Why do we collect coins

I am just woundering as a new collector.
Why do you collect and what drives your collection in the direction you take it.
Just though this could be an iteresting topic for feed back on and kinda help me put a direction to my collection. Like for instance, im kinda woundering if it's worth wild too collect coins that are not in mint condition ? Interested in any feed back, thanks!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It all depends on rarity. For example, an 1893-S morgan dollar is worth $1000's in any condition, all though of course it's worth more in uncirculated condition. There's no one reason to why I collect coins, but one reason is that I just love to hold history in my hands.

 

I don't think it's too wild. I don't mind coins in somewhat circulated condition; it gives them a sense of history. A shiny Morgan is nice to look at, but a coin that obviously was tucked away in a box soon after it's minted somehow doesn't convey the same awe as an old coin that obviously passed through people's hands in circulation. Makes you wonder who spent it, and for what.

As an example of type though I try for as high condition as I can reasonably afford, but still have quite a few circulated examples too, like a good mix of both.

 

It has been a real passion of mine ever since I was a 9 year old kid growing up in Wanganui.I now specialise in British Commonwealth only.I have had to brush up on non-British Commonwealth numismatics,as I do work for a coin & stamp dealer on a part-time basis.

I get good stuff out of him for my collection,especially as a form of payment.

Aidan.

 

SO Aidan...
Out of curosity, what do you do for full time work?
I know this isa personal question, and please do not feel like you must answer.

I have been working all my life it seems like and if I could get to part time...well that would be great!
The kicker is maintaining the current lifestyle..LOL

RickieB

 

The reason we collect coins is like collecting fine art, familly heirlooms or old magazines. Because it makes us feel good, keeps memories dear and may have a financial reward to our sons and daughters. I like to collect presidental letters that have had an impact on me also. I also have some rare Erte's and Dali's in my apartment living room. We collect like a mountain climber climbs the mountain, because it is there.

 

Rick,I used to work in the restaurant trade,& fell sick as a result of it.I am now on an invalids benefit.I try to keep myself active through being learned.

I will be becoming more busy,especially in terms of being involved in the administration of my local Anglican parish church.I've been nominated to the Vestry (church council) recently.We've got the A.G.M. next weekend.I am certain to be have my nomination confirmed.I am already a part-time lay reader.

Aidan.

 

I approach coins as about 2/3 investing and 1/3 collecting. I prefer silver and gold coinsd to copper or clad. I like the history and I like the intrinsic value. I also prefer circulated to uncirculated coins when purchasing anything other than bullion coins. I also prefer older to newer coins if the value is about the same.

 

In 1959 I inherited some old coins my father had. My mother told me dad thought some of them were valuable. An uncle, when he heard I had dad's coins, gave me a coin catalog put out by B. Max Mehl. I was hooked. A collector constantly ran a classified ad in the local paper offering to buy old coins. I contacted him and he gave me a Red Book, and the next thing I knew, was I became a member of two out-of-town coin clubs, and with the help of two other collectors and the YMCA, started a coin club in our city. I was voted in as President and auctioneer. At first I collected anything and everything. I became a coin dealer in Florida, but a heart attack took me out of that and I sold everything. In 2005 I suffered a stroke which paralyzed my whole left side. In 2006 I was getting an itch to collect coins again.

This time, because of my infirmities, I decided to collect world coins dated 1935, my birth year. I further decided to hone this down to silver coins.

That is what I mainly collect, but I must confess, I have expanded that to Canada Dollars, Mexican 8 Reales, 100 Peso Proofs, Onzas and Libertads, and Chinese Dollars.

Clinker

 

i am not collecting my coins as an investment, rather, i am collecting quality coins that, as a result of their quality, will appreciate over time. i am mainly interested in the Mercury dime, the Walking Liberty half, and the Standing Liberty quarter. there is something about those coins - they have an elegant beauty to them, even in the affordable finer grades.

i doubt i will ever have complete sets of the above coins due to the cost of the keys, but i will invest in high quality coins that are within my budget - i believe in quality over quantity - having 10 VF Mercury dimes would not be the same as having 1 in AU-58. the beauty is lost on the well worn coins and i have no problem with gaps in my collection as a result.

-Steve

 

Most people are what is know as pack rats. People just like to say this is MINE and about anything or everything. Ever notice how many little kids learn that word so fast? MINE, MINE, MINE. As to why coins? I think that really started as far back as thier was a monitary system and people just wanted to feel wealthy so they hoarded anything that resembled money. Couldn't trust banks a few thousand years ago. During our depression almost everyone strived to save anything that even resembled money. Such things started coin collecting as well as stamps, currency, jewlry, Gold, Silver, etc. Then there is just collecting STUFF which so many are guilty of. That is why shows like the antique road show is so popular. Same with flea markets, garage/yard sales, estate sales. Find a coin collector and they probably collect other things also. The bigger the house and/or garage, the more STUFF we all try to put in them. Wall to wall STUFF. Many times on these forums you hear what else do you collect and you get all sorts of answers pending on what a person can afford mostlly. With me it's coins, knives, spears, archery equipment, Hot Wheel cars, flashlights, full size cars, science books such as chem, math, astronomy,etc.
What a time someone will have cleaning up all this STUFF after I'm gone.

 

Thanks a lot for the feed back everyone, that was very interesting!

 

I collect what catches my eye...I like pretty shiny things...

 

Coin collecting is my hobby. I suppose I am just like most anyone else with a hobby. I do it because it affords me with an enjoyable alternative to life's everyday grind.
You know what they say about "all work and no play...". LOL

My collecting direction has a lot to do with my interest in history.
I collect a few World coins, many more US, but my main interest is in coins and tokens related to the history of my home state and local area.
I should also note that I use the term, "coin collecting" very loosely.
Owning and arranging coins, into a collection, is just one aspect of the hobby I have enjoyed for so long.

I would think that's a question that each individul must answer for himself.
I don't know of any two collectors who approach their hobby in exactly the same way.

Good luck!

 

I collect coins that are in various stages of circulation and show it...I have very few mint condition coins. Some coins you just wont find any examples in mint contition.

 

1) Fun and a sense of history and geography behind the coins; wondering where else it's been (if circulated).

2) Something positive to do with my daughter.

3) The satisfaction of having completed a set, or having found something you're looking for.

 

I collect also because of the history behind the coins. Each individual coin (if it could talk) would have its own unique story to tell. Alot of my coins, probably most, are in circulated condition, but, I buy circulated coins based alot on eye appeal. What drives me to keep collecting is the anticipation of completing each one of my (now 17) sets of U.S. coins. Two of which are already complete.

 

Well, I think that's fantastic, Aidan ! Good luck on the nomination ! I'll pray for your confirmation.

Sorry to hear about the problem in the food biz.

Anyway... on topic... Personally, I'm a type collector, especially 19th century US. I'm pro-American and fascinated by our history. Nobody's perfect, but I think the US is a very idealistic nation and always has been. Collecting older coins connects me with the ideals this nation was founded on and continues to stand for.

I love America.

 

i collected coins back in the early sixties and had them in my fathers safe well my sisters stole them after he died and i had to move in to take care of my mother . being disabled my self it helps pass the time and relax me after i get mom and my twin nine year old grand sons that we are raising in bed at night i like the circulated coins best but proofs are so shiny

 

wvrick, Sorry to hear about the theft. Over the years I have given my parents some coins that are quite valuable today. They are in their safe deposit box and when they are gone I know my sister will abscond with them. I love her but she has been a sponge off my parents all of her life along with her issue and husband. The only thing that consoles me is that the total value is only a few thousand. Everything I own goes to daughter number three. She is a nurse that has beaten heroin adiction and is only 24.