Is it a secret?

I'm a collector of coins. That's my current hobby, and like other hobbies I've had in the past, I like to share my enthusiasm with others. At the same time I also see it as a way to promote the hobby. You know, maybe get some others interested in it..

However, there seems to be a need for secrecy, or discretion about what you reveal. As may have happened to a poster in another thread, the wrong people learn about your collection and you become the victim of a robbery. Or maybe you let someone you know about a coin show or club meeting. Then later they rob people coming out of the event. I can understand why there are armed guards at the large shows.

So, do you err on the side of caution and say nothing, or do you want to promote coin collecting by sharing and maybe showing what you have?

 

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It depends on who I'm talking to.
When I sell coins on eBay I never use my address for shipping. Too many people in the world that think they deserve your stuff more than you do.
I don't even want coin Publications coming to my home on the chance it could be delivered to the wrong address and let the wrong person know that I might have coins.

 

Only my wife, son, and a cousin who's also an avid collector are aware I have a coin collection. The more people who know, the greater the likelihood that information will find its way to the wrong person.

I know it probably qualifies as anti-social behavior and does nothing to promote our hobby, but being too open about the subject is asking for trouble IMO.

 

This idiom isn't only seafaring related....

Loose lips sink ships.

That's all I got.

 

Hey, that's what I think. But how do you promote the hobby without letting people know about what you have? Seems to be a bit of a conundrum, if f I may use A $10 word.

 

I don't see a need to promote using ones own collection. The 'interwebs' is loaded with great representation of every coin out there.

 

I OK with that.
Outside of the coin club, not many (probably too many) people know that I dabble in coin/bullion.
It helps when your buying and have a small network of people that are (in a sense outside sales reps) that know that I buy stuff.

I know of one occasion where some person liked to show off his collection of US coins to everyone who showed interest, after many years one of the sons friends snuck thru the dog door and relieved him of his collection while they were on vacation.
He kept it in the bottom drawer of his dresser.
It was not secured in a safe way and never recovered.
Later back in the 80ies one of the sons when he turned 17 got arrested for stealing a new truck from a dealership.
The son took it for a test drive (made a duplicate key) and went back a few days later and stole it.
There is a longer version of the story and some might suggest that the son was in on the missing coins from years before.

 

Yes, I collect coins. I also collect other things, antiques, guns and more. To me there are 4 precious metals in the world, gold and silver, copper and lead. Only my wife knows I collect as do the members on CT. Loose lips sink ships so keep it to yourself.

 

But some of you actually handed A coin to a young person, maybe a relative, hoping to encourage them to become young collectors. Maybe you told them a little bit about the coin, sharing history with them. The actual coin is going to be better than a digital picture.

I can understand the need to be discrete, but hoe far does it go? Think about it. There may be enough coin collectors in your neighborhood to start a local club, but you'll never know it.

 

I've realized numerous negative experiences by coin collecting, where coins were stolen by youths when my young son found my cache, and told friends who stole his and my collections.

I've been beaten/robbed while "dealing".

I've had mixed race individuals (twice) grab rare uncirculated coins from gloved hands in my home while explaining grading details to an associate. You can't choose relatives/friends of same in a society without stated norms of interaction.

I've had coins lost by USPS after a package was dropped, exposing valuable coins.

I've also lost significant coins from a safe-deposit box/vault when a bank moved without notification.

Do as you please, but "sharing" with others than in a like-group meeting, may generate problems.

JMHO

 

I kind of stopped collecting from 2012-2020. Back at it full on now. I talked about it to friends back then. Now, so far the only person who knows I'm back into it is my mother, and I'll probably keep it that way.
I'm considering getting a PO Box too for buying and occasionally selling on ebay.

 

This is what I worry about. At the same time, like my other hobbies, I like to share what I've learned to others who may not be serious about collecting, but having heard I'm "into" coins and have a few they have come across and would like me to look at them.

People pick up coins in many different ways and hang onto them, always wondering about them. Then they hear you collect coins, and ask you to look at them. Now maybe you have no interest in trying to recruit a newbie into the hobby. But in that case, don't complain about no new blood taking part in it.

 

Each of us have a different way we need to handle our own security. The more people that know what you have and do, make you and the family more of a target.
We each have to decide how much risk we take.

I became a real security nut after learning the hard way. No need for others to know I collect coins.

 

I find it very difficult if not impossible to keep my coin collection completely a secret. I'm trying to get my grandson interested in the hobby but I have no control over who he tells. Kids talk and no matter how many times you tell them to keep it to themselves it's going to get out.

 

And this is what I'm getting st. How do we foster an interest in the hobby without giving up our own sense of safety?

I started thinking about this because I wanted to pass on some of the basics I've learned here. I considered leading A beginner coin collecting course through the local school district adult education system. But I wondered if it would be safe for me to do so.

 

Well perhaps you can share about your hobby by relaying the information about different coins you've "seen" on the internet (basically safe - as it is just something fun to research, not expressing what you have) and you still get to have the sharing the experience. Unless you're on guard 24/7 no one can be completely safe.

 

In the closet of my home office I keep a box of common circulated world coins, plus a few US coins not often seen in circulation, to entertain visiting youngsters. I can use these to pique a child's interest in coins without ever showing them my actual coin collection. For all they know, the coins in that box ARE my collection.

 

When talking about coins to others always let them know that your coins are kept in a safe deposit box.

Especially if you keep them somewhere else.

But telling someone about what you have "seen" doesn't come close to the interest that can be aroused by actually holding an historical object in your hands.

 

I agree. It also makes sense to say, or imply, that your collection isn't at your home.

But there are some basic things I feel beginning collector should know. Everything from proper handling of coins to the difference between a damaged and an error coin. Plus where to get good, reliable information, like what is found here. Even a good online presentation of what YouTube videos to avoid and a rundown of auction sites.

 

Living where I do, deep in the woods, and having absolutely no neighbors, I'm not too concerned about someone taking my collection. Pretty easy to spot a tail, if you know what I mean. Plus I've always had a PO Box or a private mail drop.
Most of my friends and acquaintances that know of my collection, don't think I have a collection of value, so there's that. I promote coin collecting by passing out coins to young people but always use my nom de plume.
With today's crime rate so high due to drug users looking for a quick grab, keeping the collection in a safe deposit box, or a hidden secured safe, is the best one can do.