Avoid being a collecting whore.

After reading a post from W.K.F. recently, I was reminded of my collecting 'beginnings'. I was so enamored with the trinkets that the mint was selling and their proof surfaces, that I wound up buying some 'pretty' worthless stuff. I remembered my grandmother buying mint sets in the sixties and thinking that they would be a good investment, until I went to my local coin shop and found out they were worth about what she paid for them 30 years ago. Don't misunderstand me. If you buy mint products because that's what you want to collect, so be it. Just as long as you realize that chances are they have very little appreciation potential. After my experience with 30 year old mint sets, I decided I needed to re-focus my collective thinking.

I was never too fond of collecting Walking Liberty Halves or Barber Quarters or any set where the only difference is a date or mint mark. It seems redundant to me. I have found my collecting niche in mint and proof sets of the birth years of my ancestors. In the 1875 mint set w/ gold there are 32 coins; including but not limited to, a 3CN. 5 Seated Liberty dimes ((a P, 2 each CC and S, (mintmark above and below)), 3 twenty cent pieces (P,CC and S), 4 Trade Dollars (P, CC, S and S/CC), a G$1, a couple of $2 1/2 gold pieces, half eagles, eagles and double eagles! In one 138 year old set you have a pretty good jump on a complete type set of U. S. coins, and you truly are holding pieces of history in your hands. Can you imagine where these coins have been and in who's pockets?

Basically, I started collecting anything shiny and new, but as W.K.F. says, "two of the major factors in determining value are mintages and collector demand". Generally speaking 'supply and demand' drive the market and the mint provides too much supply for the demand. My advise, 1) make a list of the coins you want, in the grade you can afford, 2) buy the highest grade you can afford after figuring the total cost of the coins you desire and your annual coin budget, and 3) try to stick to your plan! Resist the temptation to even look at coins that are not on your list. Every time you change the parameters of your collection it costs you money. In the short term, you are lucky to be able to sell your coins for what you paid for them.

Honestly, I find myself buying a better coin than I can afford on occasion, like my 1876 MS64 DCAM 20c piece (pop. 2/2), but I NEVER buy a coin that is not on my list! Some deals are just too good to pass up and you need to be ready to pounce when the opportunity presents itself. Due to this acquisition, I will have to buy a couple of coins in a lower grade than was my original intention. Check the original mintages and the pops from NGC and PCGS to try to find potential bargains out there and good hunting.

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