What Are Your Coin & Coin Collecting Pet Peeves?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by iPen, Jun 30, 2016.

  1. iPen

    iPen Well-Known Member

    The more I collect coins, the more I notice things about certain aspects of coins that irk me. The earliest pet peeve I had are problem coins (e.g. scratches, cleaned, polished, etc.).

    After collecting for a while, more and more but not all modern coins lacked that je nai sais quoi about them compared to classic and ancient coins. I think it's a combination of design, strike, amount of negative space or low devices-to-fields ratio, lack of concavity, and probably some other features. But even when boiling it down to a fixed set of qualities, the same design minted as a restrike today seems to lack that aura about them compared to its original classic counterpart, at least to me.

    And now, reflecting on my purchasing habits, I've definitely noticed a pet peeve for countries that mint coins with themes that have nothing to do with their country. One example is the countless number of Liberian coins that commemorate histories and events of other nations. Instead of finding coins that show the qualities and histories of a given nation, collectors are inundated with thematic irrelevance to that country. Some events affect every person and country, but some of those themes are a stretch to associate (e.g. moon landing by non-US, non-US territory minted world coins), while others appear to be in the relative minority of exceptions that should be kept relevant to the country in question (e.g. Food For All; International Year of ______; Endangered Species). Again, this last point is my personal pet peeve, and not a general claim for what's wrong with coins in general.

    There are definitely some other pet peeves that have to do with coin purchases, but I've mentioned the major ones I have when it comes to the coins themselves.

    What are some of your pet peeves with coins and coin collecting?
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2016
    NSP and Seattlite86 like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. I have all sorts of minor pet peeves, but my major one is with some other collectors. The need to discredit, criticize, bully, etc. other collectors for what they collect and/or what they spend on their collection.

    I was reading on a forum once where a well known collector of high MS coins called people who collect circulated coins the "unwashed masses". If you know what I collect, it was a kick in the pants.

    I see on forums all the time about what people spend on toned coins. They call them idiots, fools and other insults to prove their point.

    Another issue is with people that prefer one grading service over another. Collectors from one side call the other brainwashed fanboys, elitists, etc.

    It's all so childish and immature. There are so many threads across the many forums that I would just love to tell people to grow up. It would do no good though.
     
    pneely79, John77, Hommer and 7 others like this.
  4. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    1. not having enough money to buy coins.
    2. coins shows in Vegas have very limited NEW world coins to offer for sale.
    3. fingerprints on a coin. ugh!
    4. finally finding out what you want to specialize in 20 years later. I understand this takes time. I wish I had coin goals back then. hindsight ugh!
    5. patience in waiting for the right coin to come on the market as well as having enough money to get that coin when it finally does come on the market. ugh!

    thank God this is a life long hobby that I love. :cat:
     
    John77, stoster38, mac266 and 3 others like this.
  5. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    A slight peeve of mine can often be found on this site: many of the biggest pontificators around here, as far as I can see, have never posted a coin. Makes one wonder.
     
    Hommer, Kentucky and joecoincollect like this.
  6. Omegaraptor

    Omegaraptor Gobrecht/Longacre Enthusiast

    1. Not having enough money to buy coins
    2. Not owning any gold (though I will soon!)
    3. How underrated Seated coins are.
    4. How underrated Liberty Gold Coins are.
    5. How overrated 20th C key dates are.
    6. Not knowing exactly what coin set you want to make
    8. No one collects half dimes. I zig when everyone else zags, so I get scarce coins at low prices, which is kinda cool.
    9. MS70 silver eagles selling at prices higher than they should sell
    10. High grade modern coins selling for exorbitant prices
    11. The designs of most coins made in the past 20 years. Absolutely no beauty whatsoever. Just bring back Lady Liberty and make coin designs great again.
    12. Coin rolls from the bank that are skunkier than the family of skunks that lives across the street from my house (Yes, there's a family of skunks on my street)
    13. Not being able to cherrypick anything good
    14. Not having the Cherrypicker's Guide
    15. Not having the 2017 Mega Red Book
    16. EXTREMELY high prices for rainbow toned coins (People overpaying for color...)
    17. Skipping #7

    Oh yeah, and here's number 7:

    7. The Stack's W 57th St Collection (90% of coins are overgraded, ugly, and should have never made it into problem free slabs, XF45s are VF35 at best). Good thing I buy the coin, not the label...
     
  7. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    Biggest collector pet peeve Log Potato nailed with others trying to tell people what and how they should collect.

    Biggest dealer pet peeve would be an unknown dealer pitching that a coin used to be be in such and such a slab or is an easy upgrade for sure.
     
    Santinidollar likes this.
  8. Seattlite86

    Seattlite86 Outspoken Member

    Off the top of my head...

    1. When someone shows a coin for sale and they're holding the coin in their bare hand or by the obverse/reverse

    2. When someone drags/slides a coin across the table to pick it up

    3. People who insult new or upcoming collectors who post what we know to be dumb questions and risk chasing them away from numismatics

    4. When my wife goes to the store and forgets to check the coin star bin for me :p

    5. When someone fakes an error coin and sells it on eBay (and worse when I stupidly purchase it, haha)

    6. When the cashier gives me a dollar back instead of the 98 cents that I actually wanted

    7. Asking a dealer for any XF+ coins for my Type Set and instead being handed a tray full of problem coins (mostly cleaned) claiming to be XF+
     
  9. Browns Fan

    Browns Fan Active Member

    1. Trying to pin down the value of a coin. Too many sources with too much variance.
    2. Too many cheaters......too many "details" slabs.
     
    Seattlite86 likes this.
  10. Dave M

    Dave M Francophiliac

    The phrase "world coins"
     
    micbraun and chrisild like this.
  11. joecoincollect

    joecoincollect Well-Known Member

    Would you prefer foreign coins? I always thought that was incorrect though
     
  12. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, was the play enjoyable?
     
    mac266, dwhiz, spirityoda and 2 others like this.
  13. joecoincollect

    joecoincollect Well-Known Member

    1. Not as many grades and prices for world coins in comparison to US coins. Maybe they don't grade the same way in other countries but it's still annoying.
    2. Having a little money but not wanting to spend it all on one or a few coins
    3. Getting what you thought was a problem free coin but later discovering it wasn't.
    4. Getting that dumb stare back when sharing coins with someone, or having them not even pay attention (worse).
    5. Not having my five year old son show the slightest interest in coins!
    6. People with big egos who should show some modesty
     
    spirityoda likes this.
  14. Dave M

    Dave M Francophiliac

    Yeah, "foreign coins" doesn't solve the problem. Especially on the internet with a world-wide forum, the concept of "foreign" is of course different for a lot of us, and if you use the term, my anal side is tempted to ask you "what country are you from" to make a point.

    If someone collects coins from the entire world, I say great use the term "world coins" for that. If someone collects coins from all countries except one, it seems a bit odd to me, but I suppose I'd say "non-<country name here> coins" if I had to describe such a collection.

    Of course nobody's going to change the term "world coins", it's been around forever.
     
    joecoincollect likes this.
  15. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    so you would say "Non U.S.A. coins" ???....this means "World Coins".
     
    Seattlite86 likes this.
  16. Dave M

    Dave M Francophiliac

    Funny, all the non-USA collectors don't think so. A french collector will call "non-France coins" -> "world coins".
     
  17. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    I still don't understand why this is a pet peeve for you ?
     
  18. Dave M

    Dave M Francophiliac

    It's a pet peeve because to me it's a meaningless term unless you also tell me what country you live in.

    Don't worry, I don't stay up late worrying about it, I just posted it on this thread. :)
     
    Seattlite86, spirityoda and SuperDave like this.
  19. joecoincollect

    joecoincollect Well-Known Member

    I see what you mean. I prefer world over US coins, so maybe nonUS might work. But then again I sometimes prefer it all. Maybe you could say you collect world coins, meaning you wouldn't mind having coins from any country for the right price, but in fact you may not have coins from several countries or even actively seek them. The term has kind of taken on its own meaning - in the US it means you focus on coins from around the world instead of just collecting US coins or at all. It does get confusing though! I ran into people who just collect a handful of countries and still use the term. You got me thinking more about it now!
     
    spirityoda and Dave M like this.
  20. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    this makes sense to me now. I live in St. George, Utah, U.S.A. and I collect Belgium, German States/Baden, Canada, Italy and a few other countries. my friend named Jennifer who collects "world coins" in the sense that she is going for every country or as many different countries as she can get.
     
    joecoincollect and Dave M like this.
  21. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    one big happy family, right? I get that some people balk at what you collect (what the hell do you mean you actively seek out zinc-rotted pennies?), but to each their own. no need to be mean about it and throw insults. I have a massive aluminum can collection. Bite me :D
     
    John77 and spirityoda like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page