|
Treat Collecting as Recreation, Not Investment
 | By Steve Album, World Coin News
June 10, 2009 |
World Coin News, and just about every other numismatic publication, feasts on reporting the highest prices fetched at auctions, the fabulous increases of coin values, the frenzy to buy this or that coin for investment. Thus, coin collecting becomes associated with coin investing, eventually to the point that gaining a profit subsumes the joy of collecting, and the coin purchaser no longer cares a whit about the coin per se. In this series of occasional articles, my intention is to persuade collectors that accumulating coin as a hobby can still be fun.
In these articles I will be addressing three levels of collecting based on relative affordability: Level A for those who can spend about $100 per month, Level B for $200 per month, and Level C for $500 per month. Periodically, I'll make a comment for what might be Level AA at $50 per month or less, and Level D at $1,000 per month.
But first, a few caveats. Coin collecting at these levels will only be an enjoyment if the collector rejects the concept of investment. Rather, he or she should regard it as recreation - an "investment" in fun, like a holiday in Cancun, tickets at the stadium to watch the San Francisco Giants lose another ball game, a weekend at Disneyland, a Harley-Davidson and so forth. Affordable collecting is a hobby, for which resale for profit should be irrelevant.
Secondly, buying coins is not the only expense confronting the collector. He will need storage material and other supplies such as paper envelopes or safe plastic flips, perhaps coin albums (especially for U.S. coins), books and magazines, perhaps a safe deposit box at a nearby bank or a secure safe at home. There is also membership fees for the American Numismatic Association or a local coin club, and travel expenses to visit coin shops or coin fairs. These peripheral expenses are additional to the monthly coin purchases, thus above the $100 at level A, etc., but must nonetheless be taken into account by the collector. I shall occasionally provide suggestions on how to minimize these expenses.
Thirdly, new collectors will inevitably make the classic mistake of purchasing an over-graded or grossly over-priced coin, or nowadays, a piece that proves to be a forgery (unless he chooses to collect forgeries - more on this later). While the great majority of coin dealers are honest and law-abiding, there are some crooks, especially when purchasing over the Internet at sites such as eBay. However, when properly approached, eBay is an excellent source of reasonably priced numismatic items. The new collector will undoubtedly be annoyed by these mistakes but should regard them as part of the learning experience.
Fourthly, the collector of inexpensive coins should disregard the concept of investment. When he loses interest and decides to sell the collection, he will reclaim some of his expenses most likely 50 percent or less - but he would not get a nickel back from a hotel bill in Cancun. One might conceive the cost of creating a coin collection similar to buying an automobile. While the price of the car will drop precipitously for the first 10 or 15 years, if well maintained it might gain in value later.
The key to numismatic enjoyment at a modest expense is the coins themselves. Above all, the intrigue of the coins rests on history, whether it be political history, economic history, social history, whatever. A cheap coin regarded as worthless by the investment dealer could yield hours of enjoyment. Have you ever asked yourself why the reverse of our dime has borne the fasces since 1916, without association with Mussolini? Or why the Latin inscription Annuit Coeptus is above the eye atop a pyramid on our $1 bill? I confess that I too was unsure of how and why this Great Seal of the United States arrived on the reverse of the dollar bill and just looked it up on Wikipedia while writing this article. I knew it was a Masonic symbol, but beyond that I was clueless. And learning is fun!
Although I have been a full-time coin dealer since 1975 and have previously been an active collector, sometimes saving expensive coins in my coin collection (now at the University of Tübingen in Germany since 1988), I started collecting again around 2002, now between Level B and Level C.
I now collect modern (post-1965) commemorative, souvenir, advertising, coin club and other medals. Some are in silver, most in base metals, nearly all very cheap. These will never have any great value, but they provide immense enjoyment at a thoroughly affordable level and in no way conflict with my numismatic business of foreign coins.
In my next article, I will discuss what is and what is not affordable.
Add to: del.icio.us digg
With this article: Email to friend Print
| On June 11, 2009 fuck said  On June 11, 2009 Gecko_G said |
Something to add? Notice an error? Comment on this article. | |