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Is Coin collecting a Hobby or a Habit.

Started by papag,

36 posts in this topic

papag

papag

Posted
Posted

Hi Everyone

I wanted to ask this question for a long time and I wanted to see the reaction from other collectors out there. I have been collecting coins now for about 5 years pretty steady and the longer I spend on this, it seems like now it has become a Habit than when it first started out to be a Hobby. At first I would spend maybe a night or two for a couple of hours surfing the net for coins and information and auctions, then as time went on it got to be more and more time and now everynight I'm on the computer looking at auctions and information on coin collection. I think the other thing that became a habit is when I was bidding on a coin in an auction I had to have it no matter what and sometimes bid over my budget. It didn't start out that way. I also notice a trend if I didn't win an auction on a coin I was trying to get I would start looking all over the Internet for that particular year and denomination. I guess that is a Habit. What is everybody elses experiences and feelings? I know I quess I should see a Shrink. 893scratchchin-thumb.gifThanks

PapaG confused-smiley-013.gif

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reid1836

reid1836

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In my opinion it is a disease. Of which I suffer as well. My self diagnosis of course. I`m afraid the prognosis isn`t very good . It seems there has been a massive outbreak in recent years, spreading across the country and reaching epidemic proportions. In some rare cases , people have been known to suffer the symptoms until death. Here are some to watch for . Feverish bidding on eBay or other coin related auctions, blurred vision when viewing high price labels, upset stomach when selling a prized coin, sudden mood swings when it sells below wholesale, a feeling of elation over a winning bid, and extreme paranoia when others handle your coins. If you suffer from one or more of these symptoms chances are you may have contracted Numismatosis. screwy.gif

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Here

Here

Posted
Posted

I'm in with you. By describing your obsession, you also described a great many others right down to a T. I can see how people can get in over their heads real quick. Not only have I lost an auction and then go hunt the coin down right after to buy, but I have won an auction and immediately went looking for more of them right after. And bought them too! Since right before the Pittsburgh show though I was feeling major coin burn out. I made the show but didn't buy one coin. But I came home with about $4K in currency.

 

Jerry

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Oldtrader3

Oldtrader3

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Posted

I think obsession is a good description. I have been at this hobby for about 45 years and am still obsessive about certain coins.

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shanonmore

shanonmore

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I'm going to say habit. I don't know how many people got roped into habits via inheritance but hubby and I now collect old books, antiques, stamps (well...my grandmothers working on those for me so far hehehe), and now coins. What I've learned is, you don't want to part with what was left to you and once you learn more about the hobby and begin to appreciate it, the more likely you are to spend more time and money on it.

 

My oldest daughter is now into both the coin collecting and she loves the antiques . She's already telling me which ones are hers when I go(nice, she's thirteen), and now instead of asking for paper money...she looms over me trying to get me to kick down some of the old coins. sign-rantpost.gif

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shanonmore

shanonmore

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I go with both, I spend a ton of time researching and then doing it again on the web, just to reorganize and review my Raw collection from time to time. Also, my husband and I have a permenant date every two weeks into a larger City than ours, to go to dinner and the the Coin Dealer's. I think we're addicted since we can't go long before adding a new addition to our collection, yet since you spend so much time studying and learning about the hobby...it's a hobby as well.

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Gold1-migration

Gold1-migration

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Posted

When I inherited My Dad's collection, it started out as a hobby but when I started to fill in some gaps in the collection, it turned out to be a real habit. My Wife gets alittle angry that I'm on the computer all time looking at coins or on the forum but i'm sure She will get over it! 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

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Gold1-migration

Gold1-migration

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Posted

At first, when I inherited My Dad's collection when He passed away, I had alot of organizing to do and considered this a hobby as it kept Me busy for quite a long time. Now that I have several safes and cabnits and book shelves filled with coins, Dansco albums, books and what ever else He had, I am trying to fill in many holes!

Then came the whammy! I kept up with His collection of Gold!! He had many of the Gold American Eagle Sets (9 sets) and alot of gold pre-1933. Now I started to buy maybe 1 piece a month, of coarse that was'nt enough! Now I buy 4 or 5 pieces in a month (My dealer loves Me)! Everything from $1.00 gold to $20.00 double Eagles. I now have over 130 pieces of gold coinage (Not all Graded) about 40 or so pieces are graded. He also had some nice Morgans and I am adding to that collection slowly but surely!

So, It started out as a hobby and turned into a Habit!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone on this forum!

gold1 yay.gif

1542625-H01166.jpg.209ba50eb0c01629be0a531322667002.jpg

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bsshog40

bsshog40

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Posted

I have always been an enthusiast for collecting coins. Always checking my pocket change, until I got my first Proof set. Now it,s a hobby to keep the habit. I can't afford all the good gold stuff, but I'm pretty content with some eagles, proof sets and some AG-F reasonable ebay coins. I metal detect, so I'm hoping to find that last rarest of the rarest coin!!! thumbsup2.gif Keep the habit and enjoy the hobby.

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okbustchaser

okbustchaser

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It can be every bit as addictive (and in many cases expensive) as a drug. The difference is that one (or one's heirs) can sell and recoup a large portion of what he has spent--or even in some cases show a profit after one is through with the collection.

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Architecht

Architecht

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  • Administrator
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An interesting thread on the comics side about this:

 

 

I've been thinking a lot about the drive that we as collectors have to accumulate objects at great expense that have no practical use. I've read many articles on the subject and I'm seeking out books as well.

 

Here's a couple of interesting articles; the first is from The San Francisco Chronicle dated Monday December 15, 2003. I don't know the source of the second one regarding coins, but it's an interesting read.

 

I'm interested in any opinions you guys might have regarding this topic and these articles.

 

 

 

The first thing Bill Barlow printed, about 60 years ago, was an album for his father's stamp collection. He was a child at the time, unaware that he was minting his own lifelong identity as a collector...

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...part=1&vc=1

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Architecht

Architecht

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This was a tangentially interesting article that was a bit spooky too, I thought, as a guy in a fairly systematizer-friendly line of work...

 

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/11/when_two_minds_think_alike.php

 

 

Over the years I've been struck by a pattern among the parents of children with autism. The mothers often say things like "my child is a lot like my husband—just writ large. My husband has to watch the weather forecasts every night, and my son has to watch them every hour." When I ask about their parents, the mothers comment, "Well, my father was rather similar to my husband—he collected model trains and knew everything there was to know about each one."

 

Such observations don't amount to evidence about the cause of autism, but they do give us clues about where to look. Autism is at root genetic, but new research from my lab at Cambridge University implicates genes inherited from both parents. From this and other observations, we've formulated the "assortative mating theory." Its central idea is that both mothers and fathers of children with autism (or its milder variant, Asperger Syndrome) share a common characteristic and have been attracted to each other because of their psychological similarity....

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LuvToCollect

LuvToCollect

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My girlfriend laughs out loud every time the mint commercials come on. She tells me that I look silly taking out a loupe to view coins in public.She tells me grown men don't wear cotton gloves in the house.The guy at the bank grabs the keys and starts towards the safety deposit boxes every time I walk into the lobby.Hmmmmm, I may have a problem.

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Lem

Lem

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I guess I’ll continue this thread and be the first to post here for 2007. I myself am new to the coin world, but as a collector, well let’s say I’ve been collecting for about 20 years now, sports cards, heavy U.S. stamp collector and now the wonderful world of coins, so far I’ve enjoyed the journey. I would have to say that it is in my blood which makes it a habit or obsession (your choice) for me. I like to use the word hobby for everyone else that just doesn’t understand people like my self which includes my wife, who thinks I’m crazy. It’s OK!!!

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michael

michael

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Posted

hobby, hot stuff

 

YOU ARE EITHER BORN A COIN COLLECTOR OR NOT........................

 

no matter how you introduce a young child to coins even with great coinage and nurchuring he is either a coin collector or not

 

coin collectors are not made they just are born this way or not.............................

 

 

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