Have you ever thought of trading it all in for (or selling it all to fund) your grail coins? Logistics of doing so aside, I thought about selling / trading in hundreds of my coins for a handful of truly wonderful pieces from various points in history, choosing these grails not because they're rare, but because they have a combination of historical significance, design appeal, and sentimental lure. They just all somehow happen to be very rare (though it doesn't help that they're all really old)! The task was difficult and the sacrifices grave, but for the most part, I was able to narrow it down to just one for each era. Though, of course, there can be other historical periods you may want to include, such as the "medieval age", or exclude for an even more extremely general "All of Humanity" category. I also partly determined the categories based on the differences in the striking processes, which produces an evidently and starkly different look to the coins. Anyway, mine are below - what are your grail(s) and would you sell / trade it all in for them? Pics from the 'net. + Ancient 404-340 BC ΑΙΓ Ancient Greece Aegina Stater Drachm, SNG Cop #524 Why?: I like turtles. Err, I mean... tortoises. Especially this super high relief one below. + Colonial (Age of Exploration to Industrial Revolution / 15th Century to Early-Mid-19th Century) 1776 FM Mexico 8 Reales, KM #106.2 Why?: The year of the US's Declaration of Independence and the staple of colonial America's coinage. I have one in XF-Details, but as a grail, I think that it's best suited as a problem-free one. + Classic (End of Industrial Age to Mid-20th Century) 1837 Illustrious Predecessor Hard Times Token, Low-19A, HT-33A Silver Why?: It has two of my favorite animals, has to do with banking / economics history, and it's silver (!). + Modern (Mid-20th Century to Present) This one's by far the most difficult for me to pin down and remains TBD.
i'd say that most collectors ( i know i do) think of this from time to time, but do actually do it.. i find great fanfare in finding coins in my own collection i forgot i had or couldn't find when looking for them.
If I sold my entire collection it would bring me no closer. It not the cost but scarcity. Heck, I can't even find a picture of someone else's to post!
I have been thinking about that lately, but not gonna do it just yet. maybe 5 years from now I might sell/trade half of my collection for expensive WOW coins. I am finding I am leaning more towards 19th and 18th century world coins. modern coins are loosing my interest. I think that just comes from collecting coins for 19 years.
I collect coins for what they are and the stories they tell. Therefor, no one coin in the world could ever compare to the stories on the coins I have collected. So no, not even for an Eide Mar denari I would not trade my collection, (ignoring value considerations).
Good points - when I think of purchasing my grail coins (and token), I can't help but to think of selling off my coins to get them. Anyhow, maybe a much simpler, "What are your grail coins of each era?" will resonate more with folks.
