I noticed I've slowly accumulated quite a few rather common items that I'm finding it difficult to part with. It started when I was CRH halves and the teller produced about a dozen NIFC blue & white rolls of 2001+ kennedy halves. I thought they were really cool, so I picked up more on ebay at face value + shipping. I also picked up numerous brown & blue IKEs and 40% bicentennials sets. Finally.... I thought it was a good idea to own one of each year proof set from the early 60s forward. Now have a big 'ole rubbermaid container filled with this stuff. I've only pulled it out once to look at, but I'm finding it hard to part with. None of it is particularly valuable, and it all could be easily replaced. None of it is even remotely rare, but I'm having a tough time parting with it. On the other hand, I know if I did sell it all, I could buy a nice AU/MS Trade Dollar or something else I'd appreciate much more. I don't want to take it all to the LCS and realize a big loss, but this stuff is just tying up space and money. After my common coin set purchasing sugar rush finally wore off 2 years ago, I moved on to slowly working on a nice Dansco 7070 type set collection (which brings me way more enjoyment.) The only other common coin sets I still enjoy are my proof state quarter. How did this happen? Why did I get so addicted to low-value super common coin sets? Maybe I'm slowly maturing as a collector and/or my tastes are changing. Thoughts?
I am or was in the same predicament until i found a really cool looking old piggy bank at a second hand shop in a small town in Idaho a few years ago. Now i collect old (unique looking) piggy banks. I then fill them up with all my spare change after searching through them. I only buy ones that do not have holes on the bottom that way I would have to break it to get to the coins. Now all my (junk, that i do not want to give up) is always near. I have filled about 20 so far and have another 10 or more in the works.
I collect anything I like. There really is no order to my collection. I bought an old bronze JFK bust bank. I am filling that up with mostly junk silver or low grade junk silver. I did however put in an UNC 69 Kennedy S and 64 a peace dollar, and a common Morgan. I thought it would be fun to give to my daughter when she's older. Here is the bank.
Awesome, I love those kind with the spikes on the bottom I have a few of those as well. I was told that they were given out to kids back in the early to mid 1900's by banks. They kept the key, so when a kid would fill it up they would bring it into the bank and the bank would open it, take the money out and put it in their savings account. Not sure if that is true , but makes for a great story. Looks like yours came from Edwardsville National Bank.
Your tastes will change drastically as you mature, at least that is what happened to me. I started out doing Lincoln cents and mint and proof sets. I had almost every mint and proof set from the early seventies on to at the time about 2005. then my tastes changed, I kept the complete book of Lincolns and branched out into some other sets and got rid of sets. The only two I kept were the ones from my children's birth years, everything else was liquidated to make room for more coins that I was interested in. Sure there was some immediate remorse and regret, but that was born out of getting rid of the items, not that I was truly interested in them. You can keep it and it won't really harm you unless you start hoarding out of control maybe or you can get rid of it and it really won't harm you...the choice ultimately is how do you want to shape your collection.
Desertgoon, You and I are in the same boat. Started out with coins, but moved on to paper money. Last year I realized I was just hoarding with no real goal in mind. I believe that with increasing knowledge of coins and currency comes a maturity about what we collect. I'm in the process of dumping my low grade notes and concentrating on building a high grade collection in one area. It's hard to get rid of some of the notes because they were my first love so to speak. It's what started me collecting notes. Good Luck and enjoy collecting whatever area you decide upon.
While I'm not a minimalist, I like to keep my number of possessions manageable. I'm not sure why my coins make me feel differently. I guess I can live with getting rid of most of it, but I'd be upset if I took a big loss. It's a false feeling that until an item is sold for, it's not a loss. Think of it like a stock that's worth 50% of what you paid for it. The instant you sell it, you've realized the loss. The value of the whole lot isn't huge, so I guess I could label any loss as a "stupid tax" and drive on. I didn't buy it with hopes of asset appreciation, but I don't have any intrinsic appreciation of the sets either. I think the the only mass-produced items I'll keep are the proof state quarters. I'm feeling better about liquidating the sets. Thanks for your input!
Timewarp. Well said! I've been through this before. I sold MS sets of Franklin halves and Washington quarters (minus the 32d&s) in 1996 before I joined the Army. I've regretted it ever since. These items are a little different. They rekindled my love for numismatics, but don't have the same monetary value or rarity. I have changed my tastes and if anything, the purchasing and selling keep me better connected to the hobby. Thank you.
