please convince me to stay

i found that this hobby requires some $$$, which i have very little of

i love collecting silver and looking at coins....but dont know if im in the right hobby..i really have a hard time paying $20 for something where in the long run it may only be worth face value (maybe less than that for older coins)

so can you guys give me some really good reasons to make this my lifelong hobby..

thanks

 

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If you really enjoy the collecting of coins, then the realization that you're paying more than face for a coin is just trivial, and best left for all the non-collectors in your life to make fun at. the best part about this hobby, is you don't always have to spend a lot of money to enjoy it. I still get just as much enjoyment in finding something interesting in my pocket change as I do when I buy a thousand dollar coin. Anyone with any means can enjoy it just the same. Hope you don't give up on it.
Guy~

 

If you are looking for cheaper way to still collect, and there are some that are fun, try buying coins from your bank in boxes. I have done this and have been giving hours of enjoyment at absolutely no cost, but face value.

I am nto loaded with dough either so I had to think of a way to still remain active and nto broke. That has worked for me, plue if you find a nice coin, and it is worht some dough, your so much more ahead.

Regards,
S

 

stainless:
As stated above, you don't have to spend a lot of bucks.
Roll searching can be very rewarding and lots of fun.
And you can always get your 'investment' back.
(face value).

 

Take a breather for a day or two and sleep on it. It's a great hobby.

Take Care
Ben

 

Heck, I plan on quitting collecting every time that I come home with more coins than I had planned on buying.

Then I lay down take a nap, wake up and look for more to buy.

 

When I first started collecting I would do a lot of impulse buying. I would buy anything that I thought was cool. This started to get really expensive because i pretty much thought every coin I saw was cool. So I had to stop collecting for a little bit. When I got back into it I decided I needed a plan, I needed to pick a set that I thought would be possible to complete. I chose Jefferson nickels because they were easily in reach and very affordable. I figured I could even collect a set from circulation and pay face, but given how cheap they are I decided to put an uncirculated set together. I am in no hurry to put the set together so instead of randomly buying coins i need all the time, I stared from the beggining of the set and buy like 1 coin or so a week. Started with 38, then D, then S, proof, 39, 39D,...... If i could not find the coin i needed i wouldn't buy anything else untill I did find. That way I'm not spending money all the time on random coins.

 

Ah theres always ways to get more money. LOL maybe you can bang on pots and pans out in the street. And maybe the change people throw you will proove interesting to search.

 

Your infected and there is no cure. Learn to live with it! It may go into remission but will resurface when least expected.

 

I try to limit myself to one or two coins a week and try not go over a set amount for each coin. I also enjoy going through coins from the bank. Just yesterday I found 5 40% Kennedy's. That pretty much made my day.

 

I LIKE that idea! :thumb: Can be very hard sometimes, but can be worth it in the end.

Stainless, I had the exact same problem when I first started out. See a coin you really really like, but alas, have no money. It can be frustrating, believe me. But, this hobby can be done with very little money if you have the right strategies. Like the one in my quote, etc. Or, set yourself a budget, say only $5. And no more than that. Go to a coin dealer or so, and only bring $5. You are more liable to string a deal if you have only a set amount of money. And most dealers are probably willing to help you out too. No shame in bartering imho, if you do it with respect for the other individual. But, you don't really need a lot of money to have a nice coin collection. But you do need a lot of knowledge. You're a cool guy, I enjoy your posts. Can't force you to stick around, but I hope you do. BTW, even if you don't have any money for coins, cointalk is still free. A big thing to remember IMHO.

Phoenix

 

There are certainly ways to spend less money on your collecting and still enjoy yourself. Also, there is no need to commit to it on a life-long basis.

But, if you truly need to be talked into sticking with the hobby, it's probably not for you, anyway. Hopefully, in hearing that, you will have a reaction one way or another which should tell you what you need to know regarding your feelings on the subject.

 

From your previous posts, it sounded to me like you were trying to buy as many coins as you could as fast as you could. As much as we'd all like to have all of the coins we want it sometimes just doesnt work out that way. There are many of us here that are still after some of those elusive coins we dream of owning someday, even after many years of collecting. Alot of us started out collecting coins from pocket change or from rolls at the bank or Grandmas pickle jar. You can do the same, buy rolls at the bank at face value. You can collect and complete your statehood quarters, jefferson nickels and Kennedy halves this way (except proofs, normally) all by buying coins at face value. I hope you do stick with it. There are many hobbies out there besides coin collecting but there are honestly none that are as enjoyable. I, for one, could never get myself to enjoy knitting......go figure.

 

you seldom get hurt or get dirty doing it

ex Jackson Hole Morgan Collection MS68 (thats the best silver I have to inspire you)

start small, read a lot, keep your foot in the game and gradually get better coins.

 

Take care of the necessities first.
Coin collecting is entertainment.
If it cramps you too much, hang it up until things get better.

 

well, unlike some, I dont encourage people to stay in the hobby as the more people out there bidding, the more I have to pay and the more coins and medals I lose.

But in all honesty, you have to remember that a silver penny of Edward the confessor or a penny of George III isn't worth a penny anymore because it is an historical artifact...it is an antique. Even the newer and cheaper coins that are slightly above face value are worth what others will pay, which in the end is what you will probably have to pay. Buy a coin today...keep it in your collection...20 years from now it might be worth double.

Worth isn't a big thing for me though because I never will sell my coins, my collection is now very large and worth quite a bit and I simply will never sell them....I dont care if I am homeless with a box of coins and medals under my arm, I just wont sell. In the end, over the years, I have seen my collection rise in value and if I WERE to sell, I would get more than I spent. I am a collector at heart and a hoarder, I love art and antiques.

I am a miser, cheap as hell and I offer no apologies for that. Its a hobby for me, not a way to make more money which is why I am so against anyone I feel is trying to eek an extra buck out of this hobby doing something I think is simply not needed. If I feel a practice will effect prices of coins...I am against it. I want it as cheap as I can get it, I dont want to spend a penny more than I have to. So you are not alone.

For me it was never a dilemma as I simply have this driving passion for the hobby, its a pleasure and sometimes you walk away with a good deal but to find good deals, IMO, you have to be obsessively looking.

In the end...if you are wondering if you even want to be in the hobby, maybe it isnt for you? It was never a debate in my mind, when I started collecting coins I was only wondering how it is that I didnt know before that I loved little historical works of art on small round discs....but it makes sense as my favorite type of artwork is etching (akin to engraving which I also collect), busts, I love history and art. I would never need someone to give me a reason, I get the reason every time I see outstand works of art like these:

 

Lets take your comments one at at time.

1) The hobby requires money. This isn't necessarily true beyond the face value. You can collect from bank rolls and pocket change at face value.

2) You love silver but fear the silver coins may only be worth face value. You have to keep in mind that it is highly improbable that the silver content in a Franklin half dollar will ever be worth less than $0.50 in your lifetime. You may not like paying $17 for an ounce of silver with $1 stamped on it, but keep in mind that throughout almost the entire history of the USA, one ounce of silver was worth more than $1.

3) Can we give you good reasons to make this your lifelong hobby? No. That has to come from within you. You seem afraid that you might lose money. What other hobby will to take up that won't cost you money?

 

Read between your own lines Stainless.

You started this hobby because you had an interest. You've asked tons of good questions. I feel it's in your heart actually but that's for you to decide.

Most of us have been through tough times but still embraced the hobby, the history, the art the sheer beauty. What other hobby can satisfy those needs?

Like sooooo many others here I have taken a long hiatus from coins but the candle was always burning. I had silly things to do like eat and pay the rent. When I DID get back into it a $30 purchase was a big deal. For the past several months I have bought nothing. Yep, times got rough but I'm almost over the hump and never lost my love for coins.


You jumped into Morgans. Yeah, nice coins if you like them. Can also be VERY expensive. There are so many other coins out there that can be had much cheaper yet retain the beauty and historical value. Read some other threads man.

People put up their first Mercury Dime etc. To many of us it's not a big deal but we still encourage them because at some point that was us and it IS a big deal.

Coin collecting has been around "forever". You can still buy decent ancient coins cheap. A decent Indian cent for a few bucks etc and so on.

Can one say that with baseball cards, beanie babies even stamps? No, did not have those 40 years ago, 100 years ago, 200 hundred years ago but there sure were coins.


You have chosen a difficult het fascinating hobby. Whether or not you stick with it is totally up to you.

Personally hope you do.

clembo

 

as a person on a budget tighter than a gnat's behind i support my hobby by going through change and getting rolls at the bank. occasionally i might fork over a few bucks for something but i still dont own one piece of silver. not one. but what i do own is coins from around the world, a 1935 silver certificate, a 1963 2$ red seal, a star note, etc. its not much but its my collection. ive loved looking at coins since i was a kid and even if i never have a piece of silver or a slabbed coin im ok with that. collecting doesnt mean buying slabbed coins or buying silver, those are fun im sure but collecting doesnt mean you have to spend a fortune on the hobby.

i also build models, tanks, cars, etc. i COULD get high end products to help me but i get by without them. its about the attention to detail, how much time and effort i put into making something look as real as possible, not how much money i can throw into an airbrush for a slightly better finish.

i think people sometimes forget that collecting coins also means going through rolls to find all kinds of errors, finding a wheat or something else in a roll. part of the fun in collecting is looking through your change just to keep your skills honed and the possibility of getting lucky, it happens more often than we think. i think its about using what we've learned, not what we have in our wallets.

 

How about barter, trading coins? I have done a lot of that with good people right here on Coin Talk.
No money spent. You get rid of your extras and get something you want in exchange. I don't know why there isn't more trading going on here in the open forum.