Coin Hobby = 2nd job needed

[CoinCurious]

I have spent way to much money this year & last year in coins. Not that I mind having the coins. But where do you draw the line? (Financially) How much is to much?

 

Recieved in the mail today PF 70 Founding Father.

My registry set has moved from 71 to 67.

 

 

 

I guess until I figure out how much is to much I will keep buying coins.

 

 

Hey incase anyone remembers those lovely E.T. silver rounds, I still have em.

 

Make me an offer.

[Bruceswar]

Are those ET coins Ounces?

[Zoins]

It seems like a lot of collectors take up part time dealing to help fund their hobby. A few 20th Anniversary ASE sets and 2006-W MS plat sets from last year helped a lot of people. Though not eveything will be a winner as many people didn't make money on the Franklin commems.

[Zoins]

Are those ET coins Ounces?

The coins are a set of four half-ounce rounds.

[michael]

time to stop buying coins for at least 6 months

 

and/or

 

selling some of your collection to fund more purchases how and if you do this i leave to you ie. duplicates taking some big profits on some coins that went up which is a good thing to do, divesting yourself of coins you no longer collect or are in "love" with

 

OR

 

get a part time job to feed the need

[pendragon1998]

My wife and I are both college grads still in school - me in grad school and her in a different program. Thus we are po'. We can't afford to be poor - we're po'.

 

I fund my coins from a separate account I maintain just for purchases like coins, books, dvds - in short, it's my play money. Christmas and birthdays, I usually get some money, since I'm impossible to shop for. That goes into my personal account. I occasionally throw $10 or $20 in from the 'real' money account, but mainly, it's just gift money or cash that I make (e.g.) opening a free checking account, or something like that. The other money I get for coins (not nearly enough) comes from smart buying and selling of coins. Buy below market value, sell at market value. I'm sure if I ever looked at my meager profits on a per-hour basis, I'd not be making as much as I could at Chick-fil-a, but that is why they call it a hobby.

 

Long story short, since I make all that money in addition to my "bread earning" money, I feel free to do with it as I like and I'm not taking away from our "couple" money. No second job required.

 

I'm also saving up for a big $1000+ purchase (non-coin... did I say that?!) over a few years by setting up an internet savings account to draft $5 a week from our checking account. That's a good way to save without thinking about it or being tempted to use the money.

[astrostu]

I got a second job. As a grad student in my program here, I can (during the academic year) do research (RA) or be a teaching assistant (TA) as a "half-time" appointment (20 hrs/week). Last semester I picked up a grading job for one of the majors classes that paid pretty well ($17.50/hr for grading is pretty good in my book). I made a few $hundred that way.

 

This semester, my research advisor is teaching the intro non-majors class, one that I TAed the labs for my first year here. So he agreed to let me do an over-load quarter-time (10 hrs/week) and be his lecture TA for the course.

 

I don't actually have a separate account for coins, like Michael, but I try to plan out a yearly budget (by month) and stick to it, especially for hobbies. But I have two really expensive hobbies - coins and photography. In addition to that, I set a hard limit that no more than 20% of what I spend in a calendar year can go to hobbies. And meanwhile, I am stashing $50/week into a pseudo-account (just on the computer, not actually separate) so that I can buy a new computer this summer ($3k).

 

So the short summary is that I took the second job to fund my addiction.

[CoinCurious]

 

The coins are a set of four half-ounce rounds.

 

 

Correct.

 

 

I do think I will have to sit down and figure out what my monthly coin budget should be. Oh well, it is what it is.

[al_e_gator]

I hear ya. I blew my yearly budget in the 1st 3 months this year ... I probably won't be buying much more until I sell off my duplicates. At least that seems like the most logical option.

[gedis3]

Easy Answer = Turn Coin Hobby into 2nd Job.

[bsshog40]

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a second job to fund coins. I have a job that doesn't allow having another job. My wife pays most of her bills with disibility, I help once in a while when she needs it, otherwise I try to actually budget for being able to buy a coin here and there. They aren't usually top grade coins of course, but I'm able to get some hole fillers and coins that I like in lower grades than most prefer. Nothing is for free as reading these posts can tell us all. I work hard and I like to have something to show for it. It's nice showing friends or family, and the forum something that I have that I worked hard for. I'm proud of what I have knowing that it was earned.

[James_OldeTowne]

I agree with michael. It is a very good idea to occasionally draw a line, and say "I will not buy a coin for X weeks (or months)". That forces you to really get to know your current coins better. Trust me, it is an extremely useful way to "reset" and refocus your collecting goals. You're still allowed to go to coin shows and coin club meetings, and sell coins, but absolutely do not buy a coin no matter what.

 

Actually, I'm in that pattern right now. That's why I haven't posted any new purchases in a little while.

[Zoins]

I just noticed that bidding on Mary's missing clad layer GW$ is up to $1025 with over 9 days to go. Marty from ATS has recently gotten a couple of NGC top pops cheaply using a careful eye. One way to throttle back your expenditures is to start looking for modern rarities that may be inexpensive but labor-intensive to find, however can yield significant financial gains when found.

[TJ'S Coins]

After several years of aggressive coin buying I have intentionally slowed down. I am evaluating my collection, but more than that I want a way to enjoy it more. An upcoming overseas business trip has also garnered more of my attention and prompted me to purchase a new digital camera. This should allow me to photograph, catalog and display my coins as never before. Learning to use the camera properly will take some time but I hope to invest the next several of months doing just that.

 

Appreciating what one has before adding something new is always an important concept. I'm looking forward to literally "seeing" my coins in a new light, the light of the photographic image and experimenting with different settings. Then I will be better able to decide what I really want as part of my core collection and can begin divesting myself of coins that I no longer desire to have in my permanent collection.

 

Numismatics is a great hobby but there are more dimensions to it than simply buying and selling. Displaying one's collection, numismatic research, photography and writing are some of these facets. Most of us face budget restraints too. If one has the time and energy nothing wrong with getting a second job. For those who can't for whatever reason, there are numerous ways to enjoy this fine hobby without breaking the bank.

[rbrown4]

Excellent viewpoint and right on target regarding the many dimensions of the hobby. Having been in it just a short while, it is amazing, the different facets that one can become involved with. The history alone is worth the journey. Add in the beauty of the coins, the people and the excitement that goes along with it all - who could ask for a better hobby to be a part of.

 

Rey

[Zoins]

Another option would be to collect pictures of coins. In the old days some people who didn't have enough money for coins would collect pictures from auction catalogs. These days with the Internet, you can collect digital photos. Of course you couldn't pass them off as your own but you could build a nice collection to look at on your computer for free.

[MunkyMan95]

Or you could collect cans to fund your addiction

[bsshog40]

Or you could collect cans to fund your addiction

 

hey, there's some money in scrapping metal!!!

[rrantique]

Excellent viewpoint and right on target regarding the many dimensions of the hobby. Having been in it just a short while, it is amazing, the different facets that one can become involved with. The history alone is worth the journey. Add in the beauty of the coins, the people and the excitement that goes along with it all - who could ask for a better hobby to be a part of.

 

Rey

 

Well said Rey, i am retarded (ooops i mean retired) So i can now enjoy this great community and hobby called numismatics

[TomB]

Without question, you should periodically attempt to sell some of your coins in order to see what the market will accept as the value of your investments.

[TJ'S Coins]

Without question, you should periodically attempt to sell some of your coins in order to see what the market will accept as the value of your investments.

 

Tom is absolutely correct.

 

It is eye opening to be on the "other side" from being a collector. What it has taught me is to be more selective in the coins that I do purchase as I consider things like eye appeal, originality, problems or resale potential.

[rrantique]

Without question, you should periodically attempt to sell some of your coins in order to see what the market will accept as the value of your investments.

 

Tom is absolutely correct.

 

It is eye opening to be on the "other side" from being a collector. What it has taught me is to be more selective in the coins that I do purchase as I consider things like eye appeal, originality, problems or resale potential.

 

And that boils down to the bottom line ,well said TJ and Tom

[CoinCurious]

Ok on the subject of possibly selling some of your coins. In my circumstance I purchased 10 of the 20th anniversary silver sets. I want to keep one in the original USmint box & I want to keep one that I have graded by NGC. That leaves me with 8 sets of which all the Reverse Proofs are graded by NGC and some of the other coins are graded but not all. I had planned to sell these coins to purchase other coins i need for my permanent collections but my gut says "just wait if you sell these coins now you will be kickin yourself later". So what do you do? I have a hard time winning an arguement with myself.

[MunkyMan95]

Don't wait too long. These sets may go up in the future, but so will the prices of any coins you want now. That's how I look at it.

[zrlevin]

Ok on the subject of possibly selling some of your coins. In my circumstance I purchased 10 of the 20th anniversary silver sets. I want to keep one in the original USmint box & I want to keep one that I have graded by NGC. That leaves me with 8 sets of which all the Reverse Proofs are graded by NGC and some of the other coins are graded but not all. I had planned to sell these coins to purchase other coins i need for my permanent collections but my gut says "just wait if you sell these coins now you will be kickin yourself later". So what do you do? I have a hard time winning an arguement with myself.

 

Here is the solution I usually use with precious metals. Sell half now, and you guarantee a tidy profit. If it goes up in the future, sell the rest. Then you will make even more money. If the sets go down, you will still have made a good bit of money. It's a win-win. You only lose if you get greedy.

[TomB]

No one ever lost money taking a profit.

[Bruceswar]

No one ever lost money taking a profit.

 

Tell that to my father who sold his 1954 Strat for $1350.00 and it is now bringing $50,000.00 Times eh?

[TomB]

Did he lose money upon taking his profit?

[Bruceswar]

Did he lose money upon taking his profit?

 

The only money lost is money that he could have had. Now Only reason I bring up this guitar was it was his favorite, and now I know he would like it back, regaurdless of what it is worth in today's market. If he had held it this long he would not be selling it. I guess it is not about a monitary value more as a irreplacable value. But hey back then the money did come in handy. At least the guitar is in good hands now. Mark Knopfler now has it.