coin collecting a greedy hobby?

Using a blanket statement like that seems a bit judgemental and condemning. Let s/he who is without sin throw the first stone.

There are some who condemn all sorts of business owners as greedy. I disagree.

Does your co-worker draw a paycheck ? Is s/he not given money for their efforts ? Does that mean s/he is greedy ?

 

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Thanks George, hope you and your family are well!!!

Thanks George, hope you and your family are well!!!

 

I suppose there is a bit of greed in just about anything but coin collectors greedy as a whole? I don't think so.

I have basically collected my entire life. I'm 47 now and it started with an interest when I was 6.

I have no children and nobody in my family has any interest in coins. I hope to sell my entire collection before I die. I hope to sell it to collectors that appreciate the coins. It would be nice if I made a profit. Does that make me greedy? I don't think so.

When I buy a coin I always try to get the best price. Does that make me greedy? If so then the person who buys gas at one station because it's five cents cheaper per gallon is greedy.

I have now worked at the local coin shop for nearly two years. At a shop we HAVE TO TURN A PROFIT. It is how we make a living. Does that make us greedy or is it just a business?
Neither in my opinion. After all it's our love for coins that got us into the shop. I was a customer there for years before he offered me a decent wage. The timing was perfect as I needed work and he needed help.
Now why did he hire me? After all there are many other regular customers.
I believe it's because I had a basic knowledge of a lot of different coins and he KNEW I was honest. You don't let just anyone step behind your counter after all.

So what does one do at a shop other than sell coins for a profit? We provide access to coins one wouldn't normally see. We provide information and we do a lot of research.
If I have the time I'll gladly spend half an hour with a newbie sharing information. We get nothing out of that or do we?
We gain a potential customer, someone to carry on the knowledge.

Yesterday a guy brought in a coin that he had no idea what it was. His grandfather gave it to him. I looked it up. It was an 1899 2 Heller piece from Austria. No great value but now he knows what is when he hands it down to his kid.

I did this for free. This happens a lot.

So is this a greedy hobby? I think not. The wealth of knowledge that is shared for the love of the hobby is a good indicator to me.

 

I have to agree and disagree with this. Yes, you do see the threads all the time and for some, you could never pay a cheap enough price for anything for them to think you did well. Basically, I just don't want to get ripped off, but I am willing to pay a fair price for things. I don't expect a seller to lose money for me. Many times I've made offers to sellers on ebay. Reasonable offers. And they get rejected or ignored every time. And, it can be hit or miss at shows where prices are already inflated anyway. Doesn't matter who you deal with. So some people act like they know what prices 'should' be but they can't possibly be buying anything themselves.

At times it does seem like a dog eat dog hobby by the way people talk. But on the flip side, look at the contest forum here. I've won in contests here. I've held my own contest here and gave stuff away. Many people have had several contests giving away a lot of neat stuff. I've never been involved with a forum where people had free contests for each other. That's far from being greedy.

I think there may just be a lot of old dealers that are burnt out on the hobby side and are mainly focused on the profit side of things now. Which gives everybody an unjustified negative label.

As a collector, I like to sit back and look how far I've come in a short period of time, personally. I'm picky enough now to where I dont want every coin I see. Not even close anymore. I actually have a hard time finding good stuff that I want and can afford. Which is kind of nice. I suspect many get to that point eventually. My desire to acquire more has diminished over time. But it's still there, for sure.

 

I dont really know what to say. That your coworker is warped.
Our hobby is no more of greedy then anything that is in the capitalist system. There is profit and there is loss in everything and to ignore that would be crazy unless you are filthy rich and even then it's only to a point that they would ingore that value.
I guess our hobby would not be not be "greedy" if we were in a socialist utopia.

Really look at people here. Posting constests like Flyers or Rickey B giving out coins for free...shoot Ryan Brooks is 15 and gives freely. Not to mention the anonymous gifts of the $1 dollar web notes and such that were given out reciently!

Sure there are greedy people in the business but to say that a person making 20% for being a dealer to buy it or for the same to sell it is not greedy. Most restaurants sell their food for 50% more then they buy it for, is that greedy? I dont think anyone calls that greedy...or in construction there is a 25% to 35% mark up there...again...just business.

 

Today I spent about 3 hours at Allen Berman’s coin show table. I brought a friend to the table with me. I bought some coins from Allen. Allen bought some coins from my friend. I bought some coins from my friend. My friend bought some coins from Allen. Allen gave me a token for my collection. A second friend arrived & needed the token so I donated it to him. The second friend helped authenticate some Brazilian leprosy colony coins I bought in Florida. He wants to contact the Brazilian dealer himself & we agreed to exchange that source information later tonight. All of us have left the coin show & gone home to be with family. I don’t feel like I spent the day with any greedy people. I’m lucky I guess. Also, I hang with people I like.

 

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good."...Gordon Gekko (Wall Street, 1987).

I disagree that coin collecting is a greedy hobby. Sure, there are greedy people that collect coins (and also deal in coins), but this is a characteristic that transcends all walks of life. TC

 

The way I see it your co-worked had a bad experience at one time or another. Why else would he make such a harsh comment if he hadn't?

There are good and Bad Dealers everywhere. Some with Morals and Ethics and some without. The bottom line is that for most dealers who depend of this as the main source for their livelihood have to make a profit to stay in business as every other business person does. So I suppose the Ice Cream Truck that comes by in the Summertime is Greedy too, my kid pays $150 for a cone off that truck..what he is really paying for is the truck to come by, play the music and the thrill of buying from the ice cream vendor..coin collecting or paper money collecting is the same thing, just a different purchase.

RickieB

 

As to greed for coin collecting. Yes and no depending on the individual. As with any hobby, some do it for relaxation, fun, monitary gains, showoff abilities and much more. Almost any hobby finds a large variety of individuals with different reasons for involvement. Naturally some collect coins for purely a possible investment attitude and sell anything and everything if there is a profit to that. Is that greed? I would say that that is just buisness. If an individual attempts to collect all of one type of coin where there is a limited amount available and knows that eventually that individual will have them all. Is that greed? Possibly not just a desire to have a lot of something that others do not have.
Such is true of all hobbies where you must purchase the items you collect. For hobbies where there is no monitary investment, greed is seldom even thought of. No one would say a person is greedy if they collected shells on a beach. Nor different rocks. Nor butterflys either.
As to discussing a hobby such as coin collecting with a coworker, I'd be carefull with that one. Unless you know them really, really well, remember the walls have ears and the windows have eyes. Whay you say at work may spread much more than you would like at a later time.

 

Alot of good stuff here. I think that what I am hearing from the forum is there is no shame in the hobby or making an honest profit, which I agree. There are many metaphors for life in the hobby. As a novice/collector turned trader/advanced collector I realize now more than ever how I was taken for a ride in the beginning and had to struggle past that without a resentment. In the early stages of my collecting I bought many coins with "help" from friends and dealers to find out later some coins were tooled, recolored and AU instead of MS. I learned this when I tried to certify or sell some of the coins and I think we lose many a collector at that turn. I call that Tuition and now, with that feeling in my gut I could never hammer a newbie and they will eventually find out the facts and be sore later. I know it hurts a little to hear what some think from the outside looking in and I was looking for ideas on how to improve that image, dealer or otherwise. Your responses help me compartmentalize my feelings and hopefuly strengthen your own. Matt

 

Most people are honest here

 

This is something I have been meaning to say and this triggers my response.

I work for the Japanese and have been to Japan many times. I have a saying that is appropiate here. If I dropped my wallet in Japan chances are better than average I would get it back.

If I dropped my wallet at a coin show, chances are better than average I would get it back. I know I may be over generalizing, but I think you all know what I mean.

 

Your coworker's statement offends me a great deal. The simple fact of calling another person greedy drips with sanctimony. It's generally used to describe a person who has different priorities than the speaker.

This world is a better place because we all are out trying to better our lot in life. Unless (s)he is ready to give all his/her stuff to the poor and move into a monestary, tell him/her to shut his trap and mind his/her own business.

 

I agree 100%. My enjoyment of the hobby is the fact that a certain coin has passed through generations and right now in history, it's come to me, and when I die, it will continue on it's journey. If only the coins I possess could tell stories... As a history buff, it thrills me to have pieces of American history.

 

Greed –noun
(excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions)
I would have to strongly disagree with your Co-Worker and my reasons are that I definitely consider myself a Numismatist and Coin Collector, but in no way does either of those two things that I am fall into the definition of Greed. IMHO most Numismatist have already come to realize the truth that the chances are that your beloved collection will never yield you nor your family wealth ( unless you desire a wealth of knowledge ) and I as an individual understand that I may only possess my possessions until I die and therefore I would not place my possessions above all else, certainly not the well being of myself or my loved ones. Greed is a strong word, to me it would mean that you would do anything to further that gain regardless of morals and that is definitely not me. Hope this helps you.

 

1). Achieving an objective or finally arriving at a desired destination are all fine and well , but the journey is what matters most to me.

2). A coin is a form of money. What do most people need to live ? Money.
What do many people want in order to live more comfortably ? More Money.

3). Any type of specialty collecting; be it cars , jewels , books , coins etc provide opportunities for each of us as individuals to test our own integrity in our dealings with others.