3 Reasons Coin Collectors Hit Lulls – And How to Get Back in the Game
PCGS_SocialMedia
Posts: 327 mod
Today's article is one a lot of us can probably relate to as Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez share his personal collecting journey, and hitting roadblocks:
"I’ve been a coin collector since 1992, which is more than enough time to have ridden numismatic highs and also hit the doldrums with my coin collecting adventures. In that time, I’ve became a teenager, went to college, got a job, bought a house, worked on starting a family, and reinvented my career. All those events are liable to nudge collectors out of numismatic activity and into hobby passivity. It’s a pretty common situation for numismatists to go all gung-ho into coin collecting at one point only to venture back out when something throws them for a loop – a significant life event, financial calamity, or other 'distractions.'
I can easily speak to three times I’ve hit roadblocks in my coin collecting but then eventually managed to right my numismatic ship and resume my ardent hobby activities. Let me share these episodes in brief with you here…"
See the rest here: https://www.pcgs.com/news/three-reasons-coin-collectors-hit-lulls-and-how-to-get-back-in-the-game
Want our top articles delivered to your e-mail inbox bi-weekly? Join our e-newsletter here: https://www.pcgs.com/newsletter
Comments
Good article, and certainly typical life encounters that can detour one's collecting. There are others, of course, and most of us 'older' collectors have encountered some of those as well. The thing to remember is, we all need interests outside of daily life. Some focus on sports, others get involved in art. There are many avenues of enjoyable distraction and hobbies come in many forms. The nice thing about collecting coins, is that it offers many facets along with the coin itself - i.e. history, art, metals technology etc.. Cheers, RickO
never had this happen to me most likely cause i don't focus on coins all that much, i do have other things to do and also not focusing on just one type of coin or series helps avoid the old mental roadblock cause with such a wide range of collecting my mind is always looking for new coins to find
2003-present
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
Lifestyle changes are one thing.
A different type of "lull" that many advanced collectors face is a lack of supply of the remaining coins for their set.
So their purchases become less frequent.
And many collectors derive enjoyment from purchase / acquisition,
so they are getting less out of being a collector in this situation.
Often the solution is to switch to a different set.
Another solution is when it becomes easier for other collectors to sell their duplicates,
which increases the supply of the scarcer keys.
When he was president of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, Gerry Fortin wrote articles on this,
encouraging people to hoard less.
And now he runs a coin dealership largely on consignment, which created a good channel for people to sell their dups.
The only "lull" I had in collecting since I was about 8 years old, was when I was in the service from 1973-1976. And even then, I was still checking my pocket change. I started out collecting pocket change, never intending to ever pay for coins. I swim at the shallow end of the collector pool. I have never felt like I had to spend large amounts of money to enjoy the hobby. As an adult, I have obtained some of the coins that I dreamed of getting as a youngster, but could not afford. Some say they are common, which they may be, but I am satisfied knowing that I have them. They are the 1909 S VDB and 1914 D cents, the 1916 D and 1942/1Merc dimes, and many other key and semi key dated coins. I am probably currently more interested in collecting coins and bullion than I have ever been. I believe these forums have been a big contributor in my continued interest in the hobby.
Seems like a multi generational thing. My story is similar to CoinHoarder. Collecting cent/nickel/dime stuff filling holes as a kid with a paper route. Got a little more organized with sets in high school, left home for the military 70-73 and immediately started a career after that.
Left my collection with my parents. That lull lasted about 20 years. I had very little disposable cash to blow on coins. To busy working on career, family, kids, house payments, car payments, 401k's..........you know, the real investments!
I've mentioned it before, I'll say it again. I'm not a dealer, trader, grader or investor, I'm just a hobbyist.
Today I have a little more disposable cash and time on my hands to continue the hobby and building the legacy sets I enjoy.
I have a nasty tendency to overwhelm myself by having too many interests/sets going on at the same time. For example, I have the following collections in progress: US Type Set (Dansco 7070), US Large Cents, US Half Cents, British Victorian Type Set, British Conder Tokens (select ones with themes or artwork that attracts my attention), A handful of ancient Greek coins, several Byzantine folles, and I just started another one - English Shillings from 1551 through 1970.
Now I'm in the overwhelmed stage of collecting. Again. So I am going to sell off my US Large Cents, except the ones in the US Type Set and a few others that don't fit that set, and selling the US Half Cents, Stopping the Greeks and Byzantines altogether, and stopping the Conder tokens, which I might sell at a later date. I will now focus on the English Shillings, Victorian Type Set, and US Type Set. That is until something else gets my attention ... SQUIRREL!
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
@AuldFartte- I hear you. Staying focused and completing a task. Finding that one coin you've been looking for (saving the money for it) then moving on to the next one.
Just to darn easy for me to get sidetracked in this hobby!! #~)($Z%#&!#!!