Have you ever had thoughts of giving it all up?

I have many times. But then I just take a look at another Lincoln or Ancient, and that gets me motivated again. If every coin was the same, I would have stopped collecting a long time ago. But coins are not all the same (especially ancients). I could do a set of nothing but coins depicting Gorgon, or Nerva, and not get tired, as they are all different, in more ways than one.

Phoenix

 

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Never really thought of giving it up. I don't see the point. Like all my hobbies, I take the occasional break, which is needed from time to time to renew interest. But, it's relaxing, and relaxation is a valuable commodity these days. Completing sets isn't a factor, as I don't collect to complete anything.
Guy~

 

I could well stop buying coins at some point, but I´ll always study them, even if that study leans heavily toward historical context.

 

I feel the same way, but I would find it hard to stop searching rolls. That being said, I did take a break from collecting for around five months in 2008.

 

There was a time that my interest waned and I stopped actively collecting for a while, but I kept everything I had collectred up to that point. Never considered giving up though there are stretches where my cashflow necessitates slowing down new acquisitions. Lately have been pretty active in collected foreign paper money... can get an amazing variety pretty cheaply so it's the perfect avenue right now.

 

Are we talking about collecting fatigue or the end

I have gone missing from the collecting arena many times in my life; sometimes I just get tired of it ... the same faces, same grading points, etc.; sometimes I get frustrated about paying $$$; so I just find myself less interested ... but then it starts back. As I have aged, i find myself exploring more things -- I defected from large cents to Spanish silver ... I finally got a Pillar Dollar (way cool!) ... always wanted to hold one ... last year I impulsed bought an English silver penny (Edward III) after reading a book on the middle-ages ... and you what, I have really enjoyed that coin: looked at it, passed it around the room, read more about the penny as a denomination and how it shrunk, then became copper ... and so on. Oh well, I guess you can see my point ... new stuff, enjoyable stuff, not just dates, mintmarks, full horns or bell lines ... all this is good too, but the break has been refreshing. Last week I bought a horse and plow NJ ... can't wait to attribute it and learn about it (I don't need them all ... just a few to make the books more interesting) ... :eat:

 

I've thought about it then come to my senses. I love collecting. It's in my blood and as it turns out I am the only member of my immediate family with this gene.

I suppose I could have "invested" my money but didn't. I could certainly be blowing money on worse things.

I have often thought of (and still do) about just dumping a ton of "junk" as it were and cnncentrating on better "junk". I certainly have enough and it makes perfect sense. Only two things hold me back. It's work and it requires a lot of organization that has been neglected for WAY too long.

Paper money only made it worse RickieB! When I started paper it was sheerly as a seller. I was finding stuff in circulation at work and peddling it off fast. Figured I could make money and buy BETTER coins. I had no real interest in it.
The more I got into it, the more I learned and the more I got hit with the collecting bug.

Now I work in a coin shop and have started picking up (GASP!) World Coins.

Now eventually I do plan on selling it all. Assuming I make my "golden years" I will sell it off to others that will enjoy it like I have. If something happens to me it will all go to my wife.
I'll leave her with enough contacts to sell it off at maximum value.

She has NEVER complained about my hobby. I have NEVER hidden a purchase from her.

Eventually I wll sell it all - at least I hope and hope it really does end up in hands of serious collectors instead of investors.

 

I see this question as somewhat of a farming analogy.

See coin collecting as plot of land. A crop on this plot of land, if planted and planted in the same place, every year, will deprive the land of proper nutrients to help the crop more efficiently.

By rotating this crop, or letting the plot of land regroup from hard work, there will be a time where that crop will be planted at that same plot of land.

There is no problem in taking a break. I took a long break, focused on metal detecting and other hobbies, came back into the coin collecting hobby and I know I'll take another break soon.

Greg

 

Not yet - it is not that I think about giving it up, but I might pause for a while. Usually until my next visit to the coin store.

I am single so my family does not come into play. I "gets" to spend whatever I "gots". I do feel if necessary, worse came to worse, I could start selling the coins off. I do not at them as savings - but desparate fall back measures.

I seem to be always looking but not always buying.

 

I've collected coins over forty years. Nothing special, just circulated stuff from Lincolns, Jeffersons, mercs, Roosevelts and Washingtons, Kennedy halves. No old stuff. Just the moderns. Yeah, I've got pre-1900 silver people have given me but don't activily seek. Never bought a coin. My whole collection fits in one drawer. Well, maybe a drawer and a half.
The only hobby I ever walked away from was because I wondered what to do with it all. Finally quit because I got to wondering what to do if my grandkids wouldn't want it.....and space for it. Do you know how much space it takes to store 275,000 different baseball cards from 1953 to 2003? I've been to hundreds of sportscard shops and only seen one that had as big and varied inventory that I have. It takes a lot and got to wondering, "Am I just making work for my heirs to dispose of?" So I quit.
For me, coin collecting is much more manageable....
BTW, this is my first post here...

 

For me, the thrill has always been the journey rather than the destination. I spent 10 years doing a full frame-off restoration of a 1957 Chevy Convertable - then I sold it. I love going on cruises to somewhere - but I hate getting off the boat once we arrive. I spent 4 years restoring a Military M-37 Truck and an AN/GRC-46 Radioteletype set - and it's been sitting the back yard for 2 years now. I fully restored a 1966 VW Beetle over a 3 year period and I've only driven it six times in the last year.

As far as coins - I made an effort to complete a full set of Lincoln Cents. I completed it missing only the 1909S-VDB, and I rarely look at it any more. I'm currently mid-way through assembling a type set and I know that when I've gone as far as I can with it I'll put it aside and move on to something else - whether or not it will be coin related, who knows?

 

I've had a few thoughts about quitting every once and a while. Sometimes it gets to be a burden when I look at all I've accumulated and know that I want to get more and then I won't have the set completed the way I want to, etc. But I just sit back an take a break for a few days and when I come back everything is okay again and I don't feel a weight.

 

Welcome to the Forum! Have Fun Here! In the Generaldiscussion section, there was a thread about a very rare - first ever known baseball card i think....you should check it out...

 

Will I give it up??...I doubt it.
Will I ever sell my collection??...most likely.

As I get older I find myself watching more of the type of coin buys that I'm making. I'm trying to not only get the coins that I need for my set, and coins that "ring my bell", but also top of the line coins...that hopefully will keep some value.

Speedy

 

I have found everyones answers to be interesting to say the least!
I must also express that I have gone through similar feelings about my collections over the years! When I was first learning about coins my Mentor's always said only buy "Top Quality Coins"...easier said then done by a longshot! Depending on one's budget week to week, month to month and year to year a collecion can either flourish or it can stagnate.

What I have found out and why I have Quoted Speedy here, is that when I was putting together the ASE, AGE and 1/10th oz APE coins I maintained the same concept that was instilled in me all those years ago! My Mentors were right and I can only say that I think Spencer is right as well, it is a matter of opinion that makes each persons collection special, rewarding and the sense of accomplishment for it's completion. I did not lose $$$ as the Market value of the Metals have ascended over the last year or so, from the purchase price I paid all those years earlier.
I truly appreciate reading about each of your personal dedications to what ever it is that motivates you to do what you do! I admire that greatly!

AT this point in my life after eliminating 85% of the American Eagle Collection (in which I had all the AGE in every demonination except for 7 of the 1oz coins and 90% of them were PCGS 69)
All the BU ASE with Proofs from 1986 thru 2002 (all PCGS 69), and I still have the 1/10th oz APE set (all PCGS 69) and the Anniversary Sets in both Silver and Gold (in the Gov Boxes), it dawned on me that my collection taste had changed..I was seeking something different and new.....
What happend to me is similar to Clembo, except that I turned collector instead of seller. I set a goal for myself that I thought was obtainable!
Currently I see all the remaining coins that I have in my holdings and I can say with truthfullness, I could really care less if I were to sell them or not. It seems to me that a change in collection habits has impacted my thoughts about objects that I once worked so damn hard for, barely even matter any longer!
3 Years ago I switched over to Paper Money and the "Lust" was fresh and hot...full of excitement and passion. It is this turn in event's that have made me realize the impact on the internal "ID" and the impulsive influecne that goes along with it.
I am beginning to realize that had I started this 15 years earlier, it could have been accomplished (the Paper Money NY Collection) I am finding it extremely difficult to obtain the notes in the grade that I desire on the open Market. For 3 years now I have searched every nook and auction..LOL
Part of me feels like giving up...hard for me to admit, but it is the basis for this thread....is the "ID" feeling defeated, or is it tired and somewhat depressed? Whatever the case is, the thoughts of incompletion seem to tickle neurons somewhat and send the message of what if ?

I needed to hear of your success and defeats in order to motivate myself to continue or not. As hard as it has become and as expensive as it has become as well, I have a serious doubt that I will ever finish the Small Size Collection due to location of select notes. I am not admitting failure, I am simply stating that the batteries on the flashlight are simply growing dim. Heck it could be because I am so dam picky!! Well as Popeye say's "I yam's what I yam"!

Thank you all for your input! And remember the words "Quality qulaity quality" when buying or selecting your fine coins and currency!
I look forward to reading about others yet to post on this thread, pro or con.

Best regards,

RickieB

 

Somewhere along the lines, I think all hobbies are constrained over the budget that one can allocate. If it's too pricey, you can either save up or change your tastes. Not something too difficult.

For me though as I collect Russian coins, prices of them have become so outrageous that I have been pushed to collect low grade coins.

 

I did it as well.


About four years ago I stopped cold turkey when I went off to college; everything was packed up and sealed away in a plastic tub in my closet. I didn't really choose to do it, per se, but the situation in my life led me towards it. In the dorms I had no place to store or display my collection, so it was in true storage elsewhere. Finances were tight, so there was little to spend on new aquisitions. The biggest factor, however, was it simply stopped being important.

I'm a senior now and there is light at the end of the endless tunnel of schooling; going through my old stuff, I found a few misplaced items and it reminded me of what I used to do for so long. About two weeks ago, I got a mailer from the website and stopped by out of curiosity. It's a miracle I even remembered my password, but lo and behold...I caught the bug again.

It's amazing how easily you can lose the fire for such a hobby, but it's just as amazing at how easily and inexplicably you can get it back. In the word's of the great Bender..."I'm back, baby!"

 

i have already given it all up what you see are my retirement purchases

 

Good to see ya back! Seems like years since we have seen you around these parts!

Speedy

 

Do I ever think of giving it up? No I don't, but i do take breaks evey so often. I don't know if anyone noticed, but I haven't been active here for a week or so. This will probably continue for awhile longer, then I' ll be back to normal in all but aspect, but it is major. I buy my coins from totally disposable income and that is certainly being reduced due to the economic time we are in. A lot, probably most, think the medical field is immune from economic situations such as the one we are in now. Well, that is not true. A lot of people are foregoing othopedic type suguries now due to copays with their insurance or a loss/reduction of their income which can result in a total loss of insurance. There are people that should be seeing their doctor and are not. Unfortunatley they will eventually worsen. I am already seeing people not buying their medications and ending up in the hospital more than I normally do. The hospital I work at has quite a few of orthopedic procedures and there is a noticeable reduction. The part of the hospital I work in we don't get a lot of these patients, only if they have a history that might need specialized care (usually cardiac related), the surgery didn't quite go well (usually abnormally high blood loss), or a problem either new or part of their history emerged. I'm fairly certain now is not the best time to work for a plastic surgeon since virtually all of that is elective and the majority getting that sugery is middle class, not just movie stars. Am I in a financial crisis? No, but my hours are being cut and with that goes a reduction in disposable income where all the "fun" things get paid for. I guess I'm going to be in a "coin crisis" for awhile. I got two coins at the Fun Show in Orlando and are a little weaker than I would have liked. I would rather wait and get what I want rather than reduce the grade of the coins. Not saying that is right, just the way I am. My son and I are currently roll searching for his Memorial Cent collection he wanted to start after the Orlando show. Just to add we are doing quite well now. We are finding a wheatie about every 2 rolls and he is really enjoying it as well as me.