Have Your Tastes In Coins Changed?

You are going to get metal poisoning if you keep that up John.

My tastes have evolved, but not exactly in that manner. While I used to be drawn to the Mercury dimes, Walking Liberty halves and the like, I tend to have a greater degree of interest in our earlier circulating coins now. I will never be able to afford those in mint state, so that's not a real issue, but I do find the occasional deal on a nice AU, because there appears to be less interest at times in the earlier designs. Fewer people chasing a fixed amount of goods means a better chance of getting a really good deal.

Chancellor Sutler.

Mine have changed quite a bit. When I first got into the numismatic race I focused upon US coins since they were what I was used to and they were what others in my family collected. Whenever I went to shops I was always fascinated by foreign coins since they looked quite exotic and were often rarer and cheaper than US stuff. So I dabbled a bit in the dark side. I took a brief hiatus from coins and returned in 2003 with a focus upon coins of the world. Sure, I still like to pluck interesting US stuff out of circulation, but I really am a darksider now.

I have to say my taste has changed considerably. When I first started collecting I didn't know the difference between a VG coin and a MS coin nor did I know what cleaned meant nor that it reduced the value. When I started examining coins closer and once I bought my first graded coin in MS grade I looked at the other coins I had accumulated before and noticed there was a big difference in the way the coin looked. At that time I was fond of Blast White coins because they looked fresh from the mint (and still like white coins) but now a coin with good eye appeal will win over a blast white coin in the same grade. Even though I am still not real fond of highly toned coins but if it has eye appeal I can't argue with beauty

I've always been interested in world coins, and that hasn't really changed. But I used to more actively collect banknotes than I do now, and since I joined a coin club, I've noticed I've become more interested in acquiring tokens and medals.

My tastes are always changing. I have to say I enjoy both mint state and circulated. It just depends on the eye appeal for me. I can get just as excited about a nice G-4 coin as an ms-63. All of my Morgan dollars are circulated, because I feel that the fact that they were actually used for their intended purpose adds to their charm. Same with my Peace dollars. On the other hand, my War Nickels are all Uncs, because circulated examples of these often lack eye appeal. As for my German, Mexican and Ottoman collections, they too are a mix of circ and unc for the same reasons. It just depends on whether or not a particular coin speaks to me.

Yes my tastes have changed over the years. My fathers experiences impacted my early collecting mentality. He told me he always made money in the "junk" he sold so I followed his philosophy. The problem with the common "junk" is that it will ALWAYS be common "junk".

When it came to the high grade coins his one effort to build a spectacular set of choice uncirculated coins in a type set was devestated. The holders he had used left pvc on his coins and destroyed the entire appreciation value they had experienced over the years. He "broke even" when he sold the damaged coins (as long as you do not adjust for inflation). This story impacted my decision to collect high end coins. Additionally my favorite coin (the penny) was only valued a few pennies in the RedBook in ms 65 condition for most more modern dates so I never gave the truly high end coin market much thought. I wish I knew 30 years ago what I know now!

The last several years have rekindled my coin dealing and collecting interest and the internet has allowed me to do a lot more research on coins in the higher grades. Examples of ms 66-70 pennies and other coins selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars gave me a brand new perspective. No longer do I discount the power of a choice uncirculated coin.

I have learned about steps on pennies and nickels. I have learned about bell lines on Franklin halves. I have learned about all 20th century coins in ways I did not when I was collecting a a child. Most importantly I have learned the concept of looking for details and eye appeal on coins. Then I applied that to both my buying and selling philosophy. Yes I have changed. As a child I was a collector and hoarder. Now I am a true numismatist. Sincerely, John Leckrone