Collection types and collecting habits, a discussion...

I was all over when I got back in to it. Toner Morgan’s cc Morgans early copper colonials early silver old gold trade dollars etc. and anything else with good color and eye appeal and then I turned into a dealer.

 

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I have bad habits, and bad manners.......that said, what was this thread about?

[I know, I posted earlier]

 

Interesting discussion. I've collected a variety of "things" all my life. Antique pocket knives, ukuleles, banjos, fiddles and old coins - among other things. At one point I had a collection of Victorian Houses but that got overwhelming! Unlike a lot of the folks here, I have always tried to have a focus to my collecting - for two reasons: 1. l like the experience of categorizing and organizing, so topical collecting suits me - I like to keep track of what I've gathered and describe how it all fits together, and 2. an extremely practical reason - having a focal point keeps me from buying everything I see or like, so I tend to collect fewer objects and I develop some expertise in the areas I'm collecting. With coins I've gathered examples of a fairly high percentage of US coins minted in 1840. With gold and and silver coins it isn't an inexpensive endeavor, but it does have limits - not endless and consequently hasn't bankrupted me, at least not so far. Lots of first year of issue coins in that set which is fun. Similarly in antique pocket knives I collect pre-war dog's head Kabar folding hunters and an obscure blade type called a razor barlow - contemporary and antique examples from many different manufacturers. Again, plenty to search for but not endless. For me it beats having boxes and rooms full of random stuff.

 

I've been collecting since 1985 after going on a family trip to Canada and getting some Canada change from my dad. It was hard to collect as a kid when you have no allowance. I didn't start buying coins until late high school and college. Any coins I got were either gifts or in change. Nowadays I collect pretty much anything except ancients and proofs.

 

It really depends what your goals are for your collection. A world class collection usually has a specialization - the best collection of Morgan dollars, the most complete set of Bust halves by die variety, the most complete set of coins from the Central American Republic, etc.

It really depends on your goals and your financial means. Your collection is not something that will be celebrated with pedigrees and remembered, such as Bass, Eliasberg, Pittman, etc. Those are serious collections - they are remembered because they were extremely high grade, extremely complete, or extremely vast. They were important collections. Your collection, given your current approach, doesn't sound like it will ever be "important."

But that is not everyone's goals, and it's not within everyone's means. More often, having fun with a collection is far more important. And that sounds like what you are doing. Proof and Prestige sets are common and cheap - but if that is what you like to collect, then have fun!

The key is to have realistic ideas and expectations. Do you want to have fun? Do you want to contribute to numismatic research and knowledge? Do you want to build a collection that will be remembered for generations? Do you enjoy building sets as defined by the Registry or Redbook? Or do you like buying whatever strikes your fancy?

As long as your goals and your habits align with realistic expectations, and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, then go for it. There aren't really any rules.

 

Yeah, I’m in it for the fun and for collecting what I find that I love. I don’t expect or care about my collection being a world-class celebration for generations to come, that’s definitely not in my budget, lol.

All good points so far from everyone, thank you!

 

My collection is only "important" in my house by me only. Ask my wifey of 50 years. LOL

 

LOL

 

I have recently discovered Dansco albums.... Forever I had been using the blue Whitman books just to house coins I’d found in change or searching rolls...... Now, however, the Dansco albums have inspired a new interest in collecting uncirculated coins of the modern series. I have a lot of multiples of uncirculated mint sets and will break those apart to house them in the albums. Uncirculated sets for the most part are relatively affordable (not the 1940s or 1950s) so it’ll be a fun and easy way to collect at least 50+ years worth of uncirculated Lincolns, Jeffersons, Roosevelts, Washingtons, Kennedys and the newer gold dollars. Plus I’m just going to collect anything else that’s shiny or old or cool