I Read The Most AMAZING Statement Regarding A Personal Registry Set

[TomB]

In an attempt to protect the identity of the person who wrote what I am going to quote below, I will state that this was something I recently read online regarding a registry set. It may have come from a collector's journal or the PCGS or NGC site, but I don't want to elaborate and get the person flamed. The statement was as follows, and pertains to a currently active registry set-

These coins don't need to be anything special, I'm just looking to buy some more coins for the registry set I've started to assemble.

Am I the only one who reads this and thinks ? Do any of us who have registry sets think this way? I know that for my single set I could include many more coins should I simply feel like filling in the blanks, but my collection is not about filling in the registry. Rather, the registry is about sharing my collection. The above quote just shot me straight back into my chair, but perhaps it shouldn't have.

[Stanley]

I have heard this before

 

Edited to add: I removed my registry sig line link just because some might think all I cared about was registry points.

Next step would be remove sets from registry. I already deleted about 10 partial sets.

I guess it’s danged if you do and danged if you don’t.

 

[gmarguli]

I actually think that is the common attitude of many (most?) registry participants. This is more true across the street where you can only use one type of slab. The goal for many is to complete the set with coins, not build a nice collection. And that's fine if that is what you are looking for.

 

I've seen many top sets when them come to auction and the overall quality is awful on many. Lots of maxed out coins that have so-so eye appeal in high grades. The registry really promotes plastic collecting and not coin collecting.

[Architecht]

I don't know that I really agree that it's all that shocking, or even bad. I don't think the registry is the driver of how people collect in the way that you guys think it is. I think it's a reflection of the way many people collect.

 

When people were throwing coins in coin albums, do you think that it was uncommon for completionists to seek examples of lower grade coins just so they could fill the album up?

 

Who's to say what makes a coin worth collecting? Aren't they just little metal disks?

 

Colorful toning? Some dread it.

Blast white? Considered by some to have no character.

"Natural look"? That's nice, but some think there's no such thing.

Varieties? Who cares about an error? It's interesting, but why collect it?

Registry points? What for? Then it's all about the plastic.

Completionism? What's the benefit of just filling up a registry set?

Nostalgia? Why collect those junky low grade coins from pocket change just because your dad did?

 

Sometimes it's just plain odd to me how the levels of abstraction about what gives something value are OK in one type and not OK in another. I think it's like driving. Everyone who drives slower than you is a maniac, and everyone who drives faster than you is an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.

 

Here's what it comes down to, I think. People collect for alot of reasons and with a wide variety of priorities. The path they take to collecting coins comes from many different drivers, and in the end those drivers are just as valid as any other drivers. You could probably, with enough thought, even boil down the key drivers to a few major points, rank them in a particular order and then predict how a collector with those priorities will collect.

 

1. Return on investment

2. Design aesthetics

3. Completionism

4. Numismatic history

5. Cherry picking / the hunt for the hidden treasure

6. Competition

7. Sense of the "specialness" of the truly rare

8. Sentimental value

9. Hoarding

10. Coin condition perfection

 

 

Probably a few others. So if we rank these in the order that someone cares about these things (and probably all collectors care about each of these to some minor extent), then what does the guy who wrote that sentence look like? Maybe this?

 

3. Completionism

9. Hoarding

4. Numismatic history

2. Design aesthetics

8. Sentimental value

6. Competition

1. Return on investment

7. Sense of the "specialness" of the truly rare

5. Cherry picking / the hunt for the hidden treasure

10. Coin condition perfection

 

Here's a guy who enjoys just FINISHING things. This is the guy who loved putting model airplanes together. Or maybe likes nothing better than jigsaw puzzles. He also really just enjoys accumulating stuff. Who knows why, but he likes having things. He's also kind of into this coin series and thinks it's neat to have an example from every year in his collection and to look up what happened that year at the mint... but he doesn't need a 70 to do that. Hell, he doesn't even need a 64. He also really thinks that buffalo nickels just look neat, and remembers picking them out of pocket change with his Dad.

 

So here he is, collecting these cool looking mid-grade buffalo nickels, filling out his set, building up his possessions and learning a little something about history. And hey! As he adds coins, his set keeps bumping up the rankings and that's kind of a cool thing. Special for the grade? Who cares. This is his hobby. He likes it just fine to locate the specimens he needs within a decent budget, and can't be bothered to care about whether the cart wheel luster of a coin is primo for the plastic it's in. That's not where he gets his kick.

 

 

How does that guy's collecting look to this guy:

 

7. Sense of the "specialness" of the truly rare

10. Coin condition perfection

1. Return on investment

5. Cherry picking / the hunt for the hidden treasure

4. Numismatic history

2. Design aesthetics

8. Sentimental value

3. Completionism

9. Hoarding

6. Competition

 

This is a premium collector. If he's buying a coin, it's a rare one. And not just condition rare. It's got to be a low pop in general. The idea that there are only 40 of these in the world is exciting. Add to that the fact that he's got the one example in MS68 that exists and this coin is truly cool. But it's more than that, really. Staring at this unblemished pristine surface, knowing that this coin has survived the test of time to arrive today in this condition in his hand... that's unspeakably cool.

 

But it's not enough. He's a practical man. He's not just going to buy any rare high grade coin for any price. He's got to see some ROI. So he learns about grading and how to tell whether a coin is really well graded or maybe a bit of a slider. This helps him to cherry pick some nice values, and feel like his collection growing is also an investment. On top of that... this coin he's got... it's a very rare variety. And you know what? He snatched it from a dealer who hadn't been smart enough to spot the doubling on the obverse.

 

 

etc. etc.

 

Write a little biography in your head of the collectors that are out there who collect differently than you. Be kind and think of it from their perspective. They're enjoying the hobby with a passion about SOMETHING and having passion in life is a great thing. Maybe not the way you do, but collector isn't a term that defines one single way to acquire and appreciate collectibles. It's an umbrella under which many people fit. Why chastise them for enjoying what they enjoy? In the end collecting, like every other human pursuit, is more about human happiness than anything else.

 

[Tradedollarnut]

Wow, Arch - I'm speechless. That was really good!

[TomB]

Been thinking about this topic for a bit, Arch?

 

I'll just throw two thoughts in here for you; the first is that someone who wants to simply complete a set doesn't need to complete it with certified coins, and the second is that the collector who wrote the statement I quoted was looking to buy proof Memorial Lincoln cents for $10-$20 each.

[Hoot]

Arch - Superbly written. Only one thing that you should get straight:

 

"Varieties? Who cares about an error?"

 

variety does not equal error.

 

(I couldn't help it. )

 

Tom - When I read your first post, my initial impression of what the person wrote was not the same as yours - like witnessing an accident from different perspectives. I thought the guy was trying to downplay that his registry set was built of "only the finest," or "something to make everyone ooh and aah." Rather, I thought the guy had chosen some words to express that he is contented with what might be considered average. Just like you, I may be guilty of reading too much into the post, but even if this person doesn't have to collect slabbed coins of average quality, it may be all s/he can afford and may simply not know how to adequately express his/her inner satisfaction. Just a thought or two...

 

Hoot

[Architecht]

Arch - Superbly written. Only one thing that you should get straight:

 

"Varieties? Who cares about an error?"

 

variety does not equal error.

 

(I couldn't help it. )

 

 

[TomB]

I was actually cutting you some slack on that one and was willing to ignore it, but not Hoot, noooooooooooo.......

[HaydenTubbs]

So this is what marriage does to you eh, Arch?

 

[Architecht]

Let's face it. Hoot is a vindictive soul.

 

 

[TomB]

Hoot

 

 

 

I just had to use it, buddy!

[Oldtrader3]

Some people are just accumulators. Maybe they don't have the discretionary funds to be fussy, or are newly started collectors that haven't developed a discriminating taste on what they buy.

 

Sometimes I think that this may be a better place to be than being in a position where you really should sell or need to sell a coin collection that you have really enjoyed acquiring and owning over many years. The only consolation for having to divest this type of collection is the memories of what you had a one time and maybe being able to keep a few nice coins to remind you of what has been.

[Hoot]

TomB

 

Good thing I didn't post the most recent photo of you after your haircut.

 

Hoot

[IGWT]

I should come to the Registry Forum more often; this is fun. When I look at Arch's list of collecting traits or characteristics or goals, it occurred to me that many collectors don't necessarily elevate one goal above another; instead they pursue several equally important goals concurrently.

[braddick]

Tom makes an excellent point:

For some, it's not enough to simply enjoy what they personally collect but pleasure is also derived in mocking others for not only what the other guys collect but also the way those other guys go about collecting it.

 

Good post Tom!

It took a lot of courage for you to have admitted that.