How passionate are you?

It's no secret how passionate I can be about Barber halves. I think they are one of the most underrated series in US numismatics. I search multiple auction sites, read multiple coin books, look at as many coins in person and online that I can personally muster. I could practically read the Complete Guide to Barber Halves to you in verbatim without looking at it. Sometimes I think it might be a disease, but I know there are others out there. Anyone else here feel the same way about what they collect?

 

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I am passionate about coins that were produced during times of crisis in the country. Civil war, WW2, etc.

 

When I put my curser over to the recent threads bar and went over this thread and read the beginning I knew it was Log Potato

 

I tend to be the same way but not on a specific series. I tend to get that way about a specific item until I think I have found everything there is to know about it. For instance: I obtained a Western & Atlantic Railroad .50 cent note because I collect obsoletes with vignettes of trains on them. With more research I found out that the specific engine pictured on the note was called “The General”. The General ran during the civil war and was involved in a union plot to steal it from the confederacy. It is referred to as the great locomotive chase and led to the first issuance of the Medal of Honor. I now have a book about it “Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the first Medal of Honor”, pictures, postcards, silver art bars (Which are quite expensive) and I even own the original artists rendition of one of the molds for the silver art bar! One day I will display my “General” collection at a show. But that is just one example of how I “over collect” (as my wife calls it) of specific items.

 

Thanks for not contributing.

 

My main wants are any rare modern coins, I don't have that much spare time these days but still it has become a routine usually every weekend i spend atleast a few hours of my time doing research on all new listings. As well as going thru all the items i have bought that week and doing my due diligence and updating my excel and site with latest additions.

I know my family isn't too thrilled but it's me time

 

Now that is dang cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

i feel the same way about edwardian pence. i just can't get enough of them!

 

I get that way with certain series. I was not able to collect Sogdian before since there were never any for sale, but now there are a couple of sellers I know, so I am pursuing them pretty hard while I have a chance to buy. I have gone so far as to get every english reference for these, and many Russian ones just so I can look up references on my own.

Before, I was pretty passionate about large ban liang chinese, amassing about 100 of the 30+ cm issues.

Passion is good. It is the reason we do this, right? My have a hobby that you are passionless about?

 

When I first got started I was searching through ebay listings everyday. I was also checking the coin store every week. Needless to say I picked up quite a bit of Morgan dollars. Funny enough most of them came from the coin store anyway. I actually slowed down once I learned more about coins. I'm now saving up and buying more expensive key or semi-key date coins instead of a bunch of Unc. common dates. Still don't know how passionate I really am though.

 

I tend to become passionate to the point of near obsession when I begin to collect/learn about something new. When I first began collecting watches, it started as a nice Citizen or Tag here and there. After the purchase of my first Rolex, however, the obsession kicked in. I now have a shelf with 13 different books specific to Rolex, as well as multiple Rolex watches and a few Zenith. (Rolex watches used Zenith movement at one time). At this point I can serial date several models strictly from memory. My wife is so tired of hearing me ramble. Ha!

Since taking possession of my father's coin and paper collection, I have started to feel that obsession begin all over again. My wife is just thrilled that I have yet another "money pit" hobby now.

 

For me it is the Lincoln Cent series. Although I find value and wonder in other coins, it has been the small copper disk with Lincoln that has charmed me the most. For six years now I have been nearly exclusively collecting these and trying to build a date and mint set to 1933 in MS65 or higher. Beyond having read all the important publications long ago, I must say the hardest part of the series was studying what colors the TPGs deemed acceptable and what color designations they would award them. I also have a routine each day that involves looking at several sites that list new coins for sale and have started to even recognise individual coins circling the market. Even though I hardly add to my collection and finding new information is rare at this point, I believe now that the act of searching has become some sort of stress relief and a calming action or something of the like.

Matt

 

I read that wrong at first and thought you said you had 13 different bookshelves full of Rolex O.O

 

I have always loved the halves and full dollars myself (besides peace dollars)

Even junky beat up halves and full dollar coins. I just love the thought of having them stacked 1 to 2 feet high in piles all across my desk. Their shininess glistning. Big gold ones along with the silver ones, in stacks upon stacks everywhere. I can happily add 1 oz bullion coins to my fantasy too.

 

I am passionate about my collections. I spent 9 straight hours yesterday, sorting and creating new albums of my buys from the last couple of months.

It took so long because once I completed an album, I sat and ogled each page. Nothing like page after page of large cents, or five cent silvers, or error coins.

I could do that all day long, everyday.

 

That's pretty much my situation. For me I don't usually get stuck on one individual thing. Things come back at times. But I usually start thinking about something different and become OCD over it. Last summer I really wanted to get my avatar coin. A $5 classic head. It was at the top of my list. After I acquired that one at the ANA show, I haven't thought much about the since.

Lately I've been obsessing over getting a Swiss 20 Franc just because I like the look of them. I finally picked one up last week. Before that I was stuck on CC GSA Morgan dollars. Next week's flavor may be a high grade Barber dime.

I'm also reading about Ancients these days. I don't have any yet but hope to eventually. They are very cool. Have a lot of books. Could buy a nice collection with all the books I've accumulated. Spend a lot of time thinking about coinage and sometimes dream about them. lol

If I have ebay bucks accumulated, I feel it's my duty to reinvest them into another coin over anything else. Something about getting free silver or a nice coin deeply discounted is a great feeling.

 

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I can go weeks or months without looking at my coins, not counting whatever recent purchase (which is usually one at a time) I've made to add to the collection. So no, I am a collector but I don't feel like I have a love affair with my coins. If you spend hours each day looking and sorting, I think you should go get some help, there's more to life than just coins I say (okay, bring on all the hate replies, I'm ready). :thumb:

 

Okay, Rodeoclown.... I wish I could spend hours a day with looking and sorting coins but life gets in the way.

Depending on the collector's collection, there is far more to it than just looking and sorting as if it was just a collection of widgets. There is research involved and gaining knowledge, not just about the coin itself but the history, the manufacturing, the composition, the design, etc., etc..

I would rather be doing this than what some of my friends do.... they sit and play video games for hours on end. To me that is a waste of time. At least, I have gathered knowledge and put together a few decent collections of nice coins that could be converted to cash if required.

 

What I am passionate about is the proliferation of truth, classical knowledge and culture, and consumer rights.

In terms of coins, I get excited about certain neat coins that look like they are part of a time capsule evoking the year in which they were minted. A couple of thousand years ago they did not put the year on the coins only the tyrant of the day.

Levels of obsession can be a problem for others like the couple that has thousands of cabbage patch "kids" in climate controlled buildings, now that is a sick obsession!

If all you thought about was Barber coinage or if you actually started sleeping with your Barbers or spent most of your waking hours looking at Barber coins or images of them at various sites, then you may have an "issue" that required professional help.