Hello everyone.
I believe I've finally given in. I'm buying my first bulk lot of coins (5 lbs) next week, and I realize what a daunting task it will be to go through it, identify everything, catalog all of them, and sort them into my collection. Do any of you seasoned bulk buyers have any pro tips to make it a less arduous and more enjoyable task?
Humor is the ability to see three sides to one coin. -Ned Rorem
That said, I usually sort my bulk buys into countries first, and then start calaloging with the biggest pile.
If i'm going to do a couple of countries in one go, I do two that will go into the same album.
Coin collecting is a marathon. Not a race. If you do it too quickly, at certain point of your time you may be burn out and find that it is boring. I suggest to have a focus on what you want and like to collect and start from there.
Be kind to people. Sharing is Caring. Collect what you like and not by the Crowd.
To seek for perfection, it is too painful and there is a very high price to pay. To seek for something comfortable is more easy. To seek for nothing is even more easy.
I have bought lots as large as 70 pounds and my approach is to pick out about a hundred coins at a time and sort them into countries and then identify them one by one within each country and keep those I will add to my collection (different type, different date or mint, variety) in about 8 plastic bags, divided alphabetically by issuer (issuers A-C in bag 1, D-F in bag 2, etc. and at some point move the coins into my collection as divided by issuer). Working on batches of 100 to 200 coins at a time seems to work for me. The biggest problem comes when upgrading as I won't know if the coin to be replaced is in the final collection or perhaps in the bags awaiting distribution of coins I meant to keep. But eventually the poorer grade coins are found and removed. A similar problem occurs when I need to find an existing coin in my collection to compare to a new coin to see if one might be a variant instead of a duplicate. I find the process of identifying the coins relaxing and am never in a hurry to work through a batch. I usually find enough new types and varieties to keep me interested. Once in a while I find a lot has an extremely large number of one type and date but those are quickly dealt with and don't seem annoying except right when I realize that is the situation. After that I basically can ignore the future excessive duplicates.
These are all wonderful tips. I learned to pace myself early on, because the quicker you go through your coins the quicker the fun is over. Identifying new coins is my favorite part of this hobby. Being able to, at a glance, give a general identification of a coin is satisfying, and finally identifying a coin after hours, days, or even weeks of searching for it fills me with a sense of pride. Using the knowledge I've gained while researching my coins has helped others in the forum with identification, as well, and THAT is even more satisfying.
Dividing the task into smaller tasks seems like the way to go. Identifying in batches will help keep everything manageable. I don't currently have a dedicated work space, so being able to compactly store everything when I'm not working on them is important. Everything goes into two of the larger size "looks like a book, but is actually a box" type containers and a 4 inch binder for now, while I figure out what type of organizational system I'll be upgrading to next.
Thank ya'll for your tips. This has been very helpful, and I hope it helps others, as well.
Humor is the ability to see three sides to one coin. -Ned Rorem
Personally, I enjoy it very much and don't see it as a chore at all. The coins I am familiar with I can sort through quickly. The ones I am not familiar with is yet another learning opportunity and is a large part of the enjoyment I get out of this hobby. Occasionally, a special find or two is the best reward of all.
I separate by continents and when that is done I separate in countries and then catalog before I move on to another continent. That way I only start with 7 or so piles and break them down from there.
Quote: "Raibas"
Dividing the task into smaller tasks seems like the way to go. Identifying in batches will help keep everything manageable. I don't currently have a dedicated work space, so being able to compactly store everything when I'm not working on them is important. Everything goes into two of the larger size "looks like a book, but is actually a box" type containers and a 4 inch binder for now, while I figure out what type of organizational system I'll be upgrading to next.
Thank ya'll for your tips. This has been very helpful, and I hope it helps others, as well.
I try to get every coin (every single coin I own is catalogued on Numista!) I get logged onto my Numista the same day I get it, but sometimes when I've had a long day I don't really want to bother and just leave it for tomorrow. No rush, no sweat.
Moral of the story is, it should be enjoyable- don't force yourself to do it, take breaks or call it a day if you're tired and pick it up in the morning. I have a friend who I introduced to Numista just last week and he's been cataloguing all several thousand of his coins since, one by one!
I usually pick out anything that looks like it might possibly have some value/age to it, then the rest I sort into areas (e.g. Pacific, Australasia, Europe, UK, USA/Canada, Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America, etc)
Just work at it when you feel like it. Some days you may be really in to sorting coins and get through a big pile of them, other days you might not feel like doing any at all. Although usually when I get the excitement of a new bulk lot I'm in the former camp rather than the latter.
I have a friend who I introduced to Numista just last week and he's been cataloguing all several thousand of his coins since, one by one! 