The Most Important Thing I Have Learned About Collecting

You think you have a lot in common?

I collected (still collect) sports cards, I collect coins, I have recently started focusing on higher end stuff, I just finished my doctorate, AND my name is Richie!!!!!!

Freakin weird man . However, I guess I'm not so "young", I'm 36 (Had a LOT of fun in school )

 

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Currently I'm collecting to "fill holes" purely because I'm trying to identify where I'm at as a collector and what I really want to collect. I think I have an idea, but until I narrow it down, I'm fine with assembling sets. When I search through rolls, I do upgrade what's already in my folder so I'm not all bad lol

 

Yes, and. I have to say I'm something of a hybrid. For you Camaro fans, I used to drive a 1971 Cougar XR7 convertible with a 351 high performance engine (10:1 compression ratio) that would go 147 on flat ground (rrroOOOowwwww). Now I drive a hybrid. Interests change over time. Still drive a car.
I started out grabbing silver in 1965. Then moved to filling holes. Then moved to growing into new series that you could not find in circulation. Through it all, I have always enjoyed upgrading, improving and striving toward perfection as well as completion.
After that, my interests have been in cycles, both filling holes and upgrading. I like comparing my latest circulation find to my album and get excited when I move up 2 points of grading. I will occasionally sell or more often trade some of my circulation finds to upgrade something or add something to a set that I would never find in circulation. I have always loved a proof set with its exquisite mirror perfection.
Filling holes, along with circulation searching, has come in waves. First back in the mid 1960's as a pup, starting at age 8, then again in 1970, and again in 1979, most recently again since 2010. Its something I have returned to over time, and always seem to find pleasure in it. Throughout these periods I have also always enjoyed what I had but was never satisfied to just accept the quality I had, but I also cultivate it, slowly patiently growing it, and improving it.
So I'm a hybrid of what our OP had described. Both the hole filler, and the seeker of excellence. I love them both. Collecting is different things to different people and also is different things in different times to the individual. And that's what makes horse racing, driving cars, and coin collecting so interesting.

 

Quality never goes out of style

 

Hole filling vs. quality.

I think there is room for both. When I got back into the hobby a few years ago, I bought many of the Danco albums and started hole filling. That experience helped me decide which series to focus on for a higher quality collection. For example, I filled the 7070 book with some okay coins and enjoyed it so much that I am now doing a 7070 Registry Set all MS-63 and up on the NGC website (because you can enter both NGC and PCGS).

Who says you can't do both?

 

Excellent article. I too used to collect sports cards, (even racing) and liked Harrington as well.....However I`m a Lions fan so we won`t go there.

 

That is true...I think you make a good point. I guess the problem I personally ran into is I got fixated on filling holes recklessly. I would jump on the first example of a missing coin that I could afford. As a result, I ended up with a lot of problems coins...mostly harshly cleaned. IMHO, there is nothing wrong with filling holes...I still find joy in it. But, I have learned to actually look at the coin and decide if I actually like the coin...not that I just like the fact that another hole in the album is filled. Again, I'm not only talking about high grade coins either...this is true for any grade.

Thanks. Although I personally was never a Lions fan, I rooted for them from 2002-2005 when Harrington was on their squad. I always felt that he never got a fair chance because he never had a line (and as a result a running game). I think he could have been a decent QB with a little better surrounding cast. Detroit's GM filled the skill positions with talent...but when nobody blocks you can't move the football.

 

Wonderful post that I hope nearly everyone has read. Love the discussions in this too!

 

Collect the items you enjoy and enjoy the items you collect! For me its' coins, Reading Railroad items and moose

 

I don't see a problem with filling sets, buying coins one can afford at the time. I've done the same and have 15 completed sets. Now the fun part is upgrading, watching your sets improve by upgrading buying UNC coins as you can afford them and selling off your other coins. The collecting hobby never starts!

Another important step is learn your inventory, I purchased a 1894P fake Morgan and stepped back and studied the counterfeits, I soon realized I didn't know near as much as I thought I did.

 

I can see where everyone is coming from. I think the most important story to take home is as long as it fulfills your desires, it's all good.

For me, I know there are times where I must grab a low grade or damaged coin because I instinctly know that I cannot get a higher grade in the near future. I have been right most of the time and I haven't regretted that decision. Some have appreciated by a few fold and there are some that I haven't seen in the market for a long time. There's a few that I wished I bought but just couldn't afford it back then such as 1830s platinum 3 ruble - they were very afforable at 300 dollars in VF condition 10 years ago. Now look at the prices of them! Tenfold!

 

I agree. Everyone should collect in a way that gives them satisfaction. It's perfectly natural to go through the progression that the OP went through and I've done the same. At some point you've seen all the common stuff and develop a taste for finer things.

Depending on the coins one likes, one may eventually reach a point where it's worthwhile to look for quality and value over simple quantity. I still collect primarily for my personal enjoyment, but since the coins I like cost real money, I like to buy ones that I think are also good values. That said, it would also be prohibitively expensive to complete some of the sets I'm interested in, so hole-filling is not really something I think about.

 

One thing I've learned about collecting: pay your bills first.

 

My most important lesson was the realization that you can't have the item and what the item is "worth" at the same time. As long as you have the coin, it is worthless. It only gains "worth" if you are willing to part with it. Since I rarely if ever sell anything, I don't have to worry whether something might be a bit overpriced since as soon as I buy it, it becomes worthless. I ask myself what the value of the coin is to me, and really don't worry how much it might be worth to someone else. Based on what others think, I probably have overpaid for some coins, but I always get exactly the value I assign to them.

 

When I first saw the title the first thing I though of was patience. Being patient enough to wait for the right coin. I will admit I bought coins originally without a real final goal. Then got my albums and got my goals. Most of the albums are filled and a few replacements are needed - but no where near as much. Now I can patiently wait until I find the coin I want. Good write up.

 

I agree. I am just getting into this hobby and went to my first coin shows last month. I believe I was the youngest one there by far. Which does not bother me in one bit, but it did make me think of how to expand to the younger generation in order to preserve the hobby for generations to come.

 

Yay, U of O!


Go Ducks!