What qualifications are there for a "Serious Collector"?

Comments

• Cam40 Posts: 8,146 ✭

  August 30, 2003 12:23PM

  those that wear gloves when handling their coins?
  
  those whos hobby is strictly coins?
  
  

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• Lakesammman Posts: 17,634 ✭✭✭✭✭

  August 30, 2003 12:23PM

  I think of a serious collector as someone who knows an area in depth. It's irrespective of how much they spend or what they currently own. There are some folks that when you talk to them, they simply blow you away with the knowledge they've acquired. It's always a real pleasure to talk to them.

  "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.

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• Cam40 Posts: 8,146 ✭

  August 30, 2003 12:25PM

  stee rike twooo, huh Coulport?

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• wingedliberty Posts: 4,805 ✭✭✭

  August 30, 2003 12:33PM

  A southern judge in the 1950's once thought about banning pornography in his local municipal district. A local reporter asked him to define pornography. He said he had no idea what pornography was, but would know if he ever saw it.
  The same theory applies to a serious collector. Its not one thing specifically, but you know it when you see it. Among the traits exhibited by them are as follows.
  
  1. Commanding knowledge of the hobby and its inner workings and the current and past events involved.
  2. Knowledge of numismatic history.
  3. A respectable numismatic library.
  4. Proper storage and optics.
  5. Someone who has clear collecting goals.
  6. Someone who has reached those goals in some significant part.
  7. Someone who mentors others into the hobby.
  8. Someone who respects what others collect.
  9. Someone who practices good numismatic etiquette.
  10. Someone who is metered in their speach, but plentiful in their actions.
  11. A strong consumer advocate within the hobby.
  12. A member of several numismatic organizations, ie. ANA, PNG, etc.
  13. A commanding ability to grade across the entire 1-70 spectrum.
  
  Those are just some things.
  Enjoy the hobby.

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• stman Posts: 11,352 ✭✭✭✭✭

  August 30, 2003 12:41PM

  Wingedliberty.... You make some very good points but man, I'll never come close to being a "Serious Collector" with all the criteria you posted.

  Please... Save The Stories, Just Answer My Questions, And Tell Me How Much!!!!!

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• Cam40 Posts: 8,146 ✭

  August 30, 2003 12:44PM

  Its going ,going, going, and...its....outta there. HOMERUN!!!!
  
  Good post Brian.

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• Lakesammman Posts: 17,634 ✭✭✭✭✭

  August 30, 2003 1:34PM

  Brian:
  
  Were you the debate champion in highschool??

  "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.

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• gsaguy Posts: 2,425 ✭

  August 30, 2003 1:37PM

  Focus.
  
  GSAGUY

  

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• FatMan Posts: 8,977 ✭

  August 30, 2003 11:29PM

  
  
  << <i>As in "serious inquiries only" or some such combination. >>
  
  
  I think when you see this it means you have a checking account filled with money and you are willing to write the big one.
  
  Brian's post was an excellent definition of a highly respected collector by his/her peers.

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• BAJJERFAN Posts: 31,572 ✭✭✭✭✭

  August 30, 2003 11:53PM

  Well having the serious money helps. A serious collector wants the very best or very rare and has the serious $$$ to get it.
  When an ad says seroius inquiries only it means don't waste his time if you don't want it or can't afford it.

  theknowitalltroll;

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• Conder101 Posts: 10,536 ✭

  August 31, 2003 11:17PM

  << As in "serious inquiries only" or some such combination. >>
  
  This queston has nothing to do with being a serious collector, just having serious money. A newbie with money and the will to spend it would qualify.

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• BASEagle Posts: 383

  August 31, 2003 11:34PM

  OK, I'll take a shot at it. Anyone who throws a state quarter in a drawer or whose Grandad gave him a silver dollar can call themselves a coin collector.
  
  To be a "serious" coin collector, one would have to go a step further. My criteria would include any one of the following:
  
  * subscribe to a coin magazine.
  * belong to a coin club.
  * attend a coin show at least once a year.
  * enter a coin shop at least a year.
  * pull out your collection and look at it occasionally.
  
  Some of the criteria the other guys proposed would qualify a person for ANA Person of the Year.
  
  Mike
  
  

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• cherrypickincoin Posts: 1,760 ✭✭

  August 31, 2003 11:49PM

  Let me switch things up a bit here.
  
  First, I don't believe a serious collector has to be a member of any numismatic organization. Many people do not support the ANA for various reasons. I, for one, don't believe they should have ever alligned themselves with a particular grading service, i.e. NGC.
  
  Second, you can be the most ignorant person on the planet but I hate to say it, money talks more than brains. Let's say Joe Bob decides to compile a collection of Mercury Dimes. Joe Bob has an I.Q. of 90 and doesn't have a clue what FSB means because he never looked it up. Yet, he likes the look of Mercury Dime so he hands part of his money over to a dealer (Keep in mind Joe Bob inherited $10 million from Daddy). The dealer then compiles one of the finest Mercury Dime sets ever completed for Joe Bob.
  
  Do people care if Joe Bob is smart? No, they only care that Joe Bob has one of the finest Mercury Dime sets in the world but of course, Joe Bob didn't have to have any knowledge to do it. Just MONEY. Joe Bob is considered a "serious" collector because he has spent a "serious" amount of money on his Mercury Dimes.
  
  If we look at it differently, what really does make a "serious" collector? I think it's knowledge. I don't care how much money you have or what your collection is worth, do you know a lick beyond what is written in the Red Book about your coins? Do you care about the history behind the coins or are you only concerned with the OPINION of another human being?
  
  If you can look at a coin, look beyond any flaws that it has, understand the history behind the coin, how it was made, who is on it, why that design is there, who modeled for it, etc. etc. than feel free to call yourself a serious collector.
  
  All too often people in this hobby buy on hype. You won't get anywhere by following the pact.
  
  You can either be the Warrior who tries to find the quickest route up the mountain. Or you can be the Warrior that takes his time to train and compiles the most lethal arsenal to knock the first Warrior off the mountain.
  
  

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