Why is it SOOOOO hard to save up for coins?!?!?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by TypeCoin971793, Feb 25, 2017.

  1. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    Dude, you didn't know about the 1980 T46/Scott #1586 Golden Monkey stamp?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Golden_Monkey_stamp

    Good to hear you focus on coins not on stamps ;-)
     
    panzerman likes this.
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  3. icerain

    icerain Mastir spellyr

    No, I wish I had one. Most of my stamps came from my parents. I didn't start buying them myself until the 90's. Seems like they stopped their collection around 1975 or so.
     
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  4. alde

    alde Always Learning

    I have been selling my long time US collection on ebay for over a year to feed my ancient coin addition and have almost always turned a profit. Sometimes a surprising profit. The keys to my success has been decent pictures and starting all auctions at $1.00 with no reserve. It's hard to list a slabed MS double eagle at a dollar but they have always sold for quite a bit more than I paid and we'll above spot. I also sold off a nice collection of Bust Half Dollar's and a VF plus set of Standing Liberty quarters minus only the 1916 and many other nice coins the same way. All were sold as individuals and not sets. There is always a better profit with individual coins as opposed to sets.
     
    Paul M., panzerman and TypeCoin971793 like this.
  5. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I thought you owned one.
     
    panzerman likes this.
  6. sakata

    sakata Devil's Advocate

    If you don't have enough to buy the coins you want then you are spending too much on everything else. Quit buying those new cars, paying for a smartphone and cable TV. Quit buying food and grow your own. If you really want a coin there are ways to do it. You just have to get your priorities right.
     
  7. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I'm still too attached to my US coins (only my type set) to sell them off. I find the large variety of designs and historical ties interesting. I probably would never sell them to fund ancients. But date and mintmark sets? They're meaningless to me. None of the coins are that much more special than the next one.
     
    alde and Paul M. like this.
  8. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    I quote myself:
    I got the eBay feed again today. The price of this many-times-unsold baby has been raised to $245!
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2017
    TypeCoin971793 and Paul M. like this.
  9. Gavin Richardson

    Gavin Richardson Well-Known Member

    On the other end of the spectrum, there's a Constans centenionalis in deplorable condition for $7 that's been posting in my eBay feed for months. I almost bought it just so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore.
     
    Paul M. likes this.
  10. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    As @Deacon Ray indicated, keeping a smaller collection of fixed size can help. I have a "core" collection of just twenty pieces, so when I want to add something new to it, I can get part of the way there by selling one already in the box. Each coin sold helps pay for its replacement. It's more like "upgrading" something in an existing "set" than having to start saving from scratch.

    Of course, this collecting style does have its challenges. Sometimes it's hard keeping the collection small. Sometimes it's hard to part with a coin, even when you'll be using the proceeds from its sale to buy something even "nicer".

    One thing I often do is build up small, casual "sub-collections" for a fun way of "saving up". Take, for example, the time I worked on an accumulation of circulated Walking Liberty half dollars in an album. They were not terribly expensive coins and I bought the more common pieces pretty close to melt, but tried to get as nice a set as I could, cheaply. Worked on that for several months, then sold the album.

    Then
    , with those proceeds, I had a bigger lump sum to put towards a single nice piece in my primary collection. Building casual "sub-collections" and flipping them later is more fun than having to wait around empty-handed while you save up for a big purchase. It gives you something to do. Of course it has to be done carefully, or you'll lose money.

    Saving up is great for those who have the discipline, but I can certainly empathize with those who have a tough time doing it. It's never been my strong suit, either.

    Despite some risks, doing a little "flipping" or cherrypicking on the side to fund your primary collection is fun.

    Here's an old story I wrote about one particular series of "flips" I did.
     
    Orfew, TypeCoin971793 and Ajax like this.
  11. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    As a small update, I have purchased one of the four coins. I contacted the dealer about the other three, but I have yet to get a response.
     
    Theodosius likes this.
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