Has your intent for collecting PMs changed?

[DarkChameleon]

Did you start out as a stacker then become a collector or vice versa?.

Did you see your collection as a ways to an end?, a pension assist so you could cash out weekly or monthly to bump up your pension?

Have you changed from the person who started it all, going from stacker, to investor, to collector, to buyer/seller, to historical coin collector or moved away from coins entirely?.

Tell us your story and how it has changed over time.

Edited August 16, 2022 by DarkChameleon

[Orpster]

Started stacking current year sovereigns and 1oz CGT free coins when I had spare money at the end of the month, as a way to store wealth outside of the system and to save a bit more for retirement

Moved to doing date runs on sovereigns and selling most of my 1oz coins, Brits & Krugs and only keeping anything what I loved.  Currently concentrating on pre-1900 sovereigns, full and half but will also buy anything that is well priced if I don't already have it.  Exception being special year sovereigns and Gillicks, which I tend to stack then sell on when I need to fund a bigger purchase and I don't have the cash

I also moved from storing in a mates safe to an insured safety deposit box and had my own safe installed for anything I buy between runs to storage as it is 40 minutes away

Now realised I am hooked, but justify it to myself as its just turning money into different money.  And if I didn't do it I would be buying a new iPhone every year, new gaming PC components, new metal detecting gear etc. etc.  Since I started I don't waste money on those things, I only replace what is broken and I feel better for it.  I reckon I have put a fair bit of cash into PM's that otherwise would have gone on what are essentially consumables 

[DarkChameleon]

1 hour ago, Orpster said:

Started stacking current year sovereigns and 1oz CGT free coins when I had spare money at the end of the month, as a way to store wealth outside of the system and to save a bit more for retirement

Moved to doing date runs on sovereigns and selling most of my 1oz coins, Brits & Krugs and only keeping anything what I loved.  Currently concentrating on pre-1900 sovereigns, full and half but will also buy anything that is well priced if I don't already have it.  Exception being special year sovereigns and Gillicks, which I tend to stack then sell on when I need to fund a bigger purchase and I don't have the cash

I also moved from storing in a mates safe to an insured safety deposit box and had my own safe installed for anything I buy between runs to storage as it is 40 minutes away

Now realised I am hooked, but justify it to myself as its just turning money into different money.  And if I didn't do it I would be buying a new iPhone every year, new gaming PC components, new metal detecting gear etc. etc.  Since I started I don't waste money on those things, I only replace what is broken and I feel better for it.  I reckon I have put a fair bit of cash into PM's that otherwise would have gone on what are essentially consumables 

Being a detectorist and gaming fan I understand, just boughtn a ps5 after 2 years cos my pm buying and dealing didn't give me much time to play and detecting has been pushed to the back too, why spend a day finding a coin you could spend change buying?.

Edited August 16, 2022 by DarkChameleon

[Orpster]

4 minutes ago, DarkChameleon said:

Being a detectorist and gaming fan I understand, just boughtn a ps5 after 2 years cos my pm buying and dealing didn't give me much time to play and detecting has been pushed to the back too, why spend a day finding a coin you could spend change buying?.

Yea both very expensive hobbies, gaming being the worse for me as I used to game on console and PC.  I sold my PC and just have my Xbox now - and to be completely honest it mostly gets used for watching Netflix these days .  I have the monthly subscription for £10.99 and find more than enough games on that to scratch any gaming itch I have. 

[DarkChameleon]

3 hours ago, Orpster said:

Yea both very expensive hobbies, gaming being the worse for me as I used to game on console and PC.  I sold my PC and just have my Xbox now - and to be completely honest it mostly gets used for watching Netflix these days .  I have the monthly subscription for £10.99 and find more than enough games on that to scratch any gaming itch I have. 

My ctx3030 sits gathering dust, my PC needs upgrading but I don't like the thought of another $4k in parts to mainly sit there, over 100 games on my ps4p and keep them on my ex had for my ps5, pspp...is enough to not need buying games for a while so I can afford silver goodies...maybe the PC will gather dust and the md's go bye bye along with the ps4p for some more extreme silver .

[SidS]

I started out as a coin collector in 1989/90. I've gone through many phases over that time, focused on different areas for a time before selling up one area and putting the money into a different area.

From around 2000, I also started hoarding silver coins, mostly pre-47 British and pre-65 US coinage.

I'm kind of both now: a collector and a stacker, however that means that my stacked stuff is always ex-currency rather than bullion.

I still collect numismatic material that is outside the scope of the stack. However, over the years, I've come to get more enjoyment out of the stacked silver, than the actual decent collection.

There's something decently satisfying about having money you can handle that's both real and not having to worry about damaging it - from a condition point of view.

[modofantasma]

9 hours ago, DarkChameleon said:

Did you start out as a stacker then become a collector or vice versa?.

Pretty much just a stacker. Somewhere to put a bit of spare change. I do buy the odd fancier bits if they seem like a great deal or I'm curious but not typical.

[GoldStatue]

I've never really pigeonholed myself when it comes to buying coins, I don't really see myself as a stacker/collector/investor/hobbyist just a little bit of all of them.

My biggest change is my attitude towards modern coins, I just looked at the rate the Royal Mint have been churning them out and the amount of releases that are re-strikes of original coins and it really started to put me off. Some of them look great but I hope to switch all my modern proofs over to more historic original coins eventually.

I've never been a massive fan of silver coins and I'd say that view has got a lot stronger over time. Every time I see milk spots/the premiums/re-sale value of proofs below retail price/VAT it just backs up my belief it is waste of time.

[SidS]

3 hours ago, GoldStatue said:

I just looked at the rate the Royal Mint have been churning them out and the amount of releases that are re-strikes of original coins and it really started to put me off.

Absolutely agree.

I did have a brief flirtation with stamps when I was starting out in coins - my father having given me both of his former collections.

I really liked the artwork and designs but looking through the Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue, I noted one thing - there was an explosion of commemoratives starting in the 1940s and by the 1960s there were half a dozen most years. I thought, well there's even more now and most of them are c**p and money-spinners and there's no way you could get everything, or even want to.

Then in 1996, the warning signs started in numismatics. There had been very few in pre-decimal days, the early decimal era ticked over much the same - crowns of 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1981. Then came the 1973 50p, the 1986 and 1989 £2, plus the 1990 £5. Then the 50p coins started to arrive.

By 1996 there had been at least 3 or 4 years of consecutive commems - £5, £2 and 50ps most years and I thought here we go... Coins are in danger of doing a stamp.

Little did I know how bad it was going to get. Multiple £5 and £2 coins each year and 50p coins went on steroids.

As a result, I just gave up all together on decimal coins. I did collect small size 10p coins by date, including all die varieties, but then the alphabet nonsense arrived and I think, is nothing safe from this c**p?

So only 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p and 20p haven't been blighted by commem pest... So far.

Maybe I should start a collection of definitive designs only? So all 50ps that have Britannia and the dismembered shield ONLY. 😁

[DarkChameleon]

8 hours ago, GoldStatue said:

I've never really pigeonholed myself when it comes to buying coins, I don't really see myself as a stacker/collector/investor/hobbyist just a little bit of all of them.

My biggest change is my attitude towards modern coins, I just looked at the rate the Royal Mint have been churning them out and the amount of releases that are re-strikes of original coins and it really started to put me off. Some of them look great but I hope to switch all my modern proofs over to more historic original coins eventually.

I've never been a massive fan of silver coins and I'd say that view has got a lot stronger over time. Every time I see milk spots/the premiums/re-sale value of proofs below retail price/VAT it just backs up my belief it is waste of time.

I moved from new silver in proof to antiqued collector pieces cos milk spotting is the curse to ruin coins, even in stabbed form..my 1803, 1798 American silver is black silver so no milk spotting worry, if I slab from new I have to offload quick or take the risk, only Perth seems to avoid the curse, my collection of Britannia are slowly getting milk spots on them..thank you mint..change your cleaning agent already, it sucks...my peace dollar collection means more to me then 2022 coins...history oozing even from beast white stabbed coins.

[DarkChameleon]

4 hours ago, SidS said:

Absolutely agree.

I did have a brief flirtation with stamps when I was starting out in coins - my father having given me both of his former collections.

I really liked the artwork and designs but looking through the Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue, I noted one thing - there was an explosion of commemoratives starting in the 1940s and by the 1960s there were half a dozen most years. I thought, well there's even more now and most of them are c**p and money-spinners and there's no way you could get everything, or even want to.

Then in 1996, the warning signs started in numismatics. There had been very few in pre-decimal days, the early decimal era ticked over much the same - crowns of 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1981. Then came the 1973 50p, the 1986 and 1989 £2, plus the 1990 £5. Then the 50p coins started to arrive.

By 1996 there had been at least 3 or 4 years of consecutive commems - £5, £2 and 50ps most years and I thought here we go... Coins are in danger of doing a stamp.

Little did I know how bad it was going to get. Multiple £5 and £2 coins each year and 50p coins went on steroids.

As a result, I just gave up all together on decimal coins. I did collect small size 10p coins by date, including all die varieties, but then the alphabet nonsense arrived and I think, is nothing safe from this c**p?

So only 1/2p, 1p, 2p, 5p and 20p haven't been blighted by commem pest... So far.

Maybe I should start a collection of definitive designs only? So all 50ps that have Britannia and the dismembered shield ONLY. 😁

This is why I only collect brits in 1 oz from 97..going for all the 1/2, 1/4 etc and you'll be crawling up your own butt before long..I moved to limited mintage new coins, the cost can be silly, being $100 to $1000 an ounce for silver but at least there aren't 6 million of them if not more and art work my grandson could match at 2 years old.

[scarecrow]

On 16/08/2022 at 12:24, DarkChameleon said:

Did you start out as a stacker then become a collector or vice versa?.

I started as a silver stacker, but dipped my toe into the gold side of things, cheapest I could find. Now I'm obsessed with doing a Gillick date run. Four to go then its probably Machins as I have a few already. 

I'm pretty new to all this and like most people I made some bad purchases price wise before I found the forum, what a revelation that was. 

ATB scarecrow☺️

[DarkChameleon]

On 18/08/2022 at 08:31, scarecrow said:

I started as a silver stacker, but dipped my toe into the gold side of things, cheapest I could find. Now I'm obsessed with doing a Gillick date run. Four to go then its probably Machins as I have a few already. 

I'm pretty new to all this and like most people I made some bad purchases price wise before I found the forum, what a revelation that was. 

ATB scarecrow☺️

We allmade bad purchase choices at the beginning, like buying one at a time online meant shipping destroyed much of the profitability where rolls make more sense spreading it out but fomo made the inexperienced jump fast not smart.

[SidS]

17 minutes ago, DarkChameleon said:

We allmade bad purchase choices at the beginning, like buying one at a time online meant shipping destroyed much of the profitability where rolls make more sense spreading it out but fomo made the inexperienced jump fast not smart.

Hey you speak for yourself! I'm still making bad choices. 😁👍

[DarkChameleon]

2 minutes ago, SidS said:

Hey you speak for yourself! I'm still making bad choices. 😁👍

I'm still up there, but they are less...I bought a coin for $1600 then the next week the same coin for $800...but I sold the first one for over $3000 equivalent so I made out but it doesn't mean it wasn't a big boo boo.

[SidS]

5 minutes ago, DarkChameleon said:

I'm still up there, but they are less...I bought a coin for $1600 then the next week the same coin for $800...but I sold the first one for over $3000 equivalent so I made out but it doesn't mean it wasn't a big boo boo.

God I'd hate to think whether I'm up or down overall. There's been some wise purchases and some real humdingers. I've stopped looking to be honest.

[scarecrow]

3 hours ago, SidS said:

God I'd hate to think whether I'm up or down overall. There's been some wise purchases and some real humdingers. I've stopped looking to be honest.

Ditto🤪