The Proper Way To Collect - MUST READ THREAD

I tend to use informal descriptions rather than an official-sounding grade.
A good picture/scan may be necessary.
I'm involved with raw coins/bills anyway.

 

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I collect coins to just collect and as a hobby, I understand what the OP is stating though. Although I'm not big on buying the professionally graded coins as I can usually determine what the grade is myself. I do avoid cleaned coins though, I think rubbing the dirt from a coin takes away it's character and history, not just the damaging of the metal, etc.

I use to collect baseball cards but stopped once it seemed to have turned into a business rather than a hobby. Once the packs got smaller, most just wanted the rare chase cards in each set and then the professional grading seemed to have ruined the fun out of collecting them.

My coin collecting is just a hobby though and like the collection my dad had, we collected together and I just inherited the collection from him so I've been on another big collection hunt lately as I stopped for awhile, to add to the collection to hopefully pass down to my son. Although it's funny my daughter is showing a bigger interest in them right now so she might be the lucky candidate for inheriting.

But to each their own in how they collect I say. Buy the coin if you like it regardless of whether it's graded already or not, if it's rare or a common, cleaned or not, etc. If you're buying to use as investment, go the graded and business route I say. If you're just a collector like me, buy and grade them yourself. I find joy in trying to determine the grade of a coin after a purchase.

 

Funny you mention the lack of fun brought about from slabbing baseball cards. I collected them when I was younger and still have about a trunk full from the early-late 70's, some boxes from earlier. I looked into getting back into the in the 90's and it simply did not look fun at all. Card collecting feels like it was ruined by the dads getting involved, making everything so "serious" and taking away any possible fun.


I equate a lot of recent antics of TPG to the same methodology, "First Strike" designations. REALLY? Telling kids they cannot ever touch a coin because "it will ruin its investment value". Same crud that ruined any fun in baseball cards to me. With prices, slabbing so no human can ever touch it, and the whole, "have to keep it perfect" mentality, just how much fun could modern US coin collecting be for kids? Every day it looks a little more like what you describe about baseball cards sir, at least to me. Growing up I learned to not smear your fingerprint across the coin, but at least I could hold the edges in my hand, and connect to the history of the coin, without having to look through a plastic window like its in a museum.

Me? I give old Roman and Chinese coins away to kids, tell them to feel them, handle them, get to know what items like this were like. Without touching the items, I simply do not see kids being very interested in anything.

Just my opinion.

Chris

 

Yeah, I use to actually "trade" my trading cards. I'll trade you my Tony Gwynn for your Cal Ripken Jr. because Ripken is my favorite player.

When the sets went from 700 cards to complete the set to 100 with 20 different chase special cards to find and complete in the set, I lost all interest in them. I actually kept my Cal Ripken's (once he retired, I even stopped watching baseball for the most part since it was around that time all the players were using roids anyways), sold the rest years ago.

Yeah, maybe that's why I'll buy non-slabbed coins, I let my kids touch and connect with them. They think it's so much cooler to actually hold them raw than look or hold through a piece of plastic.

 

A quick aside to rodeoclown about baseball cards, please skip if not interested:

Rodeoclown, I lol when I read you mention Cal Ripken Jr. His rookie was what 82? About the last year I collected. I remember getting over and over this dumb Orioles 3rd baseman, so i made a joke about it and had more thrown in on trades. Last I remember I had about 65 of them. Man, if baseball cards were worth anything anymore.

P.S. My favorite player, and the one I had most "value" of cards was Pete Rose, so yeah I am kind of hosed a few ways regarding my baseball cards.

 

Nice, yeah 82 was his rookie year, last time I checked, they still go for about 40-50 bucks each I think, more for his Topps Traded one, which I think topped $250 at one point, not sure about prices now, I've been out of the sports cards since like 94 myself.

 

Unfortunately, as long as humans are doing the buying, selling, grading, setting standards for grading, and interpreting those standards there will be variability, inconsistencies, mistakes, and mistrust.

Perhaps one day, a TPG will revolutionize the grading process with a computerized image analysis process that is able to digitally quantify coin characteristics such as wear, bag marks, scratches, defects, luster, and eye appeal — and detect counterfeits, alterations, and cleaned coins in the process. It would make possible a much more refined scoring system to replace the current 70-point system. The technology for such a system actually exists today — military image analysis, facial recognition, industrial quality-control inspection systems, and DNA analysis.

 

Where'd the OP go...

 

I guess a lot of us are Un Proper collectors.

 

And I bet with such a system, nothing is considered perfect or receive a perfect score from the machine doing the analysis, it'd be able to detect all the imperfections beyond what the human eye or microscope would detect.

 

It's better to ask a question than to remain ignorant. So, what is TPG, I am guessing third party grader.

 

excellent!

 

JUST MY 2 CENTS.
I am proud to be a member of some of the best people i belive anyone can be a part of.
That being said i for one cannot buy the high grade coins i see posted here but i enjoy looking at each one posted.
My coins are not of the greatest grade but i am proud of each one that iv been able to put in my books.
I look for the bottom dollar coins so i can have them to see when i want .
To me a coin is a coin even worn badly its a part of history that i can hold and see it from my hand not wrapped in plastic.
I tried unsearched penny rolls to only find the only one who had not seen them was me.
I say if it looks good you like it buy it.
If you want a show coin buy that as well.
Ill be one when you post it that will see it.

 

Yes sir, typically NGC or PCGS on this board.

You are very correct, please ask questions. I didn't know a lot of acronyms thrown around here when I started either.

 

Do I HAVE to follow this???

I grade coins my own way, and you do too.

 

I think take a BREAK for a while....hmmmpp I heard some splash on the REST ROOM....:smile

 

two ways i can take this...

splash in the restroom (the good ol' jon)
splash in the restroom (a room to take a break)

please tell me it's the second one...

 

You say that like it's a bad thing..........