Question about Ancients

Unfortunately, there is a downside to collecting something no one else wants. Dealers won't buy it so you have no where to go to find it. Years ago I started collecting Eastern mint denarii of Septimius Severus and, with the aid of half a dozen friends, ruined that hobby by educating too many people that they exist. Now I have moved into a few new fields and people laugh at why anyone would want that - of course they don't have any.

What drives up prices is not the number of interested collectors but the number of people who think they can make a fast buck on the coins. The hot stuff of today will crash and burn someday when another fad (stocks?, real estate?) takes over. I just hope I don't run out of new things to collect before the crash comes and collectors can start over. Offer dealer 'B' the coin you just bought from dealer 'A' and let me know how long it will take for 'Buy retail; sell wholesale' to be profitable. If you enjoy the coins while you have them, all is good. If you don't, you lose.

Encourage young collectors. They will be the ones to buy your collection from your grandkids.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I agree with most of those points. I can count the amount of times I have found notgeld at a coin show on two fingers....and those guys had them out of sight in a book, they didn't bother putting them out and the only way I knew they had them was asking Good thing was they wanted to get rid of them and was willing to do so a cheap prices.

I also completely agree with the 'I am in it to eek a few extra bucks out of this hobby' mentality...

As for the young collectors...The only Young collector I encourage is my daughter who, so far, LOVES COINS...or at least that is what she shouts out all the time. I minted coins to celebrate her birth and gave her a handful to keep (along with some common world coins) and she loves them. So if nothing else, if she continues to love coins...I have trained my replacement and she wont be competing with me.

My great hope is that when I die and she gets my collection, she will love them, keep them, and expand the collection and pass them down to the next generation. I wish to keep my collection together and in the family.

 

I do as well, even though I dont plan on having childrend XD. luckily my sister did.