21st Century Collecting Rant

One of the great things about the hobby is you can pursue it in any way you like. There are plenty of collectors who go about it in ways that make me scratch my head but the nice thing is I don't have to follow suit I can do it my way.

I love the history aspect and I also focus completely on quality for the coins I choose to purchase. Those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive.

 

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I completely agree with what you said. The main point I was trying to make is that, with modern us coins, there is less content to discuss due to familiarity. For the 2018 penny, the only things that have changed since 2017 are technical aspects of the coin. There are new varieties, a new date, but the historical significance of the coin hasn't changed. Because of this, I think we would benefit from some new classically designed coins with historical value. At the least, new coins could be made which are representative of today's society.

 

If think it would be a cool idea to create a thread where anyone can post a coin and discuss its historical value.

 

Well true.... and what makes matters even worst....the choices are always notning the majority wants.... and even when they revisit a timeless design IE the Mercury dime, the standing Liberty quarter, and Walker half they still can't get it right!
Sorry no intent on making another collector mad, but my personal opinion is that they don't even have the talent to copy a timeless design!
A design they own out right... if it worked in 1916 how come ....That in 2016 it loo,ed cartoonish?
With all the technology tney have today and what was produced a 100 ,200 years ago makes todays coins look like stage money.

 

There was a thread already started about a month ago.

 

I think what's missing from those coins (gold bullion pieces recently released) was the artistry. The designs looked a little "mechanical". Like some of the nuances were missing.

I do think the ASE captured the obverse of the WLH very well though.

 

Most people don't like retreads. It's like anything else you love the scare origional but if you remake it its a big meh. Also they were lazy with the work they did on them

 

Agree. IMO, the WLH has lost some of its allure due to the ASE. I'm not in favor of retreads at all and have stated it many times before.

My point was I think the ASE did a better job of recapturing the original design than the gold anniv. pieces from a few years ago.

 

I think we all agree that modern coins should not be revamping the past, but illustrating the history of our society today, so that people in the future will have something to learn about us. When I say that we need more coins with historical value, I'm not talking about commemoratives which only 50000 are made that hardly anyone will ever see. I'm not talking about adding state parks to quarters, because state parks have existed throughout the 20th century. Congress and the mint need to consider what represents us and our modern achievement.

 

I agree they did do a better job with it, but the ASE did ruin Walkers for me.

 

You should head over to the Ancient forum. It's possible that could be more up your alley. For short money, you could get a 2000+ year old coin, and grade suddenly doesn't seem so important. I'm not knocking modern coin collecting, I love it and I'm unlikely to stop buying them, but ancient coins filled different collecting 'needs' that I had. Check it out Randy, might be a good fit.

 

I believe nearly everyone starts out as a coin investor. If they stay, it's because they realize that this stuff is kind of fun too. Either that or they leave because it's "too much work."

Still, there has to be a profit motive. If we were all purists, who would we buy from?

(Addition) Some coin speculator activities of the past are good stories by themselves. Such as hoarding BU rolls of 1950D nickels in hopes of getting rich in coins. Only to end up leaving tons of Uncs. behind (and at lower prices had they not been hoarded) for todays collectors.

(Another addition) I can never remember the guy's name but he hoarded 25,000 1909-S VDB Unc. Lincoln's back in 1909. Doesn't that help to keep prices reasonable for today's Lincoln collectors? Coin speculators may be irritating today but for future collectors they may be performing what will be viewed as a public service.

 

I agree; however, if I was building a complete set or wanted a special date for whatever reason, I would want the best example I could reasonably afford. And if that means getting an example with some type of pedigree because the coin is in a physical better state, then I think it’s worth it.

 

When I discovered a treasure trove of Pa. family history spanning 1736 - 1823 it sparked me to return to collecting. It's a little hard to put into words, but learning about the currency used in that period might provide a window into the lives and stories of ancestors in those formative decades. That was over a year ago and since then other 19th C. series have attracted my attention, but the initial goal remains.
Numismatics is a very diverse field. I get that for many serious collectors continuous upgrades toward AU and MS becomes a passion, and this can require getting into the more technical aspects. But for my interests originality is paramount. Obviously it's nice to stay with the VF to EF grades where possible, in order to get the best feel for the coin, but even in lower grades you can be transported back to an earlier day by a quality original example.
From this perspective even variety collecting seems to have something of a downward pull on the hobby, in that individuals hold an excessive number of historical pieces, limiting availability to a degree. All of the production details are good to understand, but it is worth considering their relative importance. I would put more emphasis on coins as connections to the past and all that was sacrificed and endured so that we can live in comfort.

 

When I started collecting coins in the late 60's my thoughts and focus was totally different from those today. At that time we didn't have a new quarter design coming out every few months let alone the many number of commemoratives. We didn't have the internet or TPGs or registry sets. I wanted a coin to fill a slot in and album and didn't care if it was one of the best. Hell, I didn't know what the best looked like.

Unfortunately, today I look at coins for my collection differently. Ugly coins are no longer acceptable which in some cases unfortunate. I get online and see the nice mint state examples for sale and turn away from well circulated examples. I guess it's like buying a car. In my younger days only nice used cars were affordable. Now I only look for something new. It's funny how our perspectives have changed. At least mine has.

 

New collectors seem to be after the quick flip / make it rich thing.

I also find it amazing how many new posts there are of penny posts looking for that rare and high value cent. Just for them to disregard the ppl who say it isn't. And how they disregard their eyes of what they see versus what they want to see. Also how they don't realize this coinage gets banged around all the time.

cents, nickels, quarters ... seems to be a flood of it lately.

 

I often get a good laugh out of your humor... keep it coming.

I don't remember when I joined — actually I often don't remember why I go from one room to another since I made it into my seventies — but the only thing I can think of is that I ask for guidance on what is a fair price for me to pay for a specific coin. Sometimes I get answers, sometimes not. @Kentucky has often been helpful when I get to a point where I think I've met my daily/weekly quota of questions that shouldn't be asked if you even half know what you're doing and why you came here.

I have this fetish for Indian Head cents and would like to know more about the history of these, but I don't know where to look. And, no, I haven't bought a single IHC with the prospect of what I might make on it — I've even offered to pass some on to new members here who are obvious novices just for the cost of postage.

I confess that I couldn't give a hoot about these error coins.

 

Folks used to collect coins out of circulation that had a rarity premium. That isn’t possible today. So people go for varieties because that’s all that’s left. It used to be sufficient to have the best coins in your local coin club. Now we compare our coins to the reference example online. Some folks find it difficult to own an AU coin when all the examples online are MS 67+.

At my local coin club last month a guy brought in a VF Lafayette commemorative dollar. People were crowded around to see it. If it had been MS 60, few would have gave it a second look. If you are in a rut look for a series that is interesting in middle grade. Civil war tokens, British farthings, or Mexican Reales.

Web sites like eBay and Heritage have options to show you only coins in certain grades. Go there, see what people are paying, I am sure you will find something more interesting and historical than than a full band Mercury dime.

 

In the Court of the Crimson King is a hallmark album, Kentucky, as I'm sure you know. As an audiophile I sought out the dozens of vinyl pressings from all over the world, then found an early 2000s HDCD remastered somewhere in the Far East by some obsessive audiophile millionaire that would have deserved space in my monthly column on reissue recordings in a now-defunct enthusiast magazine. Fascinating song, vitally essential recording, and there's also this message.

 

Another great song from the late Greg Lake.