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 Replies: 8 / Views: 2,038 |
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Valued Member
United States
182 Posts |
I had grand plans to plant the coin collecting seed in my neighbors son today... we employed him to watch our cats and lizard while we traveled for a week, and after we got back today I went over to his place to give him a couple choices... "So Jonas, I can give you this $40, which you can spend today, or I can give you this 1880 silver Morgan dollar, which is worth about $40, and it's value will increase over time... the $40 cash will decrease in value over time, or the Morgan dollar will increase in time but you'll have to hold onto it..." Jonas: "uhhh.... I'm trying to save up for a new Xbox, so, I'll take the $40"  Oh well, at least I didn't lose my Morgan... would have been worth it though to get the kid interested. |
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Pillar of the Community
2145 Posts |
Quote:
Jonas: "uhhh.... I'm trying to save up for a new Xbox, so, I'll take the $40"
Sad isn't it? I would have taken "I'm trying to save up for a new Berkley Bass rod & a fishing license" though! |
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Valued Member
 United States
182 Posts |
@rothery
Yeah, I was disappointed. Was hoping he'd hang onto it and keep it as his "first Morgan", but I wasn't going to push it. I did slip in a $1 Utah goldback with the $40.... just because I think they're cool.
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Valued Member
United States
284 Posts |
Edited by Kcm
03/29/2021 07:30 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Looking at this from the other side, if your employer was a big video game player and offered you either your current week's paycheck on a new XBox, which would you take?
I think it's good to throw something in for free to generate interest, but in lieu of money earned, your interests are just different than his. Neither is better or worse than the other.
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Moderator
 United States
188620 Posts |
Quote:
Jonas: "uhhh.... I'm trying to save up for a new Xbox, so, I'll take the $40" Ouch! Lesson fail!  Quote:
...if your employer was a big video game player and offered you either your current week's paycheck on a new XBox, which would you take? Or in my case, a car stereo shop.  If only I could got back in time and reclaim the * thousands* of dollars "invested" in car audio.  The Alpine's bumping but I need the volume higher... |
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Valued Member
United States
182 Posts |
@kencat
Yeah I get it. I wasn't comfortable giving him a free Morgan, wanted to test him to see his interest level. I gave him the $1 Utah goldback as a bonus because, well, gold is awesome... especially free gold.
My own kids enjoy coin collecting, so I care more about getting them involved, and they'll be the ones getting more of the free stuff.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
I would have flipped my lid as a kid for the chance to own a real Morgan. Can't blame him for not being interested, though. Consider: 1) $40 is a little under 10% of the MSRP of the new Xbox. If you were trying to buy a house, would you accept a coin that someone said is worth 10% of your home's value today, but could be worth 12% or 15% in a decade? 2) The melt value of a Morgan is about $20 today. The other $20 is your opinion stacked against a hypothetical buyer's opinion. A coin dealer might offer the kid $19 for it. Would you accept a vintage video game that seems to trend at $20 in lieu of $40 because I reassure you that something makes it special and worth twice as much? 3. Say what you want, but if you gave the kid $40 cash in December and he put it all in Dogecoin, he could sell it today and buy his Xbox. 4. Don't discount the video game market just because you're unfamiliar with it... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Panzer-Dra...p-cvip-panel |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7941 Posts |
Hey, at least the kid understands "saving up for ..." I remember when my son was approaching his 14th or 15th birthday (that makes it 2004 or so), he approached me and said, "Dad, I've saved up over $800 to buy the parts for the computer I want to build, but need about another $75 dollars. Could you just make that my birthday present?" He's now a doctor, with a small business on the side, and has been giving me financial advice for the last 5 years (yeah, OK, it was ME who saved up for his college tuition). There is something to be said for valuing financial discipline over the "shiny new thing" (even if that thing is a nice collectible coin). Oh, and as a kid, I DEFINITELY would have taken the Morgan. Which is why I am now receiving advice, rather than giving it Edited by tdziemia
04/16/2021 6:27 pm
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Replies: 8 / Views: 2,038 |
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Posted 03/28/2021 11:02 pm
