"RYK, did you regret selling your coin collection?"
RYK
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I received this question from an anonymous forum member:
"Got a question out of the blue for you. I know several years back you sold off almost all your coins. I wondered after a couple of years to look back on it with the benefit of hindsight, do you regret selling? I still love coins...just seems like my interest isn't quite as high as it once was. I've been "pruning down" my collection quite a bit recently (taking a quality over quantity approach) and I really haven't missed the pieces that I've sold and that has made me wonder about whether I'd miss any of it and might be better off selling even the remaining items to pursue other things. Just wondered if you were willing to share your thoughts after going through something similar."
Rather than respond privately, I thought it would be an interesting thread, as many of us have sold coins and collections and for a multitude of reasons. I have sold multiple sets and significant coins, long before my "big dump" a few years ago. While the short answer is "no", I do not regret selling coins, ever, as at the moment, for various reasons it was a logical thing to do.
However, if you ask me, with the benefit of hindsight would you have sold the 1861-D $5, the 1861-O $20 or the 1870-CC $5, from a primarily financial perspective, these were, with the benefit of time and the "retrospect-o-scope" (a commonly used medical instrument 
), obviously foolhardy. That is, I left a LOT OF F'ing MONEY ON THE TABLE. Also, while I could afford to buy them back (or suitable proxies), I likely never will.
I think that you also have to consider what you did with the money. Did you invest in something else that outperformed the return of the coins? Yes! Did you use the money to take your family on a fabulous two week trip to Italy that no one will ever forget and that you still talk about regularly? Yes!
Ultimately, coins are objects and financial instruments, and as hobbyists, their value to us exceeds their nominal value and perhaps their value to the next collector. That's why we seek them, we own them and we cherish them. As we go through life, we also have other uses for our limited resources (time, energy and capital) and these compete for the same resources as our coins do. At times coins may have a higher priority and at other times, a lower priority for these limited resources.
Bring it on!
Comments
Well said and excellent insight. I feel privileged to own some examples from your collection. Someday I too will find myself in the same position. It’s all part of the cycle. We can hand the torch off to the next person.
I had to sell off most of my collection years ago to pay legal fees and other expenses for my divorce. There are a few individual coins that I wish I had kept (not because of great financial value, but for sentimental reasons), but otherwise, I don't miss too many of them. I had all sorts of date/mm sets going missing only 1 or 2 key coins; Mercs, Barber and Roosy dimes; walkers, Franklins and Kennedy halves; V, Buff and Jefferson nickels; indian head cents; type sets; ASE's; Modern and classic commems.... also had a nearly complete date/mm Morgan set and a complete Peace date/mm set. Everything went except for the Morgans and Peace Dollars. It was a forced sale and while I was down about selling at the time (probably because of the reason more than anything), I don't have regrets or miss them for the most part. The only coins I really wish I had back are the IHCs because my 9YO and 8YO are collecting them now, and I wish I had them to give to them. My focus is now on VAMs. Settling on one thing and just focusing efforts there is actually more satisfying.
You once told me selling can be positive. Well just before Xmas I received a extremely strong private offer out of the blue on all my remaining patterns. I took the offer and now nearly 3 months later still feel it was very smart and based on the sum have had not a single moment of remorse.
20 years ago, I was embarking on a new career venture, I sold my collection on EBAY. as pennies were my main and 1st love, I had a lot of coins. I had rolls of 1920, 1930 etc in BUNC with lots of rolls of uncirculated 25c and 10 c. Over time, the collection brought low 6 figures. I felt a loss of a portion of my life almost like a divorce but I have not regretted it as I was able to provide for my family during a troublesome period. Because of that, In my retirement years with a steady budget for my collection, I have been able to accumulate some quality coins that were only dreams when I was in my 50's. An MS65 1909SVDB, An XF 1802 large cent 1/000 fractional error. Several MS66 Buffalo's, A substantial set of MS Roosevelt's. All possible today because I let everything go at a particular time I needed to.
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good thread. I have sold many individual coins over the years and a couple of times complete collections of a series. My thoughts:
1) The process of selling has made me a much better collector
2) I realized most of my joy is in learning about a series, trying to find the coins I need, and the journey involved in collecting. Holding the coins was not high on my list of what made me happy.
3) If the coins just disappeared I would miss them. However, I received something for them ---money. The money was in a way a reward for efforts collecting. That money was just as important as the coins (if not more on occasion) and was always put to good use.
4) Also, I realized just because I sold coins doesn't mean I couldn't continue collecting. It does not have to be an end.
5) There are a couple of coins I wish I had not sold in the sense that I don't think I can ever get one back "as good." That being said, I know I have coins in my collection now that I would not have if I had never sold. It evens out.
Good read. Glad you're at peace with your decision. For me, I am not selling, rather, I keeping what I have and am slowing my future buying. This is how I free up capital for other things down the road. I'll have my cake and eat it, too.
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My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
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Enjoy some coins for a some years and when the time is right sell them to go on epic vacations! I can get behind the idea. A good way to get to spend the money twice.
During the last big dump a few years ago, I received a check for $120k from Doug Winter for a sizable group of rare gold coins. He knew that my son was approaching college age and suggested that this could be used to pay a large chunk of that cost.
My reply: "Screw that. This will pay for the next 12 trips to Europe."
I sold off the bulk of my collection in 2011- 2012 due to financial concerns. I don't regret it in the least. Every time I've sold, I kept a few pieces that were near and dear to me... a couple of Morgan dollars that my Grandfather gave me, a few IHCs that started my collecting interest, and a couple of other coins that really aren't worth a whole lot of money... just sentimental value. When I started back a couple of years ago it was more as an aside and I still don't have huge sums of money tied up in a collection. If I had to sell what I've collected, it wouldn't really be a loss...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
I also held back some favorites (and my Dansco 7070 album), including two or three that I probably value more than the market does. At one point, my collection was a substantial fraction of my net worth. Now, it is less than 1%. If I pass away, and it gets lost, sold to the local coin shop, melted, given away in a Goodwill store drop, or literally buried with me, no one will suffer financially.
Actually if you just pretend they are still in your Safety Deposit Box it's like they never sold
More or less a trophy hunter, so I mostly miss the big cherry picks.
Alot of luck and work for cash blown on something else forgotten and long since sold.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
come to think of it, i don't regret you selling either! ;-)
@Ryk... Excellent response.... I have not contemplated selling my collection... although the thought crosses my mind when I see threads like this.... I do not need the cash, and I do enjoy the coins. My wife and I have talked about selling the house and enjoying a nomadic life between areas where my daughters live (Quite different in climate and geography). If that should become more than a casual conversation, I may then sell... some, a few, maybe...
Cheers, RickO
That was also a back-of-the-mind consideration. A few years ago, we were both miserable in our jobs and were considering punching out, moving, etc. I also got hit with the minimalism bug and was getting rid of EVERYTHING. Both of these factors played a hand in moving out coins and other collectibles (my old sports card and autograph collection).
@RYK....Funny you should mention 'minimalism'... that too has been a topic. We have way too much 'stuff'... and both realize it has to be downsized. Hmmmm.... this may become more than a 'what if' thing.... Cheers, RickO
There are a few pieces I miss, but don't regret selling.
My best tradeoff was selling 2 pennies and buying a floatplane with the proceeds. The memories of flying to Alaska with Boiler78 and back with my family far outweigh the satisfaction I would ever get from those coins.
Coins will always be around for you, as a hobby, when you are ready. They are there at your convenience. They do not grow up and leave the house, They do not need to be fed or walked. They do not want to travel with you to the Grand Canyon or to London. You can leave them anytime and come back to them later.
What I missed most in my absence from coins were the friends I met and saw regularly, at shows, online and on the forum.
I work in hospice and have seen patients who were diagnosed with terminal illnesses just a month or so before and then passed away fairly soon after. Enjoy life and create memories. Everyone here knows gsafan........I even told gsafan that he should sell his entire collection once he found out he was diagnosed with possible terminal cancer, to not leave the burden to his family and to travel around the world with his family with that money and do things with them.....look what happened, he passed a few months later. You cant take any of this with you when you pass away but the memories you created with family/friends wont be forgotten.
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It bothers me when collectors sell their collections and then vanish from the hobby. Sadly we've lost a lot of forum members here after having done so. As being a numismatisst doesn't require owning coins.
Sold my first collection about 30 years ago to pay a tax bill that I hadn't planned for well. I regret the heck out of it, not that I think sending money to the federal government is a waste of money
.
As some of you probably remember, my pet project for several years was a 24 coin set of Peace dollars. It started as a set of low-MS coins & I remember the thrill of saving for and getting a 34-S in PCGS MS63 in the mail to complete the set. As I got more experience and got more comfortable it gradually morphed into a rather nice set, ending up at #9 in a competitive registry.
Eventually I started bumping up against top-pop coins, any one of which would cost more than half of the set. After a while it was clear that I enjoyed chasing them more than owning them. Other goals started growing in my mind. At the time the market was in decent shape and I made a small profit at sale time. I worked through a dealer and the entire collection went to a single individual. At the time it was a bit more than half of my collection and the percentage of my net worth that it represented was too high.
I turned this (minus a couple of coins):
Into this:
The shop I see and enjoy and use every single day. It also gives me an incredibly nice space to work on cars and get back into woodworking.
Both the sale and construction project were done on a handshake, which is pretty darn nice in today’s world.
^^ that's awesome. Five years ago, I sold a handful of big-for-me things, most notably a draped bust quarter I enjoyed very much, to fund the purchase of this old fishing boat. I don't regret it. It's been at the center of a lot of good time with my kids.
For me, it was like the trip from the bucket list. I collected as a kid, took the obligatory sabbatical for pimples/girls, college, marriage, kids, and then discovered my access to vast (?) wealth heretofore spent on stuff married people with children spend stuff on.
Once acquired, the trip was done. I've kept smoe special items ("Box of 20"), and the bullion in anticipation of the Great Recovery of PMs, but I've sold off the rest over the last couple of years, in auctions and on Ebay.
I'm happy.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
That is an excellent synopsis and largely applies to me, too.
I agree that selling makes one a better collector -- at least that has been my experience. Unfortunately, most of my selling have resulted in the funds going to life not hobby.
Proceeds from the sale of my ED collection became the down payment on a house. Most of the proceeds from the sale of my TD collection went to knock off a huge chunk from my house mortgage. I'm happy to say that most of the proceeds from the sale of my SD set went back to coins, with a nice chunk also towards my second marriage.
It was painful to part with those old friends, but I am a firm believer that if I were willing to entertain selling something, then it is not worth holding simply for nostalgia's sake.
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Great thread! Thanks for posting it.
Collected some coins years ago, sold those coins to build a barn.
Collected some coins years ago, sold those coins to purchase some property.
Collected more coins in the last few years, sold some of those coins recently to purchase some more property.
Still have my core collection and still adding to one collection.
I should have kept 90% of the coins I sold and regret selling them, but some things in life take precedent over the hobby.
Plan to sell most, if not all in the next few years and use the proceeds for travel. I will enjoy the travel, but will regret selling my collection.
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I like this post. It's not just thought it, but it's also wise.
My only purge of any sort was in the summer of 2007, when I was in college and wanted to take flying lessons. I'm sure I could have found the money elsewhere or waited to take lessons another time, but I went through my collection and pulled everything that I didn't really love and raised about a third to half of the funds I needed, and I used a free summer to achieve a goal I'd had for years. This ended up having two effects. On the coin side, my collection got stronger by virtue of the lesser material leaving, and since then, I've been more careful with my purchases--I really enjoy what I have... each and every piece.
On the flying side, I just logged my 621st hour tonight, and I can't think of an investment that's brought me more joy and experiences than that flight training. No, this isn't the same scenario as RYK who sold coins he was more attached to, but I turned some of my collection into something that will be with me for the rest of my life. No regrets here.
RYK and many others on here have developed very healthy perspectives and priorities. Too many people like this and the market is going south in a hurry. I suspect this hobby feeds, at least in part, on people who have messed up priorities, as well as loners and dreamers.
I have always been too conservative to buy coins on a payment plan or on loans, but I think it's awesome (and a bit nuts) that people like Pittman and Duckor (I believe) took out mortgages on houses to fund coin purchases.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Great post...some food for thought!
There may be some truth here. On the other hand, it is a hobby that is accessible to anyone, as long as they can see, read, think, and lift their arms. You can be a full participant from home. You can probably suffer from paralysis, early stages of ALS and other major neurodegenerative disorders, deafness, muteness, Asperger’s syndrome (a few on the forum, no doubt
), major depression and other psychiatric disorders, major personality disorders, extreme halitosis, and or various other conditions and be an active collector - reading about the hobby, building sets, buying and selling coins, and interacting with other collectors. It’s a wide tent.
Sold everything several years ago and used the cash to help fund the move to a resort island in retirement- no regrets.
Then there is the follow up question: "RYK, did you regret buying any of your coin collection?" Put another way, what would you have done differently in buying/building it/selling it?
Let’s save that one for another day!
Well, you guys are a few years ahead, but similar sequences. The little baleys are 13 and 10, and I'm glimpsing some flickers of light at the end of both the childrearing and coin collecting tunnels.
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Coins are fun but there are things that are worth much more as others have said.
To me the best part of coins are sharing with friends and passing the time in an easy way.
I'm increasing the amount I spend but try to keep the value limited so it's nothing I ever need to worry about.
Great thread! There is surely a lot of wisdom to be found here. I've been actively collecting now for roughly 15 years and have sold off roughly 20% portions of my collection twice in the last 5 years. Both times I felt better when the trimming was done. I sort of relate it to pruning the fruit trees, sometimes you gotta cut out the dead wood, and stimulate new growth. The first time it was a reduction in series that I had lots of fun building but I just felt that I wanted LESS, so off went all my nickels, dimes and currency. Then a few years later I made a made the choice to sell duplicates, and further streamlined my collection. Both times the proceeds went improve my ability to be involved in causes which were people related and not just things.
I’ve sold a lot of coins from my collection over the years, for all kinds of reasons. The only ones I regret selling are collections that, in retrospect, would have made perfect lifelong projects. (1877 pattern half dollars and NJ Cents by die variety.) In other words, I don’t regret selling the coins because I miss the coins. I regret selling them because selling them cost me future adventures.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
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Reflecting more this morning, thinking back when I first started actively collecting 20+ years ago, in the beginning I was looking to park some extra income into something somewhat stable as well as interesting. Something on top of paying my mortgage off early and traditional retirement accounts, that stuff to me is as boring as watching paint dry. Something I understood and not handing over to someone else to take care of. Coins and history fit the bill.
There's always the element of the money tied up in coins being used for other purposes. My coins have been safe from the auction block till now, thankfully, because I'm still working. When this changes, I think I could see many of them go bye bye.
If all goes well, similar to @Baily said, with my two children also same ages, 10 and 12, I imagine some of my obligatory time and responsibilities lift a little, I would implement the dream plan. The plan looks like working a lot less and taking 2-3 week solo motorcycle rides exploring scenic secondary roads to National Parks, concerts and visiting friends, etc. Or maybe using it as a buy in and go pro coin dealer on the road. Basic math shows that for the cost of a latte a day you could say by an oz of gold each year. After 30 years you would have something to maybe buy a nice camper or something to enjoy in retirement. But hey, I'm just a simple guy. If my collection could be the key ingredient to financing these jaunts, then I would say my coin collecting blessed me twice and probably wiser than riding them down with the ship and letting my family have a blowout sale.
A very cool, topical thread. Once upon a time, I thought I'd probably never sell anything. Then when my youngest daughter got a chance to study abroad, I thought maybe it was a good time to sell off some dups and other coins I no longer wanted. I ended up doing fairly well and found that I didn't miss them as much as I thought I would (plus I still have the pics). Since then, I've sold a few more items off and on - it really does give you a feel for a segment of the market. While coins aren't as easy to sell as stocks, you still have something to show for it. You can't say that about other things.
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I sold my entire US coin collection thru Legend auctions no reserve fall of 2016. No regrets.
Bought stocks and have been adding to select world coins.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.