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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,487 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1177 Posts |
When I first started real collecting years ago I only collected circulation coins starting with pennies.
I collected every year, once I progressed I collected varieties and they Key Dates, after I went to Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, Half Dollars and Dollars.
Throughout the years I figured that having a huge collection of pocket change isn't really my forte towards collection so I sold off all the common dates and kept all the Key Dates and varieties.
Throughout the last month or so I have gone through every coin and created a HUGE pile of coins I don't think fit into my collection, and I'm only keeping coins I'm interested in or investment pieces.
My questions is...
Are there people who keep any and every coin they find in their collection that they feel they might need or want in the future or do most people only collect strict categories and coins within it.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2366 Posts |
I keep pretty much everything unless its a duplicate or I've just upgraded it. If I have a plain coin, a die clash coin, a die crack coin and one with doubling then I keep all 4. I'm trying to talk myself into getting rid of the plain ones in cases like this but no success so far. :-)
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I keep ALL coins that have a commemorative design on them. In my case that means by denomination : $2, $1, 50 cents, and 20 cents. They are very easy to find from circulation.
I have a numismatic ulterior motive.
When I have about $1,000 face value, which implies about 4-5 years of collecting. By my curent rate of accumulation, I figure that I have about a year ro go.
I will sort them out by denomination and type. I will keep the best of each type and denomination as a set.
I will also do a population count on them, and publish my findings here in the CCF.
The coins I discard? They will be used to pay for the 98 octane fuel my 6.9 litre Mercedes consumes. Hey! I may be able to fool myself that I can run that thing for free for at LEAST a month!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
807 Posts |
I admit to having a "collection" & a "hoard". I go through the coins I have, & sort them into types. I pick out the most attractive of each type (not necessarily rarest or most valuable), for the collection, & the rest go in the hoard. The latter are available for whatever mode of disposition strikes me as best.
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Pillar of the Community
798 Posts |
I keep all coins I can get my hands on that shouldn't be spent anyway. Iv noticed that a lot of collectors try to collect every single year of every single denomination in a big book or something. I collect at random, when I see a coin I like that I don't have I buy it, if I see a coin I have in better and affordable condition then I might buy it if I would like to upgrade the other one. My answer would be yes.  |
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Valued Member
Canada
220 Posts |
I keep all coins that are in my change from 25c to 1c. I sort them by date, roll them, and add them to the collection/hoard/inventory whatever one wants to call it. I then sell them on ebay to collectors who need to fill a gap in their binder. Any date of any coin in just about any grade has a value to somebody. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1109 Posts |
I keep all coins for a particular set (for example, all Jefferson nickels pulled from circulation to complete a set) but then upgrade to BU. When I upgrade, I don't want to get rid of the circulated ones, so I make a second set. I find it really fascinating to compare the two side-by-side. Each has a terrific appeal the other can't possibly have. I also keep all wheat cents and older, all small date 1982 cents, all small date 1960 cents, all nickels 1959 and older, and any NIFC coins I find in the wild. Plus anything else that just stands out to me. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17894 Posts |
I keep pretty much everything I find in circulation (only one specimen of each coin though). Can be expensive if I'm in Europe and get several 2-euro coins that are all dates and types I don't have. When purchasing coins there are some countries and series where I collect by date but others just by type.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1554 Posts |
 When I first started to collect 15 years ago, I bought everything I could that was Canadian. However, after a few years I started getting frustrated and not feeling fond of my coins and felt there was something missing. I got tired of looking at shiny proof/specimen/proof like coins that were made for collectors and not intended for circulation, also ultra large mintages for modern coins were no fun or challenge. So after pondering and refining my Collection, this is what it has boiled down to "criteria" wise: >less than 700 coins total in my entire Collection, all Canadian decimal business strikes. >all I.C.C.S. certified and none must have problems or any negative remarks listed on Certificates. >nicest eye appeal I could find regardless of toning or blast white lustre. >all six (6) Decimals between the years 1858 and 1967 inc. (varieties included) >target range for every coin I own is within the Top 50 I.C.C.S. graded. My Collection is kept very sweet, short and simple! Glenn  |
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Pillar of the Community
1844 Posts |
 I am just like Glenzy with the exception of they must be in ICCS flips.... I love to keep my coins in books so I can take them out the safe anytime to just look at them....I am always looking to upgrade when I can... here's an Idea of what I have in my personal best. large cents 1858 to 1920 AU or better small cents 1920 to date AU to MS 65-66 5 cents 1858 to 1921 EF to MS on most with exceptions 5 cents 1922 to date EF to MS dimes 1858 to 1936 VF 30 to MS dimes 1937 to date AU and better quarters are wish wash now sold my best awhile back half dollars well  will post pics of my Victorians soon dollars just the key dates in AU55 or higher , dont really like those much rather hoard my sliver ML or bars |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
629 Posts |
I collect Canada whether it's coin or banknotes. But like you, I have quite a few coins that are less than stellar. So, I have been giving some of them away. I really don't have much value in these commons and give them to my coin club so they can group them as a giveaway to the young numismatics. I will sell them cheap to my club members so I can get funds to pay for something else. Today I am always interested in key dates and purchasing Canadian numismatic items that are attractive and relatively inexpensive for their condition/rarity/type. Your budget will always go further when you specialize as compared to try to fill every hole that is in that Whitman folder. You will end up with nicer coins that are appealing to you and to the buyer when it's time to depart with them.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1330 Posts |
im just crazy I check every coin anywhere at anytime,when I forget an have to pay for coffee or anything else I usually fall out of line and checked them or leave and come back
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Moderator
 Canada
10456 Posts |
I sold everything back in 2005, and decided to focus on 1-cent coins, all strikes. Then I discovered varieties... then I discovered errors...
Some time in 2007, an article written by Tom Becker got me hooked on nickel dollars...
I am now tightening my focus even more, and selling my large cents (incl. varieties and errors). I will stick with small cents and nickel dollars. I am a PCGS registry player, and am aiming for top 3 in small cents, and number 1 in nickel dollars.
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
519 Posts |
I think I'm still in the "collecting everything" stage but I have been trying to focus. I've collected a mountain of pennies but I plan on using these largely to fund my other projects. Would like to finish my 5 cent set but that will be relatively simple and I'm not overly concerned with upgrading to high grade coins so I think I will get bored of nickels. I think I will likely part with the majority of the rest of what I have (slowly). Although I've started getting more interested in Newfoundland coins so I will likely hold on to those.
For me it's more about the hunt than the end result. I think I like finding coins maybe even more than having them, especially if a deal can be had! My focus is now shifting to early modern Polish coins of 2 specific denominations. The 3 Grossus (groschen, trojak) for example was minted fairly consistently for almost 300 years and there are just so many varieties even within individual years. I could probably spend my whole life looking and not find them all regardless of budget.
In the context of this thread I imagine there are two types of numismatists. The hoarder, and the specialist. The question then becomes when does a specialized collection become a specialized hoard? It's all about boundaries...
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3234 Posts |
Very interesting in the varied collecting and changes in collecting seen here.
I too started with the idea of having one of each and soon realized that it's not possible or realistic. So the collecting faded and I followed other interests. Fun to see how varieties collecting has become an interesting aspect of collecting more so now.
SPP ... What method would you use to sell your finest pieces?
Should Heritage Auctions be a consideration for the rarest and highest graded pieces .
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
1177 Posts |
SPP, I can not wait to see your registry in 10-15 years....
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,487 |
Posted 07/24/2013 8:14 pm
