar Republic. Satirical propaganda pieces in iron and brass from WWI. Some pieces come in more than a couple different metal compositions but I'm currently trying to find out and decide if they are available enough to target a certain type of metal.
I had been finding foreign coins that I liked based on design attractiveness and interesting factor coupled with condition and became reinvigorated. At first it was a slow build with a piece here a piece there, then, when I was looking for pieces that actually circulated as currency, I inevitably found dealers that also sold medals. What a world to discover. I remember one year at FUN when I first saw a spread of Conder tokens and I was like "What are these?!" and that feeling I had while I first dug into those for the first time. This is happening to me now with medals.
I found a few medalists that I liked the work from and just Googled their names and looked at images of their work. You know, just to see what was out there and possible. Some of the photos had the product icon and that lead me to MA Shops. Now I've learned to be leery of random coin sites so I started doing some homework because this site has the goods I'm into. One dealer had a piece I liked and I figured out on a quick search how to call Germany. The shop was closed with the time change but they had an answering machine so I surmised they existed. There is also a few threads here that talk about the site, but the best review was on Youtube made by Coin World that basically validates the site, so I decided to reach out and give a purchase a shot. I asked a seller if they would bundle two medals and they did! Responded to me in both German and English and they changed the prices and I purchased through the MA Shops site. Medals arrived in 10 days even through the Christmas season! There were several emails, some with me responding in German using online translation tools, but of note was a lead by request. I asked them where I could look for mintage numbers and series info on other known pieces and they turned me towards a site that has me reeling in scope. Needless to say I was overjoyed with the experience and plan on initiating more buys.
The medals are from a series. I had one before I found MA Shops and now I have 4 and thinking I can get the others in likely 5-10 years if I catch them when they come up for sale. I'm pretty stoked. Not too easy, not too tough.
So for 19 I think I'm going to continue searching and emailing dealers I have never spoken to and see what they have and if not, ask them if they know where I might find what I'm looking for. One dealer in NY said what I'm hunting is around but they haven't seen it in 4-5 years and even drying up in Germany. Ding! Why not start hunting the source, Germany and Europe! I always thought it too risky to bother but these pieces are motivating me. To be more persistent than I have been in the past. Just kicking back and ambushing whatever comes along is OK but that had me pretty bored and not feeling like a solid numismatist.
I'm still not out of US coins. I have some money set aside for a Large Cent in 65BN that has a radial die crack around the stars "that is NOT at 1920 or anything later than 1848". I saw one once in an ANA traveling display once that poisoned me right there, but I think it was a 1820 now. I'm thinking a 1840 something, I keep watching and waiting. Also, waiting for a Homestake Gold Mine silver Kilo to surface locally and bought before the local guys send it to the two big players trying to clobber each other.
Thats about it! Sorry, if this rambles, my longest post ever! Here's to a great year to everybody else and your goals! I hope you find that piece that fills your heart!
Didn't post any goals for 2018, but the year turned out great! Newps in the post below!
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1011190/my-numismatic-year
For 2019 I plan to:
1) buy fewer coins overall. There are a LOT of cool coins out there - must resist the urge to buy unless really rare/unique/wow (echoing many above). Suspect some of these will be more than I have ever spent on a single coin before.
2) Get images of some recent purchases - being able to post high quality images has greatly increased my enjoyment of the hobby.
3) Sell off some holdings - both US and world. I pulled out some coins today and realized some no longer interested me or that I hadn't studied in quite some time. Will be good to free up some funds for other purchases.
4) Probably will send some coins in for certification. Have mixed feelings about this - enjoy having the coins raw, but not sure this offers as much security and liquidity, just in case.
Will be interesting to see how much I stick with this a year from now!
Happy New Years all!
My current "Box of 20"
2019 resolutions: (1) Work on a small Byzantine gold collection, ideally one Solidus per Emperor and (2) Try to pick up some nice examples of Crusader States coinage.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163