New Member and Introduction to me :)

[Bigman1984]

Howdy friends!  I'm brand new to site, found it less than 30 min ago by watching SpegTacular's video about it (posted 6 days ago).  I've never really thought seriously about silver stacking, but after watching many of SpegTaculars videos (and others) I am building my knowledge, forming my own opinions (which may be dangerous), and trying to decide the best way for me to get into silver stacking.  I've pasted a "Collector Bio" that I wrote the other night below.  It's long - but it explains my experience and history with coin collecting.  Hope you find it interesting!

 

Bigman1984's collector's Bio (still in draft/working copy)

 

Written Apr/May2020

I started collecting coins when I was in 6th grade (mid 1990s).  A classmate was bringing in Susan B Anthony’s and other dollar coins to pay for lunch and I immediately started skipping lunch, using my lunch money (trading him) so I could keep the coin and he could still buy lunch.  My teacher quickly noticed the situation and worked with me to set up a system.  The teacher spoke with the school administration about the situation and established a system for me.  The front office would go through all monies and save any special coinage for me to come by and buy on Friday each week.  The fact that an adult cared about me enough to establish a system so I could do what I was interested in, helped to create my love for coin collecting.

I continued to collect coins whenever they popped up, but didn’t really know how to go about collecting, or have anyone to guide me.  While I was in highschool, the US started many new programs, including the state quarter program.  This led me to start researching how to be a more serious collector.  I didn’t have an income or any real way to start a collection, beyond the small amounts of items I would randomly come across, but I started researching, and educating myself on coins.  I started searching pocket change and keeping interesting finds.  Once I graduated, I got a summer job, and, if I had to guess, about half my income went to collecting circulated batches of coins on my desk in buckets.  Many of my friends thought I was crazy.  One side of my bedroom looked like one of those Hoarders episodes, with all the buckets and stacks of coins, and coins spread out all over my large desk that I was searching.  Then, youngster life caught up with me and the coins sat around for a long time.

Fast forward a few years, during my 4th-5th year of college, I decided to start collecting coins from online reseller companies such as Littleton and others of the like.  I didn’t realize at the time that they marked up the coins a certain % and that I could collect the coins in other much smarter methods.  While in my 5th year of college (2006-2006) I decided I should get serious about being financially ready for marriage and quit investing in coins and started paying off debt and saving.  This would put my coin collecting on hold again.

Over the next few years I married and was blessed with two wonderful babies.  While I’d go through very short spurts of interest in coin collecting, my collection predominately sat in totes in the back corner of the house. I didn’t really get back into serious researching and collecting until around 2012.  From 2012-2014 I researched coins, especially on ebay, and started several US series/sets and bought dansco albums to put them in.  I have an almost complete Lincoln Memorial (missing 5 coins) in VF+ for pre 1940 and AU/BU after 1940 and also have dimes, nickels, indian heads, and other sets that I’ve started and plan to finish.  While collecting those sets, I’ve also started collecting any other coins that I can get my hands on, when I know it's at a good price (kennedy's, silver dollars, anything).  Honestly, I felt like I was flailing around not collecting with a strategy.  This bothered me, so I started researching what was the best way to collect, and found that it was best to work on many things at once so you’d know when you find a good deal on a coin - and you wouldn’t be locked in on completing a particular set and overpay to complete it.  During this time, I couldn't decide what was the best way to catalog my collection.  I tried a software program or two, and even started building out an excel database, but all of those had their problems and I never finished any of them.

Over the next few years work, family, and life caught up with me, and as a christian I started to feel that I should let my materialistic coin collection go, I was going to sell it all.  Before I got around to selling my collection, in 2014, my grandmother died at age 83 and left me some coins.  This led to a storm of other family members realizing I was the only extended family member who enjoyed coins, so I started to receive coins from many family members  Not many, but it was enough that I realized I should keep my coin collection, and if I was going to keep it, then I’d decided that I was going to continue to build it when I could.

In March 2020, my inlaws were cleaning out some property and found coins that they brought to me for review.  I ended up purchasing many of the coins from them and now I’m super pumped and back to researching the best ways to catalog and start adding to my collection.  I hope to get my 7 and 9 year old involved and use this hobby as a way to help them fall in love with numismatics.  I’ve been researching how to get young people involved with collecting.  Come to find out, there are many great resources geared toward young numismatics and how to help them, and how to change my own mindset (I can’t force them to collect the same way I do, I have to let them collect in their own way).

As of May 2020, I am currently researching the coin markets, rebuilding a current database of coins and information I can use for collecting the sets I’m currently interested in.  And, I’m researching future sets and collecting strategies (possibly silver stacking).  I’ve decided a few important things I should do first:  1) Decide on a current collecting strategy.  2) Decide on catalog strategy and catalog my current collection on hand before continuing.  3) Create documentation I feel is important for “beginners” like me, that isn’t easily found out on the internet.  4) Create a forward looking plan for investing more in my collection in the future (budgeting/finances)(maybe signing up for US mint release programs).  5) Develop a strategy to get my kids involved, in a smart way - a way that they will enjoy (many great resources out there for this).  So - hopefully I will have my current collection cataloged in the next month. 

[trp]

Hello and welcome to the forum!  

[Agpanda]

Hi and welcome to the forum from Sweden

[CadmiumGreen]

Welcome aboard The Silver Forum!

[silverdocket]

Welcome from 🍀Ireland 🍀very nice introduction...

[ChrisSilver]

Hello and welcome to The Silver Forum  

[GrahamDiamond]

Welcome to the Silver Forum Coinster  !!!!!!!!