Selling it all and starting over - Have you done it?
savitale
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Aside from my core Seated Dime collection I'm thinking of selling all the rest and starting over. It's not so much about the money, but I'm feeling trapped with what I have. A lot of my collection consists of coins I accumulated as a kid, nice but medium-grade raw coins. Completing or upgrading those sets is now kind of pointless, financially speaking, and those sets will never be "great". I do have some sentimental attachment to them, though.
What do you think? Sell, or save for sentimental reasons? Have you ever done either?
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I have. One thing I learned was keep the keys. Sounds like your coins may have more sentimental value than actual value so I may just hang onto them.
Go for it
You’ll be invigorated 😊
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
I totally get it. I have a few sentimental coins I was given, as a child. I’d never sell those, or my core Barber quarter and half collections. Everything else In between could go. Wouldn’t bother me at all.
Go with your heart!
Dave
I’ve done it recently. Invigorating in my case
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I don't know about "selling it all". But I have built sets I thought I would keep forever and later started down a very different path. Better educated and with a better eye.
Peace dollars, Lincoln wheaties, Indian Head cents. A couple of decades of focus on high grade examples. Gone. A switch flipped.
I think it is healthy. I sold off some great coins but also did away with mistakes that troubled me.
Starting over smarter was very satisfying.
Lance.
This is just me, but I'd look for some of those old retro coin albums (like Library of Coins) and put those nicer raw coins in that old cool album. Doing that has given me a nice spark in these times, and no worries about chasing registry points.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
I'm only selling my US, foreign, medals, and errors.
I’ve done it twice in the last 10 years. I hope this 3rd go at it will be the best. I learned a lot each time. I’m certainly excited but I am in the beginning this 3rd stage. It will take a while to see progress.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
I've had one "big" sell-off. When I was in college, I wanted to take flying lessons and needed to free up some money. Having started my collection in elementary school, my tastes and acquisitions improved as my budget grew. It's not to say that my by that point everything but my most recent buys were junk, but I was less disciplined and the quality level of what I had was inconsistent. I broke out my collection into 4 groups:
1- I had lots of coins that weren't worth selling, such as low-grade Indian cents and buffalo nickels which I probably bought for around $1 each back in the day. One day I'll pass these along to some kids.
2- I had some sentimental coins. Some are actually quite nice and I would have kept anyway, but for a few, the value to me far outweighs getting some money. I kept them.
3- I had many coins I really liked and had no desire to sell. I believe I still have every one of those coins.
4- The rest. These are the coins that were nice, but not great. Maybe another, similar coin from group #3 was nicer. Maybe the coin just didn't do it for me anymore. Whatever the case, these are the coins that are vaguely memorable if at all. I sold these.
Selling #4 was great. My core collection was pared down a bit such that I really appreciated every coin, and 13 years later, I still appreciate those coins. #1 was never worth selling, so even if I hated the coins (I don't hate them, they're just not that interesting to me anymore), selling them didn't make sense. And of course #2 wasn't eve a question. The other benefit of selling what I did is that I've been much more disciplined buying since then, so by getting rid of the mediocre coins, I've made it much easier to keep my collection going as something where I can really enjoy every piece, rather than looking through it and being disappointed with some of the coins. Beyond appreciating the coins I have in general, I appreciate that when I look through my collection, every coin I have brings me joy in ownership.
No... Starting over is not in the cards
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Okay... This is the image I was looking for
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
No. But I'm seriously thinking about it.
I have done essentially that on two occasions, when I was done with collections of foreign, and later, U. S. coins.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I have not done it, and will not do it..... Mine, all mine I say....
Cheers, RickO
I'm kicking that around. There's some stuff I don't want anymore. We shall see
I have a suspicion that if you decide to sell it "all" there is a low chance you will return to coin collecting in the short term. Maybe years later.
On the other hand, if you sell coins that are of marginal interest to focus on other things, this can be a great boost to your collection as it frees up capital for new purchases.
I've never sold it all, but I do keep adding series to collect!
Dealers will say sell them and buy again. Collectors will most likely be in the keep them camp... For me, as a collector, I'd trade them individually for upgrades.
I don't anticipate selling everything (even most of it) but if I did, it would have to be to collect something else I consider better for the same money. There are few coins or series I consider better than my current primary series, whether in the same price range or higher.
I have kept most of what I am not (actively) collecting to maintain some variety in my collection. Some of the coins are also quite nice and in the current market, it's a gamble to sell at potential (or likely) low prices for cons which are (very) hard to find.
I'd have to have a much larger budget. I did this before and didn't get much of anywhere with anything.
I ended up selling most of my South African collection (value wise) when prices increased a lot but made the mistake of keeping a larger number of cheaper coins while getting rid of practically all of the better ones. In retrospect, I either would have dumped all of it or kept a few I sold, like the 1892 PL penny. I correctly anticipated that prices would fall substantially and initially intended to buy it back at cheaper prices but never did.
I'm too dumb to figure out something else to collect.
I've done it 3x to fund business start-ups. I miss one or 2 sets and a bunch of choice coins that have quintupled since then. Ticks me off that I actually had a good eye back then.
...but I always come back.
Well it sounds like you are focused enough so I would just let all the other stuff go. I realized at one point that all I had was an "accumulation" and not a "collection". In fact the money tied up in the other stuff enabled me to purchase better stuff for my collection.
WS
This was a good post. My approach was spot on with @airplanenut above. I sold the coins he referenced in #4 above to make way for new material.
For the coins without too high a value, I did what @ElmerFusterpuck considered in finding an old album to place them in.
Yup. Done it. I forget how many years passed, maybe 7 or 8? I was creating an expansive type set of all U.S. coins including each mint mark, so it was like a type set x 3, plus major varieties on top of that. I learned a lot but it was too much for me to do. I came back and focused on my favorite series which is half dimes.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Yes, once out of necessity. In retrospect I learned to hang onto the few special coins that I considered undervalued. I had some very high-end Lincolns that I sold before that segment took off, had a hunch it would as they were very hard to come by and I suspected that they would gain in popularity as collectors aged - I remember young dealers asking me why I collected that "junk". The dollars unrealized would not have made a difference. No regrets selling my type set. Type was very hot at the time. My current type set is a major upgrade. Took me almost 25 years to cycle back into US coins. 2nd childhood maybe.
Several thoughts occur when considering "total" sale.
????
I have never sold it all and I cannot foresee doing so at this time.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
I have never sold all of my coins but I have had twice when I’ve sold the majority of my coins (excluding some rolls of stuff that isn’t worth much). I’ve been pondering that again lately. Although this time I learned one lesson: don’t sell my gold. Wish I would have kept some of the gold I had years ago...
I sold off the core of my collections in 2010 when I retired as I wanted a house free and clear. Worked for me and I was able to save my childhood collections from the 1950's. Looking back, ten years on, I should have sold them as well. So, yes I have done it and would do it again. Sure do have more money each month with no house payment!
bob
Good luck in whatever direction you take, it's your choice always. Just have fun!
Yes, edited slightly
I did - went from collecting what was "herd" acceptable to collecting what I actually like, regardless of grade, value, etc.
Way more fun now. Us Maundy set collectors are few and far between. British coins are way more interesting than US coins, way more history and variety.
Yes,
A year or two ago I asked the same type of question. I sold my type set in three waves...coins that didn’t speak to me and were basically spot fillers went first...as there were no regrets, second wave was coins I really liked but did not have a special meaning to me....as I developed a new passion in pre1933 gold, last and most recent wave was to sell of remainder except kept like three coins , that I love, acquisition had special meaning, and will hold almost as a reminder of my previous interests ( for example I kept the cc dollar that I acquired in my youth, my favorite type coin, and my Norse medal/commem....everything else went...no regrets...
The experience and learning has allowed me much more flexibility, creativity, and learning..
I’m in the middle of selling about 20% of my collection, including a few of the more valuable, but ultimately replaceable, specimens.
The experience will weed out most of the ones that bothered me for various reasons and will free up funds for other things.
A few years ago I sold my Peace dollar set. It was the right call, market timing made it fun, and the shop I built with the proceeds is truly enjoyable in ways that the coins weren’t. I’ll do another one someday....... but not yet.
I cannot emphasize enough just how much selling has taught me about being a better buyer. I’m to the point now that getting individually great coins is more important than hole-filling or being “done.” Album and registry victories are pretty hollow. People with money can bury me in an instant, on a whim and have done so many times (often with coins I don’t think are very nice).
Keep the coins that you couldn’t replace in a year or two of looking.
Selling coins is like an avalanche.
Except it usually starts at the bottom.
Yup. As you get older, your tastes change. In my case, except for some raw coins of sentimental value to me, I had only a very few coins that I really enjoyed owning. The ones that make you smile every time you have a chance to look at them. I now limit myself to two "boxes of 20", one each for two different categories. Any purchase results in a coin being let go immediately. For me at least, it works fantastically. Purchases are made with a lot more care and consideration. The bad news is, I guess, that purchases are much more infrequent, perhaps two or three a year at most. One bit of good news is that selling the ones that get replaced is easy. Everything in both boxes of 20 is top quality (all are PCGS w/ green or gold stickers, some of the stickers I have "made", and all are extremely nice for the grade). My most recent addition was last month, the first in 8+ months. The item that was let go was listed on the BS&T forum for exactly what I paid for it, and went very quickly.
Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins, justindan, doubleeagle07
Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't no optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.
My mind reader refuses to charge me. . . . . . .
This is such a great post through and through! The final thought should be words to live by for all collectors, IMO.
Sure. For me much of the enjoyment is in the hunt.
Good luck whatever you decide
Thanks for so many thoughtful replies. Seems like quite a few people have cleaned house at some point with not too many long-term regrets about parting with those old friends. Maybe it's like pulling a band-aid off.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
Good thread! I would keep some for sentimental reasons, as you said. You don't want to later get that feeling I have every day, REGRET!
Yes, you can say I too am starting over. But entirely different. I'm not gung ho like I did in the beginning. I spent an average of probably $100-$150 a week! Man, I still regret it as we speak of selling all I had. One of my best was the entire set in an Dansco Album of American Indian Buffalo's. That took awhile collecting too. Oh well, now I'm starting slow.Very slow and inexpensive. But still quite interesting coins. Many varieties and as some of you know by now. Some PCGS graded coins.
Save some of your gems, dude. You'll be glad you did in the long run. Believe me.
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.The closest I came to selling everything was in the early 1970s when I toyed with the idea of being a dealer. A friend and I set up a few shows. I drifted away from that, however, and went back to collecting.
When I really got into being a dealer, I continued to collect some. Being a dealer is great when you acquire upgrades. Selling off the duplicates was super easy, especially since I usually end up with material that is nice for the grade.
The chase can be fun, but if goes on for too long, it becomes a drag for me. I enjoy studying what I have a lot more than buying.
The all-time champ for selling everything you have and buying it back had to be the late Robinson Brown. He put together a complete die variety set of large cents from 1793 to 1857 and sold it. Almost immediately he started another collection and put together a complete set again. I heard that he was out buying coins on the day of his first auction.
I had a customer in 1979 who collected....
..........................................THE WORLD BY DATE................................
and..... knew every coin of the thousands he had.
Recently blew out at auction some US material to pursue much scarcer Mexican material which is much less cost - single digit and double digit low pop coins which makes me likely have only one in room at show (Houston) or on eBay. Mexican Revolutionary Banco notes (Both raw and graded)have done Well on too. Also pursuing USA graded NBN and Type notes.
I sold my collection of key-dates back in 2008 to get the money to open the coin shop, and have funds to buy with out getting loans, etc. worked out well. However, there was one or two I wish I had back from that time frame, I have better'd several , but still miss a couple.
I did this years ago as well, when I started high school, sold off my lincoln and indian set to get high end car stereo equipment. Boy that was stupid
Now, over the past year or two, I trimmed down a few pieces, and also sold a piece here and there for strong offerings, and or to round up a few bucks for my last (youngest)t son's college tuition.
In past year, the few pieces I have sold, I have not missed one bit. Kind of scary, but true.
If you do that, you won't be starting over. You'll be taking a big step towards improving your collection. Just do it.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Really thinking about doing it now. My collection is very organized, just three Dansco or Whitman albums. Buffalo Nickels, Peace Dollars, and a Type Set. Wish I could sell them intact but that’s probably impractical.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
I've never done that before.
Only selling that I've done has been for upgrades and some duplicates.
But I do know this:
Once I sell.....That's it. I'm done.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Good news and bad news .
I did that once and sold my entire US coin holdings fall 2016.
I have more money in coins than ever before as I have been purchasing world coins especially Mexican 8 reales
1823 -1897 .
( the entire series is only 1104 coins )
I’m doing a registry 😄
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.