Coin Collecting.... For the love of the hobby.. or for the Investment?

UNNECESSARY.

 

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Chris, I'm certain my statement: (I) "believe you know the Market Grading TPG have generated wealthy Cockroaches" was understood by the average reader, but I'll paraphrase my statement for those confused: OVERGRADING Market Grading TPG have generated wealthy opportunistic cockroach-like Dealers who prey with impunity on the public, claiming ignorance of grading standards when selling. Few can argue with the rebuttals, as there aren't uniform grading "standards"
I've posted overgraded "Market-Graded" TPG coins in this venue on numerous occasions.I even used this venue to reverse a eBay graded coinDealer favored decision of a Top Tier TPG graded Mint State coin after the coin was posted here and all agreed that the coin was significantly overgraded.
If you research CoinTalk archives you'll find a significant independent long-term grading study of the TPG which established that they regraded the same coins with a difference of many grades. You'll probably be amazed as to which firm had the greatest variation in grading.

 

And just what is wrong with licking coins!

 

Even being on a low budget I consider myself both a collector and an investor. I don't think the two can really be separated. At least for me the pleasure of owning coins comes both from their history and their monetary value. There is nothing I enjoy more than picking up an accurately graded, problem free coin for a good price, and knowing that if I needed to sell it there would be other people who would pay good money for it. As for the history of coins, originality is key, so I have always shied away from coins with abrasive cleaning, damage or other problems. And of course there is nothing better than looking at an old coin and thinking about what was happening in the world when that coin was minted and used.

The best investment I ever made was in 1998 while shopping in the Izmailovo souvenir market in Moscow. I bought two Russian uncirculated mint sets for about US$10 each, which at the time I thought was rather expensive. One was commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1995, and the other was for the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy in 1996. I recently looked them up on Ebay and couldn't believe my eyes. The WWII set is selling for around $200 US, and the Navy set for $400. A 3000 percent return in 15 years is definitely nothing to complain about...

 

I think this might be the most important post in this thread when looking at both sides of this argument.

I'm definitely more along the thoughts of the OP. For the most part, I don't really care if the coins I have in my collection have problems (usually unless the problems are because of some alteration made by someone recently ie cleaning). I collect because I love the history that coins carry. I love thinking about where the coin has been, whose hands it may have passed through, what it has "seen". I collect because I enjoy it, it provides entertainment and fun. I don't care if I buy coins and wont make my money back on them later or if they were in the same condition from when they were first released. As a matter of fact, based on the reasons I collect, many times I prefer to have a coin that was passed among countless hands, been through wars, dropped on the ground and found years later, etc than one that was tucked away in a box untouched and preserved for decades and decades. And I don't think that makes me any less of a collector, or any less intelligent than anyone else.

However, I do agree that it is important that if you collect like this it is by your choice, and not because you don't know any better. A couple posts in this thread kind of gave me the vibe that some may think anyone who collects problem coins for any reason does so out of ignorance or that even doing it knowingly makes them somewhat less of a collector, which is why I emphasize what GDJMSP said.

I draw a parallel to my other hobby, collecting hockey cards. I have a very impressive collection of a lesser known player. I've "invested" a crazy amount of money into this collection, especially being that the guy I collect is not a superstar. But I can sit here and say I am the ONLY person in the WORLD to have completed certain sets of this player. I collect him because I love watching him play and he is one of my favorite players in the league, regardless of his lack of a superstar status. Also, because of this, if I decide to sell down the road I would barely get a fraction of what I put into it. Does that make me any less of a collector because I don't pick Gretzky rookie cards?

Ultimately it comes down to the individual's idea of collecting and what makes them happy, and shouldn't be judged based on how others think collecting should be defined as...as long as the person knows what they are getting into.