I struggle to find focus or loyalty to a particular series. I stopped buying numismatic coins some time ago as I was just buying with no direction. I need that direction. My question is when did you find your focus and how did your hobby change for the better or worse?
Everyone is different, but I am a big collector of the proof, burnished, and reverse proof silver eagles. Love the design. It naturally led to me collecting Walking Liberty halves.
I mainly collect classic US coins, if I did every kind of coin to ancient, to world coins I would be completely lost and overwhelmed. Plus some nice "freebies" by metal detecting are pretty nice. My favorite metal detecting coin (probably worth more than any coin I bought):
good question. it happened for me 2-3 years into buying all kinds of coins. then 3 years later I was like I need focus. I mainly buy world coins. So I asked myself...what am I really interested in that not many people are into ? that answer was..."coins with insects", "coins with certain stars", "coins with hands", "coins with small coins as the design itself", toned coins, and a huge MISC. section. and some U.S. coins (mainly mercury dimes and Washington quarters). I want to start a U.S. gold type set. my main interest is in "Coins with insects". If I were you I would do a U.S. type set and constantly upgrade to the best coins you can afford. having focus makes it much easier to concentrate on coins you are looking for/hunting for. but keep an open mind on buying a coin just because you wanted it. that's the beauty of coin collecting buying what you like/love. P.S. 1 last thing I want to add....the longer I collect coins I am finding out that I like thee older coins more and more 1700's,1800's
I found a seated liberty half dime and it seemed like it was "calling " to me.I don't believe in superstition/religion or things that go bump in the night but this is my "pocket piece" forever. My luck seemed to change after getting it /next piece was a 1736- 1/2 real(e) in great shape and a great 1889 Morgan great too.Find a series YOU like and don't follow the herd. Collect it as long as you have a passion for the series.I am going to continue the seated series till I tire of it and then move on.....
personally if you want to start with a direction try getting a album any one nothing fancy and build a set,... something easy then get a general listers book , you can fin one at littleton coin company or most coin shops and mark off what you have an what you need to add to your set..
Classic and modern Commem's is my focus. The classics always fascinated me as a young lad. Just lacked the money back in the day. Today, as an 'older' person, I find the ability to purchase a few..........all things come to he who waits.
to meThe transition of imagery any old commemoratives is dynamically different then the new commemoritIves ,they ultimately kind of carried that vintage topic. The new commemoratives don't have the same imagery in style with the older ones. a lot of embellishment on the new ones. And the older ones explore the flourishing of our nation where are the new commemoratives but
I do like trade dollars. This one intrigues me at the moment. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=111583194723
i have no focus, i like most all coins and currency, mostly 20 an 21st century, i roll search for errors, varieties an silver, i buy what i like, have about 30 coin folders with about ten complete, have a few dansco albums working on, few slab boxes of slabbed modern world silver coinage, i hoard wheat cents an pre 1960 nickels, have about a dozen ancients, plus i stack silver rounds an bars, also collect US proof an unc. sets, im just all over the place an having fun at it... oh and Exonumia!
My focus is still evolving. I'm into large silver dollars. I'm putting together a graded 7070 set, adding some foreign coins here and there, adding some Conder Tokens here and there, getting familiar with CBH series. One thing I do know, I don't much care for Clad Moderns.
I started with lincolns, moved to anything historical in US coins that I found interesting, now I'm basically doing a pseudo type set. I seem to be slowly focusing on coppers as that interest I cant quite shake. Having said that, I still am collecting pretty generally but am slowly becoming more focused as I go along. I started out focusing on low grade things, but now have taken a liking to proof sets. I'm all over the place, but my interests are coming into focus as I go along. There really wont be a set time when you decide to focus. Coin collecting is dynamic and you really should "focus" on what intrigues you. If you like it, it's worth it to collect. For what its worth, there also isnt anything wrong with being an accumulator vs a collector as long as it isnt impeding your finances in a negative manner and you have the space for it
For me it was when I picked up an 1834 capped bust quarter in VG at an LCS, and then about a month later picked up another 1834 in VF20. I had intended to upgrade the VG, but when I went to compare them I realized there were significant differences between the two coins. That's what got me into discovering the Browning varieties, and when I picked up my first VF35 that's when I realized I had found the series I wanted to specialize in.
Back in the day, nice bust half dollars were available for basically nothing. Even the 1815 (the "star" of the series) was well under a 100 bucks. Although a lot of money for a high school student they (unlike the large cents that I had been putting together) were doable. Then in 1970 the second edition of Al Overton's book on die marriages was released. I was promptly and completely hooked. Then.... The first time someone told me that there were just too many die marriages for the 1827 half to bother with trying to attribute them I knew that I had my goal. There are still several advanced bust half collectors who say that. Meanwhile, I have all but the 3 major rarities for the year--coins that unless I were to cherry them would cost 5 to 6 figures even in good.
2 a.m. In the morning I hear rustling coming from my steamer trunk saying the precious.. I wants the precious I want the precious pressure I see myself holding my steamer trunk ever so gently caressing them my precious holding my 1909 s vdb for the last time
