Let's face it, anyone can be a collector in the good times. When you buy a coin, and see it go up in price over the next year, it's easy to feel good collecting an appreciating asset. However, I suspect those times have come to an end, or at least we've hit a little bump in the road we call coin collecting.... So do you think that a downturn in the market will separate the collecting-wheat from the investing-chaff? And is that a bad thing? Just wondering what YOU think...Mike
Yes I do think it will separate them, to a degree. I say to a degree because typically the people with enough money to buy rarities (6 figure coins) are not as affected as the rest of us by a downturn in the economy. But those investors who buy 4 and 5 figure coins are affected and it is they who will for the most part stop or at least cut back on purchasing. And yes, I do think it is good thing.
I don't know if I'm wheat or chaff, I guess I'm a mix of both but this economy has sidelined me to being a casual observer. Since we haven't seen the bottom yet, I've cut back on all spending except for food and housing. Every other free cent is going in the bank. I survived the first round of lay offs at work, but who knows about the next round. I need to save as much as I can until we start to see light at the end of the tunnel. A nice coin is a nice coin but when it comes to life, food and shelter. That's where my priorities are right now. I'm only 3-4 paychecks away from becoming homeless and selling everything I own.
As an advisor I am on the opposite side of the table a whole like. Quite honestly, you have to have at least 6 months of income in cash reserve before thinking about spending money elsewhere. Other thing you can do... why not do silver bullion? =) you collect it, and at the same time you invest it. Why not go prospecting for coins on the cheap?
I am the wheat. I do not like the chaff who have driven up coin prices of pieces I would like to own one day. The harvester (poor economy), however, will collect most of the crop and impact both wheat and chaff. I will be robbed of discretionary income and the chaff will panic and lose their interest. I say both lose.
I am a wheat although I have been upgrading some of my coins like the Memorial Cents, Jeff Nickels, Roos Silver and Wheat Cents.
It's unfortunate, but for some, you have to be "buying" to be a collector - yes, even those we would call real collectors. I consider myself a baseball card collector and yet, I haven't purchased a baseball card in years. I still frequent a couple card forums because I'm interested. In fact, I may buy a card or two in the next couple of months because of declining prices. Interest has gone down despite the recent "feel good" thread about all the activity on this board. My barometer is the # of views on the far right of the screen. A popular thread gets 200-500 views right now. When I first started haunting the board, 1000 was the norm for a popular thread. I guess I would say that those (collector or investor) who think that active purchasing is a requirement for enjoying coins will become a rarer sight.
I consider myself a baseball card collector and yet, I haven't purchased a baseball card in years. I still frequent a couple card forums because I'm interested. In fact, I may buy a card or two in the next couple of months because of declining prices. Ditto here on baseball collectibles and add coins/paper money to what I haven't purchased lately. I visit the forums, post, read but not many purchases nowadays. I still have my subscriptions in at the US Mint though. I must be wheat as I am not going to stop collecting, I just have to slow down for a while, maybe a fairly LONG while.
I'm wheat just not buying as many bushels as I used to. I don't mind seeing chaff leave at all but that's more of a personal thing. I prefer REAL collectors. I sell at times and may soon and, yes, I always do hope to profit. That is not my main goal though. I prefer my goods to end up in the hands of those that appreciate them.
Well I was going to say I'm more like the dirt -- permanent. I consider what I own to be a permanent collection to be passed on to my kids. Some of the coins have already been in the family for three generations. In the meantime the ups are fun and the downs are the time to get out there and bargain hunt.
Wheat, I've been buying continously through up turns and down turns since 1972. The only things that slow my spending is when I'm broke and when I can't find find anything I need. And in the latter case I will typically then start collecting yet another series.
Wheat. Confident. It takes a lot to worry me. If 1/10 the things the media said were true, I would have witnessed THE END OF THE WORLD 20 or 30 times now.
Solid well struck wheat. As Lincolns screamed up the charts, I started collecting other series, mainly my Canadian. As a seller, I really don;t care either way, I need customers, but I do admit to pulling many coins from inventory and putting them back into not for sale mode, in other words my collection. If the time comes to stop selling, I'll always be a collector first and foremost.
You must be pretty old, I've only lived through the predicted end of the world half a dozen times or so.
