Champagne taste on a beer budget
chesterb
Posts: 961 ✭✭✭✭✭
What do you do when you’ve already eclipsed your coin budget with 7 months to go and don’t want to sell anything? I can’t imagine something won’t pop up before year end. Anyone ever have that problem?
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Know the feeling but since I am retired the Social Security can come thru in a pinch.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Instead of selling, maybe consider trading?
It may be a good time for a paradigm shift so you don't go bust. Search rolls, and research. These times may be moments to learn, appreciate, and ask questions perhaps?
Go to the bank, and request a box of halves to search. Fun time to look for silver, and varieties. Repeat with quarters, dimes, or, whatever may spot an opportunity. No pressure, no loss, and all gain.
I do find myself in similar straits on occasion. Painful as it is, I prune the collection to raise funds.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Well then it goes from "Not wanting to sell" to "Guess I'm gonna have to sell" real fast!
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
I think the #1 thing that stops me from buying a coin I want is because I want to make sure I have the reserves to get a coin that I need. Not sure that helps you now but definitely know the feeling.
Maybe you can increase your coin budget for this year only?
I have a little pile of 10k and 14k rings I’m thinking about scrapping. Also may do a few yard sales/flea markets which would also help declutter a bit.
I used to buy low and sell on eBay but that ship has sailed for me.
Another thing to do is to use the time to do a complete/total inventory and use that to pair down the loose ends and easily replaceable things from the collection. Sometime those are easier to see when they’re on paper.
Quit looking and enjoy what you have until next year.
I generally take the opportunity to spend time taking photos, going over the coins I have and reexamining them for unseen RPM's and such. As another said, use the time to learn and grow your knowledge, and if you have the itch real bad then some simple roll searching may help to alleviate the pain of waiting.
Or sell something.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Find more budget!
That's why it's good to have 3 or 4 active hobbies. Hopefully you have one or two that don't put a pinch on the wallet.
I have a pretty strict self imposed budget of $20 on any one item. Since I'm splitting my limited funds on 4 different hobbies all at once I have to keep it reigned in or else I'd spend everything the minute I got it.
When my allotted funds run out, then I'm done shopping for a while. Everything I collect I collect because I want it, so nothing is ever for sale under any circumstances. My two main hobbies have been a part of my life since 1985 and 1988 and I still have everything I've ever had....even if I may not know exactly where it is at any given time. Numismatics is not one of my main hobbies but I still don't sell anything.
My duplicates of things however, are fair game, and I do trade on a regular basis.
That's what a Home Equity Line of Credit is for.....
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
All the time.
For coins within my price limit, I do not have this problem since those I want to buy do not come up for sale often enough.
There are individual coins I occasionally decline to buy for exceeding my price limit.
Once you realize this you need to cut back to a sane budget that fits your income. Otherwise you could get in trouble with cc debt / bankruptcy.
Set collecting can be an addictive thing and is really an obsolete concept as this material isn’t in change and can really drain your wallet. Don’t be manipulated by the rich dealers and collectors in here.
Collect by type, theme, country, bd year instead. Don’t overpay based on some dealer hype and make sure your lnvestment can be easily liquidated. Me I would just start on the bay / auction at BV, 9.95 or whatever.
Been trying to pay off last of my mortgage.
Shifted to proof sets and Statehood and beyond Quarters.
More or less a $30 limit.
Grade what I have to flip or keep.
Never had so much fun and been so profitable.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Maybe a good time to work on recognizing varieties and your ability to cherry-pick rare ones.
Gotta go. Three minutes to closing on my next cherry-pick attempt.
Edited to add: Damn! Someone else seems to have recognized the variety and outbid me.
Pretty much the equivalent of my sig line.
Flip more coins, faster.
"It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
I find myself being attracted to high-grade, high eye appeal coins I can't afford more often as the years go by. I recently stopped a handful of collections (and will sell them) to focus on other coins I can actually afford. I feel your pain.
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
Maybe a little bullion buy would scratch the itch.
Get a second job. Dominoes is hiring. 🍕
That is a VERY good idea!
You did lay down the gauntlet that you were going to assemble the best toned type set, IIRC. Perhaps your goals are too high for your patience level or income.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Yes, I am quietly assembling the finest US circulated type set in the world! Normally I would say it's best not to get in my way but I ran out of money! This is a minor set back. I understand that Dominoes is hiring so I can use that as a fallback...
Fly to SoCal, rent an apartment with good internet, then take the part time job at PCGS doing True-Views.
Great coins don’t come around often. Just buy it and figure it out later
Latin American Collection
This!
I wished I had done more of that, rather than rationalizing, and the coulda, shoulda, woulda regrets that haunt you long afterwards. Of course you don’t want to get in a serious financial bind, but I think most of us here are more prudent than that.
Start a go fund me page! I’ll pitch in you poor.........;)
Now here is an idea!!
I mean you could do a raffle but this is much easier and it doesn’t require any collateral. And be honest about it, you know like hey man my name is Chester and I have an addiction.
Then everybody’s like hello Chester!
I'm just glad to hear others have the same dilemma as me. I'll fill you in on my stream of consciousness most days: I've reached a point in my career where I have more discretionary income than I ever have, but I don't want to spend it all on coins. I have other needs in life. Also, I struggle with the advice "buy the best you can afford" and "instead of a bunch of lower priced coins, save up and buy one real nice coin". Do I want to spend my entire annual budget and then be done for the year? I enjoy participating in the hobby. The thrill of the hunt, and not just once a year.
I've run across more decent coins in the last month than I do most months, so I'm on a cool down period, much like the OP. As others have said, I can still participate in the hobby without spending money. I have several books I need to read and brush up on my attribute and variety knowledge for cherry picking. Or work on my numismatic photography skills. Or spend time on other hobbies, like guitar playing.
Maybe you can stretch the champagne by mixing some beer into it.
I have several hobbies... and as far as coins, I am not building a registry set, or any series... I have done series in the past and still have them. Now, it is just the 'special' coin that attracts me.... could be any one of a multitude of reasons. So acquisitions are random and not frequent. This blends well with my other hobbies...Cheers, RickO
That's not fair : neither for champagne nor for beer !
I'm working on several coin collections. Some need big bucks, other don't. When I have money I will hunt in premier league (premier for _my _level of collecting, actually), and when I have no money left I'll try to find the others, which don't need big expenses. Then I can get my fix whatever the situation, and am equally happy with my new babies
You never know... it could be a delicious combination!
I still get a kick out of low value coins, original surfaces on worn type pieces and lusterfull Morgans...
I've always preferred beer over champagne anyhow. I ain't dropping $47k on an over-graded Franklin anytime soon.
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
RESPONSIBLE use of credit is always a viable option. It helps you to stretch more, if you need to, on that 'special' piece that always, unexpectedly, turns up.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Something about this appeals to me. No obligation to follow a certain path that collecting sets requires.