Should be required reading

I think I am similar. I have stuff I collect for me. Often it is stuff durn few folks care about. World War II era US Army Tech Manuals for Sherman and Stuart tanks for instance. Got a shelf of em. Sure, if you have an old Sherman or a Stuart sitting in your barn you like the original manuals, but not too many folks do. So as collecitibles go, those books are a little esoteric. Junk broken pistols of WW1 and earlier vintage. I haunt the shows and the parts sellers until I find the missing parts, then restore them to 100% functionality, find a source of ammo (or fabricate my own), then go shoot them. One took me over 28 years to find the missing parts of, with solid days expended each of those 28 years checking sources . You won't believe the horror some collectors view actually shooting something rare express. What if another part breaks? Who cares as long as I have fun, besides then I can fiz it again.

I regard the old piggy bank and other acquired coins of my youth as stand alone collections, totally separate from completed Whitman books of Mercury dimes purchased complete (had 8 of them once, down to 3 now) and similar purchased pre-assembled collections. Those are investment things.

I may enjoy having them, but in truth I much prefer my junk Mercuries and old Liberty and Barber quarters condition AG (called poor condition when I was 8) sitting in a bowl with worn out unreadable dates and possible traces of mint marks. I can touch and clink them to my hearts desire and no one will care.

A small drawstring bag of old gold coins I have randomly purchased through the years and which I shake and clink to my hearts content is, to me, a totally different collection than my small collection of PCGS slabbed gold coins (t'was a lot bigger once, but like I wrote, TG for the other collections). State quarters? I have no interest in them anymore (too many made). Still there is a box containing all 50 (and the territories) in both uncirculated and all the silver proofs too. Some would call that two collections, but to me it will someday be sold as one State quarter collection. Yes, I have a wheat penny book I had painfully been assembling over 50 years, but a few years ago I wimped out and just bought the few missing ones as I realized the odds of getting them in pocket change or even by roll searching had grown a lot slimmer than the odds were when I was 4 and just beginning and memorial pennies were still brand new. The depression era glass piggy bank isn't rare. Five & Ten cent store merchandise. I have found lots of them on Ebay usually for under $50, so to me it is sentimental only. It sits on my bookcase, and I hope it always will.

 

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It's fascinating to hear the stories from you long time coin hobbyists/numismatists. I got my first taste of collectable coins when my grandfather gave me some coins framed to hang on the wall. I didn't get those back until my mom passed away. My interest was piqued again when the state quarters were issued, but I still didn't do anything seriously. It wasn't until I got a raw Morgan in my hand that I decided I wanted to take things more seriously.

I think collections are very personal. I'll never have a complete set of Morgan dollars. I've got a good selection of high grade coins that fit my budget already, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on the '90's coins in Fine and VF. I'll probably buy one or two from the '90's, but I'd rather spend that money on some early copper or adding to my mercury dimes rather than "fill every slot". But that's me.
I've bought common date Walking Liberties, Buff Nickels, Indian Heads, and Merc dimes in high grades because I really like the designs. Will I ever complete a full set? Unlikely. And I'll not lose any sleep over it. To me, this hobby is all about finding coins that "speak to you". Then taking the time to learn about them and the times in which they were minted. I'm proud of what I've already been able to add to my collection and hope that I never finish the journey of collecting.

 

For what it is worth, for 'from my heart' collecting I prefer unslabbed coins.

For investment collecting I prefer slabbed coins of key date. To me, as a speculator, it is better to have a single slabbed MS or PF, key date specimen than a half dozen XF40 but not rare coins of the same genre. An example would be a bunch of XF40 1916 and 1917 Mercury dimes, vs. a single PCGS slabbed MS63 1916d. I think this is part of what Mr. Reynolds is saying.

For 'eye appeal' collecting, i.e., folders, we are stuck with unslabbed coins. There is a market niche out there somewhere for the guy that markets a folder (hopefully no larger than a coffee table book) designed for the various slabbed stuff. I have a Whitman for Mercury dimes I am playing with this week and all of the dimes went in nicely except for the 41/42 which unfortunately is slabbed. This forces the slab to be taped to the back of the book which is unsightly. There are fake 16d and 41/42 coins out there, so buying a certified one seems to be the smartest choice. From 70+ years out the odds of finding a genuine one in pocket change seem slim. Even when 'roll hunting' (if you can find a genuine, still unopened Mercury roll in the possession of someone less than 88 years old) the odds of our finding one of those are lower than the odds of winning the Powerball. Besides, almost all of the unslabbed 16ds I have seen are barely AG3. What I used to call, in Poor Condition. Likewise I have seen some 41/42's being sold in various stages of good/fair which are what I call, mmmm, uh, questionable. Not saying it is fake, just saying my old eyes can't detect the worn overstamp the seller is saying is there. Likewise I did find some decent looking 41/42s that were unslabbed, but I am/was wary of their authenticity. I did a lot of hunting and internal debate before spending the money on some nice clear non-debatable slabbed specimens in XF. LoL, now the debate is should I break them out of their slabs so they will fit in the Whitman books?