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 Replies: 24 / Views: 2,498 |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
1555 Posts |
An interesting topic for discussion. When I was in college and when it was possible to make purchases on ebay (now it is impossible due to sanctions) I usually saved about $100 and then went to the site and looked for what I could afford for this amount. Now only the domestic coin market is open to me and the choice is not so great. I also go to work now and can afford a little more. I save money and if I find something interesting, I take money out of the piggy bank and buy a coin. I think my limit on planned purchases has remained $100-150. If me manage to save more and find a good deal, the limit can be increased. But it all depends on my savings. I spend about $30 on spontaneous purchases. Edited by Slerk
09/23/2023 11:04 pm
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Valued Member
United States
345 Posts |
I am enamored by coins ... always "looking around" and talking about it to whomever will listen. This has led to my collecting style ... "opportunity". Sometimes its a local auction, sometimes it's a call from my jeweler who found something, sometimes it's a request for an appraisal.
My favorite is to find a coin on the ground ... picking it up I say "In God We Trust" ... it rides in my pocket as a comfort :)
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Valued Member
United States
416 Posts |
I am on year 3 of my quest to complete a US type set, including all the early stuff that is not in a Dansco 7070. And there's the rub, that's the hardest stuff to get. So at first I bought mostly 'lots' and filled the easy stuff with a small baggie of assorted colors and condtions (for example I have 6 Capped Bust half dollars, all raw, ranging from maybe G-XF). That was fun, basically a massive binge, new ebay package every few days. When I got to the 1790s stuff though (and the early gold), I slowed down, need to get just that right one, and shifted to slabs in fear of the dreaded counterfeits. I have 7 coins remaining, pretty easy to guess the general ones I still need. And when that perfect one comes up for sale I put it on my calendar, get excited as the bid comes up, and generally fall in defeat to someone more voracious. Seems we are all pretty much after the same stuff. So, yeah - 7 coins left to get and then I'm done, then will surely feel like when the coyote caught the roadrunner, ... "ok now what?"   |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:
If there is a point in the universe that is furthest away from "planned purchases", that is about where I am.
My typical "plan for purchases" is roughly:
- Take cash out for coin show.
- Go to coin show.
- Buy all the coins I see that I like, until the money runs out or (rarely) there are no more desirable coins left to buy.
So in that sense, all my purchases are "random". I do have a "wantlist" of sorts, but I don't really know why I do that because rarely attempt to pursue or enforce it and don't actually bring it with me to the coin shows.  This is pretty much how it worked for me back in Moscow, though the relative lack of coin shows (that I knew of) meant that I usually went to hobby-themed malls (and/or flea markets) instead... at least there were multiple of those! (I did occasionally have to save up when I had less than $50 left over in my coin-store-trip funds and it was just silly to go with this little. Fortunately, going to semi-permanent malls rather than sporadic coin shows meant I usually didn't have to care about missing any particular date. I did also save up for the one big yearly coin show that did happen; but due to Covid and other interference I've only gone there twice, and the first time I missed some big deals due to not realizing they were big, while the second time the coins on offer were much more limited to overly modern and/or overly expensive, so I didn't find much worth buying at all!) In Israel (so far) I had found neither coin shows nor coin stores, the latter with the exception of antique stores in especially touristy areas that sold coins as well as other antiques. Reportedly some coin stores do exist but I have yet to find one; in any case it appears that there are none in my current smallish town. The price I don't want to go over... used to be just $5 for a while, I think! Had to be something really special to go past that. Then $10, then $20, and I think eventually $50, though in practice it was always less of a firm limit and more of a scale of "the more expensive the coin is the less I'm willing to buy it". |
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Moderator
 United States
187446 Posts |
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I am on year 3 of my quest to complete a US type set... So, yeah - 7 coins left to get and then I'm done, then will surely feel like when the coyote caught the roadrunner Three years and only seven left! Excellent! It took me 30 years to finish mine.  |
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Valued Member
United States
416 Posts |
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Three years and only seven left! Excellent! It took me 30 years to finish mine. I guess here I need to define 'type set'. I'm not including the 1792 Half Disme, nor oddballs like the $4 stella, Gobrecht dollar.. I let the draped bust gold stuff represent the 'type' w/out the small eagle, that kind of thing. As for question 4, "Is there a price you won't go over?", well that's pretty much my 7 remaining slots Edited by TimNH
09/27/2023 3:56 pm
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
Quote:I guess here I need to define 'type set'. I'm not including the 1792 Half Disme, nor oddballs like the $4 stella, Gobrecht dollar.. Nor did I. Mine is just the standard 7070. No gold page. Seeing that you have some gold makes yours even move impressive.  Quote:
As for question 4, "Is there a price you won't go over?", well that's pretty much my 7 remaining slots  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7273 Posts |
Gold is always a killer :)
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
United States
12250 Posts |
I would have to say that I've employed a hybrid approach: focused for my core collection and opportunistic for everything else.
As I assembled my core US commemorative Type Set, I sought out several specific coins at a time and would examine dozens of each at various dealer tables and/or coin shows until I felt I understood what a "quality" example looked like vs. a "typical" or "below average" example. Each of the US commemorative coins have their own characteristics - strike, luster, bag mark distinctions - so I felt it was important to look at lots of examples before making a purchase. My decisions were not driven by price - I knew the market value of each coin I was seeking - but rather by quality. (I also understood that true "quality" was typically priced higher than average "quality" and such shouldn't be viewed as a deterrent.)
At the same time, however, if something interesting outside of my plan was encountered - and its price wasn't exorbitant - I would veer off and make the purchase. This sometimes meant I had to forego any commemorative coin additions at a given show, but as I was once told "Sometimes the bargain is the opportunity." I knew that I could always find a particular US commemorative coin in the future, but such wasn't always the case for the other item(s).
As a result, I feel I have a reasonably nice collection of US commemorative coins and an interesting collection of medals, ephemera, selected currency and miscellaneous related items.
Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
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As a result, I feel I have a reasonably nice collection of US commemorative coins and an interesting collection of medals, ephemera, selected currency and miscellaneous related items. Your post history supports this claim!  |
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Valued Member
United States
240 Posts |
I have several wittman half dollar folders I am trying to fill, mostly from ebay and LCS, and several half dollar proof caps albums, I try and buy a few each month for each, my franklin is short 3 coins to be full. Then when silver spot is down I buy silver rds from the LCS. Still have not bought any gold, but with price down may pull the trigger on a 5 gram bar |
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Valued Member
United States
295 Posts |
For my pre-1933 type set I try to pick one up every 2-3 months or so. I'm starting with the smaller pieces - I don't have anything bigger than a half eagle at the moment. Most expensive so far has been the Classic Head half, ~$800. As for random purchases, I'll browse the world coin auctions on ebay every now and again and pick up a silver coin or two here and there, usually under like $10-20. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
25546 Posts |
I don't really plan my purchases. I regularly browse the coin sites and when I find something I like I place an order. I buy a minimum of three coins at a time and my orders are usually between $250 to $350.
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Valued Member
United States
466 Posts |
While I am mindful of my budget, I really do not plan either. Like GLB, I scan the sites and look for things of interest. I am currently trying to fill out a Kennedy collection as thorough as I can be as a focus, but I like classic commemoratives and lots of other stuff. I can be like a dog who sees a squirrel and breaks out often chasing after some shiny silver object. I do like to keep a pipeline going though, no matter how modest to keep me from being bored and off the streets even if it spare change.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I never plan my purchases, but I set myself a cash budget. I search for best value for money across the whole pf numismatics, such that bargains are much easier to find. However, when the cash runs out, no mon(ey) no fun. That automatically puts a stop to my spending. I stay well away from credit cards and internet money transactions. For public numismatic auctions, I always submit (usually low), written single fixed priced bids, and thus I normally miss out. There are always other bargains to be found,  the budget remains to be available for something else. |
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Posted 09/27/2023 12:11 am
