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 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,411 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
767 Posts |
Coin collecting is soooo slow when you don't have much money! Each week or two weeks - one or two decent coins, or a little stack of low grade coins. I have two main goals right now: 1. To hoard Peace dollars. Any grade, any date as long as they're problem free. 2. To hoard, AND put together a date set of braided hair large cents. I always get stuck with a choice... 4 medium grade Peace dollars, 2 medium grade Peace dollars and one medium grade large cent, 2 large cents and one Peace dollar, 3 medium grade large cents, 1 higher grade large cent, 2 unc Peace dollars and a large cent... I was confident that I would buy 1 higher grade large cent this week by itself, but now I am reminiscing about the joy of big heavy xf Peace dollars in my hand.  Ever have this trouble? Edited by scottk
11/28/2014 7:05 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
No problems at all. Simple solution is to just start making your own. OR contact someone in China to make them for you. Or rob a bank and use the money to buy all the coins you need or want.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1215 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
457 Posts |
If you can, go to your local coin shop or maybe even a show. If you see a coin you like that fits your budget and is quietly whispering "Buy me" in your head, then you know what to do. Don't over think about coins, just go with the flow and buy what you want. That is how I do it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
The best collections are build with patience and discernment, not within a year. I have been collecting in some form or another for just about 50yrs. It's a marathon, not a sprint.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1192 Posts |
Sad thing is I'm stuck with deciding wheter to spend my budget on two junk silver dimes or a few circulated Buffalo nickels a week that I need for my albums haha. If only I could hoard Peace dollars haha. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
767 Posts |
Well Bert, don't feel bad. In my 8-9 months of collecting, I've been so indecisive, and bought so many random low grade coins that so far my "hoard" consists of 5.
Haha....
Edited by scottk
11/28/2014 8:33 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
The rule of thumb is buy the best you can afford.
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Moderator
 United States
16677 Posts |
With the Large Cents, yes, buy the best quality you can afford.
A bunch of low grade culls will always be culls.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
Stay the course. You know your goals and budget. Good possibilities will happen on their own time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
I prefer fewer but higher grade coins.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
Everyone's got their own formula. There's no reason to refuse lower grade coins especially if they are a bargain and you know you can resell them for a small profit.
My advice is don't blow all your money at once especially if they are easy to get hold of. Save up for some of the rarer coins and be prepared to sell some of your duplicates if you have an eye on a key date that you may have been hunting for a while.
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Braided Hair large cents are a nice series - the design is pretty, and there's really only one key (the 1857) and it's not unaffordably expensive either.
Unfortunately, between my tiny allowance and the type just generally not coming up very often, I only have two of them so far; I do plan to get a proper date set eventually.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
Trouble being decisive in numismatics...
- I used to think that I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure ...
I agree with Kanga.
But remember the difference between a collection, and an accumulation -
a collection is built with a goal in mind, by whatever criteria - that's for you to decide.
I have built a collection of all British coins, bearing date 1820.
Now I am working on the French Empire of 1811.
Next will be U.S.A. of 1853.
The dates were chosen because of their significance in my family history.
Once you have settled on your goal, you can do your research, and decide which grade to set as your minimum standard.
At that stage, focussing your continuing research, you will find it a lot easier to recognize a bargain when it comes along.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
During the whole of 2010 I bought ...3 coins. 2011 .. 4 All the while I have looked critically at my collection and sold on coins I no longer enjoy owning. Though recently things have picked up as in 2012 and 2013 I bought 6 and this last year .. 11! .. though I have since sold on two of those! Yes, it's slow. But I now have a lot fewer coins that I want to upgrade, or wonder why on earth I bought, than I used to.  Edited by Tom Goodheart
11/29/2014 07:31 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1211 Posts |
With your budget, I would do he following... Choose a denomination/design you like. Sounds like Peace dollars are your poison. Buy a Peace dollar dansco album. Pick out nice examples from dealers melt buckets and put together a nice circulated, matched set. You will likely be missing tough or key dates (1928 for Peace dollars?). Then, once you're finished, slowly upgrade each coin, using the previous coin to pay for it. You're essentially adding money to your weekly or monthly budget and building the quality of your set. Rinse and repeat and one day you will have a nice set! With your budget limitations, I would focus on collecting one set at a time. Maybe buy a book about the coppers and become an expert in the meantime. Maybe ask for a low grade key date as a Christmas or birthday gift! I agree, collecting is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't get ahead of yourself and just enjoy the quest. Just a suggestion, good luck with whatever you decide! |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 3,411 |
Posted 11/28/2014 7:16 pm
