Deciding what to collect.

I have been collecting for over a year but still can't decide what I want to collect. I feel like I'm on a cross road where my collection is a little of everything. How did you guys really figure out how to proceed? I know you may say collect what you like but the fact I like it all doesn't help and I prefer completing sets rather than just buying whatever looks good to me.
What can you tell me?

 

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Budget is a significant factor in collecting. Maybe start with nickels and Roosevelt dimes if you want a simple chase that won’t cost a lot. You’ll complete those in relatively short time and can think about what you want to chase next based on your budget.

 

It's a very personal decision, hard to give you specific advice. I wrote this article a while back. It's about collecting banknotes, but you can replace the word "banknote" with "coin" everywhere and the discussion is the same

 

Well everybody is different in there collecting hobby, I'm not really into sets per say I'm more into errors.

I like coins that have been graded and verified even if there are no errors as long as they are ms 65 and above I collect them.

I don't care much for die chips, plating blisters, lamination errors, ect. But that's what makes this hobby different IMO you can collect what ever tickels your fantasy.

I'm not in it for money I'm in it because I enjoy it, it's for me and nobody else so collect what ever you like.JMO
Dave

 

I've been collecting for 30 years, ever since I was 9 years old, and i still have trouble deciding what to collect next. Right now I'm working on capped bust halves, but i may put those down for a while and focus on large cents, idk yet. If you're having trouble deciding, it's ok to take a little break. Go to shows and look at a lot of different coins, or just browse online without any serious intention to buy. Something will grab your attention, when it does, get some books and learn as much as you can about that series. Then start searching for coins.

 

Very sound advice....as what you want to collect and what you can afford to collect are two different things.
Like driving a car....yeah everyone would love to drive a luxury car however your pocketbook determines if you're driving or walking.

 

I understand , my extremely pragmatic side makes me want to complete anything I start. OCD per say

 

I found it helpful to work on several sets at a time and not be in a hurry to fill any one hole. Wait for a nice coin at the right price. With several sets going you don't get bored waiting for something nice to come along.

 

Welcome to the Dark Side... I mean um... try collecting ancients!!

 

I struggled with this too. I've collected off and on through the years since I was a kid which has left me with about 20 coin folders all of them not quite filled with circulated coins. I also have a handful of other coins but I never had any area of focus. I asked a very similar question on here a month or so ago. One of the things that helped me narrow my focus was reading a couple coin books. It helped me realize the types of things I had interest in more than just, hey that's shiny, or I like that one.

So I've "narrowed" my collecting for now into 3 areas really. 1st is simply buying coins of my Birth Year - 1981. US and Foreign, I'm also working on this for my 3 kids. The great thing is this is easy and fun to do on a budget. I'm also interested in coins with Wildlife on them but that was too broad so I narrowed it to coins with wildlife Native to my home state of New Hampshire. Lastly, and this one is more costly but the history and events surrounding these coins interests me, is Commemoratives. Both early and Modern, The Columbian Expo coin sparked my interest.

 

I like high grade and/or rare mint errors, because otherwise I feel I am just buying a series of the exact same thing with just a different date and mintmark.

Some only collect the keys. Some love toned sets of easy series, like modern nickels and dimes. But you can also do subsets - war nickels, steel cents, coins with Indians or Buffalos on them, etc. Or just go the traditional route of getting every minted coin for a series.

 

What is your budget? What is currently in you collection? How do you prefer to buy your coins?

 

Couldn't agree more

 

I hear ya with the OCD part. I love a lot of different coins but I cannot decide on one or the other. I have also started to collect my birth year on my budget. I have a full set of 1980 PR69DCAM's of every coin minted by the US mint. I have 3 whitman folders for Lincoln cents I want to fill with circulation finds and I just bought a Susan B Album (Dansco) that I want to fill with MS67 or above. I know this will take a while but like many others have said on here, it is what you want and when you want to do it. I think the one sentence here that I thought was the best one was, as a coin collector, you can have your cake and eat it too!!!

 

Perhaps I'll make up my mind before I die, however the last two purchases I have made are 1) a set of five one-ounce "slugs" from different countries and 2) an Athenian Owl.

 

You state you like everything and that's fine but only you can decide what goes into your collection. Define what you really, really want or like and complete that set. You may be able to afford working on a second set at the same time if finances allow you do to so. Do not place limits on yourself other than focusing on what you decide. You can always pick up that nice/special coin if/when it comes along while working towards your main goal, which is completing the set you decide to tackle first.
I have my completed low grade sets and my high grade sets but I'm still working on several other sets at the same time.

 

I've got just one word for you...just one word... ANCIENTS.