My Coin Collection Is Not Mine!

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One day, I'm going to bury a bunch of coins somewhere in the woods near my house. I'm going to leave a short note outlining my life, my collection, and the life of my collection. I hope that one day, 200 years from now, somebody digs it up and enjoys my coins as much as I do.

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How much disaccant do you put in for 200 years worth of humidity?

Interesting thoughts and I too have wondered where my coins have been in the past. I dont have much at all in the way of high valued coins, so I dont wonder much if they were in someone's collection who was a wealthy individual or high profiled person. I wonder more about the circulated coins and what travels they have made. I daydream sometimes about the 1800's coins I have and imagine them having been used in the old west at a poker game in some saloon.

Lots of good about this post and something not to pleasant for me. I know full well that soon enough my entire coin collection will be dissasembled and probably dumped or sold. Possibly into a banks counting machine. I'm way up there in age, a recent cancer survivor, have other medical conditions and one son that has absolutely no interest in coins. All other relatives have now passed away. So just what will be the future of all my coins? I've lost interest in that subject I think, maybe. Seams like it is all a waste at times. Well over 60 years of coin and other object collecting and may well end up in an estate sale or even a garage/yard sale.
I know that at one time I was really interested in almost everything about all my coins. I had Excel spreadsheets discribing dates of acquisition if known, amount paid if known, or from change, dates, mint marks, grades and approximate values based on several sources and then an average value of those. Over the years I said to myself, SELF, why document all this if no one will ever read it, care what it says and probably dump the entire book and computer files. So I slowly eliminated most of the documentation. Now only have a list of type, date, mint and grade. Value? Why? At my age I've no interest in selling any, no interest in what they cost, no interest in total values or value of each coin. No interest anymore in where they came from, who had them, who handled them and what they did with them. Just getting old and enjoying several collections that all to soon will probably have something done to that I don't want to know about now.
Yes, I too am a holder of some objects for someone, somewhere else, sometime in the near future that too may have no idea of who I was, nor care.

Just Carl, maybe you are right and your coins will end up dumped by someone who just cares about cash and not the history or work that it took to put it together but maybe not. All we can do is enjoy our hobby and the pleasure it brings to us. I am new here but I have enjoyed your posts to all the questions I and others have asked. I guess in the end we never know who we have helped along the way but I am sure with over 1800 posts that you have helped many. It's not just putting coins together in a book but enjoying the hobby and people that have come into our lives because of it. Thanks for the help you have provided. Getting sentimental, time to get back on topic, sorry

Small Change

This is too true...we are just holding these for someone else in the future.

Reading Carl's post made me think and I think from now on when I sell or trade a coin, I am going to type up a little "Pedigree" starting with me to the new owner so they have an idea on why and how it came into my possession and with the hopes they will pass it along to the next owner with their information added and so on and so on. That will put some use to all of our documentation and before they sell it rather than seeing a box of coins they can read about how it came to be in that box!

FOR Example, I guess you can get as detailed as you want:

"This 1950-D nickel was bought by me when I was 10 years old in 1975. It was the last nickel I needed for my nickel collection. I used to save my allowance, $2, and buy a roll of nickels a week looking for one. I ended up saving up my allowance and my dad took me to Treasure Island Coins on Bardstown Road in Louisville, KY and I purchased it for $7.25. I was so proud to finally finish that set and have my 50-D nickel!"

I'm not necessarily saying do this for every coin but ones that mean something to you personally. This way 100 years from now people may find it interesting where the coin came from rather than looking at it and saying "wow that's a neat old coin" and realize it brought joy to others throughout it's existence.

everything I have is mine cause I kept the receipt

Welcome back Mike!

I bought a 1955-S Lincoln Cent, uncirculated, red in a holder with the thought of taking it out and completing my second cent folder. Then I found I just couldn't destroy the red luster. There are only a certain number of them out there. I just couldn't destroy one.

What I am getting at is that I agree that we are only the custodians of our coins. We would not have what we have if someone else had not saved them.