Finding My Religion
Obiwancanoli
Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭
As a prelude to my post, let me state that I consider myself (as would most of those on this forum) to be a relative newcomer to the hobby. My interest took a sharp turn northward about two years ago, and in the beginning, my interest was in both moderns, like the Presidential Dollars and 50-State quarters, and a long-time favorite of mine, Morgan Silver Dollars.
I began in earnest, learned early on from members of this board, read, surfed the net, saved sites to my Favorites, and found that most of my time was spent researching, with some buying sprinkled along the way. I can only hope my purchases to date were sound, the coins worthy of my interest, and that the prices I've paid were fair for the grade, or fair for my ESTIMATION of the grade, based on that indomitable learning curve. If I've made any mistakes, I haven't learned it the hard way... yet. And perhaps, that's to come.
Still, in my interest to build a Morgan set - and that interest continues as I write - I also find myself very attracted to nearly every coin I come across, particularly as I surf Ebay. Very often, I'll find myself searching for 2-cent coins, 3-cent, and so on... I'm all over the map, as it were, and each one captures a piece of my interest. I've looked in almost every category of coin that Ebay lists, for instance, and find myself stuck there for, it seems, hours on end, just looking.
I've occasionally bid on coins I have no companions for, and find myself searching several hundred auctions for that one, beautiful looking coin - whatever its denomination - that I would be proud to own. For instance, I've bid many FEC's I thought were superb examples of the coin, but never won an auction, mostly because I just couldn 't go that high, feeling the grade (a subjective assessment, to be sure) for a raw coin did not justify the bid. In some cases, the bid went much higher... in others, barely more than I bid myself.
Frankly, I really enjoy them all. Go figure. So I bought the Red book on Type Coins, and just started reading that. Interesting stuff, and it seems to feed my hunger for collecting a Type Set, in addition to completing the Morgans I began with. I also realized, before I even cracked the spine, that this one's gonna be fun, but tough. Tough because I like (sic, PREFER) higher grade coins, not simply having one of a particular type, despite its potentially deplorable condition. I'm still having a hard time interpreting the pricing format, coupling that with the sometimes confusing Type notations and entries in the U.S. Coins Red Book. Eventually, I'll get the hang of it, but it would seem my interest is now leaning toward BUILDING a Type set. As I read this to myself, a thought occurs... this would be really NEAT! (I'm a few years past the popular use of THIS term, but can't help myself!)
I suppose I'm not really asking for help, or advise, though I welcome it with open arms. I think I was simply needing to get my thoughts down in writing, to perhaps solidify - or validate - my latest temptation. I hardly know where to start, though aside form those mentioned above, I did acquire a nice Shield Nickel a while back. It would seem the right thing to do is to buy a Type Coin folder or something like that, and work on filling it up. But since there are sooo many ways to build a Type Set, perhaps someone has an idea or suggestion that would help me visualize the process, or suggest a generic format to start with?
I began in earnest, learned early on from members of this board, read, surfed the net, saved sites to my Favorites, and found that most of my time was spent researching, with some buying sprinkled along the way. I can only hope my purchases to date were sound, the coins worthy of my interest, and that the prices I've paid were fair for the grade, or fair for my ESTIMATION of the grade, based on that indomitable learning curve. If I've made any mistakes, I haven't learned it the hard way... yet. And perhaps, that's to come.
Still, in my interest to build a Morgan set - and that interest continues as I write - I also find myself very attracted to nearly every coin I come across, particularly as I surf Ebay. Very often, I'll find myself searching for 2-cent coins, 3-cent, and so on... I'm all over the map, as it were, and each one captures a piece of my interest. I've looked in almost every category of coin that Ebay lists, for instance, and find myself stuck there for, it seems, hours on end, just looking.
I've occasionally bid on coins I have no companions for, and find myself searching several hundred auctions for that one, beautiful looking coin - whatever its denomination - that I would be proud to own. For instance, I've bid many FEC's I thought were superb examples of the coin, but never won an auction, mostly because I just couldn 't go that high, feeling the grade (a subjective assessment, to be sure) for a raw coin did not justify the bid. In some cases, the bid went much higher... in others, barely more than I bid myself.
Frankly, I really enjoy them all. Go figure. So I bought the Red book on Type Coins, and just started reading that. Interesting stuff, and it seems to feed my hunger for collecting a Type Set, in addition to completing the Morgans I began with. I also realized, before I even cracked the spine, that this one's gonna be fun, but tough. Tough because I like (sic, PREFER) higher grade coins, not simply having one of a particular type, despite its potentially deplorable condition. I'm still having a hard time interpreting the pricing format, coupling that with the sometimes confusing Type notations and entries in the U.S. Coins Red Book. Eventually, I'll get the hang of it, but it would seem my interest is now leaning toward BUILDING a Type set. As I read this to myself, a thought occurs... this would be really NEAT! (I'm a few years past the popular use of THIS term, but can't help myself!)
I suppose I'm not really asking for help, or advise, though I welcome it with open arms. I think I was simply needing to get my thoughts down in writing, to perhaps solidify - or validate - my latest temptation. I hardly know where to start, though aside form those mentioned above, I did acquire a nice Shield Nickel a while back. It would seem the right thing to do is to buy a Type Coin folder or something like that, and work on filling it up. But since there are sooo many ways to build a Type Set, perhaps someone has an idea or suggestion that would help me visualize the process, or suggest a generic format to start with?
UBERCOINER
A Truth That's Told With Bad Intent
Beats All The Lies You Can Invent
A Truth That's Told With Bad Intent
Beats All The Lies You Can Invent
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Comments
My love has always been early Lincolns and Peace dollars. I have two respectable registry sets. But I just lust for SLQ's and WLH's. So I added a few key dates in those series. MS IHC's and AU CBH's are secondary sets I'm working on but it will be years before they're complete and I'm satisfied.
So my advice is to figure out where you're going before you choose your path. Stray if you must be remember how Theseus found his way out of the Minotaur's maze...a spool of thread to back-track.
Lance.
If you have an interest in type coins, get a 7070 and go that route. Don't get caught up in building sets. You'll never finish, lose interest and eventually lose money.
If you are into Morgans, check out VAMWorld. It will open a whole new world to you.
Two years in, isn't much time. Eventually your collection may find a direction, it may not. The Dansco 7070 can be a good way to go, and will cost less money than a full date/mintmark set of Morgan dollars to complete.
If your attention span is too short for such long term goals, perhaps focus on completing a short set (such as all the CC Morgans, or a year set of Morgans), or year sets (one coin of each denomination for one year).
When I was done I looked at that thing for about 6 months before deciding on what i wanted to collect.
I went with the Morgan series.. I was on my way to getting a whole set of PCGS 64 to 65's when I bought
a few PL Morgans off the BST.. Derailed my whole Morgan set.. I don't even look at MS Morgans any longer..
I guess the good side to that is I buy less in quantity...
Buy a few cheap examples of each series and see what sticks in your mind as interesting.. If you continue to collect
just for the sake of collecting you will end up with a hoard of cheap common date coinage. At least that has been my
experience...
Added an MS wheatie today and hope to have a Memorial in tomorrow's mail as well.
I pick up circulated type coins whenever it suits me and keep them in 2 x 2s in a small Harris Coin Album.
I do the same with ancients.
Currently I'm resisting the urge to start a Morgan Year set.
We'll see if I can stay the course.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
<< <i>When I first started I bought a 20th Century coin album. >>
That was the first album I completed (part of a Boy Scout merit badge requirement). It's been more than 30 years but I still have that competed album.
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
He was mostly right,
I bought an album and filled it up as fast as my budget would allow. The I spent the next year and a half upgrading
and focusing on "original" surfaces. It's still a bit of a work in progress. I also went a little a.d.d. filling morgans in an album, BU washington quarters
and silver eagles... then I spent a long time buying whatever caught my eye. Now I'm at a loss for just what to focus on, but I fell in love with the SLQ design
and a few other eye appealing type set pieces. I don't focus much on the date (or grade) so much but coin has got to look original and unmessed with to have a chance
at staying in my long term collection.
For me, there is just way too much interesting history, eye catching design and beautiful toning to stay really focused on any one series.
I've given up on trying to nail down a specific direcetion for my collecting interest for the time being.
Enjoy what you collect.
You will lose money on some items, lose interest in others and lose your mind in the process if it keeps you up every night worrying.
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
<< <i>You have my blessing. Type Set collecting is really educational and ever morphing. Be not afraid. >>
Ditto
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.
Infinite Diversity.
From your responses, I've concluded that collecting what I like, without a set pattern, would fit me best. I'm clueless on what a 7070 is (wouldn't know it if it was here in front of me), but a short search in these hallowed halls will answer that, so save your typing, I'll figure that one out.
I'm going to continue filling in my Morgans, as well as drift on occasion to whatever turns my head. That 20th Century idea for under $100 is encouraging, though of course, I know I could spend more (or less). Still, a Type set seems an incredible way of accumulating 200+ years of coinage, and having it grow the rich history that exists within seems a worthy effort.
Thanks, everyone, for your input and advice. And, your valuable perspectives.
A Truth That's Told With Bad Intent
Beats All The Lies You Can Invent