Coin collecting, like any other collection type of hobbies require long term commitment and dedication in maintaining the collection and sourcing for new ones. Most people have this hobby during childhood but dropped it after reaching adulthood. The reason behind this varies.
The modern world has provided us with various kind of entertainment that have a direct impact on our lives. A hobby that seems too long to reap its benefits will be dropped while one that provides immediate rewards is preferred. This is very human indeed. However, one must remember that long term commitment and dedication pays better returns in the long run. This is also very true in personal relationship and in life as a whole.
Coin Collecting is for you if you have the following key elements for the hobby:
1. Do I have the patience and commitment to learn and amass a deeper and passionate knowledge about the subject matter - coins? They say, knowledge is power. How very true. It allows you to select good bargains and smell bad ones. A knowledgable investor/collector will always be triumphant in the long run. Knowledge is the basic underlying tool in selecting any kind of investments and to have the patience and commitment in your quest for acquiring the knowledge is very important.
2. Do I have the funds necessary to build up a collection and have the holding capacity needed to finance this long term investments and meet my living expenses at the same time? Rare coins are not that liquid. If the coins are made of precious metal that it may have better liquidity potential but you may not have the premium that you are looking for. Rare coins are non-income generating assets; thus, it should not be viewed as savings which you can dig into when in times of need.
3. Do I appreciate the art of numistmatism? Do I have an emotional attachment to this hobby? Do I have interest in something rare, antique, beautiful, valuable and investable? For me, interest in the subject matter is the key element of it all.
Although the above key elements of coin collecting are crucial to ensure a rewarding collection, it is not my intention to scare potential collectors from this hobby. As I mentioned earlier in this web page, " long term commitments pay better returns in the long run". One should start improving any of the above elements which he/she is lacking. If item 2 above is a problem, then be like me. Build your collection slowly over the years, preferably you should start young. Don't overcommit yourself and look for good bargains only. Start with the not so expensive ones. Granted, it is not easy to find bargains these days and that you may get con in the process of doing so. Well to be played-out is part and parcel of life. I've learned that. But you will come out of it bolder, wiser and this will add to your knowledge which even the best of universities can never teach you.
SO HOW DO I START?
Start improvising on how to galvanise the above elements, mobilise them coherently, and organised them according to strength and priority. Then focus on your goal and strategize your endeavor. A friend wrote in his weekly page which he posted to few select friends. ( I was lucky to be included). He wrote:- people should adopt the chess players' attitude in their approach to life : plan ahead before every move. "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I like that one. Another quote which I read somewhere said: " You have no control over your past but you can control your future." Lastly, I would like to part this section by saying this famous quote: "If you think something is real, it is real in its consequences." Sadly, I could not remember who coined all these quotes. My apologies. How very human and how very true indeed. (STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
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