I have a question about coin collecting in general.....most of the people on this web site seem to narrow their coin collections to one or two varieties of coins or currency. Is it better to narrow my collecting to one or two items, like Silver Eagles, or State Quarters, or something like that? I have a collection of Silver Eagles form 1986 to 2006 proof coins. I have more than one proof coin from every year. I also have the complete State Quarter ROLLS from every year, P & D mints. I have some Canadian Maple Leafs, Australian Lunar coins in a set, from first year to 2007. I have the uncirculated Silver Eagles from 1986 to 2007 in ROLLS (20 coins). I have several Morgan Dollars, most are slabbed, MS-62 or better. Should I just concentrate on ONE or TWO varieties of coins, and get a COMPLETE set of the coins? Or, should I continue the way I'm going.....buying different coins for investment purposes or because the look good? I hope that I have explained what I mean about coin collecting. My brain does not work very well. I have had 3 brain tumors and sometimes I can't explain things the way I want.
Swick collect what you like everyone is different, take me for example I collect British including Commonwealth pre indipendence, USA, cents, dimes, nickles, Roman, Celtic, other ancient if i like the look of them LOL and have just decided to start a French type set :smile Oh and I collect Bullion cus I like shiny things De Orc :thumb:
Swick,I specialise in collecting British Commonwealth,including Somaliland & Ireland,but not Cameroon or Mozambique (who fraudulently weasled their way into our British Commonwealth back in 1995).Zimbabwe is still classed as a British Commonwealth member state by numismatists. There's no right or wrong way to collect.I can tell you that trying to collect the whole world is an unachievable goal.It is better to specialise. Aidan.
Thanks De Orc. I guess that it's just common sense type "stuff".......if you like it, collect it. LOL I was just wondering if it would be better to try and get a COMPLETE SET of one item.....like the Morgan Dollars. There are many ways to collect the Morgan Dollars......all slabbed, none slabbed, put the coins in a folder of some type, etc. Know what I mean? Thanks again! This is a GREAT web site! I have learned so much about all of the DIFFERENT types of coin collecting! swick
There are 2 main reasons to concentrate. Neither are absolutes, but practical guides. First is money. I want the nicest set I can get (Lincolns in my case). The untimate set costs >$3,000,000. That is way beyond my budget for even for 1 set. 10 various sets only results in 10 poorer sets. This does not sound like it applies to your case. Second is knowledge. It is easier to know a lot about a few items than a lot aboiut many items. Wether you are collecting for fun or profit, the more you know about the items you buy, the more likely you are to get better coins and/or better investments. To answer your specific question "is it better...", theoretically, it probably makes no difference. In practice, concentrating is a lot easier.
If your happy with the way you've been doing it, keep on going. Some people just collect whatever they come across that they think would be good in their collection. Some are type collectors, and go for one coin of each type. Some people go for complete sets. If you want a complete set, it is probably best to focus on one or two types. Basically, there is no right way to collect. Do what feels good.
Swick,it is important to build a professional relationship with a few dealers in your area.Once you get to know them,they can give you advice on things like grading & how to detect forgeries,including things like added mintmarks. I work part-time in the numismatic trade.There are even some things that the dealer asks advice from me for from time to time.When I started working for him,he had a bulk stock of unsorted coins that he had no time to sort.I said to him,"If you like,I can sort them out for you so that you can have a system so if people ask you for coins from one country or a group of countries,then you can put your hands on the bags".This was a task that took me 6 months sitting there in a back room with a light,a magnifying glass,& a set of Krause catalogues. Aidan.
Thanks again Aidan! By the way, I keep all of my coins in a BIG gun safe along with all of my firearms....which I also collect. I just purchased another silica gel canister to absorb moisture in the safe. That makes 2 of the canisters for moisture absorbtion. Do you think that's enough? The safe is 6' high X 5' wide. The canisters are 750 grams of silica gel. Thanks again EVERYBODY!! swick
I you're enjoying they way you are doing it, keep it up! Do you have pics of the Morgans and proof ASEs? Phoenix
I'll assume that you take good care of the guns, clean them regularly and keep them well oiled - right ? And you should. But now, think about the gases and chemicals those cleaning solvents and gun oil put into the air inside that safe - where you coins are.
Swick,what Doug is recommending is to store your coins away from your guns,as some of the chemicals in the cleaners can react with the metallic composition of the coins.If you have banknotes,don't keep them in the gun-safe either.If you are buying another gun-safe,don't put your guns in there.Save that one for your coins & your banknotes. Aidan.
Hi Swick, Welcome to the hobby. My advice would be for you to collect whatever tickles your fancy in whatever way that works the best for you. Many of us collect coins and also invest in coins. Collecting vs. investing can produce some different results. As for collecting, I really like the indian head cents, and buffalo nickels. However, I've also pretty much finished all the later series of each of the denominations -.01, .05, .10, .25, .50. For example, I have all the kennedy halves and franklins in either BU or Proof. Same for washington quarters other than I don't have the early 30's BU (not yet). Dimes I have BU or Proof back to 1934, nickels back to 1931, cents back to 1930, etc. But my 'heart' is still with indians and buffalos. Oh, except I like whales and have about 40 varieties in brass (figurines, etc.)- and about 6 different whale coins. ;-) Oh, and I cannot pass a 'penny smasher' without getting a smashed elongated penny - got about 100 of them, mostly from disney world. I went nuts in Orlando - took two rolls of new cents and a couple of rolls of quarters and hunted down every stinking penny smasher in the theme park and elsewhere. Wife knew I was crazy . . . but I dont' care. So, I guess I'm a coin collector. You good sir/madam should collect what pleases you and makes you smile. That's all that matters. peace, rono
I think collecting what you like and what you think is pretty is the way to go about it. Collecting for Investment is out I try to limit myself to only working on a few sets at a time but I still buy other coins when they jump out at me. Right now I've backed off buying anything for a good bit as I've trying to save up for some larger buys...my sets I'm working on right now are: Washington Quarters AU/BU PF66 Franklin Halves Buffalo Nickels Now before I start working on another set I have to get one of those 3 done---I'm pretty sure it will be the PF66 Franklins that will be done first---then Washingtons and nickels last. Speedy
Aidan & Doug, Concerning the gun/coins in the same safe.....after I clean the firearms I put them back in their respective cases. The coins are kept in boxes on one side of the safe, the guns on the other side. Is this OK, or do I need to keep all of the "stuff" separated? Thanks again for all of the information!
