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Poll

Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?

I have increased my buying
13 (18.6%)
I have not changed my buying habits
28 (40%)
I am buying as usual, but only good deals
13 (18.6%)
I have greatly reduced my buying
11 (15.7%)
I stopped buying coins
5 (7.1%)

Total Members Voted: 55

Voting closed: October 18, 2008, 03:01:53 pm

Author Topic: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?  (Read 25358 times)

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Offline Arminius

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #50 on: December 18, 2008, 06:10:18 pm »
Jochen,

that firm building reminds me to those money safes of Scrooge McDuck:



I hope you will enjoy your daily bathes in provincials for many years.

A.

Offline Akropolis

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #51 on: December 18, 2008, 06:28:07 pm »
WOW! A palace!
Congratulations on your retirement!
I bet your days will be busy from morning to night!
PeteB

Offline Jochen

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #52 on: December 18, 2008, 06:29:41 pm »
Thanks. This residence was built by Paul von Mauser, the man of the famous guns.

Best regards

Offline slokind

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #53 on: December 18, 2008, 10:27:18 pm »
Jochen, what a beautiful home.  It has style, proportions, and (I'm sure) great materials and solid construction.  It will be a worthy domicile for your collection as well as your family.  For the sake of all retired person, I only hope that the banking industry has not been so profoundly stupid and unprincipled as to undermine all our well considered plans and hard work.
Pat L.

Offline *Alex

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #54 on: December 20, 2008, 08:08:30 pm »
Jochen, what a beautiful home.  It has style, proportions, and (I'm sure) great materials and solid construction.  It will be a worthy domicile for your collection as well as your family.  For the sake of all retired person, I only hope that the banking industry has not been so profoundly stupid and unprincipled as to undermine all our well considered plans and hard work.
Pat L.

Yes, Jochen, it is a very attractive house and I wish you a long and healthy life to live in it.

As for the recession, my own retirement income is enough to pay the bills at present. However my spending power has been adversely affected, it is not only that the ever increasing energy prices are of concern to me but, as a direct result of this crisis, my eldest daughter has been paid off and my son's income substantially reduced so I am obviously trying to give them all the help that I can.

Alex.

Offline Noah

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #55 on: December 21, 2008, 12:05:53 pm »
Superb home Jochen!  Well, my buying has come to a halt, insofar as to my needing to sell some of my collection to save funds in case of a further plunge of the economy.  I actually am having Joe sell some for me.  The ones currently in my gallery are the ones I plan on keeping regardless of how bad things get.  I will resume buying when I can...a little at a time.

Best, Noah

Offline Joe Sermarini

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #56 on: March 19, 2009, 12:28:00 pm »
Up until January, I thought perhaps ancient coins were exempt from the economic downturn.  February was down 50% from January.  It appears March will be the worst month since July 2005 and the the worst March since near the Forum's beginning.  Sales are down 85% from what they were in January.  This will likely be the first month in our entire history with a loss, instead of a profit.  Forum will survive, but I sure hope things get better soon.   
Joseph Sermarini
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Offline xintaris75

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #57 on: March 19, 2009, 12:51:26 pm »
Many people now haven't money for buying coins. But another part of people now seeking for alternative instruments of investment, because gyper-inflation can be reality at short future.
I think, it be fall at spring, but this summer-autumn would be "hot".
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Offline Jay GT4

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #58 on: March 19, 2009, 05:35:58 pm »
At a recent coin show nobody was selling gold coins of any kind!  I overheard quite a few saying they were hoarding gold because the price was so unstable.  There are many deals out there to be had if you are buying.  Many sellers just want to dump what they have had lying around for a while.  Joe I hope things pick up.  I browse your catalog everyday, just waiting for something to pull the trigger on again.  I was very pleased with my last Nero!

Offline slokind

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #59 on: March 19, 2009, 06:05:40 pm »
I, too, browse Forvm and found something irresistible today.
But I think that as a retired educator I belong to a class that has always been The Respectable Poor*.  This seems to be just as true, so far, in this recession as it was in the 1930s for my grandparents, irrespective of whether one is a Normal School graduate retired from the Public Schools or a PhD retired from a "flagship" state university.  Not to complain, so long as my state did not invest too stupidly.  Librarians belong to the same socio-economic class.  It is a class that typically avoids both Las Vegas and Wall Street, and only drools over pages of featured coins.  Pat L.
*The Victorian term is Genteel Poverty, but I didn't want to use it, even though admitting that non-Grants-getting academics are socio-economically the late 20c equivalent to governesses.

Offline Joe Sermarini

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #60 on: March 20, 2009, 11:39:23 pm »
Yesterday and today were much better.  Perhaps a few folks read the post above and decided to take a look and see if there was something in the catalog they NEEDED.  :)
Joseph Sermarini
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Offline Raymond

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #61 on: March 26, 2009, 07:28:18 pm »
the exchange rate for the Can $ is just prohibitive these days :'(
Raymond
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Offline Barabus

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #62 on: March 30, 2009, 08:23:27 pm »
  Well,Ive been trying to collect ancient now for about three years on a very limited income.When I first started collecting I went with uncleaned coins.I could buy uncleaned large coins cheaply.I bought coins from a guy like tatercat,not the best coins,but they were cheap ex 17 coins for 25 dollars,but the prices went up fast.I recently bought 50 ancients for $75.What a joke 4 coins were all I kept with the rest being broken,worn and searched(the dealer said this wouldn't happen).So with the price going up and the economy going down,I am so discouraged that I am ready to quit.I can't afford coins from dealers like Diana,who has nice coins,but very pricey!
  I know,poor peon trying to be like the rich folks.Collecting is for the rich and elite.Not really I have enjoyed this site and the few uncleaned coins that were a surprise and really nice,but the averages that prove that my efforts were futile and repressive can't be ignored.
   I do appreciate the help that a lot of members have given me,but I guess I'll be going back to American coins.

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Offline Akropolis

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #63 on: March 30, 2009, 08:46:39 pm »
....It appears March will be the worst month since July 2005 and the the worst March since near the Forum's beginning.....

And the Baltimore coin show this past weekend positively confirmed Joe's observation.
PeteB

Offline Jay GT4

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #64 on: March 30, 2009, 11:21:42 pm »
  Well,Ive been trying to collect ancient now for about three years on a very limited income.When I first started collecting I went with uncleaned coins.I could buy uncleaned large coins cheaply.I bought coins from a guy like tatercat,not the best coins,but they were cheap ex 17 coins for 25 dollars,but the prices went up fast.I recently bought 50 ancients for $75.What a joke 4 coins were all I kept with the rest being broken,worn and searched(the dealer said this wouldn't happen).So with the price going up and the economy going down,I am so discouraged that I am ready to quit.I can't afford coins from dealers like Diana,who has nice coins,but very pricey!
  I know,poor peon trying to be like the rich folks.Collecting is for the rich and elite.Not really I have enjoyed this site and the few uncleaned coins that were a surprise and really nice,but the averages that prove that my efforts were futile and repressive can't be ignored.
   I do appreciate the help that a lot of members have given me,but I guess I'll be going back to American coins.

                                                                                   Goodbye

Sorry to hear that, but for me the fun is in searching for the deal.  I too started with uncleaned lots and low grade coins but I'm not interested in the late empire.  Finding decent examples of Republic and early Imperial coins is tough but it can be done.  Some advice I got from Salem (which I've posted before) better to buy 1 good coin then 10 that are junk.  In other words each time you have the urge to spend $50 on a lot of uncleaned, buy a denarius or a really nice late Follis.  I've taken that to heart and have a decent collection of Republics, Mark Antony's and early Imperial with a few late empire thrown in.  Sometimes you find Vcoin dealers who have rediculous sales (right now one has a 50% off sale!).   Joe's ebay sales are great (Got a nero temple of Janus as for a great price!) and even his pick bin and bulk lots are a bargain (Nero tet's comes to mind).  It is possible to put together a nice collection on limited funds.

Pseudolous

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #65 on: March 31, 2009, 06:48:25 am »
What I see in several related collecting areas as well as ancients is that the market for "routine" material is substantially off while the best items in whatever category bring ever-higher prices. The buyers at the lower price points are most affected and the dealers are selecting items to purchase that they are sure they can sell either becuase of absolute rarity or because of condition rarity. The collectors at higher price points will continuue to add pieces that might only come up at rare intervals and many feel that owning collectible assets is a better way to preserve wealth.

Also, typically people buying at lower price points are more likely to bail out on their purchases if they run short on cash which tends to flood the market with low end goods. That is what I have seen ....

Offline Frans Diederik

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #66 on: April 03, 2009, 08:56:18 am »
This is exactly my observation at the moment: extra low prices at the low end of quality and even higher prices at the top!
I have been unsuccessful at buying coins as they went at unexpected heights.


Frans

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #67 on: April 03, 2009, 11:09:54 am »
This is exactly my observation at the moment: extra low prices at the low end of quality and even higher prices at the top!
I have been unsuccessful at buying coins as they went at unexpected heights.


Frans

We'll see if you are right (I think you are) as I am listing 4 of my top coins next week.  The trend has been that the best coins are still getting top dollar.

Offline Gilgamesh

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #68 on: April 06, 2009, 11:23:26 pm »
I live on the interest on a fixed sum and with interest rates dropping, so is my income. It means I have very little income, but, I have arranged things so that I mostly only need the income for important things - COINS!

It does mean I have to buy less though, so I am more choosy.
Every day I know less and less about more and more. Soon I expect to know nothing about everything.

loveandpolitics

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #69 on: April 27, 2009, 07:50:12 am »
I discovered to my delight that certain coins books are being sold at massive discount! So the economy may have hurt my coin purchases, but I'm turning adversity into opportunity.

Offline xintaris75

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #70 on: May 07, 2009, 09:04:18 am »
If i'm not mistaked, a market have new record at Greek coins:
tetradrachm of Naxos was sold for 775.000CHF hammer price:
http://www.sixbid.com/nav.php?p=viewlot&sid=127&lot=25
---------------------------------------------
[Sorry, i forgot a Athenian stater, which was sold for 950.000CHF at last NGSA]
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Offline cliff_marsland

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #71 on: June 08, 2009, 01:41:11 am »
In terms of what's spent, I haven't changed my coin buying habits any, but in terms of what I'm getting, I have.  Nothing I've gotten has been fabulously expensive, though.  I'm a lot more apt to look for early to mid-Byzantine Solidi, even if they're common, though, before gold goes up even more and/or fears of the dollar's worth.

I recently got back into Byzantines, and the Byzantine bronze market seems to be down, so I picked up some relative bargains in that field.

I found that between better coins, one can still keep ones' interests up with sub-$50 coins.  One can get decent grade ones of stuff like Gallienus or Diocletianic-era Folles.  They're fun for study, and fun to collect different types; for example bust types of Probus.

I briefly tried my hand at uncleaneds, just for the fun of it, a few years ago.  It took me forever to clean them and I wasn't very good at it.  Also, it was mostly AE3s, and low-grade ones at that.  I quickly gave up on those.

The best deal on bulk coins I ever got was for $1.50 each for 2nd century Asses and Dupondii and 2nd-3rd century provincials.  They weren't at all bad for the money - almost none were below VG, and most were pushing Fine .  I bought a few hundred of those.  I don't think I'll ever get deals like that again, though.  That being said, I usually don't buy low-grade bulk coins.

IhsantheCursed

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Re: Is the economy affecting your coin purchases?
« Reply #72 on: June 12, 2009, 02:30:13 pm »
Yesterday and today were much better.  Perhaps a few folks read the post above and decided to take a look and see if there was something in the catalog they NEEDED.  :)

I intend on makeing a large purchase within the next couple weeks. Seems like, at least around my neck of the woods, more and more folks are becoming fastinated with ancients.

 

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