I guess that explains it. I have zero interest in the money-making side of this hobby but I guess that's where everyone is focused now - bullion.
Not really but that's not what I'm in it for anyway. I just love the history of the coins and the joy of collecting. Bruce
There are collectors, there are stackers and there's people who are a mix of both. I am both. Some family members gave me things to stash away as early as when I was probably seven years old. This wasn't long after the huge silver run up in 1980 so I imagine it was still fresh in a lot of people's minds what silver was capable of and $5/oz looked pretty cheap for quite a while. I got a one oz bar for my 8th grade graduation. Wasn't collecting or asking for one. As time went on I started realizing the potential myself. A passion for serious collecting didn't hit me until 2008. Instead of having a MS-63 trime, I could have bought a few 10 oz silver bars at the time so I'm not all stacker. Maybe 30% to that side just because it's usually uneventful and not that interesting. When a week like last week happens it's hard to ignore. It affects the collecting side pretty hard at the lower end and gold. Can only imagine where things go from here. Think the fundamentals remain, that silver is getting used up faster than getting re-supplied as it has for the past five years. Going to find out how much the Comex can supply this year.
I do it all, collect for myself and the history. Stack for financial reasons. Sell in my antique shop for fun and profit.