Are you a collector or an accumulator?

Are you a collector or an accumulator? Or both?

 

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I think the more relevant question is "are you a numismatist or a prospector"?

If you have enough money you can be both an accumulator and a collector. And, the definition of "accumulator" is subjective -- How many coins must one have before they are an accumulator?

 

When you run out of storage space, you're an accumulator. Having stated that, I'm dangerously close.

 

I resemble that comment.

Its actually a great question OP, something I have thought about myself. My Modus Operendi is to buy multiples if available. I just got a package of coins from a dealer, every single packet had 3 or more coins in it. If I see a good deal on a coin, 1 is good, 3 is better, 10 better yet. There was a seller who had over the course of a month about 20 Cleo VII coins for sale in small groups, I bought about 12 of them.

Sometimes I wonder if I am an accumulator or a dealer who simply does not sell. I have the knowledge to know market pricing on coins, those Cleo VII sell for around $80 or more and I paid about $15 each, so it seems I do ok buying "stock", but it just sits in my drawers and is never sold.

What would be the dividing line between a collector and an accumulator? Baseline I would think knowledge, but if I look at myself I consider myself a knowledgable collector, yet have these piles of coins. I would next wonder if the desire to collect a "set" would define a collector, but then think of ancients and the fact many of us collect these to get away from the demand to complete a "set".

I guess I just don't know.

Chris

 

i am a collector that accumulates copper lincolns. having said that, my 2.5 cubic foot safe needs a friend soon. its about full lol

 

I am a collector, part of me wants to sell my collection to lock in my profits but in other hand it is hard to determine what to sell...

 

depends on what we are talking about...

if it's coins, i'm a collector.
BUT!!!!
but when it comes to girls, i accumulate them... :devil:

 

Definitely a collector, most of the things I buy I feel a connection to them. It has to be something I really enjoy having. I think an accumulator just likes to have things without any emotional attachment to them.

 

What's the difference?

 

Not that it definitively settles the question, here's an interesting article with another point of view on the topic:

http://www.lansingbusinessmonthly.c...35-are-you-a-collector-or-an-accumulator.html

 

I like the article, thank you. I think it highlights well the extremes. To me, Doug Smith is a collector. He studies every coin he acquires, he acquires it for a reason, is very knowledgable about his fields he collects. On the other end of the spectrum would be someone buying bulk silver or bulk wheat cents, or even just bags of random world coins, and just leaves them in bags sitting around, and probably has never picked up a Red Book. I think we all agree to this distinction.

I may be a poster child for the middle. I study coins, I think that to at least some here have demonstrated some knowledge in US, world, and ancient coins, have a large library I read constantly, and am even attempting to write a short book on a rare series of coins. OTOH, I have a habit of buying group lots, will buy 3 copies of a coin if available, (or more, my record in 42), and I think are a good deal, and have many past purchases, (ok maybe most), still sitting in their vendor packaging in shelves in my home. Half of me is collector, half is hoarder. If someone never met me, and just saw my piles of coins, I think they would classify me as a hoarder. However, I am aware of each coins importance, where minted, relative scarcity, and other issues.

I just think its another case, (like toning or coin cleaning/conservation), that the two extremes are knowable and classifiable, but its the cases in the middle that everyone will have differences of opinion on. I would like to think I am a knowledgable collector, but others knowing my haphazard storage would classify me as a hoarder.

Chris

 

collector - someone who collects things for fun

From the dictionary, so if it's fun for you to accumulate coins then you are an accumulator as well as a collector. I think for me it depends on finances, if you're broke suddenly your collection turns into an accumulation, and there's always a first thing you'll get rid of and a last thing you'll hold onto for as long as possible. Anyway, I'm guessing fun and present circumstances probably have something to do with it.

 

I seem to have accumulated quite a collection by not following any rules.

Chris

 

I think you can define a collector as keeping things of value. While an accumulator keeps a lot of junk.

I started out thinking I might be a collector only to learn I was an accumulator.

My visions of prosperity were shattered when I finally went through my coins and got a better idea of what I had and it's actual value.



gary

 

As many have previously stated, I don't think there is a right answer to what differentiates an accumulator from a collector. That being said, for me it comes down to organization.
A collector has a collection of coins, widgets or whatever. The coins in that collection are usually sorted, cataloged, displayed in an album, by date, mint mark, country, or somehow categorized so they may be viewed, inventoried, have their value assessed etc.
An accumulation to me implies that there is lack of organization. An accumulator may have thousands of coins, but those coins are heaped in bags, boxes, drawers, sometime to the point of overflowing. There is little organization in an accumulation. The accumulator just keeps on adding to his hoard.
Anyhow, that's what separates the two for me. I'm more of a collector than an accumulator, although certain parts of my collection closely resemble an accumulation!

 

I am me.

I am not a label.

 

I don't think you give people enough credit.

 

Very true, and there are so many permutations of this that makes 90% of people unclassifiable. An acquaintance of mine was semi-organized. He kept everything in flips of 2x2's, and in boxes. I would characterize him as an organized hoarder, though, since he never researched coins, could not identify most other coins, and relied on sellers ID to put on his labels. Once they went into the boxes they never really ever came out. In many ways he was my mirror image. Again another tough one.

 

Both...some coins I collect; some coins I accumulate. TC