21st Century Collecting Rant

I started collecting coins with my dad when I was younger. Between the two of us we had at most four albums before I dropped it. That was back in the early sixties. When my father-in-law gave my son his collection of coins and currency about four years ago, it reignited my interest. My son, who was 24 at the time, was hooked. Both of us are, of course, looking for coins now with some eye appeal, but at the same time reflecting on the history of the coins. My son seems to prefer the Peace dollars, while I go for the artistry of the Morgan's. I think the appeal of grading might address the feeling we have for verifying quality, however you define that. But I don't go by grade alone if at all. Nowadays I want to know some of the history behind the coins.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Saw jethro in Hampton NH. ELP in Hampton VA. any idea when King Crimson will be playing in a Hampton somewhere

 

Well, just from the perspective of being an old poot with not much money, my grading of coins consists of being able to see most of the details with my old eyes. I can't afford to buy many high grades that someone else has graded as such. I guess if I was collecting from an investment viewpoint and was about 40 years younger, the 3rd party graded coins would make a bunch of since to me. I have a few, but they are not my main focus. More power to you and I hope you have fun with them also. I do think there is room for all of us nuts though. I just got out my deluxe Whitman albums for my mercury dimes, buffalo nickels, and Walking Liberty half dollars. Paid more for the dang albums than I have for most of the individual coins I ever bought. Sure have a long way to go in all of them and most ain't real purdy, but they are mine and I enjoy them. Now, I must confess, I do like the bling of silver, shiny proof cameo Kennedys and a few others such as the proof cameo silver America The Beautiful quarters. I like them also and they are what I consider my high end coins. LOL. Still able to afford one every now and then. As far as the history of the designs go, heck, I lived them years anyway and they do help me refresh my memory. Can't afford anything much more than 40 years older than me anyway. I just don't over analyze my coins that I enjoy in my collection, but that is just me. I am just glad to see there are youngsters out there that still enjoy the hobby. Do it your way. I probably spoke to much anyway so I will finish, nuff said. Mike in Missouri

 

Unfortunately, many focus on the value of their coins rather than the coins themselves.

There are things that I collect that are valuable and there are things that I collect that are not.

I wish that people wouldn't focus on the money so much, but, they are allowed to collect as they please.

 

Very true.

 

Agree with the OP.

 

This is how I see things...in the beginning we all look at the history of a certain coin that we have our eyes on...we buy the books, read the forums, check the price lists, etc. We are ALWAYS on the look out for a great deal...buy low and sell high mentality. It is just ingrained into our "Psych". I completely agree; but I think that is just because the history of that coin is not shared or typed in with others on the forums because we are all craving the acceptance that "our" coin is worth more than we paid for. This, in my opinion, is where CAC, the * categories come in.

Me, on the other hand and a lot of others on these forums, look at a coin whether it is raw or in a slab and wonder what is the "story" of this coin? Did Wild Bill Hickok bounce "our" coin on a saloon counter and heard that beautiful ring in our ears that we all are listening for? Did Billy the Kid win it during a poker gamer? Or was "our" coin just stored in vaults until the 60's when they were opened up for the public?

But yes, we are looking for the quality of "our" coin and hope that we got a great deal and that it goes up in value. Like the OP stated, "I get it". I really do. This is also one of the many reasons that I love the Numismatist magazine. I read the magazine's many stories and my mind opens up to all the possibilities/history a coin has gone through and that ultimately winds up in our hands. In the end, we usually pick what we like and is appealing to our eyes. This is just the way it is.


P.S. Forgive me for my rant...

 

Jason, that was a "good" rant!

 

Good rant, agreed, but the more interesting storied coins are going to be circulated, and generally very circulated.

It seems to me that people treasure the uncirculated specimens more, and that’s great from a preserving historical artifacts perspective, but makes it rather unlikely that our coins were handled by interesting people and/or characters from history.

 

Even more so if you get a few ancients...it's odd to feel a couple of Alexandrian Tetradrachms shaking around in your pocket.

 

I must agree, while I am young I still love the history of the coins and its sad to see many of my generation only caring of the small details. I like coins for what they are, the history and the story of the coin. Small details are not important but it really lies on what you love to collect. I was once starting to veer to the investers ways but my grandpa reminded me of what truly mattered with the hobby and that was do you enjoy it. These are my words on the subject.