Am I a lazy or disgraceful collector?

Hey folks,
It's been an interesting couple of weeks here reading and posting, just starting out with this hobby. Thought I'd take some feedback on my collecting interests. One of my recent posts yielded a lot of responses around finding one's own style of collecting, and I thought I'd push it a little further.

As I'm learning my interests, I'm seeing a lot of things that deviate from the typical interests around here. It is difficult for me to articulate these points, but I am going to try my best. The bottom line is that I don't want to be enjoying a hobby in a way that is disrespectful to it. For instance:

1. I'm more interested in collection styles where I can regularly view and enjoy the coins, rather than the extreme invest & storing them away in sealed, water-tight, triple packaged containers. Is this angering to serious collectors?
   
   
2. I'm interested in the simple history and art of the coins, and putting together date sets, scavenging and hunting for them from change or rolls. Needing perfect or highly graded coins isn't necessarily a priority--sometimes I prefer older coins with a little more 'story' to them. And it's a more affordable approach, too. Is this heretical?
   
   
3. I have little to no interest in microscopic examinations for every error and double die variety. Is not thoroughly inspecting each coin irresponsible? Is this blasphemy?
   
   
4. I like modern commemorative coins, and proof sets... they're shiny and nice. I think they offer a fun experience, an interesting collectible, and a non-rare piece of history in a respectable package. But it seems these are of less interest to those searching through the classics. Is this naive or wasteful?

Interested in your thoughts!
-The Tot

 

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You Ron White's kid?

 

Who care what others' think? Do what makes you happy.

 

Perhaps putting it in a 'car guy's' perspective is a little easier for me.

If some guy inherited a beautiful classic car, and spilled McDonalds all over the inside, filled it with subpar gas, never changed the oil, drove it through salty sludgy winters without cleaning it, and had a general disregard for the vehicle, then true car lovers would be appalled.

The guy is, albeit ignorantly, being disrespectful to something that most would consider worthy of respect.

I am curious as to what lines people draw in a similar fashion when it comes to their coin collecting habits.

 

I do what you describe in 1, 2 and 3. Not into commems though. Proof sets that I have a were given to me and I save them or trade them in for old coins.

So. In my opinion...
1) Is this angering to serious collectors? No.

2) Is this heretical? No.

3a) Is not thoroughly inspecting each coin irresponsible? No. In fact I think it is telling of how sane you are (error collectors are weird if you ask me ).

3b) Is this blasphemy? No.

4) Is this naive or wasteful? No. Collect your own collection.

 

OK Ron Whites kid......I'll talk to you in the morning. Ron likes Scotch, and I like bourbon, and at this early hour I've had a tad too much.

 

Not lazy nor disgraceful, just a fine fledgling numismatist. As the guy before me said, just enjoy the hobby as you please!

 

I'm not familiar enough with Ron White to get those jokes, but I'm sure they're good.

 

Do what you enjoy it doesn't matter what others say. I have a problem where I like to hold my coins raw, so I don't buy graded coins or ones really too BU. Some of the BU coins I have I have to hold back from touching and the fact that they are so shiny makes me one to hold them even more.

I do however store my coins properly especially my gold ones.

 

I agree with the thoughts of collecting what you like. Myself, I don't pursue varieties or errors and I collect old copper.

I do think that we as collectors do have some level of responsibility to preserve the older classic coins and to hold them as a custodian for future generations of collectors. So I do try to store them in such a manner that they do not deteriorate during my ownership.

 

I hope your not flying that plane tonight . Lol ..

 

Think of coin collecting as an art. Would a coin collecting artist seek conformity and concensus or would he/she seek the numismatical version of Zach's song?

 

As your collecting career gets longer that is when the series finds you. Just about everyone's first accumulation is scattered across many fields, then slowly you progress without knowing it into a certain series or specialty.

The only thing that is blasphemy is not taking care of or altering the piece you just purchased or received, as we are only custodial keepers of them, the past custodian cared for it so you can enjoy it, so care for it so future generations can enjoy it

 

I type to slow

 

"...they call me Tater Salad...I call my son Tater Tot..."

 

Your behavior as a collector sounds like the kind of collecting that was done before plastic slabs. Go for it. There is no "wrong" way to collect coins, ever (unless you're one of those "best of the worst" slab collectors: Those people are nutters).

Some people really like the social aspect of collecting, or really enjoy "keeping up with the Joneses" by collecting the same as their peers, and therefore can belong to their little club. With the current aesthetic in coin collecting in the USA (slabs, value, and micro-grading) the only thing I think you'll miss out on might be the social aspects. You'll just have to find somebody like yourself, in that case.

I don't collect the kind of coins that most other 'coin people' around me do, and therefore I don't really have a lot of conversation with them about my serious coin interests. If I do, it's usually a one-way conversation, me talking, them listening (and that's rather boorish), so I just keep it to myself. However, I do collect Lincoln Cents, so I can at least connect at that level.

One thing I do notice, is that if you ever get to know an old-timer who's been collecting various stuff over the years, or just lives and breathes this stuff all the time, you can have great interactions with them, regardless. They seem to connect with any level of collector. Some people are so knowledgable, helpful, and are great to listen to, and you can get good coin book titles from them.

 

Ok I'll bite... what's a "best of the worst slab collector?"

 

Dudes that submit to Third Party Graders (TPGs) the most lowdown, bottom-feedin', worn-out coins that they can find and will actually grade... with the hope that their coin is the lowest-graded bust half, Lincoln, ..whatever. Basically, they are shooting for the grade PO-1 (Poor-1), the lowest grade possible on the 1-70 scale.

 

Ah got it... like shooting the moon in a game of Hearts.

Or even better, this:

 

Well, if you bought a really nice coin and then did all that to it, I'd be sad.

Other than that, I think you're fine!