To people who have dozens of coins with the same design: Why?

Hi,

I regularly see people online who share parts of their coin collection. And not rarely, it's just a picture of 10+ Morgan Dollars, Pennies, or whatever, which just differ in the year. And I never understood it. Why would I want basically the same coin a dozen times?

I can understand it if someone just wants to stack precious metals and just got a good deal.
I can also understand it if someone wants to invest and thinks a certain type of coin is undervalued.

But in a numismatic collector sense? I don't get it.
I also wouldn't buy the same painting a dozen times and hang it in every room of my home multiple times.

Can someone explain to me the fascination of that?

I personally don't understand what you don't understand.
You fill holes in your collection depending on types, some others are a bit more granular and fill the date holes others again also fill variant holes.
Normally you begin collecting your own coins and there are only so many so you collect all the dates and for some this expands to other countries or just certain denominations etc.
But I am with you on that I find it strange to show such collections off in such frequency. Especially where American collectors are abundant you might see 5-7 different coin types posted over and over and over.

Цитата: "Trooper8"​Hi,
​
​I regularly see people online who share parts of their coin collection. And not rarely, it's just a picture of 10+ Morgan Dollars, Pennies, or whatever, which just differ in the year. And I never understood it. Why would I want basically the same coin a dozen times?
​
​I can understand it if someone just wants to stack precious metals and just got a good deal.
​I can also understand it if someone wants to invest and thinks a certain type of coin is undervalued.
​
​But in a numismatic collector sense? I don't get it.
​I also wouldn't buy the same painting a dozen times and hang it in every room of my home multiple times.
​
​Can someone explain to me the fascination of that?

​I do not know why.
Maye they think It is undervalued and hoard them, as you say.
My guess is thet they inherit quite a few of the same coins from a relative or buy lots at auctions.
Personally I have only kept 2 coins of the same type in my collection.

A while back, I bought a 50lb sack of unsorted "France".
and sorted it.

After arranged and filled in all the dates series I could, and inventory all, stored away the few treasures,

Yes there are dozens and dozens of a few series, mostly the commonest dates.
No, I am not discarding them. Occasionally someone hears about a rare variety, and I have a look.

I like to collect date runs of certain coins -- 100 Lire (large type) KM# 96.1, for example - because I like the design. Or, because I am an American, I like to collect date runs of the coins of my home country.
The best part of collecting is you can collect what you want and how you want. With world coins, the possibilities are endless.

I started collecting just as you said, a hand-me-down collection of Canadian Cents. My goal was to get every date and not worry about varieties (that's expensive). I completed the collection rather rapidly, in under 3 years time, and along the way picked up many valuable skills; grading, cleaned (?), market value, proof, storage, etc. Now I am trying to upgrade each year to VF or better which means I now have a hole in my collection as I sold a 1892 in F condition. Of note, Canadian Cents by date has a start and a finish.

Here's the rub. Because of this "gateway" collection, I moved on to Canadian Colonial tokens which is much more difficult and expensive. Next, circulating countries pre-1962 which is difficult and VERY expensive. I now have 3 goals in progress at the same time and they fill many hours of research in this wonderful hobby.

I agree that posting pictures of a date run is somewhat........I can't find the word. But, I'm warning you now, if I finish my date run of Canadian Cents in VF condition or better, I just might.

Also, I know you don't understand but, I see your profile says you collect Euro Coins > Gold. That leaves a lot of room for me to say "I don't understand".

Lastly, I see you have made many, many contributions to the catalogue. Thank You!!

Interesting discussion. I used to be rather indifferent to date sets, except for Canadian large and small cents which I have collected for ever. I then started to expand my collection to the silver and nickel decimals, on top of my colonial collection. Progressively, I expanded the decimals to date sets of all circulating coins except the 1912-1914 gold issues.

I have also expanded to "world coins" but only by type... except for US "pennies" which circulated so extensively in Canada (until 2013) that it's kind of a supplementary Canadian collection.

Now, if you take copper/bronze and silver, no two coins are similar in a date set. The patina may be dark or light; there may be some rainbow toning on a few coins; etc. By the way, one of the most impressive yet boring collections I have ever seen was a complete set of Canadian BU large cents. This is a very expensive collection to complete (and I'll gladly accept such a set if anyone has one to give away) but all the coins had almost the same color of uncirculated bronze.

By contrast, one of the collections I like to look at once in a while is maudry's "révolutionnaires" on Flickr. Many coins are low grade but the whole set is quite a witness to that troubled period in the history of France. Complete French sets are difficult to do because minting was decentralized, with each issue being minted by several mints.

Historically, there was much less of a tendency to collect by date in the old days, i.e. early 20th century and before. Some say this wasn't really done at all back then, but this is not true. There were date-set collectors as is clear from old catalogues, including old auction catalogues. But type collections were more common.

Date set collections are subject to the KEY DATE problem.

Series collecting is my life. I mainly collect denominations and like to get one of every date and variety. Why because its a challenge and I love sequences.

This stuff may burn your eyes



I mainly now collect all NZ, Australia, Fiji, UK and a couple of other places.

Some sequences are great as they go for centuries. For instance, my British shilling collection, the newest coin is 1970 and the oldest is 1551! I can go back to 1502 if I have the money.

What other hobby can give you something that changes over centuries. Imagine someone doing British pennies from the time of Offa (780AD) right through to the last penny issued in 1970!

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"​Date set collections are subject to the KEY DATE problem.

​True.

There are two types of collectors, those who insert a fake coin to fill a hole and those (like me) who leave the hole empty. I will never have a Canadian 1921 50¢ coin, so this will remain a hole. It's also very unlikely I'll ever acquire a Canadian 1921 5¢ or a 1948 $1, or a Newfoundland 1946 5¢.

Now, I'm OK with doing my best to complete a collection, and perhaps along the way upgrade some coins, but if there are holes that I can't fill, that's OK.

And now that I see Moneytane's post, yes, looking at a sequence will satisfy some (including myself), though I prefer to organize my series primarily by reigns (or portrait in the case of Elizabeth), then by denominations inside each reign or portrait.

Here are a couple of trays for Newfoundland:

For U.S. collectors "of a certain age" it is hard-wired.

We started collecting "pennies" (Lincoln wheat cents) as kids, filling a blue Whitman folder which had a space for each date-mint combination. Nobody asked why when you were 7 or 8 years old.

I don't collect U.S. series anymore, but certain series like polgrosz litewski of Sigismund I of Poland help me with my OFEY collection in the early 16th century.

Hello, I think there are already many answers giving the reasons for each one to make one type of collection or another, in the end each one chooses the collection they want to make and that makes them happy, it is only about doing what each one chooses.

As for exactly answering the question in this topic: To people who have dozens of coins with the same design: Why?

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5055.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5056.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5063.html

These three coins (and more) are common commemorative 2 Euro coins, they have exactly the same design (only changes name of issuer, even the year is the same), but surely many people who collect by type have all of them (or many). If you put them all together, you end up with one of those photos that you don't like so much. It is a matter of perspective: different points of view.

There are a few reasons why people collect/hoard a bunch of the same coin that I can think of:

• They find something old/valuable in circulation that they already have and keep it because they can't allow themselves to spend something worth more than face
  
• They're collecting every year in a date set
  
• They buy bulk world coin lots and end up with a bunch of duplicates of common stuff
  
• Have a bunch of backups if one coin gets lost or damaged or something
  
• Buy lots of coins to look through for varieties
  
• People can be illogical and want a bunch of the same thing sometimes
  

Цитата: "Surfperch"​There are a few reasons why people collect/hoard a bunch of the same coin that I can think of:
​

• They find something old/valuable in circulation that they already have and keep it because they can't allow themselves to spend something worth more than face
  ​
  
• They're collecting every year in a date set
  ​
  
• They buy bulk world coin lots and end up with a bunch of duplicates of common stuff
  ​
  
• Have a bunch of backups if one coin gets lost or damaged or something
  ​
  
• Buy lots of coins to look through for varieties
  ​
  
• People can be illogical and want a bunch of the same thing sometimes
  ​
  

​

​You have forgotten the main reason: I collect coins for years simply because I want to and makes me happy. Others collect silver, or some specific countries, or only by type, or only circulating (or commemorative) coins...
Personally, it makes me happy to be so illogical.

Цитата: "Camerinvs"​

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"​Date set collections are subject to the KEY DATE problem.
​
​
​
​

​​True.
​
​There are two types of collectors, those who insert a fake coin to fill a hole and those (like me) who leave the hole empty. I will never have a Canadian 1921 50¢ coin, so this will remain a hole. It's also very unlikely I'll ever acquire a Canadian 1921 5¢ or a 1948 $1, or a Newfoundland 1946 5¢.
​
​Now, I'm OK with doing my best to complete a collection, and perhaps along the way upgrade some coins, but if there are holes that I can't fill, that's OK.
​
​And now that I see Moneytane's post, yes, looking at a sequence will satisfy some (including myself), though I prefer to organize my series primarily by reigns (or portrait in the case of Elizabeth), then by denominations inside each reign or portrait.
​
​Here are a couple of trays for Newfoundland:
​
​

​Those trays are beautiful! Great coins and set up there!

I wish you a nice weekend, great people.

In some thread here, I learned that a numismatist is mostly a scientist, archaeologist, etc. - yes, a numismatist does not have to have a single coin
(not even in the wallet in the back pocket)
Fortunately, we are collectors here and it's up to us how we handle our collection, someone just wants gold-silver and a lot of gold -another prefers boats or little flowers , let's not forget the animals, Such a number of cats is, for some, the culmination of a decade and a huge effort
effort.
In short, it is up to each individual to prioritize it its development in collecting and profiling of major interest-which most of them will arrive over time.
I am one of the exceptions and so far I am collecting everything, I have slowed them down interests and I'm somehow starting to revolve around antiquity.
An example of that profiling: A young lady in love with natophilia began to gather collection of 500€ banknotes-from all euro area countries, by year of issue, and also in alphabetical order each year. Yes certainly when there is also an interesting number like 000 or 007 -so it also belongs to the collection ( I think you definitely agree)
There was a turnaround in the financial situation and individual states stopped printing this paper from 2019-- well end ambitions fu... and all effort fuc...., she went to the bank there and threw it at their counter ......
fairy tale is the end-good night kids --this is how I sleep girls grandchildren.
it's my humor but the fact that everyone collects as they want and especially we are all original and you won't find two of the same people.

My Austria-Hungary looks the same but aha change 10 haller 1916 coat of arms change and we have A, and B and coins same just detail :

Collect what you enjoy and most importantly have fun and satisfaction as well as a goal and a healthy ambition.
Ivan

Цитата: "Trooper8"​Hi,
​
​I regularly see people online who share parts of their coin collection. And not rarely, it's just a picture of 10+ Morgan Dollars, Pennies, or whatever, which just differ in the year. And I never understood it. Why would I want basically the same coin a dozen times?
​
​I can understand it if someone just wants to stack precious metals and just got a good deal.
​I can also understand it if someone wants to invest and thinks a certain type of coin is undervalued.
​
​But in a numismatic collector sense? I don't get it.
​I also wouldn't buy the same painting a dozen times and hang it in every room of my home multiple times.
​
​Can someone explain to me the fascination of that?

​'which just differ in the year' a different year means a different coin as simple as abc

I've been following this thread because I found the question interesting & figured it would challenge a lot of collectors to think hard about what/how they collect (& what type of sets). It has always been a fascinating part of the hobby for me (even though I have a very tiny coin collection). I would best be described as an "armchair" coin collector (ie: about as lazy as they come!) One of the main reasons I abandoned coins was that I never developed the curiosity (or drive) to develop some clear goals in terms of what exactly should be in my collection (& what I collected were literally the most easy coins to collect- I never really worked at it). I wasn't buying my coins at the post office but I was almost that bad.

So the reason I wanted to add my '2 cents' was b/c back in 2006 one of my rare visits to a coin show, I met my first "prefix collector" for banknotes (what I actually collect). All he collected were different prefixes from the 1954 Modified series & just the $1.00 note (no other denomination). He did not collect any of the 18 replacement prefixes, no special serial numbers, only one of each of the (drumroll please) 197 different prefixes (96 from the CBN & 101 from the BABN Co). That's right 197 of the same $1.00 banknote but with different prefixes. I recall asking him if he had some of the tough signature change-overs (& yes, that became one of my goals).

Anyway, interesting chap (he also didn't care about the condition of the note either & showed us a stack of some of the prefixes he had, but I'm afraid I forget how many more prefixes he needed to complete his goal). Anyway, one of the things he taught me was to develop a goal for my collection (I was a very aimless generalist at the time).

"Collection" might be thought of as something that is difficult to assemble, things that are rarely (if ever) seen together. If you live in a country where coins with many different dates circulate, usually is not easy to pick all of them from circulation. So assembling the full collection in this way might be a challenge.
On the other hand, when they can be bought online in a day or two, and you are limited only by the size of your purse, then yes, it doesn't make much sense anymore (unless you enjoy shopping and hoarding).

Цитата: "Camerinvs"​

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"​Date set collections are subject to the KEY DATE problem.
​
​
​
​

​​True.
​
​There are two types of collectors, those who insert a fake coin to fill a hole and those (like me) who leave the hole empty. I will never have a Canadian 1921 50¢ coin, so this will remain a hole. It's also very unlikely I'll ever acquire a Canadian 1921 5¢ or a 1948 $1, or a Newfoundland 1946 5¢.
​
​Now, I'm OK with doing my best to complete a collection, and perhaps along the way upgrade some coins, but if there are holes that I can't fill, that's OK.
​
​And now that I see Moneytane's post, yes, looking at a sequence will satisfy some (including myself), though I prefer to organize my series primarily by reigns (or portrait in the case of Elizabeth), then by denominations inside each reign or portrait.
​
​Here are a couple of trays for Newfoundland:
​
​

Those are wonderful to behold!

To your first point about putting a fake or copy in an empty key date hole, I could not do that either.
It is a spot to have an obverse turned up. A good use for a duplicate of a commoner date.

Happy to see that my Newfoundland tray pleased some of you. It's actually an older picture and since then, a couple of key dates were acquired, though in one case the hole was filled with... a hole ─ i.e. a holed 5¢. If you are interested in Newfoundland coinage, you may already know how difficult it is to complete the Victoria 5¢ and 10¢ series ─ a lot more difficult than the higher 20¢ and 50¢ denominations! You may have noticed that my 5¢ are the lowest grade set on the tray.

Also, the tray reflects my historical interest. As you can see, there are tokens at the top left. These were private but accepted as currency, so they have a place here. Eventually, I will have an album next to all this with another type of "token", though officially issued in this case: stamps, which started in 1857 in Newfoundland ─ i.e. 8 years before the colony got its own coinage. The early stamps are in pence and shillings. Once the colony moved to the dollar, the government had to acquire a decimal coinage and the stamps were now issued in cents.

So, as a collector, I see coins, banknotes, and other "economic artefacts", including stamps, as historical artefacts, and date sets are justified. (If I remember correctly, on the site Academia.edu, I created the research topic "Modern Numismatics" or else I created a related topic; I can't remember now.)

Now, this interesting thread reminds me that at a Roman coins conference, I happened to talk to a collector who was interested only in a single type of silver denarius struck by Tiberius (ruled 14-37 CE). He was collecting every single variety, which are numerous because each die (obv. and rev.) is different. He had no collecting interest in anything else. He told me that he even had unpublished varieties; I suggested that he should publish them in the Spink Numismatic Circular (and ideal venue for such things because you just need good photos and a paragraph explaining the variety) but he wasn't even interested in this. Puzzling to me, but as MIMAEL says, "it is up to each individual to prioritize his development in collecting".

I take note, too, of what Serial_Number_8 says about banknotes. I collect them, too, as historical artefacts again, and therefore organize them by signatures, not type. At first, I was planning to acquire only one of each type, but progressively acquired more of the same with different signatures, especially of course the lower denominations. I am not going to acquire every signature of the $20-$50-$100 notes, and may never acquire a $1000 note (a VEXATOR CANADINSIS token will come first).

Цитата: "numinis"​"Collection" might be thought of as something that is difficult to assemble, things that are rarely (if ever) seen together. If you live in a country where coins with many different dates circulate, usually is not easy to pick all of them from circulation. So assembling the full collection in this way might be a challenge.
​On the other hand, when they can be bought online in a day or two, and you are limited only by the size of your purse, then yes, it doesn't make much sense anymore (unless you enjoy shopping and hoarding).
​

​I think you mean to say the internet has ruined collecting, because everything you might want is readily available.

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"​
​​I think you mean to say the internet has ruined collecting, because everything you might want is readily available.
​

​In a sense the internet did make a considerable damage to collecting, because it has raised the bar concerning "coin sets that are rarely seen together", as everyone can instantly see myriads of coins on screen, and they are even always available for sale. In order to have an unique (or almost unique) collection, you have either to specialize strongly and inventively (interesting examples were given in the posts above) or to be a millionaire, or both.

For me, it is just that I like the look of a coin so much that I don't mind having more of it. For example, I love the 1954 - 1958 French 100 Francs. So, I have filled an album with those. I don't care if they never accrue any value beyond what I paid for them I just like them that much.

There are several other coins I feel that way about, but that was the first I thought about. I also have about a dozen of the Catherine the Great 5 Kopeks. I will probably buy more of those over time also, just because I think they are neat.

It's your collection. Collect what you like. Enjoy it. Just my two cents worth.

Personally, I collect what I want to collect. It's not about having a unique collection.

The Internet is actually a great tool to get a unique collection precisely because it facilitates the acquisition of the coins you really want. You want to collect coins depicting ships or trains? No problem. You want to collect unusual denominations? No problem. You want to collect Greek fractional silver from Kyzikos? No problem.

I find that the Internet is actually a great way not only to acquire new coins and compare prices, but also to learn about coins in the fastest possible way.

I collect by country, denomination, year, mint mark and variants, and have around 42.200 coins, all different. That's how I collect and that's it.

On the other hand I've absolute no wish to show my collection to anyone, since that's extremely boring in my view, even for a fellow collector, to a lay person, just forget it completely....

The only shows of my collection come through some of my graphics about variants, though a lot of those are also coming from other collectors and sources!

Цитата: "Sjoelund"​​On the other hand I've absolute no wish to show my collection to anyone, since that's extremely boring in my view, even for a fellow collector, to a lay person, just forget it completely....

​It is indeed amusing that you find it boring, given that other people, on the contrary, consider this activity a kind of entertainment.
Just to clarify your position: do you sometimes inspect (parts of) your collection for no good reason, just for the sake of seeing it? Or is that boring for you as well?

Цитата: "numinis"​

Цитата: "Sjoelund"​​On the other hand I've absolute no wish to show my collection to anyone, since that's extremely boring in my view, even for a fellow collector, to a lay person, just forget it completely....

​​It is indeed amusing that you find it boring, given that other people, on the contrary, consider this activity a kind of entertainment.
​Just to clarify your position: do you sometimes inspect (parts of) your collection for no good reason, just for the sake of seeing it? Or is that boring for you as well?

​I go back to inspect everytime somebody announces an eventual new variety or if I find a "new" coin, which looks "strange" to see if a new variety has come, otherwise never. I do go back to look at a single coins, if somebody asks me for images or measurements, that's the thing to do in a community, right?

i understand your point but for me, in defense, i like having a wide range of years and mints ( for example a complete set of Steel Cents). As well some years may be considered a key date or perhaps, in the of Carson City Dollars, rare mints.

Цитата: "numinis"​

Цитата: "Sjoelund"​​On the other hand I've absolute no wish to show my collection to anyone, since that's extremely boring in my view, even for a fellow collector, to a lay person, just forget it completely....

​​It is indeed amusing that you find it boring, given that other people, on the contrary, consider this activity a kind of entertainment.
​Just to clarify your position: do you sometimes inspect (parts of) your collection for no good reason, just for the sake of seeing it? Or is that boring for you as well?

​Do you mean there is a coin collection youtube channel or so like, some people show their coin collections and people will view for entertainment?
I guess that is a good way to enjoy your coin collection. I do participate in "addition to your collection" threads sometimes, in a similar mind.
Otherwise no one, not even my wife, knows what I have.

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"Otherwise no one, not even my wife, knows what I have.
​

​
[I posted it some time ago in another thread, but it seems so appropriate here...]

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight​"​​Do you mean there is a coin collection youtube channel or so like, some people show their coin collections and people will view for entertainment?
​

​I had in mind entertaining one's guests in real life, but the point applies to online communication as well. When people have similar collecting goals, it can be enjoyable to see and discuss each other's progress etc. But surprisingly some serious collectors here don't feel that way.

Цитата: "numinis"​

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight​"​​Do you mean there is a coin collection youtube channel or so like, some people show their coin collections and people will view for entertainment?
​​

​​I had in mind entertaining one's guests in real life, but the point applies to online communication as well. When people have similar collecting goals, it can be enjoyable to see and discuss each other's progress etc. But surprisingly some serious collectors here don't feel that way.

​You're wrong, that's not what I said. I'm not trying to show my collection to anybody, because that's a bore. On the other hand I discuss a lot about coins with other collectors and friends. I had a Brazilian coincollector visiting me in Paris a couple of years ago. I showed him, what a coin microscope can do and thus managed to identify a French "sous", which he took back with him. He never asked to see my Brazilian coins and I never offered to show them either. I also had an Indian coin friend here in Paris and we discussed the Indian coins he brought me and the French coins I gave him, but mostly we enjoyed a beer or two talking about living in another country, than where you were born and raised. He's now living in Canada and happy there.

Whenever I make a swap hand to hand in person, the talk is really never about specific coins, but how do you organize your doubles to find them "quickly", how do you organize your collection and in what, which tools do you use and what can be recommended, do you take photos of all your coins (why and why not), how do you organize and back-up your hard disk etc. etc.. Plenty of interesting themes related to the hobby, but to talk about a physical coin I don't do, if anything I document it, if it's a variety, and normally I then publish it numista. I'm not asocial at all, but my collection is according to my thoughts, which I don't try to impose on others.

There is one thing annoying me a lot, and that's all the questions about coins "need to ID this coin", since most of the people asking have not been doing any research or read at least our guidelines https://en.numista.com/forum/topic71935.html, before asking.

“And I never understood it. Why would I want basically the same coin a dozen times?”

You have asked a very good question, and on a forum where instead of getting beat up, you get another point of view that may be helpful.
Certainly you have been offered explanations as to why someone might want so many of the same coins, but this isn't the entire picture.
Sometimes there is a collection of coins that all appear the same to you, but each is different. And worthy of study and appreciation.

“I happened to talk to a collector who was interested only in a single type of silver denarius struck by Tiberius (ruled 14-37 CE). He was collecting every single variety, which are numerous because each die (obv. and rev.) is different.”

This man is operating in the spirit of a VAMmer. I do too. My favorite coin (a Morgan) has 69 official major variations. My first quest is to get one of each. Then to get the best one of each. If recall serves me correctly, the 1921 P has over 450 variations. Then there is a study of die states from new to worn. And states of degradation with cuds and breaks. And if you can acquire all of those then you might want to add many different types of toning. I'll not live long enough to do a thorough job.

“On the other hand, when they can be bought online in a day or two, and you are limited only by the size of your purse, then yes, it doesn't make much sense anymore (unless you enjoy shopping and hoarding).”
The purse is only half of the problem. (And it was a problem.) The other half is can you find it?
Some variations took me 8 years to find, all the time looking at blurry ebay photos.

Цитата: "Camerinvs"​

Цитата: "Mr. Midnight"Otherwise no one, not even my wife, knows what I have.
​​

​
​​
​[I posted it some time ago in another thread, but it seems so appropriate here...]

​bullseye.
And I deliberately dont know how much she spends on those Amaryllis bulbs...

Crass ignorance doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

Цитата: "Kurt53"My favorite coin (a Morgan) has 69 official major variations. My first quest is to get one of each. Then to get the best one of each. If recall serves me correctly, the 1921 P has over 450 variations. Then there is a study of die states from new to worn. And states of degradation with cuds and breaks. And if you can acquire all of those then you might want to add many different types of toning. I'll not live long enough to do thorough job.​

Sounds interesting! But here's a question (just to provoke some thoughts and certainly not to make fun of your noble endeavour): can you imagine someone who is looking for 450 variations and countless tonings of a coin which is affordable, say, for $0.01? Maybe part of the appeal in this case is related to the fact that the Morgan is not so cheap?

(For example, in the last years I have accumulated a box full of Irish 1 and 2 cents taken from circulation, but I don't bother to inspect their toning or other features. Should I do that? I don't even consider them as a part of my coin collection.)

Цитата: "Kurt53"​​The purse is only half of the problem. (And it was a problem.) The other half is can you find it?
​Some variations took me 8 years to find, all the time looking at blurry ebay photos.
​

​When you are able to make the pursuit interesting for yourself, surely it makes sense.
(In the previous posts I had in mind somewhat different cases: those year collectors who simply accumulate easy-to-find coins, relying on generic knowledge and don't understanding anything about variations.)

Personally, I was presented with several small collections of coins by my friends. They also got these coins from their relatives.

We still live in a free world, I think, and we're allowed to collect according to our own interests. I'm never going to say that anyone amongst you are not collecting correctly!

a riddle
Why the hell did I recently buy 6 times the same coin ?

I bet only a danish wise man might solve it

Because you wanted to, simple as that, je pense?

and you could!
you jump on your opportunities, or forever regret being slow or timorous that time.

Цитата: "Sjoelund"​We still live in a free world, I think, and we're allowed to collect according to our own interests. I'm never going to say that anyone amongst you are not collecting correctly!

this. mn pet af mneer!

correctly,
I hate that word.
I like to build model airplanes, and race on snowshoes, and finish antique furniture, and dance the hokey-pokey, but everywhere, in any the forums of that art, are those "correctly" people...

Цитата: "Sjoelund"​Because you wanted to, simple as that, je pense?

​Wrong answer
Only cause you told me I'll make millions with them

I collect because I think underneath I am a hoarder. I rationalize it in many other ways but I like stuff. As long as I have room for it I will be ok.

After searching enough world bulk, you get to the point where you will only find 10 new types in 10kg. Thats why I started collecting by date. Now I can continue collecting! 😁

Needless to say my 218 different English and Scottish shillings dating between 1551 and 1970 are probably not up the OP's wish list and we can make it 229 if we include the 11 x 5 new pence coins the same size and value as shillings issued between 1968 and 1989!

 

Only some of the coins which include upgrades and many coins not photoghraphed due to condition or bulk lot pieces.

 

Heres a sample of the similarity and both sides are shown here. Designs changed with monarch and type but size and weight were constant at 6.04 grams from 1502 to 1663, 6.01 grams 1664 - 1787 and 5.656 grams 1816 to 1989.

 

 

Just a few of the 200+ shilling coins, all different dates or types in my collection!

 

Yes us British coin collectors are a real bain for others with our big runs of Victoria coins and coins with a George on them. A CCF thread of a year each day backwards, saw us placing 9 weeks of Victoria coins and 4 weeks of George V coins. Even the American parade of Morgan dollars could not keep up (1936 was harrowing with the billion commem 50c they put out that year).

Moneytane

Needless to say my 218 different English and Scottish shillings dating between 1551 and 1970 are probably not up the OP's wish list and we can make it 229 if we include the 11 x 5 new pence coins the same size and value as shillings issued between 1968 and 1989!

 

Only some of the coins which include upgrades and many coins not photoghraphed due to condition or bulk lot pieces.

 

Heres a sample of the similarity and both sides are shown here. Designs changed with monarch and type but size and weight were constant at 6.04 grams from 1502 to 1663, 6.01 grams 1664 - 1787 and 5.656 grams 1816 to 1989.

 

 

Just a few of the 200+ shilling coins, all different dates or types in my collection!

 

Yes us British coin collectors are a real bain for others with our big runs of Victoria coins and coins with a George on them. A CCF thread of a year each day backwards, saw us placing 9 weeks of Victoria coins and 4 weeks of George V coins. Even the American parade of Morgan dollars could not keep up (1936 was harrowing with the billion commem 50c they put out that year).

Amazing! 😍 😍

Thanks, its my passion - I have these for most of my main coin collections, but chose shillings as they have the longest continuous sequence and I have the most of them. These coins are as important as any, being similar in value to an American quarter (Slight more than a shilling) and the old LMU units like Franc, Mark, Lira, Peseta etc (Shillings worth a bit more).

 

Those images did not show every coin and I have shilling collections of New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, South Africa as well.

 

I also have lots of American coins too - but bear in mind, most of them are base metal after 1964.

Amazing! 😍 😍

- I agree! It's very admirable how you get so many varieties. Fantastic images & I believe a lot of us admire your passion @Moneytane ! 

Everyone collects differently, some people collect one of each type, some people like to collect every different date of a type, some people go even further and collect all the different varieties/errors/etc of a coin.  You don't need to understand it, just collect the way you want to collect, and let other people collect the way they want to collect.

Everyone collects differently, some people collect one of each type, some people like to collect every different date of a type, some people go even further and collect all the different varieties/errors/etc…

I completely agree & it is one of the wonderful things about this hobby: it really highlights human diversity (all of our varied interests)! Diversity is what makes life so interesting (IMO).  I may like to collect certain varieties (replacements/test notes/special serials, etc) but I would never expected others to be exactly the same. One of my biggest challenges is to stick to some of these things I like b/c I also find myself going astray with other tangents (because there's just so many different types of banknotes & so many rabbit holes!)

 

Here's a thread on a chap who collects by the nearly invisible banknote position numbers on the most common Bank of Canada Commemorative 1867-1967 (no serial #) $1.00 banknote. Although I would never do this, I find it fascinating & would love to see that set complete.

Moneytane

Needless to say my 218 different English and Scottish shillings dating between 1551 and 1970 are probably not up the OP's wish list and we can make it 229 if we include the 11 x 5 new pence coins the same size and value as shillings issued between 1968 and 1989!

 

Only some of the coins which include upgrades and many coins not photoghraphed due to condition or bulk lot pieces.

 

Heres a sample of the similarity and both sides are shown here. Designs changed with monarch and type but size and weight were constant at 6.04 grams from 1502 to 1663, 6.01 grams 1664 - 1787 and 5.656 grams 1816 to 1989.

 

 

Just a few of the 200+ shilling coins, all different dates or types in my collection!

 

Yes us British coin collectors are a real bain for others with our big runs of Victoria coins and coins with a George on them. A CCF thread of a year each day backwards, saw us placing 9 weeks of Victoria coins and 4 weeks of George V coins. Even the American parade of Morgan dollars could not keep up (1936 was harrowing with the billion commem 50c they put out that year).

Nor my complete date runs of the silver Swiss franc coins - 57 half francs, 54 1 francs and 48 2 francs, all identical coins except for the date. 

I wish I had scrupulously photographed them all, as you have done with the shillings, Id like to be able to view them all at once like that.

Mr. Midnight

Moneytane

Needless to say my 218 different English and Scottish shillings dating between 1551 and 1970 are probably not up the OP's wish list and we can make it 229 if we include the 11 x 5 new pence coins the same size and value as shillings issued between 1968 and 1989!

 

Only some of the coins which include upgrades and many coins not photoghraphed due to condition or bulk lot pieces.

 

Heres a sample of the similarity and both sides are shown here. Designs changed with monarch and type but size and weight were constant at 6.04 grams from 1502 to 1663, 6.01 grams 1664 - 1787 and 5.656 grams 1816 to 1989.

 

 

Just a few of the 200+ shilling coins, all different dates or types in my collection!

 

Yes us British coin collectors are a real bain for others with our big runs of Victoria coins and coins with a George on them. A CCF thread of a year each day backwards, saw us placing 9 weeks of Victoria coins and 4 weeks of George V coins. Even the American parade of Morgan dollars could not keep up (1936 was harrowing with the billion commem 50c they put out that year).

Nor my complete date runs of the silver Swiss franc coins - 57 half francs, 54 1 francs and 48 2 francs, all identical coins except for the date. 

I wish I had scrupulously photographed them all, as you have done with the shillings, Id like to be able to view them all at once like that.

 

Thats only some of them, some I take photos 0f, others are dealer photos from the auction and you see differing backgrounds for each coin, as it dates anytime from 2019 to 2025. I tried to unify the file names, but its hard - especially with upgrades and Microsoft does the “Do you want to change it to 1825 sh(2) as there is already an image 1825 sh2” etc. You have to have a mega memory with computers now, not everyone is 13 year old whizz kid.

I just bought 22 Swiss rappen coins, mostly 20s, all hole fillers. I am getting close to complete date sets of all denominations, 1850-1982. 

All the same! its something to behold. I will get photographing soon.

I don’t collect dates of a coin, but some coins I always buy, especially if they are older copper or bronze, Austrian Hellers, Swiss Rappens, British Farthings - all very plentiful, cheapish but most of all so much more beautiful than copper nickel coins of the same era.

 

 

I also have a love for low value aluminium coins as well, in AU and up they can look as good as silver coins. I have lots, why? Because I love coins!

I used to always buy the tough year (or signature) of a tougher banknote. However, recently, I have noticed that even the easy year (or easy variety) has shot up in BV or market value recently. I have actually bought a few of the easy versions of a few older banknotes & have discovered that the easy versions have gone up in value too! 

Sometimes it's because I love the coin and it's design ,other times it's down to hoarding I suppose. I don't collect most coins by year but naturally I collect my own countries coins by year because of their easy availability. However the original poster of this topic is German and I do collect Federal Republic of Germany Pfennigs and Deutschemarks by year and mintmark. Mainly because I like the simple designs and also because of their common availability on the market though I understand the original poster would not appreciate that. Yes it can be boring for collectors that don't collect by that method but sometimes wanting to complete the collection overlaps that boredom. And I will admit I still haven't completed any German pfennigs denominations by year and mintmark though it would probably be alot easier to do with the lower denominations rather than the higher value marks that are still exchangable to Euros as far as I know and more of those higher value coins would've been exchanged leaving the pfennigs easier to complete as a collection .

I like the DM coins too. I am only collecting the silver 5DM, KM#112 1951-1974. If you include the “no edge inscription” variants, there are 96 different ones to collect. I have 33.  I also have 16 of the 28 different commemoratives issued in those years. probobly I will never complete this collection.

Mr. Midnight

I like the DM coins too. I am only collecting the silver 5DM, KM#112 1951-1974. If you include the “no edge inscription” variants, there are 96 different ones to collect. I have 33.  I also have 16 of the 28 different commemoratives issued in those years. probobly I will never complete this collection.

 

I have a few of the 1951-1974 5DM and some of the 28 commemoratives you mention. It's a tough collection to complete as you know and pricey these days. Does make me happy when finding a nice lot of the regular 1,2 and 5 DM coins for less than face value or around that though on ebay. Always happy to add them to the collection. There's always people having a clear out and sometimes bargains can be had. One mans rubbish (garbage for you Americans) is another man's treasure. As the saying goes.

Camerinvs


Here are a couple of trays for Newfoundland:

This is by far the most aesthetically pleasing coin display I have seen. I will copy this. 

Thanks! Happy that you like it!

It looks like you have most, if not all dates of Newfoundland on it too, including the super $2 gold coin - fantastic stuff.

Thanks much, Moneytane — In the tray is the 1882H gold $2. Since then I added the first year in the set, i.e. 1865. Given the current price of gold, I regret not having completed the set back then, in the late 2010s–early 2020s… I've also added a 1873H 5 cents, holed but scarce.

 

I am now moving to a new system of organizing my collection, into year sets. So, it still falls under the general category of reigns first (or “portrait first” for Elizabeth), but inside each reign I organize coins as year sets.

Show us a picture?

I will as soon as I have actually reorganized everything. First I'm reformatting my Excel checklist to be on the same model.

 

I'm likely to keep the cabinet only for ancient coins and move to albums for my Canadian collection, but definitely not the 2X2 flips in pages of 20. It will look very similar to what you see in the trays but by year sets and with accompanying descriptions.

Added a few of the scrawny eagle silver five DM coins to this collection. 

Both from Hamburg mint. 1974 was the last year of silver in BRD coinage.

I now have 33 of these, all identical but for date and mint mark, and subtle toning colors. 63 more to compete the set.🤔

Makes sense as 1975 was the first year of the muck metal coin

 

Did those 74s actually circulate or were they just like set coins.