Not sure where to go from here in this hobby

I guess what's important is to find out what is meaningful to your collection. Everyone has different likes and dislikes so it's difficult to give my opinion.

I do share similar predicament - I've lost a decent paying job a while back and I've cut back and sold duplicates. It's not the end of the world to sell coins. Sure some of them were sold at a loss but I'd like to call it karma. I've bought a fair number of coins at crazy bargain so I don't feel too bad when I make a loss from time to time. Again, you don't have to sell at silly prices unless it's desperate.

For what I enjoy doing right now, I'm organizing my collection to be something more meaningful. I'd like to see them in type set and hence creating digital coin albums which make them easier to view. I admit that I'm not the best writer and photoshop artist but hey, there's always room to make improvements or come up with something neat.

 

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I wouldn't suggest selling anything either unless you really need the money. For the coins you can't sell try the coin store. Not sure if the store you go to may take them buts its worth a shot.

And instead of trying to collect other things to keep your interest going, I would suggest to take a little break. Go somewhere relaxing for a few days and don't think about coins, give time to your other hobbies.

 

I’m collecting British sovereigns at the moment.

 

This thread is almost four years old. I don't think many are following it anymore.

 

I am more gung-ho then ever. I love my hobby more with each passing year. I still have same goal as when I started as a teenager/ Worldwide AV coinage in high quality from earliest Electrum 670BC to present. I have achieved only one thing....I have a gold/ electrum coin from all 27 Centuries My most recent pickup....
AV Solidus ND Constantinople Mint
Constantine IV 668-78AD
Byzantine Empire

 

As the original poster of this thread it's interesting to read what I posted four years ago. Today I've almost stopped all buying on eBay. What I really enjoy is going to coin shops and digging through bins and that's about all I do now for coin collecting. I've switched to more of a type set collector for most countries and probably sold about 25% of my collection. Honestly I never miss anything that I sell. It can be hard to decide to break up a new part of the collection but once I do I never look back. Now usually when I get some new coins and put the away in their albums I find some old ones to take out and sell.

Something else I started doing is I try to make my hobby support itself. I sell the coins I get from those junk bins on eBay that I don't need and use that money to buy new coins. I keep a separate bank account and Paypal for my coin hobby and make sure I pay for everything coin related from that. It makes it a lot easier to see how the finances of the hobby are working.

 

That's a much happier post than the first one. Glad you found a way to make it work.

 

That sounds like a fun project, even for those who don't primarily collect gold. I'm missing quite a few centuries, myself.

 

That sounds like it's worth a thread on its own.

 

Looks like it was an inadvertent zombie thread resurrection, but these can be fun. I didn't see this thread when original, but have seen plenty of posts by @Hiddendragon otherwise so it was fun to read 'where he came from'.

I am in a 'waning' phase at the moment, and with a job loss (voluntarily thankfully) looming it is always good to remember it's okay to take a step back, think about priorities, and move on. It's gotten harder to find medals to buy, the Japanese coins morphed into date sets vs. the type set originally planned (NOT helped by a bit of OC and wanting to 'check the blocks') which has started to feel more like a chore.

The advice upstream to just...stop...for a bit seems like a great thing to do. That said, right before coming to this page I threw down a random bid on a Katanga cross in a Japanese coin auction. Why, I have no idea, but who doesn't need one? Maybe next up is a Yap stone. Odds are it won't slab

 

I know that feeling well. Years ago it led to a wholesale redirection of my approach to collecting.

 

Have you considered ancients? They can be purchased from reputable dealers, are full of history, and I can guarantee if you collect them for fifty years, you will never be bored.

 

I'm glad you all are much nicer to (new) people here at CT who resurrect idle threads.

When I first did that years ago, I had my be-hind handed to me in writing.

So, is it ~according to Hoyle~ okay to resurrect dead threads?

There are some threads I wish were dead sometimes, like "Show Us Your __(fill in the blank)___!," even though I sometimes post at those, too.

 

This was my issue too. I was buying things just to check the box, and generally by the time they came in the mail I was past it. It was about checking off the item on the list instead of having the coin. That's why I enjoy searching the junk bins at the dealers. You are having the thrill of finding something instead of just doing that internet search and hitting the "buy" button. You never know what you'll find in a junk bin and you get to pass those hundreds of coins through your hands and just see what's there. What always appealed to me as I collected different things since I was a kid is the thrill of finding something, whether it's a fossil or a bottle cap or a coin. It's not just having enough money to throw at it and buy it.

 

I dabbled in ancients a little when I was first getting started. I love history but for some reason the ancients just don't do much for me. I don't really like coins when they start getting too crude. I really mostly confine my collecting to lat 18th century and later.

 

If there's still something to talk about, why not? I'm not sure why this particular thread was resurrected but I have nothing against the process in general.

 

Great answer there!

 

Well, try investing for that new child. We often overlook the beauty of common US coins. I have good collections for my grandkids already but I decided to do collections of dollar, half dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. I’m building these collections for me and them. Gives me something else to do and hopefully it will be something they can take up and pass on. All it costs you is time and since you can get coins at face value from banks it’s really inexpensive. Plus it’s still exciting to find those hidden kemp’s in rolls, silver or proof coins. Enjoy have fun pass it forward.

 

I understand your situation completely. I collected as a child. Searching coin rolls for silver, Indian heads or whatever. Then came a family with 3 kids. Didn’t have the money or time to collect. Now as I am older and have grandkids I have the time and the money to build collections for them and for me. I recently decided to do all the US coins for each of them. Since coins can be purchased at banks you pay face value for a coin today which hopefully when you pass them on your kids and grandkids will take over. It’s relatively inexpensive and gives you your hobby back. It’s fun to search and find those silver coins, yes they are still out there or proof coins that find there way into circulation. Create a legacy for your kids and their kids you will find it rewarding and fun. My two cents. Good luck.

 

if you are interested in stamps, me Da' passed away last year and left me with the remains of his collection, and those he used to sell (along side me at coin shows whenst i was a wee lad o 13) anyhoo, hit me up, i would sell his collection for about 15 cents on the dollar, and mind you these were priced over 35 years ago..lol i also have complete sets of united nations stamps and block sheets, i have had no luck at the local flea marketws, and would give you a hell of a deal...juss sayin..john