Not trying to get into any verboten topic or anything political. I don't have either the time or energy for that. I mention the tariffs only because they've badly affected collectors of ancient coins, and it forced me to make a choice. For those non-collectors of ancient coins, I'll give a quick summary of the past few months. The past few months have been a ping-pong of shipping avenues being opened and closed, many instances of being forced into using private carriers like FedEx, DHL, etc., and although ancients are exempt, many would still be hit by tariffs. I've never paid a tariff, but it's caused me not to order many coins from Europe. Not only is Fedex/DHL about 1.5 or 2 times more expensive than the post, it's also more personally stressful. The situation had kind of recovered and things were getting back to normal. The latest changes set off another cascade. Places like the French post are now not sending numismatic packages, etc. To add to the misery, the insidious MOU's (which are meant to cover things like statues and works of art), more avenues of collecting ancients, which haven't been greatly disturbed for centuries, other than war, are becoming a hassle. I don't really collect Greek coins, but what's next? A recent conflict has probably cut off ordering from places like Dubai, but that's probably more temporary. The point: I think I will take it easier for a while. My interest in coins is still intact but perhaps I'll just be a bit more passive in my collecting, and not buy as much. It also didn't help that a recent order through the post has probably disappeared (through no fault of the seller). I'm still intellectually interested in numismatics, but lately I haven't had the time to do much more than like a coin post. A hobby should take away from one's stress, not add to it. This certainly isn't a farewell but I think I will be less proactive about adding coins, at least for now. The interest is still there. Again, this is not political. That's against the rules and I really can't handle the stress of that. I mention any of the above only because it pretty much forced me to make some changes. And after a certain span of collecting, when is enough enough? I also have some other hobbies, any one of which could easily eat up most of my free time.
Well, there is a tradition of shifting one's coin interest more into study instead of buying and selling. But that's really a different hobby entirely, IMHO, even though there's plenty for students and collectors to talk about.
As a German States collector, I've not ordered from ma-shops or any European sellers in over a year. I sourced a lot of my raw material from there. Recently, I've began revisiting my love for the small silver minor coins of Latin America, which are much more available here in the U.S. I do plan on returning to a more German focus once the tariff situation calms down. Right now, the enforcement is too inconsistent for me to be able buy. I don't want to get hit with a charge I'm not expecting.
Hopefully things turn around and you can get back into doing what makes you less stressed out; this is supposed to be fun and enjoyable, not inducing excess distress.
Yes, there's always the band hobby and some other long-time hobbies. It's still perfectly enjoyable to read coin posts. I just don't think I'll be hitting the 'buy' button as much, at least not in the short term.
The tariffs and silver prices have put a damper on the hobby. One thing I collect is coins with bears and coins with dinosaurs. New ones come out every year and often have low mintages. If you don't get them right away they get hard to find and expensive, but I haven't been able to buy them in the past year. I probably will never get some of them now.
I've temporarily shifted my focus from my World collection (for which I used to shop a lot on MA-Shops in Europe) and for the time being I am focusing on my US coins.
I am looking at a nice coin in Canada. But due to tariffs, I can't purchase it. Yes it is over 800... -edited by moderator.
I used to buy coins from England on occasion when I could not find them in the U.S. Despite the fact that the coins were well over 100 years old, I always got hit with “ankle biting charges” of like an extra $50 or so. Since the tariff situation started, I have not ordered anything. The same is true for me for MA Shops.
I was putting together a set of Canadian silver dollars right before the silvers runup last year, for a little while I was finding better prices north of the border. Not anymore when you figure in the customs fees.
Well I'll just wait for that particular coin to show up in the states. Or move to Canada for a month.
It is kind of making it more difficult to buy modern foreign coins, which unsurprisingly are being mostly sold by people in the countries where they're minted. eBay sellers basically have three choices: 1. Figure out the tariff and just add it to the shipping fees 2. Just send it and let me pay it at the post office 3. Just not sell to US buyers So... mostly I'm just not buying those until the situation resolves. The Royal Mint, which still sends me email even though I haven't bought from them directly for years, will sort of send to the US... but it requires direct human intervention (meaning I have to actually call them, hope to not be put on hold on an international call while waiting for a human being to pick up the phone, and place an order) because apparently calculating and charging an applicable tariff is beyond what they're either willing or able to program into the website. So... waiting for a while and just buying from 3rd party sellers.
The Royal Mint is a mess. I tried unsuccessfully to purchase a 2026 sixpence for my daughter to have in her wedding. I've bought from the RM many times before and never had issues. Now after several emails back and forth I gave up and am going to get her a 400+ year old example so she has something old and a sixpence in the same shot.
Unfortunately, a couple of the sellers I've dealt with have chosen this option. Alternatively, what used to be $10-$15 shipping is now $50+!
