The new one arrived, not long after my replacement copy of the last one, since my puppy decided to shred it and the APS was nice enough to send me a replacement for free. Thanks to Scott English for getting it done. Great guy.
However, in the new issue, like in the last, I’ve got some issues, this time with the issue itself. It’s not as bad as that, but they’re really pushing to get stamp collectors to collect coins, and, presumably, vice versa. I’m not opposed to anyone who wants to, but here’s why I’m just not interested.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise, but I am not the biggest fan of numismatics out there. Yes, I have a coin collection. Every now and then, I’ll add a few things. Mostly, at the moment anyhow, I’m more concerned with organization than anything else, so that’s where I’m spending some time.
However, I don’t want to be a coin collector and I’ve explained why in the past. There is a fundamental difference between the way most stamp collectors operate and the way most coin collectors operate, at least in my experience. Coin collectors are all about the value and I absolutely hate that. It’s hard to walk into any online forum and not find 80% of the posts being “how much is this coin worth?”
I have no interest in that. I have no interest in being around people like that. These are not collectors, they are speculators. Fuck them. Now yes, there is some of that in stamp collecting. Some. Not a lot. Most of the people that I see doing it, they’ve inherited a collection and are looking to dispose of it and most of the time, it’s just not worth anything to begin with. It isn’t, like I see in coin collecting circles, people who find a coin in the middle of the street and want to be told how rich they are.
Screw those people. I am absolutely not interested in anyone who is just out to make a buck and that is incredibly common on the numismatic side. Hard pass. Those people can take a long walk off a short pier.
Sadly, I do see a lot of that creeping into stamps. If you read American Philatelist, and my issue, as I said, just arrived, a huge portion of the ads are for selling your collection, not actually collecting more. I guess with the average age of APS members being in their 70s and 80s, that makes sense, but it says something about the decline in vibrancy of the actual hobby. When it stops being about having fun and starts being about making a buck, count me out. I have no interest.
So no, I’m not going to join the ANA, no matter how much of a discount I’ll get because I don’t want to buy coins as an investment, I don’t want to be around people who are only looking to make a buck and who can’t open their mouths without the word “value” tumbling out. I just don’t care. I’m in this for the personal enjoyment and I am never, not ever, going to sell anything out of my collection. I’ve worked hard for a lifetime to have the financial security where it isn’t about the money for me. It never was. It’s a hobby, not an investment. I’ve got financial advisers and accountants for that. I just want to have a good time. Is that too much to ask?
