I agree 100%. I just sold off some stuff that was not really my focus of collecting (modern commems especially). This gave me money to use on building the sets that I like. But like you, I am spread a bit thin too. I have 5 or 6 different sets that I am working on at all times. If I would just concentrate on 1 or 2, I could buy better coins and complete the sets faster.
Didn't you read the article by P. Gilkes in the Mar. 12 edition of Coin World?
Lou - No, so I just did. I liked your quotes, especially with respect to the concept that collecting with a purpose enables the sum of the parts to exceed the value of the whole. But I wonder, is that advice appropriate for a beginner? I know that my numismatic rambling served me well in my youth.
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I understand completely. This is one reason I am that much happier to have chosen as my most serious project a series that is ridiculously cheap although the coins are not necessarily easy to find nice. What it means is that I can pursue the right coins as though the price does not matter -- because it truly doesn't -- and know that I will one day have a set that is magnificent. And I really don't think there will be all that many others like it around.
I agree 100% that it is important to choose a collecting project suited to your financial situation. This is one reason I sold off a few of my earlier sets. I realized that there was no way, given my present or foreseeable means, that I would ever turn them into anything very nice.
<< <i> Didn't you read the article by P. Gilkes in the Mar. 12 edition of Coin World?
Lou - No, so I just did. I liked your quotes, especially with respect to the concept that collecting with a purpose enables the sum of the parts to exceed the value of the whole. But I wonder, is that advice appropriate for a beginner? I know that my numismatic rambling served me well in my youth. >>
Actually, it's the whole that exceeds the sum of the parts (although not necessarily in monetary value). Can't the pincipal benefits of numismatic rambling be gained by study that doesn't require purchasing? I just finished rambling my way through Crosby's The Early Coins of America (thanks again, RYK), and I enjoy looking at and learning about colonials. Do I really have to buy? I think that discipline is even more important for the beginner than for the seasoned collector.
Ok, Not sure what the trouble is. I have 36 Dansco Books - No Dups. About only 8 are complete. Maybe someday they will all be done, maybe not. But the heck else am I doing this lifetime anyway. I think your letting things get to you. Just skip thinking today until it all comes back to normal. As long as you are not taking foof off the table, or making your family suffer in other ways financially, and you are not buying this stuff using credit cards, everythings is as it should be. You should be a little "out there" with your passions.
<< <i>Sounds like a nice problem to have. As a dealer, the coins were probably bought at a good price, and are of good quality. With the buoyant market for coins, they mostly have gone up in value.
Yeah, there are worse problems. I'm not here to complain.
I am, however, trying to make a point. I guess the bottom line is that a great collection requires great discipline, and some pain. Without discipline, all you end up with is a mixed pile of nice coins. Which isn't a horrible thing. But we can do better. >>
Whats wrong with a mixed pile of nice things?
I gave up Whitman folders a long time ago.
I manage money. I earn money. I save money . I give away money. I collect money. I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
<< <i>...My advice to those who care to listen is to envision what your collections will look like when complete, calculate what they will cost, and make sure you haven't bit off more than you can chew. If you're in over your head, do something about it. No sense trying to build ten sets and succeeding with none when you can instead successfully build three.
Your thoughts, please. >>
I collect "everything". That is my problem. But my motto is: "If you're going to bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell!"
I would trade my everything collection to own a superb 1933 year set. Only 5 coins but obtaining the 1933 double-eagle....only in your dreams!
"Please help us keep these boards professional and informative…. And fun." - DW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
I've been having a similer problem- I have too many interests, and not enough funds to do them the way I would really like..... the biggest culprit is my love for morgans, which I know I can't fully break away from..... ever. But I think I will still like my sets when it's all said and done...
My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable !
Actually, it's the whole that exceeds the sum of the parts
I enjoy looking at and learning about colonials. Do I really have to buy? I think that discipline is even more important for the beginner than for the seasoned collector.
Although that's certainly true in theory, I wonder if I would have lost interest in the hobby if I wasn't constantly buying a wide range of coins.
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Maybe you could benefit from completing a certain collection, having it pedigreed to give yourself a feeling of accomplishment that others could acknowledge, and move on to another area and enjoy the pursuit of that one and so on.....
Methinks serious collectors want some recognition from others on a certain level. By concentrating on one series/area at at time you could achieve some meaningful satisfaction and then move on to repeat the process.
Let not thy coins rule thee.
Of course there is always the problem of the right coins becoming available at the wrong time, but then again it is your perspective that determines if that is even so.
Andy, this is good advice. People often go ape**** about their hobbies. People really get into them, and buy into the "more is better" mantra.
A friend who discovered running several years ago has run three marathons in the last three months (a number of her friends do this too), and she wonders why she has foot pain (when I was younger and healthier, I would never run more than two in a year).
Another friend got into horses. I don't want to know how many of them she owns now, but she spends most of her free time and disposable income with / on them.
I also see many coin people buy whatever the latest thing that is hyped. They want whatever it is, and the price doesn't seem to matter to them. In the last few years, look at how people couldn't write blank checks fast enough for "spectacularly toned" Capped Bust Halves that 'mysteriously' started appearing when the crackout guys couldn't get upgrades any longer.
Each of us needs to consider what our priorities are, and plan our budgets accordingly. Ie., if you want to buy one of those new dollars, be my guest. I'm not interested.
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
<< <i>I also see many coin people buy whatever the latest thing that is hyped. They want whatever it is, and the price doesn't seem to matter to them. In the last few years, look at how people couldn't write blank checks fast enough for "spectacularly toned" Capped Bust Halves that 'mysteriously' started appearing when the crackout guys couldn't get upgrades any longer. >>
This from 8/05 when discussing the then upcoming pattern registry.
I asked Andy about it at the ANA. He said there's nothing wrong with a long term outlook and does it really matter if you complete it??
"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.
I asked Andy about it at the ANA. He said there's nothing wrong with a long term outlook and does it really matter if you complete it??
But it does matter how seriously you take the task. If that means selling other things that aren't essential, or working overtime, or mortgaging the house, so be it. But we're straying from the point of my OP, which can be simply restated as "Plan ahead and plan for success".
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Very good advice. If you cannot complete a collection, you should know that going in and determine if you will be satisfied with a quality, but partially completed set.
Always took candy from strangers Didn't wanna get me no trade Never want to be like papa Working for the boss every night and day --"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
You are a coin collecting over -achiever. Flaunt it. I say run with the 4 sets, or was it 5. Whatever, keep at it. You're putting a mosaic together. Consider Calder. He started his pieces one inch at a time. Who could see the beauty of his completed works ahead of time?
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." PBShelley
Comments
Lou - No, so I just did. I liked your quotes, especially with respect to the concept that collecting with a purpose enables the sum of the parts to exceed the value of the whole. But I wonder, is that advice appropriate for a beginner? I know that my numismatic rambling served me well in my youth.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I agree 100% that it is important to choose a collecting project suited to your financial situation. This is one reason I sold off a few of my earlier sets. I realized that there was no way, given my present or foreseeable means, that I would ever turn them into anything very nice.
<< <i> Didn't you read the article by P. Gilkes in the Mar. 12 edition of Coin World?
Lou - No, so I just did. I liked your quotes, especially with respect to the concept that collecting with a purpose enables the sum of the parts to exceed the value of the whole. But I wonder, is that advice appropriate for a beginner? I know that my numismatic rambling served me well in my youth. >>
Actually, it's the whole that exceeds the sum of the parts (although not necessarily in monetary value).
<< <i>
<< <i>Didn't you read the article by P. Gilkes in the Mar. 12 edition of Coin World?
Nope. what was the jist of it? >>
Could you get me the March 12th edition of the WSJ? NOW, I mean...this very minute. I could make good use of it tomorrow. Thanks!
<< <i>Sounds like a nice problem to have. As a dealer, the coins were probably bought at a good price, and are of good quality. With the buoyant market for coins, they mostly have gone up in value.
Yeah, there are worse problems. I'm not here to complain.
I am, however, trying to make a point. I guess the bottom line is that a great collection requires great discipline, and some pain. Without discipline, all you end up with is a mixed pile of nice coins. Which isn't a horrible thing. But we can do better. >>
Whats wrong with a mixed pile of nice things?
I gave up Whitman folders a long time ago.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
<< <i>...My advice to those who care to listen is to envision what your collections will look like when complete, calculate what they will cost, and make sure you haven't bit off more than you can chew. If you're in over your head, do something about it. No sense trying to build ten sets and succeeding with none when you can instead successfully build three.
Your thoughts, please. >>
I collect "everything". That is my problem. But my motto is: "If you're going to bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell!"
I would trade my everything collection to own a superb 1933 year set. Only 5 coins but obtaining the 1933 double-eagle....only in your dreams!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
4. Own your collection. Don't let it own you
<< <i>this makes sense:
4. Own your collection. Don't let it own you >>
Something like having a Tiger by the Tail......
spot that one ,must have, coin for your collection.
It is only at that emotional point, that portions of
ones collection of lower obsession, will be determined
and sold or traded off. This is the painful way, that collectors
think.
Camelot
I enjoy looking at and learning about colonials. Do I really have to buy? I think that discipline is even more important for the beginner than for the seasoned collector.
Although that's certainly true in theory, I wonder if I would have lost interest in the hobby if I wasn't constantly buying a wide range of coins.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Maybe you could benefit from completing a certain collection, having it pedigreed to give yourself a feeling of accomplishment that others could acknowledge, and move on to another area and enjoy the pursuit of that one and so on.....
Methinks serious collectors want some recognition from others on a certain level. By concentrating on one series/area at at time you could achieve some meaningful satisfaction and then move on to repeat the process.
Let not thy coins rule thee.
Of course there is always the problem of the right coins becoming available at the wrong time, but then again it is your perspective that determines if that is even so.
A friend who discovered running several years ago has run three marathons in the last three months (a number of her friends do this too), and she wonders why she has foot pain (when I was younger and healthier, I would never run more than two in a year).
Another friend got into horses. I don't want to know how many of them she owns now, but she spends most of her free time and disposable income with / on them.
I also see many coin people buy whatever the latest thing that is hyped. They want whatever it is, and the price doesn't seem to matter to them. In the last few years, look at how people couldn't write blank checks fast enough for "spectacularly toned" Capped Bust Halves that 'mysteriously' started appearing when the crackout guys couldn't get upgrades any longer.
Each of us needs to consider what our priorities are, and plan our budgets accordingly. Ie., if you want to buy one of those new dollars, be my guest. I'm not interested.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
<< <i>I also see many coin people buy whatever the latest thing that is hyped. They want whatever it is, and the price doesn't seem to matter to them. In the last few years, look at how people couldn't write blank checks fast enough for "spectacularly toned" Capped Bust Halves that 'mysteriously' started appearing when the crackout guys couldn't get upgrades any longer. >>
Isn't that the truth!
NSDR - Life Member
SSDC - Life Member
ANA - Pay As I Go Member
Aren't you more inquisitive than acquisitive?
I asked Andy about it at the ANA. He said there's nothing wrong with a long term outlook and does it really matter if you complete it??
But it does matter how seriously you take the task. If that means selling other things that aren't essential, or working overtime, or mortgaging the house, so be it. But we're straying from the point of my OP, which can be simply restated as "Plan ahead and plan for success".
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
It's the combination of learning and collecting that gives the hobby its appeal, at least to me. One without the other would bore me.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
And then there's Senator Blutarsky - Nothing is over until we decide it. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? HeII no!!!
<< <i>Aren't you more inquisitive than acquisitive?
It's the combination of learning and collecting that gives the hobby its appeal, at least to me. One without the other would bore me. >>
Ahhhh...spoken like a true numismatist.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
<< <i> Which I do, because I am an idiot. >>
You're beyond hope!
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” Mark Twain
Newmismatist
siliconvalleycoins.com
<< <i>dump all of it on e-bay and spend the money on women and booze. >>
and piss the rest away.