What kind of collector are you?

What kind of collector are you? Do you buy and hold forever? Or, do you sometimes sell to facilitate future purchases?

 

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I still have my "kid" coins.

 

I collect and stack. I purchase to complete different coin series, but I also buy as much 90% (any really) silver I can get my hands on at the right price.

 

I used to be more into collecting coins, but I have had to sell several now that I am in school (and also married with three children). I have gone from collecting dates and mintmarks to simply collecting types. I hope to get more into it when my son is old enough to start enjoying it. I have kept a jar full of wheat pennies and want to give him a penny book when he turns seven or eight (he will be five soon) and see how far we can fill it. If he ends up enjoying coins, it will be a fun shared hobby. If not... I will probably stop with what I have.

 

I'm the full addict collector. I collect for sets. I collect type coins with nice eye appeal. I collect bullion. I collect key dates. I collect old coin books. I collect mint and proof sets..... hoarder.. maybe I've gone hoarder status.

 

I collect world coins, focused on the German States. I don't often sell anymore unless the opportunity to upgrade comes along. At this point in my collecting journey, I buy fewer coins, but I'll likely keep them for the remainder of my life.

 

I collect by date and mintmark business strikes. I also collect type sets such as US 20th century, State, National Park, and Women quarters.

 

I have been a bit of both. When I became a dealer, I sold my half cent die variety collection for seed money. Generally I hold coins for a long time. I have coins I bought in the 1960s. Some coins in my albums are pieces I grabbed from circulation when I was a collector in the early 1960s going through rolls of coins.

 

Wow, I have to say "A happenstance collector". Started as a kid with albums of dimes, pennies and nickels. Always intrigued with "foreign" coinage and collected from countries I didn't have. Have roll-searched and dug into bins at coin shows and even sold some on bidboards. I scan Craigslist and recently stopped a VERY nice lady from selling 90% silver at 4Xface. Took her to an honest coin dealer and got her much more than she thought. Always prowling for bargains...now even with ancients which I know pitifully little about.

 

I hoard!

 

Me: "Hi, my name is Eric. And.......I'm a hoarder."

All: "Hi, Eric. Welcome to Coin Hoarders Anonymous."

Me: "I used to want to collect Cents, Nickels, Dimes and Quarters by Date and MM. I wanted every Date/MM to complete the set. Never completed any set. Then, I fell in love with Mercury Dimes. I had to collect every Date/MM of that. Never completed the set. Then, I fell in love with Franklin Halves. I had to collect every Date/MM of that. Never completed the set. Then, Morgan Dollars. Never completed the set. Then, Walking Liberty Halves. Never completed the set. Then, this. Then, that. Then, that! I saved every Wheat Cent that I got in circulation, and just threw them into a bag. I have probably over 4,000 of them that I need to sort through, some day! Basically, I collected lots of junk, and never completed ANY set! It turns out, maybe I'm a hoarder with ADHD!!! I've always chased shiny objects!"

All: "Awww, that's ok. You're not alone."

Me: "Now that I'm older and have time on my hands, I'm starting to figure out what I REALLY want to collect. Right now, I'm cataloging my entire hoard. I will sell off the stuff I really don't care about that much, and use the proceeds to collect what I do want."

All: "What do you want to collect in the future?"

Me: "For now, I want to get rid of all of the stuff I don't really care about. Then, I want to concentrate on my Dansco 7070 Type Set, my Morgan Dollars, and any other coins that really peak my interest. I will likely NOT collect any type by Date/MM anymore. So, in the end, I will be a selective Type hoarder, I guess."

 

Same bucket. I have never sold a single coin. I don't really buy that many either, compared to a lot of people. It seems like I just have coins, not "collect" them.

 

I'm still a kid at heart, so all my coins are "kid coins". I collect coins ranging from the 1600's to early 1900's US coins mostly.
I also have found a "ton" of coins while Metal Detecting. Here's my friend who just found a "Merc"!!

 

Started collecting as a paperboy in the late 1950s, and still have those coins. Stopped collecting while in the military and when raising a family, then started up again thirty or so years ago. My focus for the past ten years has been Seated Halves, but occasionally buy rolls of Mercury Dimes and Walking Liberty Halves. (easily recognizable, unlike many forms of silver). I don’t believe I have ever sold a coin and probably never will. My better coins are in a safety deposit box (with insurance). I have tried to get family members interested in numismatics, but none have bitten. To each their own.

 

I found date and mint mark collecting to be too much. It was the reason I was a type collector for a long time until I finished that set. When I have done date a mint mark sets, it is usually a series with a limited number of mint marked coins, like the Indian Cents (only 2) or the Classic Head gold coins. I completed a set of Type I gold dollars, but those mint marks are exotic from places like Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans.

 

I will occasionally sell a coin or two, but over the years I have either given away or spent more obsoletes than I have sold. I think of this as "priming the pump" for future collectors.

 

I have been collecting coins for 57 years so a lot of water has gone under the bridge. I have bought and sold hundreds of coins in my lifetime. I will just specify where I am at right now.

I currently have been selling off a small group of coins each Spring. The coins I am selling are coins i have held at least 15 years but many are coins i have had more than 30 years. It gives me an opportunity to reap some rather large price increases that have happened. At the same time it allows me a little better budget to pursue my current interests.
I currently have been focused on building a Seated Dime set that includes:
The 1837 to 1840 period of coins before the Ball design occurred.
I have also tried to add a group of Fortin top 100 pieces. To be even more specific I have been building a variety set for the year 1838.
I also have some specific goals concerning other Seated denominations but 95% of my collecting is focused on pre 1853 coins.
Last of all I love Proof Indian cents and have started collecting a small group of them.
Oh and I have made a point of getting some of the old small white ANAC holders back into my collection. Always had a crush on them.
Thanks for asking. James

 

I have completed a type set of fractional currency, and partially completed an 18th century to modern type set, a gold type set from the classic head to St. Gaudens and a classic gold and silver commemorative set. Unless I win a lottery these sets will always remain partially completed. Recently I sold the commemorative set but I did keep back the Pan Pac half, $1, $2.5, Isabella, Lafayette, and Hawaiian half.

Now, I buy whatever interests me and fortunately /unfortunately my interests are broad. For example, recent pickups included a large cent pattern, the Hawaiian cent, a Sybaris bull, and some 17th and 19th century English coinage. I also like good looking circulated low mintage American coinage with occasional forays into Hard Times tokens, Civil War tokens and British trade tokens. I also collect American currency, world coins and coins that depict beehives. In short, pretty much anything that was used in commerce, from wampum to silver dollars.

 

@Tall Paul Don't want to derail thread but have a question for you. Do you have a "go to" reference for the Hard Time and Civil War tokens? James