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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,162 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1944 Posts |
i wonder if the elite/professional collector has the same sense if excitement, as the average hobbyist collector - upon finding a key date coin, or a mint variety coin or otherwise UNusual coin. I know that - for me - a find like that renews my enthusiasm, and inflames my interest for q very long time, hoping and anticipating the next "gem" find.
case in point I had a friend who love restoring cars, and was VERY good at it. so he decided to open his own auto body/restoration business. within about two years - after doing it for a living, his interest dropped to almost zero. he closed that business, and only does it now for his own pleasure, and has a renewed interest in his hobby.
i wonder if his experience - applies to our "hobby" as well. I'm probably happiest simply being a hobbyist collector.
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Valued Member
United States
294 Posts |
Not sure what a elite/professional collector is other than a dealer. Most of the dealers I know do get excited when they come across good finds. Not just because it could be be a profit potential but they have a genuine love for the hobby that what keeps them motivated. Don't deal with any dealers that hate what they do and are just in it for the money. Seeking: Not to find money hungry dealers  Rainman |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1882 Posts |
Rainman, I completely understand what you are saying. However, running any business adds pressures to a situation that don't exist on a serious hobbiest. The dealer may still genuinely enjoy coins and all the facets involved with collecting them, but has mouths to feed, and rent to pay. So it is not just a "he loves what he does" vs. a "he hates what he does" issue.
Dbrablec, it is quite common in different areas of expertise for a person to start a business in an area the love, only to find that it isn't quite so fun any more.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Quote:
Don't deal with any dealers that hate what they do and are just in it for the money. I know where you're coming from, because many local dealers here concentrate on bullion sales and consider collectors like me a nuisance. It's understandable when they take an angle purely for profit, but that's not for the "collector at heart", or customers who are real collectors. One dealer near me actually cuts out the collector entirely by selling all the interesting coins he buys from collections to wholesalers. This probably explains why I mostly buy at shows. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Numismatics abounds with people who have both deep pockets and a deep love of the hobby. Check out this guy's site: http://www.tradedollarnut.com/Tradedollarnut assembled the finest sets ever of both Trade dollars and Seated dollars (the first complete Seated dollar set in Uncirculated condition). He's also just about the most enthusiastic advocate of coin collecting you could ever hope to know, and a pretty nice guy to boot. I wish he posted here.  Another example: http://www.vamsandmore.com/This gentleman has the best one-stop business in the country for buying Morgan VAM's. His personal collection consists of over 2200 individual VAM's, and he's added over 200 new discoveries to the list of known VAM's. He is a very pleasant human being, easy to work with and completely dedicated to furthering the knowledge (and more importantly the dissemination of that knowledge) of VAM's. And then there's the recently-departed Jack Lee. This gentleman assembled a collection of Morgans of such magnitude that, when he sold it, PCGS started putting his name on their slabs of coins from that collection. Then he did it a second time. I never knew the man, but others who did hold him in universally high regard. In fact, it's my contention that in numismatics, the true elite collectors are almost universally characterized by their great love of the hobby. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1882 Posts |
SuperDave, thanks for posting examples to offset my views of the "dark side." I really do believe that those that work hard, and do what they love, will succeed. But that the path is not necessarily easy.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
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I really do believe that those that work hard, and do what they love, will succeed. But that the path is not necessarily easy. ....and there is no better example of this truth than in numismatics. This hobby is about knowledge, plain and simple, and the greatest rewards are reaped by those who put the greatest effort into learning. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Another legendary collector who is an all-around great person is Eric Newman, arguably the world's foremost expert on colonial coinage and currency. His collection would probably be worth somewhere in the 8 figure range, he has owned a few handled and researched 1804 dollars and was the last person to own all five 1913 Liberty nickels His lifes mission has been to educate other collectors and spread his knowledge of numismatics through teaching. He is also very philanthropically active and has a close association with Washington University, whose art museum houses a numismatic wing that he created. Unfortunately, he is getting up there in age but since he also lives in St. Louis, I hope to meet him one day. http://record.wustl.edu/web/page/normal/563.htmlhttp://www.newmanmoneymuseum.org/inside.htmlEdit: Yep, you are right Conder. He is one of the names most closely associated with 1804 dollars due to his exhaustive research on them and has examined multiple examples but he is not on a provenance list as owner  Edited by biokemist6
01/15/2009 1:11 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I don't believe Eric ever owned an 1804 dollar.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2443 Posts |
I think it depends on the person.
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Anyone that has joy and enthusiasm for what they are doing will excel in there endeavors.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4227 Posts |
Personally, I couldn't imagine being in the coin business just for the money. In addition to coins, I collect sport cards and there is a great little store in my city and the owner was very active and personable. He told me during one visit that he had no real interest and just did it for a living and it astounded me. Anyway, I think there are definitely both types with stores, but I'd rather know the guy that loved the hobby as well as the money he was making...
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,162 |
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Posted 01/14/2009 4:51 pm
