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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,513 |
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
So, with 2 kids, a side business, a full-time job, full-time family bills, and full-time online college (almost finished, 15 credit hours to go) at Colorado State University Global Campus online.... I need discipline!
In an effort to stay focused, while also maintaining life's other arenas outside the coin hobby, I devised a plan, and I have almost completeley whittled down to become "compliant" with my own coin collecting hobby rules.
Rule #1: You get 3 Types of coins to collect. I chose Morgans, Gold Sovereigns, and Gold Liberty Head Eagles.
Rule #2: If coins outside of my "Big 3" come into my possession, I should trade or sell them for something that fits my big three.
Rule #3: I am allowed to own 50 "collectible-Investment-Grade" coins in my collection at any time. I am currently down to 61 now, so this is a work in progress.
Rule #4: When my collection (when I DO get started at the compliance benchmark of course) rises above the 50-coin level, I am to sell or trade the overage, plus at least 1 coin, and reinvest in a new coin that takes me either to the max ir under the maximum 50 coins.
Rule #5: I can upgrade at any time, so long as a sizeable portion of the funds comes from selling/trading an existing coin FIRST.
Rule #6: Act in good faith. I have a wife and kids, and those two boys are VERY expensive. Do NOT make decisions that don't make financial sense for the family.
Rule #7: HAVE fun playing by these rules - See them as a CHALLENGE that MUST be adhered to, and see how effectively the collection of 50 coins rises in value and satisfaction!
.....Anyway, this is what we are doing. It is actually fun to do, and it is teaching me discipline, while at least showing my 7 year old the importance of financial responsibility.
-EndTheFed
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Pillar of the Community
1325 Posts |
I cannot even fathom how you are managing all the home life and still adding in your "Big 3" and be able to afford any of them, so I won't say much about the exact details. The general concept looks sound. If you want to prepare to share collecting with them, you could get some boxes to CRH and let them help with the cheap circulated coins which many of us love. The President Dollars are great to teach some thing before it appears in school like the order of them. Quarters can teach the states order, ATB can teach something about conservation and wildlife and resource protection. The others could teach all sorts of things about history. Also it is probably cheaper to CRH by a long way, so they will be able to have their own coin collections, and you have a stock of allowance to give them, or toll money, or whatever else you can find to buy where they will take rolled coins. The best discipline is present in what you have there I assume. "Get only what you can really afford to get" no matter which the chosen coin type to collect is. |
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Valued Member
 United States
88 Posts |
The gold coins are once or twice a year. The Morgans are more liquid in my collection.
EndTheFed
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Valued Member
United States
467 Posts |
I think your plan is pretty neat! I should follow it too. I find that I like building and selling my stuff far more than I enjoy looking at my complete collection.
I find that if I buy a coin for $10 and end up selling a coin for $10...the 15% or so I generally lose in fees and supplies was worth the $1.50 fun of searching, buying, waiting for it to come, enjoying getting it, getting some more to complete the collection, trying to sell it, waiting to see how much it sells for and then starting the next thing.
To me the idea of being in constant buy, sell and upgrade mode with a limited number of items is rather appealing!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1158 Posts |
Only rules I would set are time and money budgets.
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Rest in Peace
United States
4078 Posts |
What does your wife think about your plan?
Finish the degree. Hopefully to get a better paying job. Plan on saving some money for your two children's future.
There is to much risk in this coin investing game.IMHO
Go to a Coin Show and see the Big Buck coins being sold.
You can also collect within reason. Good luck
Let me also add, did you look into how much it would cost to sell?
Former Colorado inport.
Edited by bpoc1
07/11/2014 4:54 pm
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
I have a very nice job. I went to school and was half finished 20 years ago, when I was crazy and in my early twenties... Now, if I want to move any higher, I need the degree. I am maxed out until I get my degree...
EndTheFed
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
EndTheFed...I like your ideas/rules as it sound s like we live similar lives as far as job, young kids, and wife goes. I think I could stay at 50 if I could just get down to 50. That would be the hard part for me.
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
SAME here! Getting down to 50 is brutal....absolutely brutal. I am not sure I have any idea why the advice was given to "Go to a Coin Show and see the Big Buck coins being sold"!! That is the main purpose of my plan - to avoid that. I know what goes on in the coin shows. I want to REMAIN small potatoes... I do not want throw around $20,000 for a single coin. I really want to try to get most of the easy and medium rarity morgans in MS-64, regardless of TPG. I think this is affordable, reasonable, fun, worth the investment, and I have a fairly large chunk of it already done (with a few MS-65 sprinkled in). My point, as an example.. would be to get somewhere around 35 Morgan MS-64 (leaving 15 slots open for Liberty Head and Sovereign gold coins), and continually improve with better mint marks and dates... once I am cool with my Morgan MS-64, I can always improve later in life and upgrade to MS-65, etc... That was sort of our family plan...I admittedly devised it, wife and older boy think it is a good idea. EndTheFed |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
Sounds like a great plan...what I like about it is it makes you think every purchase through. No rash decisions if you have to think about what coin you will have to sell first.. No problem with storage either.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1804 Posts |
EndTheFed================ Quote:
Thoughts When lucky enough to get a fresh bag of Ikes at face. BUY. Then keep the ERRORs TONERs PEGers, .999, .40, .90, all 1972 (P), all 1973, some Bicentennial (D) Type (1), All 1976 (P) Type 1 and 2. Sell, trade, dump the rest, trying to keep a cap on my total number of Ikes. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
917 Posts |
I too like that you have scripted out a plan of attack. The best part in my opinion was that you did not specify how much you are spending,which is the main issue that many many many collectors come up against.
Do you consider the 50 coins as part of the "big 3" or are the 50 coins separate from them?
Another CSU student
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
The first LCS I visited, and I went often in the days when I was single, the dealer and I had several nice discussions, one being spend only what you can afford to lose. The bottom can drop out of any market. Once I got married, I stopped going to the LCS, and he retired shortly thereafter. So, I have not seen him since around 1980. Priorities first, and when you can, add.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,513 |
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Posted 07/11/2014 1:38 pm
