Why Do We Love Coins?

In a recent PCGS Price Guide meeting, we were talking about the market and how price trends in this up market were more reactive than proactive, despite raising prices pretty aggressively. All the folks in our price guide group have extensive U.S. rare coin experience. In fact, our combined numismatic experience totals more than 100 years. We can all recall favorite record-price stories, but we’ve also had more than our fair share of losses in down markets. With that much experience, all four of us have experienced down markets, too!

Maybe it’s always been about the coin. Early in my childhood, I realized coins bought stuff I wanted – candy, comic books, baseball cards, oh boy! The secret was to have the coin to buy the stuff you liked. Most often as a kid, it was a parent or favorite relative who provided the coin.

I’m certain economic theory was beyond me at that point, but the universe available to one with the coin wasn’t hard to figure out. The person with the coin makes the rules, or so I’ve heard right?

My thought during the whole market discussion was the question, “How come I fell in love with coins in the first place?” Simple curiosity explains a lot. Especially coin designs from years past, no longer seen in circulation, fascinated me early on. Indian Cents, Buffalo Nickels, and Mercury Dimes were the subjects of much early interest. I was fortunate to have parents and grandparents who allowed me to indulge my curiosity.

Where does it go from there? I saw very few high-grade coins as an early collector. Average circulated with a full date and rims was a nice coin then. At what point did the curiosity grow from filling a hole in an album to upgrading to a nicer coin for that spot in my collection? My first Buffalo Nickel set was mostly partial dates, but by my early teens I wanted VF full-horn examples – was I a total snob or what? (Ha ha…)

I’ll make an analogy that might not convey perfectly what I mean, but here goes. At a Long Beach Expo more than two decades ago, several dealer kids were attending the show with their dealer folks. At that time, this small group of 16 to 20 year olds were talking about their first cars. I’ll never forget the perspective this short story gives to most aspects of life!

While several of the more well-heeled dealer kids were talking about their new imported cars, a young lady stopped everyone short when she said, “I just want a car that runs!” My, you could have heard a pin drop! It’s all about priorities, right? Sure, we’d all love to drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari, but I was pretty happy as a young man with a reliable pick-up.

Having champagne tastes and a potato chips budget doesn’t mean you can’t aspire to nicer and better things. Learn what you’re passionate about and then buy what you can comfortably afford. You can always upgrade later!