I think I've pretty much lost my mind. I've been on a complete tirade lately picking up many coins. I'm sure posting to this group is like a confession being held in Vegas but man I need to chill. I'm just wondering if I'm actually pursuing a decent strategy or just being obsessive and a little nuts. I'm not bankrupting my family or anything like that, but I've been a little obsessed with the whole coin collecting thing lately. I've come into a little money lately and have been pouring it into coins. I know its a good problem to have, but for me its for a bad reason. My wife died in a car accident last year and I think i might be filling a void somewhat. I keep telling myself that I'm "investing" and diversifying. I'd like to think I'm being "smart" about what I'm getting and trying to get good deals and pick up items that I think will hold value and are of interest to me. But it seems I keep branching out and finding other sets I just have to acquire. Or maybe I need to just cool it for awhile. Anyway, here is my strategy/obsession. I'm curious what some of you that have been collecting for a long time might think of it. My overall theme is commemoratives because, well, I like them. I started out with Early Commemoratives. I've gotten around 30 of the 50 in PCGS slabs. Mostly MS63 and higher. I kind of think of this as my "legacy" collection once complete. Something I can pass on to my girls. (Which they will probably sell for a vacation or something. As far as the "Additional" modern items I'm starting to collect, I like having them made from a precious metal because that should give the coins a "floor" of support as far as value goes. ATB (America the beautiful) Proof Silver sets. I bought several of the 2010 sets from the mint and have subscribed to get them as they come out. I'm thinking of giving them as gifts to the youngsters in my life. (Better that than yet another toy that gets thrown away) Modern Silver Commemoratives. I've always liked them. I'm a little over half way to a full type set (if I count UNC and PROOF as one type.) I'll keep picking them up as they come out. Nothing slabbed, just in the capsules. Spouse $10 Gold. I'm not really a end-of-the-world gold bug, but I think these will hold value and have the potential to be a good collection to hold on to if I can get a complete set. So if I'm going to have some assets tied up in gold anyway I can start buying them now since its pretty early in the run and pick up the older ones as I can. I know I could get bullion, but I want something with the potential for a numismatic upside as well. ATB 5-oz Silver. These are just big honking hunks of silver. Neat thing to have for just over spot. And if I get the whole set it will be like 250 oz of silver! Nice looking silver at that. Sorry for the long post. -Clay
Sorry about your loss. Hey, as long as you are paying the bills and don't have alot of debt, keep on buying! If you seriously think you have a problem though, take a month off from buying and re-evaluate your situation then. Good luck to you
For me, I know I'm crossing the line when I find myself organizing coins I bought as "investments" at low or Mint-issue prices into sets or sub-sets of collections that I then start trying to complete, buying the missing pieces at retail to fill the holes in the set.
