|
Below, you'll find extensive information
on leading coin collector articles and products to
help you in your quest for knowledge...
Coins, Paper Money, Or Stamps?
By Gary Anthony Lacey
What should you collect as a hobby; coins, paper money, or stamps?
Which will be the best investment?
It’s amusing that some people who collect coins, paper money, or stamps, always want some sort of "return". These same people think nothing of buying a new car for $20,000 and selling it three years later for $5,000. A new car loses value as soon as you drive it on the road!
As far as investment in paper money in general, I would not consider it. If someone is buying notes and thinking how much will they be able to get when they sell it again, this person has the wrong hobby. Enjoy collecting for the pleasure and for the beauty of the notes as well as for the fun of it.
Coins and stamps are tangible reminders of years gone by. Yet, while coin collecting is flourishing as a hobby, stamp collecting has gone by the wayside. Many families who inherit stamp collections are more interested in getting the collection appraised than continuing the tradition. You can’t collect something if you don’t know what it is.
Stamp collecting dates back to 1840, when the first stamp was issued in England. One of the earliest indications of stamp collecting is an advertisement from an English newspaper in which a young woman sought used stamps as a way to wallpaper her room. Soon, post offices discovered stamp collectors as good sources of revenue. From there, an unprecedented surge began.
There are no rules about stamp collecting. Some people collect stamps from a certain country while others focus on a particular topic, such as flowers, ships or buildings.
Unfortunately, stamp collecting has simply lost its appeal to younger people.
Coin collecting, on the other hand, is at its peak popularity. Rare or modern offer history that collectors can hold in their hand, and every period during the past 2,500 years is reflected in coinage.
Stamps disappear and become part of the ground. A coin can be dug up and, while new varieties of stamps are not really being discovered, new types of from all over the world are still being found. How many stamps or bank notes do you think you’ll find while exploring
Area club gathers, sells, hoards coinage - Twin Falls Times-News
Often called the hobby of kings, coin collecting is gathering momentum in the Magic Valley. Coin collectors buy, trade, sell and sometimes hoard all types of coins from the multi-million-dollar 1804 silver dollar to the recently issued and widely ...
Hawaii coin ends popular state quarter program - AZCentral.com
NEW YORK - With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year state quarter program full of fond family memories and a fun dose of history. While not terribly rare ...
Consumers getting the right Vibe from Pontiac - Scott Wasser WHEELS - Times-Leader
My wife, Ronda, has a new hobby. Over the past year or so, she has become what I call a ?gastrackologist.? Unlike coin collecting, hunting, and other activities people enjoy, Ronda?s hobby doesn?t require expensive gear, hours of free time or ...
Nearing end, quarter program pays off in big way - Detroit Free Press
With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year state quarter program. While not terribly rare, considering that about 34 billion were produced, the commemorative quarters ...
Coin collectors, dealers to gather at BV - Ottumwa Courier
OTTUMWA ? If you?re looking for some spare change, you might want to make your way to Bridge View Center this weekend. The 70th annual Iowa Numismatic Association?s Coin Show and Convention gets under way Saturday and Sunday. The show brings ...
Hawaii coin brings popular state quarter program to an end - Austin American-Statesman
NEW YORK ? With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year state quarter program full of fond family memories and a dose of history. Though not terribly rare, considering ...
Farewell state quarters - Montana Standard
Ted Miller, 7, left, and brother Grey Miller, 10, right, hold quarters from their state quarter collection. NEW YORK ? With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year ...
NEVADAN AT WORK: Putting a stamp on Las Vegas Collection shop open for ... - Las Vegas Review Journal
Ruth Hilliard, who opened Charleston Stamps in 1984, says a wide range of people in Las Vegas make collecting stamps a hobby. Some people map out a career course and follow it the rest of their lives. Some people find their passion along the way. And ...
ALOHA: Hawaii coin ends popular state quarter program - Times & Democrat
NEW YORK -- With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year state quarter program full of fond family memories and a fun dose of history. While not terribly rare ...
Hawaii coin ends popular state commemorative quarter program - Courier-Post
With a big aloha to Hawaii, a new generation of coin collectors will soon shut their books on the U.S. Mint's popular 10-year state quarter program full of fond family memories and a fun dose of history. While not terribly rare, considering about 34 ...
with a metal detector?
Whilst improperly stored can degrade and lessen in value, paper money can be damaged by handling, sunlight, or water. All are subject to flood, fire, or other natural catastrophe.
A stock certificate with half of it burned away is just as good as a mint one in terms of its value on the exchange. In fact, as long as ownership can be proven, it often doesn't even matter if the physical certificate exists. The same can’t be said for paper money.
You can insure against these problems, and go to great lengths to assure proper storage conditions, but all of this costs money and adds to the cost of the investment, often for many years before there is going to be any return at all.
Today, coin collecting is one of the world’s most popular hobbies. Amateur collectors enjoy for their beauty, rarity and the stories behind them. Added to this is the excitement of searching for and finding specific and the challenge of identifying unfamiliar items.
Why is coin collecting thriving and stamp collecting dying? Coins are still being used and are still fascinating. It is an investment as well as a hobby. Coins continue to go up in value while many stamps are at the peak value they will ever receive. Furthermore, many are going down in value.
Enjoy your hobby, and consider whatever you invest in it to be pleasure money, the same way you would count money you spent going to ball games, or dining out, or buying new clothes. Then, whatever you or your family get out of your collection is pure profit, whether it is more or less than what you originally paid.
After all, if you spend $20 a week going to the movies, you don't expect to get anything for your $1,000 a year collection of ticket stubs, do you?
I believe there is room in both the collecting of and paper money for both collectors and investors.
The important thing to remember in investing in or banknotes is rarity and desirability.
So I believe there can be a case made that both collecting and investing in banknotes and are valid, and valuable activities.
You can find out more about collecting gold coins at Gary Anthony Lacey's Coins Online web site.
|