There are many reasons to collect. These five are commonly reported. Of them, which do you rank at the top??

I went with pride of ownership. The others factor in but are not the main reason I collect. Owning a coin that is 10x's older then myself and still looking like it was minted a week ago is awesome. Pride of ownership kind of brings beauty of coin designs, historical aspects, and the thrill of completing a set together. I'm proud of a beautiful coin, one that could have been handled by kings, and completing a set.

I went with pride of ownership. All those other things come into play but not if I don't own the coin. ie.....

This is a beautiful coin, Im sure glad I own it!

What a great coin, could have been carried by a soldier in the civil war. Im glad I own it.

I just completed my set of Unc Jefferson Nickels. Im gonna show all my friends that I own this wonderful set.

I bought this coin for $1 and now its worth $10. Im glad I own it.

Most probably historical aspects. I could have voted for "thrill of completing a set" but then, what exactly a set could consist of? I could make up a random set, but then, I fill unsatisfied if there were other sets to fill up.

I voted for Pride of Ownership , but it's really "all of the above except #5"

1) Historical Aspect- It is entertaining, at least for me to learn all that I can from the period each coin was minted.

2) Beauty- I have, like I suspose everybody has, bought coins just on the appearance. Some coins are just irresistable if affordable.

I like fine art and history

Like most of us I could have voted for any of these depending on my mood. But my primary interest is and always has been historical.

Since I can only choose one. Historical aspects is the winner for me. I love to think of the places a coin has been and who may have used it. I sort of build a little scenario to go with each coin.

Sometimes this requires a little research - that's fun too.

I completely second that!!

For me it is mostly history and beauty - not always in that order. Completing a set is not a must, but if I get close to having a complete set, I may well buy the missing piece for only that reason. Profit? No, I do not consider my collection an investment. But if I have the impression that a coin I am interested in can be had cheaper if I wait a little, I can wait. (Or rather, reason and budget sometimes win over that must-have impulse. )

Christian

I go for history. Some of the coins I collect do fit the beauty category. Others, well lets just say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and history always helps. I lost interest in completing sets years ago, but I always seem to gravitate towards completing something, I just define things by categories other than runs of dates and mint marks. I've made a profit or two at times, but mostly I turn a collection over to pursue a new interest. I've sold some very rare coins in the past (not US) that weren't worth that much because the market was so small only to see the market take off. Sometimes I kick myself today, but I've always had fun and I've always turned the sale into something else I enjoy.

I do like to show off my coins.

Bill

History, and artisitic merit.

1-4 in varying degrees plus acquiring knowledge cover most of it for me but the historical aspect is what I voted for.

I'll third this

I voted for Historical aspects. You learn something new with every coin and even if you part with the coin, knowledge remains with you.

I was thinking it was a toss up between one and two. But then I see myself looking at 6th century Byzantine bronze and gold and some Lombard silver and I guess #1 would be a hard sell to a lot of people.

I'll fourth that.

(Can I do that?)

you just did

I like old stuff.

All three of the following are equally responsible for my addiction to coins:

Beauty of coin designs
Historical aspects
Pride of ownership

But since I could only vote for one, I voted for Historical Aspects. Coins to me are tangible pieces of history that, if they could talk, would have some wonderful stories to tell. Of course if one day they DID talk, I would have to look for a new hobby.

Historical aspects and beauty of coin designs are the most important thing for me when i buy,sell or trade a coin

I really cannot bring myself to choosing just one, because each one perfectly describes a certain portion of my collecting habits. Certain coins I collect purely for what I see as artisitic appeal; others are simply to help me complete a set; certain coins for their history or the history they represent; while some I just get for the vain reason "now I have a scarce coin in great condition" (which I would put in the Pride of Ownership category); and on occasion I do pick up a coin and/or coin set for potential profit -usually moderns. So I will have to leave this one as a non-vote, because I really do not have one dominant force driving my collecting habits.

I got these reasons from the forward of a new book that I am reading. The forward was written by Kenneth E. Bressett, Redbook editor. The book is, "The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins" by Q. David Bowers.

When I read these reasons, I had to give some thought to the issue. Like many other responders have noted, these "reasons" are not independent of each other. For example, it is important to me that I finish a set - and that is part of the pride in ownership reason.

Best I could do is a distribution like this:
[center]

[/center]

I am going to keep this around and see if my reasons change with time.

I can't pin it down. I just love coins. It's that simple.

Me, too, what Tiffibunny said!

Many factors come into play, and I settled on PROFIT as being the essential one for me. Numismatics is the study of MONEY. Money represents the rise of civilization.
""So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Aconia. "Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?" (from http://jim.com/money.htm)

If it were just the history, I would collect something else. I do collect other historical artifacts, but they are not numismatic objects: first edition science fiction, sliderules, pens, postcards, stamps, coffee cups.

However, "profit" for me does not mean increasing my own cash holdings by buying and selling objects. For me, the "profit" derives from two motivations.

1. Securing savings, different from cash savings and other investments. In other words, of all the things I own -- tons of books, some nominally rare; a 1990 Camry; etc. -- the numismatic items are the most liquid. A balanced portfolio includes things like this and for other people that might mean fine art, or antiques, or jewelry. I know people who have extra airplanes. It just depends on where your interests are.

2. I tend to buy items that I write about. The profit comes from the income generated by the work I do in the hobby.

I'd have to agree with you Michael. I hate it when people say 'money is the root of all evil', firstly 'evil' is a word that is much over used. Money is not the problem, human beings are the problem and not because humans are evil either, humans are generally greedy, greed is not evil though.

Primarily i collect coins because i like history and old things, this explains why coins aren't the be and end all for me. I take time away from them to concentrate on my other hobbies and interests, which generally involves old things.

I tend to use coins though less for profit and more for a means of escapism, that's why i buy coins for fun and my own amusement with little care about how much it's going to retail at in the future.

I can't say i do this with my other collections though, my model railway collection is more of an 'investment' these days than something i do for fun. I recently acquired one model with an issue of 300, cost me a fortune but they are highly sought after. So with that collection it's pride of ownership and investment rather than for merely history of fun.

I do all the things in the initial poll but i only do certain ones with certain collections!

I cannot think of anything that represents history better than a well circulated coin. They interact with time and distance and affect people in a way that few things do.

For example, from your listing, the only thing that comes close is stamps...and they only go from point A to point B once and are typically only ever affect 2 people...the sender and the receiver.

Maybe collecting passenger airplanes might surpass coins for time, distance, and people but they take up a bit more storage room.

For me it was obvious that it had to either be pride of ownership or history. I finally went with history because although I am very proud of the coins I own, the reason I collect the specific series that I do is because of their history.

I see your point. Numismatic items ("coins") are very public and social artifacts. The others are personal tools. As you say, even stamps connect only two people and are used only once, whereas coins pass from hand to hand, time and time again. Money objects must speak a common language -- often via symbols, rather than words -- in a way that few other artifacts must.

I dunno i'd say letters/diaries/journals were the ultimate form of collecting history. Personal and express feelings and opinions.

Sure wish I could use Urimm and Thurimm and get my coins to talk to me about where they have been, the time that Archimedes pondered why they hadn't lopped off the casting spur on this:



I just know that Archimedes had this coin briefly and thought about it. Just wish the coin would tell me so.

"Ultimate" is such a strong word. History is the record that people leave behind -- otherwise it is "natural history." People are individuals. So, yes, diaries, letters, etc., reveal history at the atomic level. For me, that is part of the attraction in checks and drafts. Each one is a specific transaction, a record of a time and place.

In my aviation collectibles, I have postcards. At first, my interest was only in the picture of the aircraft -- Eastern Airlines Lockheed Constellation. In numismatics, we go for "uncirculated" so my first attraction was for unused postcards. Then, I ran into reproductions. In the absence of a copyright or other telltale, a genuine postcard is one that is written on, addressed, stamped, and cancelled. Actually reading the postcards, opens up little windows on the lives of the people who sent or received them.

Stock certificates are also one-time transactions that record a time, a place, and two (or a few) people. I find the endorsements as interesting as the vignettes. Different American states have different laws about the property of married people and sometimes those limitations are stamped on the paper. You see a stack of these things in the name of the same couple across a range of historic blue chips and you have to wonder what life was like for Mr. and Mrs.

That is another good thing about coins, imagination can play a part in your collectng. Who used it? What does it say about the people who issued it? Where and when did it get used and by who? Etc.

Also, gaining new knowledge, etc, of course. Collecting coins touches on a lot of subjects...history, geography, politics, science, sociology, economics and on and on. Think of some of the articles you have read relating to coins and people can approach it from many, many angles.

Not quite the path I was exploring as I was going for the object itself experiencing history. Collecting history books would probably fit well in the type of thing you are talking about.

Ah history books i have alot of... some quite old.

I have been researching the "wildcat" era of American banking. It is interesting to read a book published in the late 19th century about banking and not find any reference to a Panic that everyone now agrees on.

We fail to appreciate the fact that to someone who lived through Black Friday, any claim of a previous Panic is accepted as fact. Consequently, that assertion gets written as fact and is quoted and cited ... yet no one actually goes back to check if there was, indeed, a Panic anywhere but on column 5 of the bottom half of page 1 of a now-defunct New York newspaper.

Sometimes, I feel like Winston Smith.

What you write is too true. On occasion, rare occasion, I follow the footnotes of a text back to sources cited. I am almost always astonished at how differently I interpret the primary source contrasted to the author's interpretation.

Reading contemporaneous accounts is the best way to get information when they are available. No book will give one the flavor of the United States relationship with Native Americans the way a small stack of Midwestern newspapers from 1860's can.

Umm... All of the above in different weights. But I like the challene of completing sets!

How about just enjoy it?

I collect mainly for the beauty, or eye appeal, of the coins in my collection. It is nice to own something that I enjoy looking at over and over again.

I didn't vote. To many items left out. For instance "compulsive coin collector", "just a anything collector", "something to do if retired" and a few others. With me it's the above three.

1 and 2 for me but I guess the designs beat the other by just a bit

But WHY do you enjoy it? That's probably what the poll was axing.

Oh I enjoy it I understand though the poll was asking WHY do I enjoy it...and the reasons are many...in the end though...like my wife says..I probably enjoy it because there is something wrong with my brain that drives me to spend money on money

I mostly collect coins for there artisitic merit.

Why I enjoy it? All of the above + some of the reasons listed. Plus keeps my hands and mind busy. Met some new friends. I enjoy the research involved, The idea of who they were held by, etc. The list goes on.

Related to what I posted recently.








bump