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#1
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Why do you collect coins?
I suppose the vast majority of people here are "wheeler dealers" who
make a living at trading/exchanging or selling coins either from a shop or internet. I'm sure that in and of itself is reason enough though I'm sure these people have a love for the hobby. But what about those of you who collect just for the sake of collecting? Why do you collect coins? I imagine at a basic level it's going to boil down to some feeling you get from looking at the coins, am I correct? Describe those feelings, the feelings why you're a coin collector. Thanks. |
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#2
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Why do you collect coins?
On 8 May 2006 02:37:56 -0700, "The Space Boss"
wrote: I suppose the vast majority of people here are "wheeler dealers" who make a living at trading/exchanging or selling coins either from a shop or internet. I'm sure that in and of itself is reason enough though I'm sure these people have a love for the hobby. But what about those of you who collect just for the sake of collecting? Why do you collect coins? I imagine at a basic level it's going to boil down to some feeling you get from looking at the coins, am I correct? Describe those feelings, the feelings why you're a coin collector. Thanks. This topic is an evergreen ... here you go: http://tinyurl.com/hm2sl This takes you to a thread on RCC started by Reid Goldsborough about 1-1/2 years ago. You raise some interesting questions. I suppose for some people, the fact that they collect coins is merely coincidental. They might collect anything, but for some reason they have latched onto coins; and, somewhat like a pitbull, have trouble letting go. For others, there is an element of thrill in the hunt for rare and otherwise interesting coins (and getting them at a bargain). Whether it is the hunt itself, or the actual coin pursued which provides the satisfaction, is somewhat of a gray area. And then there are those who are what I would call "occasional collectors". Maybe someone gave them a nice coin sometime ago, and then they pick up a similar coin once in a while that reminds them of the person who gave them their first coin(s). Then there are people who look at coins as an interesting and somewhat unconventional way of investing money with the aim of turning a profit later by selling them at some point. Real investors are able to do this objectively, but if there is even a tiny little spark of a collector in an otherwise cold-hearted investor, look out -- because it can become extremely difficult to sell a coin once you have fallen in love with it -- and that happens a lot! As for myself, I'm still trying to figure out exactly to which of these categories I belong ... probably to all! -- Bob Hairgrove |
#3
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Why do you collect coins?
[Default] On 8 May 2006 02:37:56 -0700, "The Space Boss"
climbed to the top of the minaret and sang out: I suppose the vast majority of people here are "wheeler dealers" who make a living at trading/exchanging or selling coins either from a shop or internet. I'm sure that in and of itself is reason enough though I'm sure these people have a love for the hobby. But what about those of you who collect just for the sake of collecting? Why do you collect coins? I imagine at a basic level it's going to boil down to some feeling you get from looking at the coins, am I correct? Describe those feelings, the feelings why you're a coin collector. Thanks. back in 1975 I ordered a set of 10 foreign coins for 10 cents from Littleton coin co, and I remember thinking, "I think I'll try collection coins". I was instantly hooked. I collect because I like coins. I don't really care about the value (although I do have about 6 coins in the over-$100 range, and one in the over-$1000 range) |
#4
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Why do you collect coins?
In a recent message "The Space Boss" wrote:
I suppose the vast majority of people here are "wheeler dealers" who make a living at trading/exchanging or selling coins either from a shop or internet. I'm sure that in and of itself is reason enough though I'm sure these people have a love for the hobby. Not necessarily. But what about those of you who collect just for the sake of collecting? Why do you collect coins? I imagine at a basic level it's going to boil down to some feeling you get from looking at the coins, am I correct? Describe those feelings, the feelings why you're a coin collector. In fact I rarely buy coins - I just love the history of them thus the work put into my web site. I have been very lucky to be allowed to use images of coins that I would never have any hope of buying, unless I won the Lottery (and I doubt my wife would let me if I did!). -- Tony Clayton Coins of the UK : http://www.coinsoftheuk.info Sent using RISCOS on an Acorn Strong Arm RiscPC .... One person's grin is another's groan. |
#5
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Why do you collect coins?
NO serious collector here, just a dabbler. I enjoy the beauty and style of older coins as opposed to newer stuff (mostly). I like the "clink", weight & patina of old silver. To hold a coin in your hand and wonder where it's been, who used it and for what, what the country/world was like when it was new, those kind of non-$$ value things. |
#6
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Why do you collect coins?
"Brian and Cristina Dennison" wrote in message ... NO serious collector here, just a dabbler. I enjoy the beauty and style of older coins as opposed to newer stuff (mostly). I like the "clink", weight & patina of old silver. To hold a coin in your hand and wonder where it's been, who used it and for what, what the country/world was like when it was new, those kind of non-$$ value things. I collect different coins for different reason. I collect the modern US commemoratives because they make a nice, big, challenging set to put together. I like the variety of designs and consider some of them to be real works of Art, other designs are pieces of crap but that is fodder for a different thread :-) I collect Austrian coins because they have a buttload of types and for many of the same above reasons. I collect Austrian tokens and medals because reference material is practically non-existent. That allows me to write my own book and spend hours and hours researching and that is something I like. Why coins and not other object? I do collect other objects and have collected many different things in the past. Weather it is coins, tokens, medals, comics, postcards, matchbooks, metal figures, paintings, or rocks gems and minerals I am and have always been a die-hard collector. I even have a stamp album around here somewhere but don't tell anyone! Dale likes round shiny things |
#7
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Why do you collect coins?
Brian and Cristina Dennison wrote: NO serious collector here, just a dabbler. I enjoy the beauty and style of older coins as opposed to newer stuff (mostly). I like the "clink", weight & patina of old silver. To hold a coin in your hand and wonder where it's been, who used it and for what, what the country/world was like when it was new, those kind of non-$$ value things. Exactly... when I hold a coin in my hands from 1899, I wonder if it was used in old saloons in the old west and I think that it probably passed through Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson's hands... Or perhaps if it was REAL worn, and still in circulation in the 20's and 30's (which I'm sure some coins from 1899 probably were), I think that perhaps the Bowery Boys used it to buy a soda with that nickel down at Louie's Sweet shop. That's why I like to collect coins; to know that it passed through all these - and MANY MORE people's famous hands of history... |
#8
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Why do you collect coins?
On 8 May 2006 02:37:56 -0700, "The Space Boss"
wrote: Why do you collect coins? My first awareness of coins was in 1964. I was in Elementary School then, and in the Weekly Reader there were several stories about the switch to sandwich coins. I managed to save up a couple dollars worth of silver coins ... not bad for a 5th grader in 1965 ... but my older brother liberated them from me. Juvenile delinquent! Can't say much though, my father had some triple panel Whitman folders back then, which I liberated some coins from myself. So sorry to admit that fact. But, as a young adult in the mid 1970s, I started my own interest in collecting. Buying rolls of Cents at the bank and searching through them. Five years later I was doing the same thing with rolls of Half Dollars, looking for 40% Silver. I guess a fair share of my interest has been in the hope of earning a profit. Although, in retrospect, the time spent v.s. money earned hasn't been worth it (as opposed to time spent on the time clock). So, there has to be a bigger draw. And, there is. I've got an 1828 Half Cent in EF-AU. It is one of my favorite coins, not worth a fortune. But, I really enjoy the dayum thing, so marvelous to view and consider the history it has seen. An ancient Roman from 330 AD ... think of it. Not worth much money, but ... yeah, I think that's what keeps me interested. And, it has something to do with metal too. Why I didn't go into stamps perhaps. Metal is soooo, enduring yet fragile. Metal is a beast in many ways, but in these objects we collect a microscopic gouge or barely perceptible bit of wear can mean the difference in megabucks value on a rare specimen. In my lifetime I've collected other things, from insects to Frisbeesto relic computers. Over the past 30 years my interest in coins has had a number of lapses, but I keep coming back. I think it is because they are a real, tangible bit of history you can hold in your hand. And, it's a metal thing for me too. Heck, even a 100 Oz bar of silver makes me happy even though it has no numismatic value. Oh boy! I guess as a metal fetisher stamps didn't have a chance with me, LOL |
#9
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Why do you collect coins?
After 1964, how long did it take silver coins to disappear out of
circulation, I mean to where it became uncommon to see silver anymore? Was it fairly quick? I remember by the mid-70's they were pretty much gone from general circulation, that I noticed anyway. |
#10
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Why do you collect coins?
On 9 May 2006 22:22:01 -0700, "The Space Boss"
wrote: After 1964, how long did it take silver coins to disappear out of circulation, I mean to where it became uncommon to see silver anymore? Was it fairly quick? I remember by the mid-70's they were pretty much gone from general circulation, that I noticed anyway. This topic has been discussed previously in this group, and others have seen it differently from me, stating that 90% coins were common into the early 70s. As my memory serves me, they pretty much vanished from circulation before 1970. |
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