Poll: your strategy in collecting sets

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by lordmarcovan, Feb 26, 2018.

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What best describes your collecting strategy?

  1. Filling the empty holes first with what's obtainable NOW is my priority- maybe I'll upgrade later

    16 vote(s)
    25.0%

  2. Sometimes I'll compromise slightly and get something that's CLOSE to my ideal, then upgrade later

    27 vote(s)
    42.2%

  3. No compromise- better an empty hole than a substandard coin- I can wait months or YEARS if I have to

    21 vote(s)
    32.8%
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  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    Discuss, if you like, though I know the topic isn't exactly breaking any new ground here.

    Be honest with yourself. I'd love to claim I was in the third category, but candidly, I must admit I fall into the second. And used to be in the first.

    There's nothing wrong with any of that, of course. No right or wrong answers here.
     
    lordmarcovan, Feb 26, 2018
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  3. Aidan_()

    Aidan_() Numismatic Contributor

    Where's the bacon option?
     
    Aidan_(), Feb 26, 2018
    #2 + Quote Reply
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  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    In mah belly. *brp*
     
    lordmarcovan, Feb 26, 2018
    #3 + Quote Reply
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  5. Aidan_()

    Aidan_() Numismatic Contributor

    :sour:
     
    Aidan_(), Feb 26, 2018
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  6. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    Same here.

    Although I aspire to be in the 3rd group!
     
    Maxfli, Feb 26, 2018
    #5 + Quote Reply
  7. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    I went with option two but I didn't try to upgrade. It was more about a matching look to the coins. If I were building a set today, I would go with option three.
     
    ldhair, Feb 26, 2018
    #6 + Quote Reply
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  8. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    As it happens, I'm going for a matching look in my present sideline project. Common, readily-available coins, but with a fairly specific look.

    I think some of this will depend on how specialized someone's collection is, of course. I've seen posts by folks on the Ancients forum who were definite Type 3 collectors. There are some people who have waited 18 to 20 years to make a particular addition! I don't have that kind of commitment and long-term focus.

    In the US coins camp, I would imagine you'd find a good number of Type 3 collectors in the early copper and Overton-variety Bust half collectors. Maybe the silver dollar VAM-variety folks.

    If, on the other hand, your collection is less specialized and follows the more-traveled and popular routes, and/or the coins are more readily available, then you can survive or even thrive as a Type 1 or Type 2 collector.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2018
    lordmarcovan, Feb 26, 2018
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  9. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    I'm sort of between 2 and 3.
    I buy the coin I want (3) but at a later date I may reconsider and do an upgrade (2).

    Right now I'm after one coin to complete my IHC set.
    And I've been after it for several years.

    But in the meantime I work on other sets.
    Currently it's Early US Commemoratives.
    That's one I'll never complete since the two $50 Panama-Pacific pieces are WAY beyond my means.
    (C'mon lottery :rolleyes: )
     
    kanga, Feb 26, 2018
    #8 + Quote Reply
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  10. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

     
    longnine009, Feb 26, 2018
    #9 + Quote Reply
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  11. Pickin and Grinin

    Pickin and Grinin Well-Known Member

    I am an option 3. Even if the hole stays empty. coins have to catch my eye, or they can stay with the dealer.
     
    Pickin and Grinin, Feb 26, 2018
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  12. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    I am in the third group. I prefer to wait for a mint state FDC coin. But then I collect ALL type coins/ Countries/ periods in history/ of the AV metal. Even with Warren Buffet's $, I could only aspire to get 10 percent. End result I am happy to scour sixbid auctions/ target a nice coin/ hope that no one bids on it. My last three auction wins prove my point/ all over the map.
    1/ Macedon AV 1/4 Stater circa 346BC/ mint state Philip II/ Pella Mint (New York Sale/2018)
    2/ Spain AV 80 Reales 1813 Madrid Mint / Joseph Napoleon
    Bonaparte/ King of Spain (Aureo&Calico/ Dec/2017)
    3/ Persian Empire AV Daric ND circa 420-390BC/ CH-MS strike 5/5 surface 5/5 Xerxes II/ Artaxerxes II (Heritage Auctions) Jan/2018
    John
     
    panzerman, Feb 26, 2018
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  13. JCro57

    JCro57 Making Errors Great Again

    I collect, among other things, US. blanks/planchets (unstamped coins/discs for those who don't know what those are, without and with a rim). Some are just nearly impossible to find. For example, If I find a genuine silver three cent piece blank or planchet, even if someone etched a middle finger in it, I am buying it if the price isn't too far off. I might not ever see another in my life.
     
    JCro57, Feb 26, 2018
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  14. David Setree Rare Coins

    David Setree Rare Coins Well-Known Member

    Buy the key dates first.

    The common ones are ALWAYS available and the key dates are the ones that are not only hard to find but tend to increase in value better than the common dates.

    Common dates will always be common and key dates will always be scarce.
     
    David Setree Rare Coins, Feb 26, 2018
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  15. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    I don't like building sets because once I've completed the set I will either sell it or put it away and only look at it once in a while.

    Chris
     
    cpm9ball, Feb 26, 2018
    #14 + Quote Reply
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  16. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    I used to compromise to fill slots but after selling most of my previous collection I lean towards quality over quantity. I don't want to go through selling thousands of common coins again.
     
    wxcoin, Feb 26, 2018
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  17. ace71499

    ace71499 Young Numismatic

    Right now, the only set I am building is the equivalent of the dansco 7070. I have fallen into the 3rd option as of right now. I haven't wavered from only getting MS coins in the album. However i may waver off when i get to the big money stuff. Who knows, maybe I'll be a millionaire and be able to keep everything MS. In my eyes, buying to upgrade is not productive, I'd rather save my money for 1 nice coin, rather than 2 gross ones. I've wasted so much money buying junk coins, I have flashbacks to buying a slick barber half for no reason.
     
    ace71499, Feb 26, 2018
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  18. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

    I too have moved beyond structured sets with my "Eclectic Box" project in the last five years, but in that time, I've still had the urge to keep at least one (somewhat-) traditional secondary collection going at any given time.

    These "sideline" sets are usually how I keep a hand in US coins, since my primary collecting avenues are World & Ancient.

    Most (though not all) of these side projects have been in Dansco albums: Barber halves, Walking Liberties, the 7070 type set (again), and now, silver dollars. I enjoy them, but seldom finish them before they get sold and I move on to something else.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2018
    lordmarcovan, Feb 26, 2018
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  19. kountryken

    kountryken Well-Known Member

    Well, I fall in category 1, with a slight change to the wording. I prefer to complete a collection, with what I can afford, at the time. I would rather see filled holes, then empty spaces. But, I will DEFINITELY upgrade as soon as I can. I am in it for the fun of collecting. I want the best grade I can put in my collection, but want the collection complete, too. My collection will basically never be of great value on the coin market, but it will always be of great value to me. I'm having fun! But, I am thankful for, and appreciate those of you that buy, and preserve the best grades of coins. Without you, I couldn't see what my coin is really supposed to look like!
     
    kountryken, Feb 26, 2018
    #18 + Quote Reply
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  20. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    I'll only hold out if I know the coin I seek will really be available to me. There are surely some coins for which the attractive example is so darned expensive, or so many years from being liberated, that I just know I'll regret holding out for it, only to miss out on the satisfaction of owning the next best thing.
     
    ToughCOINS, Feb 26, 2018
    #19 + Quote Reply
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  21. Browns Fan

    Browns Fan Active Member

    My attention is easily drawn to most anything of interest to me. I fell for star notes and $2 bills, for instance. Indianheads, buffalo nickels and Walkers have caught my eye. At one time I just bought PCGS graded coins and collected all the key Lincolns, Walkers, a couple Bust halves, etc. Then it was foreign currency and next a kilo of foreign coins. This winter I bought my 3rd kilo of foreign coins, got most of them catalogued and holdered, and am now wondering what to do next. Maybe some silver bars or civil war tokens?
     
    Browns Fan, Feb 26, 2018
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