Does your collecting project have an end point? Will you know when you've finished?
mirabela
Posts: 5,089 ✭✭✭✭✭
Just curious. I've started to think my core collecting project has a finite end point. I think it involves twelve more pieces and a timeline of perhaps five to eight years.
Now and then I think about a few upgrade possibilities but some of the "less than" coins in my sets tell the story of where I was at with things when I bought them, and nobody but me really cares about my collection anyway, so I'll probably just leave them as is.
I don't rule out keeping some kind of chump change side project going, but I think once I'm done that's it for spending real money.
What about you? Is your collection a project with a finish line?
... if you can only have one ...
mirabela
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Yes. It's when the money runs out. It's coming soon.
When I'm working on a set, I eliminate the coins that I feel are over valued by the price guides.
Just about there
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
No…that beautiful rare coin out there could be waiting for you to find it
islemangu@yahoo.com
Seems like I move into new projects after a pause. Running out of new ideas though. I do have a handful of very expensive coins lurking for type completion - which may take a while now.
I’m pretty much there now, my box of 25 is full, there’s nothing that I’m really dying to have (within my price range)…so it will mostly be upgrades and replacements opportunistically. You can’t “finish” the pioneer series, and PCGS registry set compositions are dubious, so one must prioritize and just keep some powder dry for when the right coin shows up.
Founder- Peak Rarities
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Hard to say really.
Initially my goal was to complete the best Morgan rattler date set but as I closed in on that goal decided to go for the full set in CAC only. Currently down to 18 coins and fully expect getting to 7 coins should happen in the next two years….. from there it will likely feel very slow. If it’s ever “finished” I’d be ecstatic.
Yup! I have two certified coins in my collection. Hoping to acquire more as I learn more!
Seems that there is a difference between completed and end… end as in finished. One can have all slots filled for a specific coin series and the set may be completed, but still feel the need to upgrade or add a variety here or there. I see end as in finished meaning that there is a sense of satisfaction with what has been assembled or in the alternative… A recognition that what has been assembled is as good as it will be for the resources I have. For some coins that are quite challenging at certain grade levels, it helps to have some expectations based in reality as to what can be achieved.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
My collection will be completed approximately 3 days before they start shoveling dirt in my face.
Hard to say since so many coins are attractive. My limitations will be financial.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Agree with my friend Catbert. After decades of collecting and changing focus on what series may be of interest I tend to look for interesting coins like Pioneer or early type coins. Just try to purchase cool coins when the opportunity arises and finances permit. No sets to complete but still looking.
I finished my Walker set in 2021 after 12 years. Sure, there are upgrade possibilities, but I am happy with my representative examples and don’t feel like spending the additional funds. I am working on other date sets and a box of 20, too, so that’s where I would rather put the money. But, that has also reached a stall and is now moving at a snail’s pace. Just two coins a year is all I feel comfortable with, at this point. When you get older, your priorities change, and you feel a sense of satisfaction with what you have accomplished. At least, I do..
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I got near the end of album collecting and went to PCGS Type Set collecting, as it got tougher I added PCGS low grade key coin collecting, I guess I'll never finish . . .
i can see how you might think of coin collecting as a linear event. Start at A keep going until you reach B. My approach to collecting has some of that element. I do set goals and work towards them. The thing is i tend to keep moving the goal posts.
My favorite coins are Seated coins. Most of these sets are large and many contain expensive stoppers that deter many from ever even starting. I prefer to set small, attainable goals and then keep expanding my horizons. I guess when I run out of future projects I can call my collection complete or done. i just don't see it happening. thank you for your question. James
I'm reminded of a quote by George Harrison: "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
Over the last 25 years I've given myself goals and completed some sets of coins. I've recently come to realize that I derive even more enjoyment from simply adding to my collection stuff that interests me at the moment having no regard to either the end point or any sort of completion.
I think I’ll be finished if/when collecting stops being fun.
There is always another great coin just over the horizon.
I collect world coins, one of each type date and mintmark, going all the way back to 650 BC.
Such a collection ought to be theoretically possible to "complete", but such a collection would contain hundreds of thousands of coins. My current collection count is 15,361, which is quite a way short of the total, and I've been at it for several decades now. That "end point" is not possible to attain within a single human being's lifetime and not within a normal human being's budgetary constraints.
It goes without saying that "completion" is not a motivating factor in my collecting.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
Wow! That's incredible.
My Franklin set is finished but always open to upgrading specific coins. At me age I won’t be starting any new projects.
I'm a US type set type of guy, including colonials, and feel like I'm very close. Got my chain cent, that was the big one. I don't have a 1793 half cent yet so that's really the only one I truly "need".
But of course there are always more "types" - I don't have a half disme, or a Stella, or a Gobrecht dollar, or any of that 1850s territorial gold, such as I'd really like one of those big $50 octogons..
For colonials, I filled a box of 20 quite nicely, but I don't have a Higley, or a Sommer Island hogge, or a Lord Baltimore, or a 1776 continental dollar, a few others.. So never really done, the empty slots just get tougher & tougher to fill.
My core collecting came to its end point about 8 years ago when I completed my 09-58 Lincoln registry set. I have and am making the occasional upgrade when and where possible/feasible, but I consider that done. I don't see any real end point for my collection as a whole, the only way that would happen is if I stop enjoying shiny things altogether.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
You took the words out of my mouth.
Number 1 Coin set - one coin missing
Number 1 Currency set - one note short
Casual low-cost currency set - my new collecting fetish, which has no obvious endgame strategy.
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
I know when when certain parts are finished. When I get the four large cents I need to complete a date set of cents from 1793 to 2025, that set will be finished.
I don't do very much with die variety thing. I learned that is a land of disappointment because you reach a certain point and can go no further, now matter how much money and knowledge you have. The half cents taught me that lesson, and now it's worse because of die state collecting.
I don't believe in sets any more. I've got Red BU Lincolns down to the upper 1920's and a half dozen + from 1909 up. I'm a collector of everything and I finally realized years ago how stupid it would be to continue collecting just the very expensive Lincoln cents I don't own. I watch for them but now I get more bang for my buck seeking knowledge about the Tokens, Ancients, and the Obsolete Notes I buy.
Example; I've been able to purchase ("Steal") a hoard of over 50 (different denominations) Western & Atlantic RR Script in XF to Unc plus another 30 (G-XF) for less money than my MS-64 Red graded 31-S cost me. I figure I could blow the hoard out anytime for $400 wholesale an buy a Red BU cent I need; however, I get more enjoyment and would rather own the notes then just another Lincoln cent.
IMO, generalization is the way to go.
Waiting on the Jimmy Carter Presidential dollar….. the perpetual series guaranteed to never be finished.
Yes, when it started 😭
Depends on the Project. My 7070 had a definite end... I finished putting coins in the book! 76 coins in all (sans gold page). That said, I'm also doing a 2 volume Wayte Raymond set of Large Cents... 100 coins total and I knew going in, that I'd never complete it. My "Box of 20" is more open ended... I've got 16 coins in it so far... the last few are very expensive for me... and I can definitely see selling one or two to fund other numismatic curiosities.
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.
No - being in the biz / arena is for life. One is their own boss, don’t have to take nothin from anybody, have fun, not to worry - all it takes is making money. Enjoy the bourse, free coffee, show food - thrill of the hunt - buy smart / sell good.
No well-defined endpoint short of the grave. Being a collector doesn't stop when a "last hole" is filled in a set. There's always the hunt for something else cool.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I have no real end game, but I have switched to buying only gold coins after 67 years of collecting most copper, nickel and silver US coins. I am in selling mode right now and having a lot of fun.
Hi all... thought I'd jump in on this one.. No, no end game as I'm simply a hoarder.. boxes of Pennies from as many Wells Fargo as possible, rolls of pennies from whomever will part with them-- which is actually the most challenging part these days... I've got a couple other cheap, worthless roll hoards I'm working... only thing close to a definite end is maybe when the kid leaves the nest or I'm on the way out... who knows. But it's fun, cheap and has no defined end. So I keep going..
I'll be done on the first to occur of (i) I no longer get a lot of pleasure out of collecting coins; (ii) I'm too poor to buy the coins that interest me; (iii) I lose my mind; or (iv) I die.
For my Latin American collection things are slowing down (be at it for a few years now) but I expect it will take me another 4-5 years to close to my end goal. Then again it may take my entire life since some are just so rare and only show up once every 10 years or longer (and some can take a life time of waiting). As for my US dime collection I do not expect that to be done for a few decades if ever.
A date set of saints is 23 coins.
but not technically done.
Most of us get stuck at 18
Stuck is what I am
My entire collection is less than a "box of 20"
My Saint Set
You know the funny thing is, I don’t ever think I’ll ever be finished adding new little gems to my collection. New areas of interest keep coming along. Working on gem grade IHCs, some older proof coins from the 1936-1942 era, those beautiful early classic commemoratives and generally just adding to my type set. There’s no way I can stop, and I’ve been collecting for over 60 years now. Zack
As I mentioned in that thread about when it was time to sell, as a collector of New York National Bank Notes, it is a collection that will never have an end point, even if I could collect for another 200 years. But, as long as I'm breathing, I will keep going forward, step by step.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
My primary collection of 104 coins (non-US) will be "finished" if I can ever acquire all the specific examples I've identified as existing which I'm unlikely to do. It's unlikely because I don't foresee being able to afford it, likely can't find all the coins to buy it since I don't know who owns it, or the owner may not sell it or only at a "stupid money" price.
I can buy all but one coin in some quality, but I'd rather not own it at all if it's below my minimum. I'm anticipating "finishing" with multiple empty slots and moving onto something else, circumstances permitting.
If you collect coins, and research material like me, there is no end time. You may shy away from active day to day collecting, even for an extended period.
But at some point, you will always come back.
Pete
I only need two more coins. It's possible I could pick up a third or fourth one. Re the latter, it's a question of do I really want a Flowing Hair Half Dollar or Dime. I have the dollar.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I collect die pairs and notable die states of Liberty Seated Half Dimes. So, no, it's not really even possible to be finished - unless I owned every such coin that still exists.
Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states
Nothing really attracts my attention anymore except chocolate brown Lincolns (09-S, 11-S, 14-S, 22-D, 24-D, and 31-S)
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
As I've learned more about world and U.S. history, the subset of coins I'm interested in has grown. So, the more knowledge obtained, the farther away I've gotten from completion.
... it's all about the journey...right??? 😁
My plan is to sell off my MS graded slabbed coins and use the money I get to try and complete my circulated type sets. I’m hoping to end up with one example of each US coin type that was made. I’ll consider it to be done once I get all of the 18th, 19th and 20th coins, but technically it won’t be complete unless I keep going into the 21st century which will be weird, but still possible, considering I’m only collecting slabbed circulated ones.
This picture, from last year, gives you an idea of where I currently am at in completing my circulated type sets 🌞
Mr_Spud
I love that! Did you make it yourself?
Thanks, that’s a screenshot of my thumbnail images on my iPhone of my digital coin album of my slabbed circulated type sets. I generated an AI background and pasted the screenshot onto it.
Mr_Spud
I stalled on my Everyman's 1/2c set when I realized I wasn't going to pay the prices to close out the last 4 coins. 1 of them I could have but I decided it wasn't bringing me the same joy.
I've enjoyed my dansco albums and when I did a couple with my son before he went to college; toned silver roosies.
Would upgrade every now and then if something was at a local show that looked good.
Other than that, the only end point is really completeness as near as it is reasonable.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment