On Those That Don't Get It...

Look through his change and buy his silver from him for 2x face. Then you watch him laugh at you, then you laugh right back.

I used to have conversations like this with my grandfather, although he was a coin collector himself (who got me started in the hobby). Sounds like he's just having a little bit of fun. Otherwise, if he gets worked up over the cost of an $80 slabbed Morgan, I wonder what he'd say about the price of an MS-64 graded 1909-S VDB cent?

I heard similar stuff when I told my family I was getting serious about collecting. (Since joining this community, I've redefined 'serious'.)

They were very worried that I'd be swindled out of my money by some sharp dealer.

So I explained how I was just searching change and that I had made a budget for myself and I stick to it. My budget has been $50 a month which is way cheaper than golf or dining out. I hardly ever spend all of my coin allowance in one month, so I am saving and while I'm learning.


Then I pointed to my mother's collection of mechanical singing mice (dozens of them) and that was that!

Your wasting your time if you attempt to explain coins to a non coin collector. Even to many coin collectors that collect only out of change. PAYING a few dollars for a Penny or Nickel? Why that is just nuts. It says right on them what they are worth you know.
However, those same people will pay sometimes hundreds of dollars to see someone sing at a concert. Buy an old car that sold for $2700 in 1957 and now they paid $75,000 or more. Sent in for a weight reducing CD they saw on TV and never stopped to realize that if all of those were real, people would have lost 50 billion pounds or more. So called starving artist sales are blooming too and those so called oil paintings are worth less than the oils on them. One of my neighobors and his wife hit the neighborhood bar about 4 times or more a week and they too don't collect coins.
Guess I could dribble on about how people that don't collect coins blow their money but why bother. Don't they know EVERYTHING?
So what to say to them. Don't bother they can't hear you.

If his fiver was one of these, I'd have my modern $20 FRN out of my wallet so fast, his head would spin off.

Back when silver was $4 to $5 an oz., a few people called me a cheapskate for saving all the 90% silver coins I found in circulation.

Did I care? Not really. I still have all the 90% silver coins I saved (except for one 1963-D Franklin Half-Dollar I gave away in a CCF contest a couple years back!). All acquired at face value.

Aye, sure. But, if you've lived with him as your father figure for 12+ years of your life through age 24, his good natured ribbing can get old, fast.




*goes to look up the FMV on that @ Numsimedia*

$2.5 K?!
gadZOOKS!

WAAAY out of my league!

Here's my budget for purchases is very small, as in what I get for our household CA Redemption Value recycling and anything else that I can recycle for cash, about $70 for 8+ months.

I've found non-collectors generally fall into one of two camps.

The folks like your grandfather, who cannot conceive of the concept of a coin or banknote being worth more than what it says on it, are definitely in a minority. Most people seem to understand the concept that "old things are worth more". Still, we should be thankful that such people exist, because they're the ones that will go out and spend a valuable coin or note, putting it back in circulation for us to find.

A far more commonly encountered attitude is someone who understands and appreciates that "old things are valuable", but cannot understand why you would not want to cash in all of those old valuable coins straight away and do something useful with the money, or if you are holding opn to them, then you must be waiting for the price to rise to a certain level. The collector mindset, that the coins in the collection are not for sale at any price, is alien to them.


It's always helpful to point out that, while "paying a high price for small change" might seem crazy, there are plenty of even crazier things people can do with their money.

Sheesh! I have to be completely retrained every time I try to put up a photo!


Okay, here's a singing mouse that she gave me. You press its foot -- you can probably see the arrow that says 'try me'. Then it sings "Up on the House Top". It turns slightly from right to left. Its arms go up and down a bit and the lights put on a little show of their own.

My cat HATES it.

I think there is at least one singing mouse for every holiday and then birthdays and anniversaries....it never seems to end.