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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,497 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1505 Posts |
Poll Question
A question for everyone. What do you do next, when your collecting goals have been largely reached?
My goal was a complete set of canadian circulation coinage (1858- present), excluding most varities, eventhpugh I have many of them. The list sits a little over 1000 coins and I have 16 remaining to acquire (including 5 gold sov/$5/$10), you could probably guess which ones are missing pretty quickly. The remaining coins are relatively expensive and I seem to be doing mostly upgrades out of boredom, rather than the thrill of the hunt. I don't need to dispose of anything for financial reasons, but I'm not expediting to be able to buy a 1921 $0.50 either and nor sure if I have much interest in a 1889 $0.10 VF20+ for what it costs.
I've tried branching out to 1970 and earlier specimens and PL's, tokens and the maritimes. This is interesting, but an expensive proposition. Paper currency is semi interesting, but expensive to complete the few I have left to go in nice condition.
I'm trying to figure out what to do next? Sell, keep going, focus on something new etc...I would be interested to know ow what you think and if any of you have faced a similar dilemma and how did you resolve it?
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I completed a bronze and silverpre decimal Australian type set made up with the rarest date for each type. There were about 4 or 5 really expensive coin needed. Set completed more than 40 years ago. I asked myself: 'Where to from here?' After some months, I decided to collect Roman coins, because it is impossible to complete a type set. Thousands of coins would have been involved. However, it is possible to build a representative collection in all denominations and metals, with such a collection still being very open ended, irrespective of how large the collection may be. Thus, I had set myself to a lifetime project, which now covers coins from all cultures and centuries. Such a collection has the character of a mini museum collection, and I am it's mini-curator.  |
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
Personally, if I somehow got close to reaching my "collecting goals", I would expand my goals. As a Canadian collector, goal expansion could occur in several logical directions: - Canadian Provincial coins - Canadian tokens - NCLT issues - British coins pre-1858 - Coins struck for other countries by the RCM (circulation or NCLT) - US coins that circulated in Canada However, for myself, I'm a collecting generalist; my "collecting goal" is one of every coin, from every country that has ever issued coins, from 700 BC to the present. A hundred lifetimes of collecting wouldn't come close to attaining that "goal". So the question for me is rather moot. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19130 Posts |
Among other options, consider a run on toned coins--Canadian or other. Toned 'naturally' vs. those deliberately 'accelerated'. It's fun if you like toned coins...
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
9156 Posts |
I don't know your family but a set for the kids or grandkids would nice to leave for them.
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Valued Member
Canada
128 Posts |
Take a break for a bit and do something else .I had a forced break for quite a while and then when started again it meant much more to me. I also changed my focus and have really enjoyed it more.
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Moderator
Canada
10456 Posts |
You could always dive down the rabbit hole of varieties, die pairings, and even errors...
"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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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
I find myself enjoying the research now. For example, I did this with what are called No FG Kennedy halves. The discrepancies opened up a whole new world of understanding for me that led to finding out what TPGs actually produce. It became fun to look for more. See the essay in my signature. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
867 Posts |
I always regret when I sell my coins....however, if you leave them to your heirs, they will have no such regrets. You are better to slowly pare down your collection on your terms, and maybe narrow your collecting interests.
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Moderator
United States
187914 Posts |
My vote... "Keep going, interest ebbs and flows"Quote:
Personally, if I somehow got close to reaching my "collecting goals", I would expand my goals. I agree. It is how you keep going.  In the mid 2000s I hit a spot where most of what remained on my list was getting expensive (before my income was ready). Simply acquiring each new year's (US) coins was not enough to keep me excited and I felt those remaining holes might never get filled. But then I found CCF, expanded into modern US Mint products beyond the annual sets to fill my album holes, and discovered it was okay to build a second "higher grade" set of Ikes. Now I am just four coins away from finishing that "core collection" that began over forty years ago. What comes next? My options seem boundless.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
im unlikely to ever complete the main set I'm working on ( US Large Cents by die variety). people with a lot more money than me have tried and failed. nobody has ever completed that set. i sometimes branch out. ill build up a type set or collect small gold coins or something. it works as a reservoir for coin money. buy a coin or two every show for the nonsense set and eventually sell the nonsense set to buy one of the coins for the actual collection. it has the added benefit of helping me grow my knowledge and is frequently cheap. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5239 Posts |
I vote for expanding your goals. Don't sell the collection; put it aside and then next show or store you go to, look at other offerings and see if anything catches your eye: foreign coins, ancients, medals, tokens, etc. Dabble a bit, do some research, ask questions.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7273 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
357 Posts |
It's a tough question to answer. I'm sure there is something out there that will catch your attention. Do some research and look into other series. Maybe you'll be fascinating by the designs, the history, or the ability to put together a set that you'll gravitate towards something else. As long as it makes you happy, you can't go wrong with what you do.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
Even though you listed "focus on something new", it's not a poll option. I would pick that. I'm not sure about "collecting goals have been largely reached" though. I started a purchasing frenzy around the time I joined this forum, thinking I was going to get all the George VI silver (ignoring a few varieties like the 1947 "dots"). I don't really know how close I got. It started out as a tribute to my grandfather, since I randomly got a few of the keys from him when he split up his collection. But I got bored with it. Then through a counterfeit posted on this forum, I discovered that there was a third Barber dime reverse type, joined BCCS, published a couple articles, started picking up examples of the less common transition varieties, and now I'm working on finishing with the common ones. Sort of similar to what @CarrsCoins is doing, except it's a lot easier, and a bit humorous because nobody really knows about these or cares. It's not like I'm going to complete a registry set. After I discovered there was a third Barber quarter obverse hub, I started collecting the type combinations of those as well. Which is even funnier, because they're all in 1900. Three obverse types, two reverse types, three mints - 18 combinations. I think only 14 exist though. So you have to wait until a 1900 comes up, then check if you have it already. Then check your bank account. I've only been working on that for a year. When I die, my kids are going to go, what's with all these 1899-1905 dimes and 1900 quarters? Maybe I should go back to George VI? |
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Valued Member
Canada
191 Posts |
since youre not wanting for money, give them away, 10 coins apiece, to all the children you can find. young enough to think theyre valuable. at least some will keep them and new cllectors will be born.
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,497 |
Posted 10/24/2022 03:56 am
