How did you upgrade your collection?

Hello everybody. I'm curious how members here have upgraded their collections. For example, was it a matter of saving money to afford a pristine coin, amassing a collection then selling it off, tax return, etc.?

 

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Myself? Just time. Continue in the hobby, buy what you can afford when you can, and educate yourself in the process. Over time it will be amazing the collection you own.

I know younger people do not wish to hear this, but I find it to be true. Doesn't matter, though. Its the pursuit, the knowledge you gain, and your enjoyment in the hobby, that is the real reward. Not the number or quality of coins you own.

 

I buy the coin I want the first round since I don't sell anything that enters my collection. So, there's no such thing as an upgrade when I collect.

 

I just try to say off IRS accounting. just buy under $9999.95 plus if worth more than your home owners or apartment Insurance get a safety depots bank box.

 

I don't upgrade. I hoard!

Chris

 

I am the opposite to rodeoclown - I buy whatever I can lay my hands on and afford, and switch into my collection any upgrades. I sell on anything switched out, and all the coins that don't fit into my narrow collecting band (basically British from Saxon times to date) with the aim of making a small profit. I have been fortunate to do well at this so that I can say my entire collection has been paid for on the profits of trading.

Just as well - if I had to rely on my regular earnings I would have no collection at all!

Few things are more satisfying than finding a really good upgrade amongst a pile of shrapnel. Just the other day I found an almost uncirculated 1934 halfpenny in a pile of virtually worthless UK pre-decimal coins. It now has its place in my album, and its predecessor will go to market. (And yes, I do feel guilty about saying goodbye to a coin that has held the slot for nearly ten years.)

Paddy

 

I get the hoarding aspect!

Good tips Paddy, thanks.

 

Time, save, and hoard.

 

I know some people don't buy anything until they get the exact coin they want and then just keep... so they never really upgrade.

That's not what I have done in building my sets. If I know eventually I want an MS65 example of a certain coin in my set, but happen to find a really nice MS63 example first... or maybe I can only afford the nice MS63 at the time, then I'm going to buy and enjoy that nice MS63 until I find that higher graded example to replace it.

I do it that way for two main reasons.

First, so I can enjoy having an example of the date for the months or years it may take to find that better one. I'm a coin collector and I like coins, and a nice AU58, or MS63, or MS64 is still pretty nice, even if my ultimate goal is an MS65.

And second, prices can go way up on certain coins over the years, particularly key dates. If you want to buy that MS65 eventually, it may cost you much more by the time you find the coin in a few years, than it would if you were to find it right away. But if you buy a nice example in a lower grade, that coin too will likely appreciate so that when you're ready to upgrade, you can take the money you made on the lower grade to offset the higher cost of the upgrade.

This was especially the case with gold coins that I had in my sets with gold prices going up from a few hundred to the current prices over $1700 per ounce in recent years. With the run up in bullion prices, many of the spreads between grades of the more common gold coins were relatively constant.

For example, if at the lower gold prices an MS63 coin was $500 and an MS65 coin was $1500... after the run up in gold the MS63 coin might become worth $2000 and the MS65 worth around $3000. In that example, since I bought the MS63 in the beginning for $500, I can later sell it for $2000 (profit $1500) and then effectively move into the MS65 coin at the old prices by using the profits gained from the lower graded coin... If you didn't buy the lower grade coin, you wouldn't have made that $1500 to apply to the MS65 coin. You somewhat lock in the current prices for the higher graded coin when you are buying the lower grades, assuming the spreads remain somewhat constant. And of course you owned the MS63 all of that time and hopefully enjoyed it!

 

I don't even think I consciously upgrade. It's just something that happens over time somehow.
Guy

 

Depends on the coin for me. I just upgraded with a Oregon Half Dollar. The first one pictured I bought years ago and liked it. After a while I decided I liked the second coin better.

.

 

I'm always upgrading.

Anytime I see a superior example to a coin I have I try to acquire it if I can.

 

Lots of great perspectives everyone. Thank you.

 

I sarted off with low denomination, US common coins and US Mint releases. Sold all that off and consolidated the collection. I used the money to buy quality pieces. Now I am working towards collecting US paper currency, more so than coins.

 

How? I got a job. I remember in undergrad I managed to get employed for the first time, actually had time for 2 jobs. Extra income meant I could upgrade Merc collection from F/VF to VF/XF. Then I graduated grad school, got a job and upgraded Franklin collection from AU to MS 63. Still, I do like the upgrade. I think it demonstrates growth of a collector, at least for me it does. As I learn more of the series, how to grade and appreciate the series I have more inspiration and purpose to upgrade. Plus, it's fun to upgrade as it gives you a possibility to look through the collection more often and provides duplicates of various grades.

 

I'm in the don't upgrade camp. I buy a nice example of a coin I want the first time around. I won't buy a coin just to have one knowing I really want a better one. If I have to save for a while to get a good one then that's what I'll do. the collection might grow slower but I'm always happy with it.

 

I generally start a collection and the just get obsessed with it until I am happy. Usually after this I have many duplicates so I sell the duplicates and put the funds toward my next set. I am currently working on a set of proof Liberty nickels and have sixty one duplicates so far. I recently traded fourteen of them for a nice Barber quarter.

 

If I told ya I'd have to kill ya..........

 

I appreciate the replies everyone - I don't know any coin collectors and I'm curious about these things. I remember one of my first trips to my LCS a man came in and bought a 1914 Merc in a slab for $1400 dollars. He was really excited about it As I recall, and it was something I didn't understand at the time. I liked the reply from Dimeguy, "get a job."

 

Except your reply green18!