Tray of Crappy Copies of Crappy Coins

I've been collecting coins since 1956. I truly loved my collection. However with almost croaking in the hospital last year and my wife's telling me that no one would be interested in my collection if I died, I decided to sell them intelligently.

 

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No, I was just surprised.

 

If you are one who is investing in ancient coins in order to resell them, that is fine. I would say, though, most here are simply collectors who buy what they like and is interesting to them with no concern about resale value.

Someone who buys for resale has to investigate marketability of coins, and only buy those coins which are easily marketable, like Athenian tets, etc. While I own a couple of these, I buy what I find interesting, not caring a whit if very few other people would ever want to own it. Sogdian coins are a prime example. They come from a culture no one has ever heard of, with no written history to speak of, are mainly bronzes, very few collectors collect them, and due to soil conditions come pretty ugly. Everything single thing I just wrote is a huge negative to resale value. I simply do not care, and because of all of this can buy VERY rare coins for much less than what a VF Athenian tet would cost me. Do I CARE that my heirs will probably not get back all of the money I spent on them? Not one bit. It gave ME pleasure to collect them, and in that regard whatever my family sells them for is 100% profit, since I got as much or more pleasure out of them than the cost. That statement simply is not true if you simply buy coins for resale. Buying to resell by definition means you are not buying coins that give you the most pleasure.

 

Sorry to hear your bad news sir. I understand the need at times to sell your collection. I always tell people to never invest "investment" money into your hobby. Even then, I could understand how some might need to sell their coins, I simply feel if you ONLY buy coins with an eye to resale, you miss out on the greatest return, that being of pleasure.

 

My collection has never earned me a financial profit. In fact mine costs me money.

 

As with many pursuits, the middle path is the most reasonable. I wouldn't encourage anyone to go out and pay high retail prices for coins, or get drawn into bidding wars that escalate prices way above market values. That's just stupid. Collecting a coin at fair market value or lower is always preferred, because if you ever need to liquidate, you stand a good chance of at least recouping your investment. And yes, a collection can be viewed as an investment of sorts, even if it never pays for your retirement. You can enjoy your coins all you want for their numismatic and historic importance, but it's always a pleasant feeling to know that you didn't get gouged for them.

Most of my collection falls into the category of wise buying choices, but the Nabataeans do not. In that case, I'm more interested in contributing something of numismatic value to the study of ancient Arabia, and that's a higher priority to me than the monetary outlay. I suspect the OP's Roman imitations fall in the same category. We all have our guilty pleasures, and when I look at some of my friends that spend enormous amounts of money on sporting events, big-screen TV's, and even highly questionable recreations that include escorts, alcohol, and weed...well, hm...maybe I need different friends, lol.

 

No kidding...

 

mmmm, escorts ... yup, there's nuthin' quite like relaxin' in a Ford Escort with some good weed and the game blaring in the background!!