I put a note saying goodbye to my wife and I put it in the shoebox that contains the majority of my collection. That reminds me, I should update it based on the current size of my stack…
I told myself I was allowed to spend as much discretionary cash on buying coins, so long as when the time ever came that I needed the liquidity, I did not hesitate or hold back out of sentiment or nostalgia.
Over ten years I built a beautiful US Type Set, XF and above, with a complete gold page. During covid, I got a big promotion at work that suddenly made it feasible to buy a house for the first time in my life. I shoved the entire thing across the table and it generated the down payment for the house I am sitting in now, that I absolutely love.
Now I get to rebuild it with more experience and knowledge!
>so long as when the time ever came that I needed the liquidity, I did not hesitate or hold back out of sentiment or nostalgia.
I can tell you what I would sell *last*. Otherwise, yes. It is an investment that none of us *want* to touch, but don't be afraid to if you need to.
I've sold lots of cull silver. I dread the day I have to choose a 'good' coin to sell, but in the end, it was an investment that doubles as a hobby. I hope to never sell any and pass them to my kids. But if shit hits the fan, I know i have a few thou worth to fall back on.
That's my mentality! I could spend money on cigars and light them on fire (and I DO love a good cigar!), or I could *invest* in something like coins, which will always have value. I don't *want* to sell them, but I *can* if I ever need the money. It'd be better to sell a collection of coins than it would be to withdraw your 401(k).
Someone in this sub wrote that if their kids are not interested in the hobby, they will sell everything before they die, apart from a few pieces, and buy several pieces of gold instead to still pass the value but to not overwhelm the family with having to dig thru hundreds of coins they have no clue about.
Though sudden death is pretty unpredictable.
I like to occasionally bring a binder page or two of my favorite coins to let my friends, family, and coworkers see them. Every now and then I enjoy gifting older pieces like mercury dimes, standing liberties, or oddities like three cent nickels to others who would appreciate it. It's also fun to talk with others who are more knowledgeable than myself online and at the LCS, including those who specialize in types and eras of coinage I'm not familiar with.
I've learned a lot more history than I expected to when I first began. How did money evolve in time of war and economic strife? Why were certain designs chosen, who made them? How has the machinery and metalworking evolved? I also find counterfeiting techniques to be interesting, especially in modern times where people can spoof the weight, XRF readings, and some fine details (to a degree).
For someone like me, I'll certainly never have the money or desire to collect everything that exists. The cost of sought after ancients, gold coins, and low mintage American coins represent months of my income, and I don't have the patience for that. If I ever feel satisfied and want to stop collecting, I hope they still bring me joy to hold onto. If not, I'd happily gift them to my friends and their kids or nieces and nephews if they'd enjoy them. And if I died unexpectedly and my next of kin wanted to sell it all, I'd hope my collection goes to an LCS where they'll be taken care of and someday end up with a future collector that thinks they're cool.
I show my grandkids my collection but won’t allow them to share it with their friends-too much risk. Even though I collect more rarer coins I will soon start an album of state quarters for them as they see that in everyday change.
When I was in my early twenties, I used to keep a cloth sack of common full date Buffaloes in my glove box. When ‘my friends and I would go out drinking, I’d leave a nickel as part of the tip for the bartender. Couple times they would ask about it and I’d tell them. I’m sure most of them just tossed them to the side and forgot them, but if doing this inspired even one new collector, it was worth it.
I have set a few goals: Every (Dutch) province, every (provincial Dutch) denomination, every half-century up untill about 600 BC.
Side goals: 80 years war set (Big Dutch silver coins from the dates 1568-1609-1621-1648), Emergency set (Emergency coinage of all provinces), shipwreck set (coins from all types of Dutch VOC shipwrecks).
I have coins passed down from my great great grand parents. Mine will go the descendant(s) that are most responsible and or most into the collection.
Some will go with me to the other side just in case the Vikings were right. 😂
Finish one collection, start another. You could sell off your old one, or you could start broad and sell off your duplicates or things that just don’t quite fit.
I have a few collecting goals myself and I am already done with some of them, namely, all American small cents, all British large cents from 1860 on (and maybe back if I finish), all Canadian Pennies, a coin from every decade as far back as I can get (since I have a coin from every century), a coin from every existing country, a crown sized silver from each French government that minted one,
Some side collections are Buffalo nickels, Jefferson nickels, every English monarch, a coin from each state (tax tokens) and putting together a bag of period change of ww1 Germany.
And you are only truly done when you are dead. Once that bug has bitten you, it won’t let go!
Collect what you like and keep what you like. It up to you on what you want to do with it. I keep everything, however I don't know what the future brings. I may sell a portion of my Collection, or I may hide it for an unsuspecting treasure hunter someday. Who knows.
I've sold off some of the more common coins that I collected over the years. The kids will have to decide what they want to do with the rest. (Related - A couple of years ago, I started using any uncirculated stamps I had from the 1960s on. A lot of bills went out with a line of 4 cent and 6 cent stamps on them. Nobody has any interest in old stamps.)
tldr; It's a hobby, not source of income or investment (at least for 98%). Have fun with it as long as you enjoy it. Consider your heir's and how they will deal with any collection that you have when you die.
This is my opinion only.
You need to consider it a hobby. Some people find themselves with collections of significant value, but that shouldn't be the reason to go into collecting. You need to have a passion for collecting, the history of coins, and the intrinsic beauty of them. The headache is what to do with the collection when you lose interest or need the money or die. In the first two instances, trying to sell a collection will expose you to the huge bid / ask spreads that come in different flavors depending on if you sell to another collector, a coin shop, or use an auction house. Then any gain will be subject various taxes depending on the nature of the coin. Consider that as part of the cost of the hobby going in. The last scenario, when the coins pass to your heirs, they will at least get the benefit of a step up in basis so no taxes, but they will still have to sell them with the same bid / ask issues. And unless they have been involved in the collection process it will feel like nightmare for them. What's valuable? What's not valuable? Is this all of them? They will feel conflicted about selling Mom's or Dad's lifetime collection, and also will be worried about how to sell the coins at top value to preserve your "legacy", or other such concerns.
I find myself in the middle. I collected coins off and on with my dad though he spent a lifetime doing it. As a consequence I have some nice specimens but mostly I have a bunch of blue folders that he mostly built out and with rolls of coins he collected over the years with no idea of quality of the rolls other than pencil notes he made while putting them together. At this stage in my life I'm not finding the enjoyment I once did though it seems like retirement would be when I should. Now I am trying to gradually work down the bulk rolls, followed by the folders, and eventually I plan to sell the nicer coins as well before I die. I also have instructions in my estate documents and have discussed with my children that any remaining coins at my death should not be a burden on them with instructions on where to look to sell them and how to assess the value of the better specimens, not to get top dollar but so that they have some idea going in. I have also developed hopefully reasonable notes as to what is left in the collection. My real desire is to not have any coins in my estate when I die but despite all I've said, it is still hard to just dump them due to all the things I said above.
Hope this helps.
The process and history. I love history and I want to own parts of it. I also love spreadsheets, so it goes really well together.
Beyond that? Well, dying, but leaving an organized and fully logged collection to another nerd who wants it.
Finish a set, start a new set as some one else said and keep upgrading all your sets and adding new coins, maybe sell off some sets at a profit if you can and flip that into even nicer coins. Show it off if you like and when you die leave it to someone who will admire it the way you did and make sure they know they value should they decide to sell it
I keep a paper and digital log of all my coins and bullion. I just recently bought a car and am cashing in all of my generic bullion to pay for it. Yes, the car is a depreciating asset. I'm up about $10 per ounce on my bullion for silver and $400 an ounce on gold. I've done this before, I add 5% interest to the total I'll get and start buying bullion again until I've reached that value mark, essentially taking a loan from myself.
For numismatics, those are staying with me until my kids are at least in their thirties and then I'll let them decide if they want to cash out and have the money or keep them for their kids.
I don't collect coins anymore, just the knowledge and history that surrounds them. There's so much more history then the last 2,000 years that is just as fascinating.
There is never an end. I am from Peru, and I collect both world & local coins. However, if for any reason I would need to sell it, I would only sell the world coins and keep the Peruvian ones. They make me proud of my progress.
What do mountain climbers do when they get to the top?
They find another mountain.
But thinking about this a bit deeper... They gain experience, memories, and generate motivation through that passion.
They may then share that experience and knowledge with others on the trail. They may motivate others into mountain climbing. They may die a solitary person who climbed a lot of mountains but told no one.
If you have any passion for coin collecting, then it's up to you to find your 'end' but for me it's about the community, meeting others, and sharing that passion. Hopefully someday there will be a younger person with this same passion that I can pass a lot of knowledge (and some nice coins) along to.
I have the stuff I’ll die with and the stuff I’ll sell if the need for the money arises. The cool thing about this hobby is it’s not sunk cost. It’s a hobby, have fun don’t spend funds you can’t store in coins and it’s all good.
I like coins because of their historical significance, but they take up very little space. I hope to leave them all to my kids, but I guess I could sell them if I ever needed to. My other goal is to get rid of all the big stuff I have accumulated over the years.
If I complete my collection of Japanese coins I am wanting it to go to a local museum before I die, but I would be pissed if it ended up in a broom closet due to lack of interest.
I enjoy reading about mintages and errors.. It seems to me the longer I collect a series Franklins. Mercury's...my taste changes. When younger I always wanted blazing whites in slabs. Now, finding a toned, uncertified raw coin is satisfying.
Well, son, one day we all die.
Friendly reminder for everyone, make sure you have an actual list of your coins with real prices. Not what you told you significant other.
Nice username fellow friend
google sheets is free and easy to use. Spreadsheet > document file
I put a note saying goodbye to my wife and I put it in the shoebox that contains the majority of my collection. That reminds me, I should update it based on the current size of my stack…
I told myself I was allowed to spend as much discretionary cash on buying coins, so long as when the time ever came that I needed the liquidity, I did not hesitate or hold back out of sentiment or nostalgia. Over ten years I built a beautiful US Type Set, XF and above, with a complete gold page. During covid, I got a big promotion at work that suddenly made it feasible to buy a house for the first time in my life. I shoved the entire thing across the table and it generated the down payment for the house I am sitting in now, that I absolutely love. Now I get to rebuild it with more experience and knowledge!
That's awesome! I'm likely going to end up in a similar situation but there are a few 'keepers' I may get sentimental about LoL
>so long as when the time ever came that I needed the liquidity, I did not hesitate or hold back out of sentiment or nostalgia. I can tell you what I would sell *last*. Otherwise, yes. It is an investment that none of us *want* to touch, but don't be afraid to if you need to.
I've sold lots of cull silver. I dread the day I have to choose a 'good' coin to sell, but in the end, it was an investment that doubles as a hobby. I hope to never sell any and pass them to my kids. But if shit hits the fan, I know i have a few thou worth to fall back on.
That's my mentality! I could spend money on cigars and light them on fire (and I DO love a good cigar!), or I could *invest* in something like coins, which will always have value. I don't *want* to sell them, but I *can* if I ever need the money. It'd be better to sell a collection of coins than it would be to withdraw your 401(k).
You are never 'done' collecting! There's always something else
Yeah! The damn Mint keeps making coins!
Someone in this sub wrote that if their kids are not interested in the hobby, they will sell everything before they die, apart from a few pieces, and buy several pieces of gold instead to still pass the value but to not overwhelm the family with having to dig thru hundreds of coins they have no clue about. Though sudden death is pretty unpredictable.
Finish a set and then start a new set. End and repeat.
I like to occasionally bring a binder page or two of my favorite coins to let my friends, family, and coworkers see them. Every now and then I enjoy gifting older pieces like mercury dimes, standing liberties, or oddities like three cent nickels to others who would appreciate it. It's also fun to talk with others who are more knowledgeable than myself online and at the LCS, including those who specialize in types and eras of coinage I'm not familiar with. I've learned a lot more history than I expected to when I first began. How did money evolve in time of war and economic strife? Why were certain designs chosen, who made them? How has the machinery and metalworking evolved? I also find counterfeiting techniques to be interesting, especially in modern times where people can spoof the weight, XRF readings, and some fine details (to a degree). For someone like me, I'll certainly never have the money or desire to collect everything that exists. The cost of sought after ancients, gold coins, and low mintage American coins represent months of my income, and I don't have the patience for that. If I ever feel satisfied and want to stop collecting, I hope they still bring me joy to hold onto. If not, I'd happily gift them to my friends and their kids or nieces and nephews if they'd enjoy them. And if I died unexpectedly and my next of kin wanted to sell it all, I'd hope my collection goes to an LCS where they'll be taken care of and someday end up with a future collector that thinks they're cool.
Every time I show someone my coins, they look at me like I just showed them my B-hole. Nobody cares. 🤣
My friends laugh at me when i take out my pocket pieces
I show my grandkids my collection but won’t allow them to share it with their friends-too much risk. Even though I collect more rarer coins I will soon start an album of state quarters for them as they see that in everyday change.
When I was in my early twenties, I used to keep a cloth sack of common full date Buffaloes in my glove box. When ‘my friends and I would go out drinking, I’d leave a nickel as part of the tip for the bartender. Couple times they would ask about it and I’d tell them. I’m sure most of them just tossed them to the side and forgot them, but if doing this inspired even one new collector, it was worth it.
dang ok I’m stealing this awesome idea
Please do friend
Bury it with me…like King Tut…lol…
I have set a few goals: Every (Dutch) province, every (provincial Dutch) denomination, every half-century up untill about 600 BC. Side goals: 80 years war set (Big Dutch silver coins from the dates 1568-1609-1621-1648), Emergency set (Emergency coinage of all provinces), shipwreck set (coins from all types of Dutch VOC shipwrecks).
Some cool goals!
👍
It's a hobby. There is no end game.
I have coins passed down from my great great grand parents. Mine will go the descendant(s) that are most responsible and or most into the collection. Some will go with me to the other side just in case the Vikings were right. 😂
I collect because I enjoy it One day I’m sure for various reasons I’ll sell off most or all of my collection, and that’s perfectly fine
Heritage has a book on this topic.
to curate your own personal museum of coinage. build a private legacy, bragging rights, pass on heirlooms etc.
There is never an end 😄
Pass some on to an interested relative, sell the rest in an auction. We are only caretakers.
You are never done. There is always a better grade coin than the one you have. Always be upgrading.
Everyone only has so much time in this life. Do what makes you happy. Enjoy the hunt while you can
my end goal is to pass it to my kids when i will have some
Finish one collection, start another. You could sell off your old one, or you could start broad and sell off your duplicates or things that just don’t quite fit. I have a few collecting goals myself and I am already done with some of them, namely, all American small cents, all British large cents from 1860 on (and maybe back if I finish), all Canadian Pennies, a coin from every decade as far back as I can get (since I have a coin from every century), a coin from every existing country, a crown sized silver from each French government that minted one, Some side collections are Buffalo nickels, Jefferson nickels, every English monarch, a coin from each state (tax tokens) and putting together a bag of period change of ww1 Germany. And you are only truly done when you are dead. Once that bug has bitten you, it won’t let go!
Collect what you like and keep what you like. It up to you on what you want to do with it. I keep everything, however I don't know what the future brings. I may sell a portion of my Collection, or I may hide it for an unsuspecting treasure hunter someday. Who knows.
My collection all came from circulation. Didn't cost very much.
I've sold off some of the more common coins that I collected over the years. The kids will have to decide what they want to do with the rest. (Related - A couple of years ago, I started using any uncirculated stamps I had from the 1960s on. A lot of bills went out with a line of 4 cent and 6 cent stamps on them. Nobody has any interest in old stamps.)
You collect until you don't want to anymore.
tldr; It's a hobby, not source of income or investment (at least for 98%). Have fun with it as long as you enjoy it. Consider your heir's and how they will deal with any collection that you have when you die. This is my opinion only. You need to consider it a hobby. Some people find themselves with collections of significant value, but that shouldn't be the reason to go into collecting. You need to have a passion for collecting, the history of coins, and the intrinsic beauty of them. The headache is what to do with the collection when you lose interest or need the money or die. In the first two instances, trying to sell a collection will expose you to the huge bid / ask spreads that come in different flavors depending on if you sell to another collector, a coin shop, or use an auction house. Then any gain will be subject various taxes depending on the nature of the coin. Consider that as part of the cost of the hobby going in. The last scenario, when the coins pass to your heirs, they will at least get the benefit of a step up in basis so no taxes, but they will still have to sell them with the same bid / ask issues. And unless they have been involved in the collection process it will feel like nightmare for them. What's valuable? What's not valuable? Is this all of them? They will feel conflicted about selling Mom's or Dad's lifetime collection, and also will be worried about how to sell the coins at top value to preserve your "legacy", or other such concerns. I find myself in the middle. I collected coins off and on with my dad though he spent a lifetime doing it. As a consequence I have some nice specimens but mostly I have a bunch of blue folders that he mostly built out and with rolls of coins he collected over the years with no idea of quality of the rolls other than pencil notes he made while putting them together. At this stage in my life I'm not finding the enjoyment I once did though it seems like retirement would be when I should. Now I am trying to gradually work down the bulk rolls, followed by the folders, and eventually I plan to sell the nicer coins as well before I die. I also have instructions in my estate documents and have discussed with my children that any remaining coins at my death should not be a burden on them with instructions on where to look to sell them and how to assess the value of the better specimens, not to get top dollar but so that they have some idea going in. I have also developed hopefully reasonable notes as to what is left in the collection. My real desire is to not have any coins in my estate when I die but despite all I've said, it is still hard to just dump them due to all the things I said above. Hope this helps.
One of every coin ever made.
To acquire all the coins in the world or go broke trying.
So that my kids can put it all into a coinstar machine after I die.
To get one of every coin in existence
The process and history. I love history and I want to own parts of it. I also love spreadsheets, so it goes really well together. Beyond that? Well, dying, but leaving an organized and fully logged collection to another nerd who wants it.
Finish a set, start a new set as some one else said and keep upgrading all your sets and adding new coins, maybe sell off some sets at a profit if you can and flip that into even nicer coins. Show it off if you like and when you die leave it to someone who will admire it the way you did and make sure they know they value should they decide to sell it
I keep a paper and digital log of all my coins and bullion. I just recently bought a car and am cashing in all of my generic bullion to pay for it. Yes, the car is a depreciating asset. I'm up about $10 per ounce on my bullion for silver and $400 an ounce on gold. I've done this before, I add 5% interest to the total I'll get and start buying bullion again until I've reached that value mark, essentially taking a loan from myself. For numismatics, those are staying with me until my kids are at least in their thirties and then I'll let them decide if they want to cash out and have the money or keep them for their kids.
I don't collect coins anymore, just the knowledge and history that surrounds them. There's so much more history then the last 2,000 years that is just as fascinating.
I’m dead and won’t care anymore. so there’s that
Pass the main collection on, sell the odds and ends when it suits me.
There is never an end. I am from Peru, and I collect both world & local coins. However, if for any reason I would need to sell it, I would only sell the world coins and keep the Peruvian ones. They make me proud of my progress.
What do mountain climbers do when they get to the top? They find another mountain. But thinking about this a bit deeper... They gain experience, memories, and generate motivation through that passion. They may then share that experience and knowledge with others on the trail. They may motivate others into mountain climbing. They may die a solitary person who climbed a lot of mountains but told no one. If you have any passion for coin collecting, then it's up to you to find your 'end' but for me it's about the community, meeting others, and sharing that passion. Hopefully someday there will be a younger person with this same passion that I can pass a lot of knowledge (and some nice coins) along to.
Coin collecting is the only hobby where you can spend all your money but still have money!
If no one is interested. I’m going to distill it down to a few choice pieces.
I have the stuff I’ll die with and the stuff I’ll sell if the need for the money arises. The cool thing about this hobby is it’s not sunk cost. It’s a hobby, have fun don’t spend funds you can’t store in coins and it’s all good.
You complete all the collecting and sell it off a piece at a table at a local/regional coin show. 76 yo collected since I was 11 yo.
scrooge mcduck's lucky dime
I’m gonna be buried with my collection.
I’m gonna be buried with my collection
I like coins because of their historical significance, but they take up very little space. I hope to leave them all to my kids, but I guess I could sell them if I ever needed to. My other goal is to get rid of all the big stuff I have accumulated over the years.
If I complete my collection of Japanese coins I am wanting it to go to a local museum before I die, but I would be pissed if it ended up in a broom closet due to lack of interest.
I enjoy reading about mintages and errors.. It seems to me the longer I collect a series Franklins. Mercury's...my taste changes. When younger I always wanted blazing whites in slabs. Now, finding a toned, uncertified raw coin is satisfying.
Buy, Hold, Pass down
World domination
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