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Coins are a great hobby. Something at every price point, with art and history to appreciate. My current “serious” collecting project is to assemble an AU quali

Coins are a great hobby. Something at every price point, with art and history to appreciate. My current “serious” collecting project is to assemble an AU quality US half dollar type set, but I also have a few themed collections (sailboats, trees) composed of mainly dollar bin world coins. Both ways of collecting give me a lot of joy.

MikeTheGreat 6y ago
Genuine question: could you (and other collectors) expand on the joy you experience with a 'collecting' hobby? I'm curious about things like 'is it the part about knowing that you've got the things' and/or 'is it looking at the things' and/or 'remembering the effort needed to successfully get the things', etc? I never quite 'got' why some people like collecting stuff and would love to hear more about what brings y'all joy :)
- coins_r_fun 6y ago
  For coins specifically, I can tell you what I like about them. I collect coins from all across time (literally back to the 7th century BC, when the first coins were minted), and all over the world. To me, they're tiny little objects of art, pieces of history, and artifacts worthy of study. Adding a new coin to my collection is a reminder that I'm its temporary caretaker. My collection, to me, is like a tiny museum of history, art, metallurgy and economics. Also, I think they're cool, and I like owning cool stuff. I don't think that's exactly what you asked for, but, then, I don't think I actually can explain it in a way that will make a lot of sense to you. It's either you have the collecting impulse, or you don't, I've found. Edit: duh, coins were invented in the 7th century BC, not the 5th century BC.
- nlh 6y ago
  I agree with everything coins_r_fun wrote in the sister comment will add some of my perspective (your timing is great with this question, btw - I just started taking notes for an essay I'm going to write on this topic. Sorry for the still-raw ideas). There's multiple layers to coins for me: * Art & Science - If you'll allow me to borrow some programming terminology, both the Class and the Instance are fascinating and work on multiple dimensions. The Class in that each design for a given coin is an engraving done with, at a certain time, fine hand tools and represents a snapshot of the public aesthetic of the moment. But each Instance of a coin is also an opportunity for deep variation and aesthetic pleasure. Depending on how and where it was stored, the chemical reactions also can create absolutely stunning (dis)coloration on the surfaces that make a given coin absolutely unique and very desirable. Take these two coins as an example - both the same Class, but two deeply different Instances: https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg * History & Archeology - For the same reason I find it wondrous to go through a museum of historical objects and imagine that this plate was used by that person in some ancient civilization to eat dinner, a very mundane thing that binds us across centuries, I find it equally wondrous to hold a coin from the late 1700s in my hand and imagine that this ACTUAL object could have been used by a soldier coming home from the Revolutionary War to buy a drink at a local tavern, etc., and that through the years it's made its way from person to person to person and eventually into my hands. That is objectively cool, IMHO. * Asset - Unlike many "things" one can spend money on, coins are, if purchased properly, a true asset. You can experience all the joy of retail therapy and gluttonous consumption, if that's your thing, of buying a shiny new toy and it's probably not going to lose value as you enjoy it! So it's not so much "spending" money on coins, it's just moving money into another form. I went to a coin show yesterday and spent $3000 on a very small handful of coins. Trust me when I say I am NOT the kind of person who spends $3000 on things - that would be a stomach-churning experience in many cases. But there was zero guilt, zero stress, and pure fun in buying these coins, because I know that at any moment I will be able to convert them back to $3000 (or more!) cash if I want to. * Transaction - The art of the chase is really kind of fun, too. It's fun to learn the pricing, go to auctions, compete with other people, and experience the thrill of winning a bid that could be hundreds or thousands of dollars below market price (or above if you're not careful!). I won a bid at $900 in an online auction last night for a coin that I'll be able to sell for close to $2000 (if I want to). Does that happen all the time? No of course not - it's a pretty efficient market. But there are moments of inefficiency and it's fun to find and capture them. That's my quick summary!
- jurassic 6y ago
  Different people have different motivations in collecting. Some people are really into the completionist aspect and really enjoy hunting very specific items on a checklist; this type of collector might set out to assemble a date set with one Lincoln penny from each year of issue. This is a totally valid approach, but it's not my style. Personally, I'm most interested in it for the art so I gravitate toward type collecting, which is about getting one nice example of each design within some parameters that I choose (denomination, country, etc). Since I'm buying fewer coins I can afford to put more money into each one which lets me buy higher quality pieces. I also like larger coins because the art is easier to see. The size criterion is how I decided to start a half dollar type set vs some other denomination. For my inexpensive themed sets (can be anything e.g. coins with flowers, coins with animals, olympics coins, etc), I really like seeing how different people / countries / eras have explored the same subject matter in numismatic art. Individually these coins aren't that special, but seeing them together with others in the same subject matter theme emphasizes the differences and similarities. The contrasts make them all more interesting. TLDR: For me, it's an art collection that fits in a shoebox.
coins_r_fun 6y ago
Also, the numismatic community is one of the least toxic communities I've ever encountered online. Sure, there are corners of it that aren't great, but, most places I've been are very welcoming and helpful. Nobody will laugh at your dollar bin sailboat coins, either.
- nlh 6y ago
  That's really great to hear. My numismatic life v1 was well before the Internet was a thing, so here in v2 I'm eager to explore. What are the best communities in your opinion? I've started with /r/coins.
  - coins_r_fun 6y ago
    I can recommend r/coins, r/AncientCoins, r/papermoney, r/Coins4Sale, and r/exonumia. Outside of Reddit, the cointalk.com forums are excellent. I'd stay away from the PCGS and NGC forums, at least for a while.
    - nlh 5y ago
      Awesome - thanks! I’ll check out Cointalk (it comes up a lot in various searches, so I’d heard of it, but didn’t know whether that was an SEO thing or a real thing). Can you elaborate on why to stay away from the PCGS and NGC forums?

MikeTheGreat 6y ago

Genuine question: could you (and other collectors) expand on the joy you experience with a 'collecting' hobby? I'm curious about things like 'is it the part about knowing that you've got the things' and/or 'is it looking at the things' and/or 'remembering the effort needed to successfully get the things', etc? I never quite 'got' why some people like collecting stuff and would love to hear more about what brings y'all joy :)

coins_r_fun 6y ago
For coins specifically, I can tell you what I like about them. I collect coins from all across time (literally back to the 7th century BC, when the first coins were minted), and all over the world. To me, they're tiny little objects of art, pieces of history, and artifacts worthy of study. Adding a new coin to my collection is a reminder that I'm its temporary caretaker. My collection, to me, is like a tiny museum of history, art, metallurgy and economics. Also, I think they're cool, and I like owning cool stuff. I don't think that's exactly what you asked for, but, then, I don't think I actually can explain it in a way that will make a lot of sense to you. It's either you have the collecting impulse, or you don't, I've found. Edit: duh, coins were invented in the 7th century BC, not the 5th century BC.
nlh 6y ago
I agree with everything coins_r_fun wrote in the sister comment will add some of my perspective (your timing is great with this question, btw - I just started taking notes for an essay I'm going to write on this topic. Sorry for the still-raw ideas). There's multiple layers to coins for me: * Art & Science - If you'll allow me to borrow some programming terminology, both the Class and the Instance are fascinating and work on multiple dimensions. The Class in that each design for a given coin is an engraving done with, at a certain time, fine hand tools and represents a snapshot of the public aesthetic of the moment. But each Instance of a coin is also an opportunity for deep variation and aesthetic pleasure. Depending on how and where it was stored, the chemical reactions also can create absolutely stunning (dis)coloration on the surfaces that make a given coin absolutely unique and very desirable. Take these two coins as an example - both the same Class, but two deeply different Instances: https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/40276266_1730666_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg https://images.pcgs.com/CoinFacts/21516597_44827571_2200.jpg * History & Archeology - For the same reason I find it wondrous to go through a museum of historical objects and imagine that this plate was used by that person in some ancient civilization to eat dinner, a very mundane thing that binds us across centuries, I find it equally wondrous to hold a coin from the late 1700s in my hand and imagine that this ACTUAL object could have been used by a soldier coming home from the Revolutionary War to buy a drink at a local tavern, etc., and that through the years it's made its way from person to person to person and eventually into my hands. That is objectively cool, IMHO. * Asset - Unlike many "things" one can spend money on, coins are, if purchased properly, a true asset. You can experience all the joy of retail therapy and gluttonous consumption, if that's your thing, of buying a shiny new toy and it's probably not going to lose value as you enjoy it! So it's not so much "spending" money on coins, it's just moving money into another form. I went to a coin show yesterday and spent $3000 on a very small handful of coins. Trust me when I say I am NOT the kind of person who spends $3000 on things - that would be a stomach-churning experience in many cases. But there was zero guilt, zero stress, and pure fun in buying these coins, because I know that at any moment I will be able to convert them back to $3000 (or more!) cash if I want to. * Transaction - The art of the chase is really kind of fun, too. It's fun to learn the pricing, go to auctions, compete with other people, and experience the thrill of winning a bid that could be hundreds or thousands of dollars below market price (or above if you're not careful!). I won a bid at $900 in an online auction last night for a coin that I'll be able to sell for close to $2000 (if I want to). Does that happen all the time? No of course not - it's a pretty efficient market. But there are moments of inefficiency and it's fun to find and capture them. That's my quick summary!
jurassic 6y ago
Different people have different motivations in collecting. Some people are really into the completionist aspect and really enjoy hunting very specific items on a checklist; this type of collector might set out to assemble a date set with one Lincoln penny from each year of issue. This is a totally valid approach, but it's not my style. Personally, I'm most interested in it for the art so I gravitate toward type collecting, which is about getting one nice example of each design within some parameters that I choose (denomination, country, etc). Since I'm buying fewer coins I can afford to put more money into each one which lets me buy higher quality pieces. I also like larger coins because the art is easier to see. The size criterion is how I decided to start a half dollar type set vs some other denomination. For my inexpensive themed sets (can be anything e.g. coins with flowers, coins with animals, olympics coins, etc), I really like seeing how different people / countries / eras have explored the same subject matter in numismatic art. Individually these coins aren't that special, but seeing them together with others in the same subject matter theme emphasizes the differences and similarities. The contrasts make them all more interesting. TLDR: For me, it's an art collection that fits in a shoebox.

coins_r_fun 6y ago

Also, the numismatic community is one of the least toxic communities I've ever encountered online. Sure, there are corners of it that aren't great, but, most places I've been are very welcoming and helpful. Nobody will laugh at your dollar bin sailboat coins, either.

nlh 6y ago
That's really great to hear. My numismatic life v1 was well before the Internet was a thing, so here in v2 I'm eager to explore. What are the best communities in your opinion? I've started with /r/coins.
- coins_r_fun 6y ago
  I can recommend r/coins, r/AncientCoins, r/papermoney, r/Coins4Sale, and r/exonumia. Outside of Reddit, the cointalk.com forums are excellent. I'd stay away from the PCGS and NGC forums, at least for a while.
  - nlh 5y ago
    Awesome - thanks! I’ll check out Cointalk (it comes up a lot in various searches, so I’d heard of it, but didn’t know whether that was an SEO thing or a real thing). Can you elaborate on why to stay away from the PCGS and NGC forums?