What I've Been Up To And 2015 Coin Purchase Plan

The mintage of a coin has absolutely no impact on whether or not I collect it or look at it from time to time. I only collect coins I am interested in, so I always enjoy spending time with them regardless of how many others might be out there in the community.

Again Yup, I'm on board with you 100%!! I don't have the money or inclination to make other businesses richer. It's not bad if it only the occasional coin, taking a major beating. I could absorb that and not blink an eye. I should also state, I'm the type of person who looks for discounts in my other areas of shopping. I found with patience and knowledge of prices, savings can be had. It's this approach that allows me to spend more on my coin hobby or whatever hobby I've chosen my past 52 yrs.

The mint gives it's dealers the best discounts. Why not pass some discounts on to it's loyal master club members? I feel they are deserving of some savings too. There's less and less coins released that you need first access to in order to get the coin at issue price. Since Canada Post has the coin with free shipping. No longer are people buying multiples of the same coin.

For the first time since reading the forum, collectors are advocating the approach of setting a budget and sticking too it. I think this is a very sound approach. It will certainly benefit collectors following it. This is why I feel new collectors are coming in at a good time. A new person reading postings can get a feel for what has happened during this never experienced before monthly releases, which started since 2013. They can benefit from hearing people cautioning buying at issue, since the price may not hold.
Now with a budget in hand, it doesn't mean a collector will desire fewer coins. The translation for me is I want to select those coins I like and will stay closest to the price I pay. What to pay becomes the hardest part of the decision on new releases. Coins out for a yr have already established a track record. Like Yup said, I'm not going to pay issue for a coin, which will sell for 30%-50% off within a yr. This is not a viable approach for the long term. I fail to see why collectors need to become comfortable with their coins being worth half of what they pay within the year? Prior to 2013's monthly release this wasn't a common occurence.

I just saw a finished auction with 1 $90 bid for the glass frog coin. You'd think at that low price there'd be more than 1 bid, for a coin from a popular series. Makes me wonder what a reasonable price for the up coming turtle coin will be. I know I want one to finish the collection. The pic from a German dealer is great. Deciding on a price point is the only unknown!!

Another very surprising finished auction was the Woodpecker from the 25 cent Birds of Canada collection, I've followed this coin for almost a yr, as I need one to complete my set. This coin usually goes for $200-$250, a recent completed auction $60 and only a single bid. It's not summer, so cannot use people being on holiday as a reason. Are collectors becoming more cautious or moving to other areas of the hobby?

After Yup's comment, I looked at the 2013 pied fort maple. The current ads had many at $100 or above. However, many of the Solds ranged from $60 - $90. This is really discouraging as I have one. It's truly a beautiful coin and I don't see why such a drop other than competition from too many other coins.

It would be interesting if someone would set up a poll to see how many people plan to make RCM direct purchases in 2015, how many are undecided? Secondly of those purchasing how many coins do they expect to buy. Another interesting poll would be how much are people planning to spend on Nclt this yr and then do a poll at the end of 2015. The question would be did you spend more or less than 2014. There is so much great info in this thread, it's taking me awhile to digest it. I'm even rereading some posts. I think an honest discussion like this one is beneficial to the Nclt side of the hobby. Having a dialog on how individuals perceive the changes and their effects, helps those just venturing into this side and hopefully after being informed, will be able to make better decisions. I honestly hope Nclt will remain a long term viable part of the hobby.

@pocketchange50

Yea I have to say, I was shocked at how LOW this coin is going, like wow.

That said, I wouldn't mind snagging one in the low 50s to mid 60s. I mean it has taken a drubbing in price. Which makes me think,, "wow what a market up dealers get on this coin".

I have yet another example of why I refuse to pay up for any type of NCLT coin. I really want the 2015 Lake Michigan silver proof coin... but I refuse to pay 119. Why should I when slabbed 69 issues have gone for as low as 63 dollars?

I know if I am patient and wait, I will get this coin close to 50% off.

I really think patience is part of this. I didnt realize until I started paying attention that both dealers AND private collectors unload these coins, even if they are 2 years old... there is no real rush to buy a coin.

BTW Silveroid, I agree 100% with what you say and you are soooooooo knowledgeable about coins, you always been so helpful to me, I will NEVER forget you helping me find that Russian coin.. I will NEVER EVER forget that!

I felt the same way as many here, RCM was saturating us with NCLT coins and they were getting too expensive. That was in 2007 for me, I quit cold turkey and never went back.

The compulsion to complete sets has also left me with many coins, I probably overpaid for, that I don't really care for. I know I should just sell them off but whenever I've tried going through to decide between keepers and sellers I am caught in the turmoil of 'breaking up' a set. I end up putting them all away, vowing to try it again some other time when I have a clearer head.

I do miss not have a complete Proof set collection (that was my original goal when I began) but maybe one day, if I do sell off some of my unwanteds I'll allow myself to backfill those missing years. For now I am quite happy searching through my (and anyone's who'll let me) loose change looking for old and interesting coins, it's fun coming across some silver that others haven't noticed.

My first rely to Fireworks, I don't know much about the hockey card crazy, did they ever rebound to a steady and tradable market? Meaning did prices return to a steady amount and were people again interested in buying? Did manufacturers reduce the number of new releases? Or are collectors pretty much still turned off? I'm wondering if there's any lessons to be learned from that hobby?

I've been reading some threads in 2007/2010, it seems some collectors were remarking on high prices back then even. However, offerings were no where overwhelming. Nor were prices dropping so immediately or
so steeply. It does seem like people were starting to take notice of Nclt price trends. I'm really hoping Nclt doesn't go the way of the hockey cards.

I just started in 2012, so I still consider myself a Newbie, with lots of learning to do!! When I post my observations it's with a view to learning from others experiences. Stating my own experience, with hopes other newcomers can benefit from experiences and possible insights. Many times I'm checking to see, if others are having the same conclusions. I'm not here to bash or place blame. However, I do like to explore facts and explore perception. I believe in making informed choices, rather than blindly accepting the way things are.

I started first collecting Commemerative change, with the 2010 quarters. I still have ziplocks full. Then in 2012, I saw the Canada day coin show. I bought the 2012 specimen set for the Anniversary Loon and the 2010 proof set. Now I really don't know why I bought the proof set, it was very expensive at $130 and I bought the 3 coin continuity of the crown at $330. I bought the set because I had decided to start a royals themed collection. These are all purchases I still enjoy today. Funny thing I bought my continuity of the crown set for $130 last yr. I couldn't resist the price. It does go to show how far the set has declined in 2 yrs.

I next focused on collecting silver dollars 1935-1967, 1971-current. Along with those I added the yearly proof sets. They are complete starting with 1994. I do need to add this years silver set and silver dollar. I thoroughly enjoys these and the prices seem to hold fairly constant. I'm a history buff and I enjoyed learning about Canada's history through the silver dollars. I'm not sure where I went off the rails with buying the new releases!! It's time for me to get back to basics and sitting on the buying sidelines could restore the much needed discpline. I'm doing much more reading. It's seems to help with the temptation to buy.

I'm currently struggling with the singing moon mask set. My brain is having a two sided discussion with itself. One side says, it's very low Mintage and you own the other two, and what if the price goes up, then you really can't afford it. It's the fear of the set increasing $50-$100. Two yrs ago a popular coin could increase fast in a couple months. The other side counters with, it could also drop by that much. Then it would of been better to wait. It also states this yr your on a budget, so spend wisely to get the max amount of coins.

This never used to be a consideration as it took yrs and not months for a coin to decline. Many coins if they dropped it was only by a few percent and it would be a year or more. I'd spend hrs on ebay trying to find a coin under issue the first yr. I know there's a number of factors at play. Too many releases and a falling spot price. When I started collecting silver was at $35 an ounce. Today it's at $20 and it costs 18 cents extra to buy 1 US $. Please keep adding your thoughts and insights. It's valuable for new comers to see an evaluation of the current state of the hobby. I think it will help them decide how much they want to spend and where to spend it.

I'm wondering how long it will be until the world mints will pull back and reduce offerings? Someone stated on the forum the RCM is planning to launch 300 coins this year. This is just overkill!! Especially with all the subs being launched. I don't like being tied to a sub, when there's so many coins being launched. My reason being, if a coin I really desire is released say in Sept, Ive already committed my money elsewhere. It's happened a few times the past 2 yrs. another example I subscribed to the Great Lakes, after the second coin, it's apparent the coins could be had for a better price on the open market and not mint direct. So of course I cancelled my sub and I'm picking the coins for cheaper!!

Most products can be bought cheaper factory direct, as there's no middle man to take profits. This is not the case with world mints, the middle men get the best discounts!! So I don't see why mints bother selling direct; when they don't offer their direct and loyal customers any discounts. They should just focus on minting and sell directly through their dealer network or dump the dealers for newly issued coins.

I've also been thinking, what's up with dealers selling a new release above issue before it's sold out at the mint? I am totally ok with price increases after a sell out, as it's market forces in play. Yes people will say they have overhead costs, however, they're already getting a mint discount to help with operating costs. The dealers also have the ability to limit purchases, if they are so inclined. When I started collecting I thought this was how things operated.

Signing up for a sub is very different when yearly new releases is around 30 coins. The chances are greatly reduced of not being able to afford an extra coin or two that may also be released in the same year containing 300 releases. It's not the same playing field.

I think the amount of coins one already owns is another factor coming into play. Storage starts to be an issue as well, and there's the packaging that can be bulky. I'd have a real problem if I lived in a small apt. Those just starting collecting Nclt may not give a new coin as thorough thought process, as those with a few hundred. I know my coins are taking up half a room.

Like many have already commented, it's easy to get carried away with purchasing directly from the RCM, particularly if it's a low mintage item or one expected to sell out before the official release.

I find most of the coins are breathtakingly beautiful and reasonably priced for the amount of work involved when you are not buying them for the silver content.

I'm definitely cutting back from previous years and buying more items from dealer tables at shows for a number of reasons. (not in any order):

• Packaging issues - cheap and overpriced


• Dramatically lower resale value


• Lack of collector demand


• Too many sight unseen subscriptions and mystery coins


• Not always as illustrated

The icing on the cake is when you can't even give away a $20 for $20 coin for free! Even worse.....

The person you are gifting secretly wishes you would get a real life and find yourself another hobby!

You can't even sell it to another collector for face value or place it in a coin club auction.

and its not just the RCM mint either,, its all mints.

Too much product, too few collectors and I think once folks get wise that they can be had cheaper on ebay from reputable dealers, well I think you can see what most folks do,, like me, make a wish list and stalk.