What is Your Weapon of Choice?

Coin collecting can take many forms and styles. When I started collecting, every coin that interested me got a spot in my collection. If there was a hole in a Whitman album for it, I kept it. It did not matter whether it was a penny or a dollar, whether a U.S. coin or foreign coin. Changes in directions occur frequently. Searches for coins are easy. The coins are readily available and attractively priced. I call this the shotgun approach.

Knowledge and experience tend to result in a migration of coin collecting style from the shotgun approach to the rifle approach. This style is characterized by a refinement of collecting interests, an abandonment or sale of certain collections, and an increased interest in others. Even favorite collections might shrink due to a culling out of less desirable coins. The number of collectible coins decreases and the interest in quality over quantity increases. Searches for coins can take years. Some are never acquired. This is where I am today.

It seems to be a more natural progression to go from a shotgun approach to a rifle approach, but this is based only on my experiences. Perhaps other collectors go in the opposite direction.

Both approaches are fun, and isn?t that what it?s all about anyway.

What is your weapon of choice?