Soviet Tough Decision

[Guest Darrell]

For the last couple of years, I've stopped collecting Soviet Medals. Dues to the insane prices and changing interests.

I've been debating the decision to sell. I have some fine pieces (nothing extremely rare or expensive) but a decent collection that takes a good chunk out of the Red Bible

Below are a few snapshots.

Especially with the prices now days, what do others feel? Hold on? Sell off?

At the end of the day it comes down to what you like and want to collect. Sooner or Later they will be sold. I'm just not sure the time is right.

I'd appreciate some opinions.

Thanks,

[Guest Darrell]

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[Guest Darrell]

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[Guest Darrell]

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[Guest Rick Research]

After more than 40 years and a number of Great Sell Offs along the way as my interests have changed...

I have never ceased regretting every single item I ever sold.

Oh, sure, at the time I was "bored" with Dutch colonial Expedition Crosses (or whatever) and, yeah, Old Stuff "D" helped finance New Stuff "E" along the way to Current Stuff "O"

BUT

bottom line is

as prices rise, you can never REPLACE what you shed...

regrets are forever.

It's one thing if you MUST have a new roof or some other catastrophe FORCES liquidation...

but otherwise...

regrets are forever.

I cannot ADD to my Soviet collection any more either. But look at what I got. I couldn't afford what I have, nowadays.

Good thing I got what I did when I did.... :catjava:

[Ed_Haynes]

Much wisdom from Rick. I still regret (seriously regret) every single item I once had that I let go. Even the German (just pre-1933, nothing later) stuff. It seemed to make sense at the time, but was idiotic.

Given current market realities, I am also not sure this is a good time to move non-top-top-top Soviet things. Too much volatility.

Edited January 2, 2009 by Ed_Haynes

[Christophe]

Hi Darrell,

Tough decision. A difficult one to take, and only you can take it.

I agree with Rick that, except if the corresponding money is absolutely needed, I would not sell it.

About timing : who knows what tomorrow will be ? Will Soviet orders prices increase or not ? They seem to slightly decrease nowadays; but...

Cheers.

Ch.

[Guest Darrell]

Thanks guys. With the World Economy the way it is at present, it may not be a lucrative as it was even a few short months ago.

I have all my medals on an Excel Spreadsheet with prices (in Canadian $$ paid). Although the total is high compared to some old timers and what they paid, it is still MUCH lower than what it would cost today to replace all items like Rick says. Especially the ORR's, Lenins, Partisans, etc.

Total value I paid for the below was approximately $8900 Can. Pretty Crazy considering the Lenin's (of the type listed + Documented and Cased) would fetch almost 3-4 times what I paid years ago. That medal itself would easily garner almost 1/3 of this value -depending on who wanted it).

[Guest Rick Research]

Yeah.. the thing is, you could cherry pick out an item or two to sell like that and "make" all your money "back"...

but you would then be left with a collection

a very NICE collection, BTW and sorry I didn't mention that earlier

with YOUR top end pieces gone and gone forever.

Igor called me 8 years ago this week to offer me the Vozhachenko group posted in sections in the Researched Awards subforum (there is so much ) for $700... and now look what a LOOSE mirror reverse OSH3 is being offered for:

I am soooooo glad I got what I did when I did. I plan on ENJOYING my collection for the rest of my life. :catjava:

[Ferdinand]

If you aren't forced to sell them because you need a new car of whatever, I wouldn't sell the collection. As said earlier, just put 'm away and you might fall in love all over again in a couple of years. But in the end it's totally up to you of course; you should do what you think is the right thing to do.

[Bob]

I second what others have said. If you don't need (REALLY need) the money, then just put it all in a box in a safe place and have another look at it all in 5 years. Odds are, you'll have great memories and fall in love again with your collection.

I recently sold some duplicates in my collection, driven by the fact that I had bought a house, was in middle of completing renovations/buying furniture and then lost my job. Needed some urgent cash and duplicates in my collection provided it - but it pains me to the day that I let these items slip away.

So again, if there's no "need", then why even consider it?

[Ed_Haynes]

After my (still painful) experience of selling off what I thought were marginal things, I have acquired bits and pieces from the collections of three three prominent "gentlemen" (two of them moderately active on this forum). My standing ABSOLUTE condition of acquiring thesse items was that, should I even wish to move them while I still lived (however unlikely, but ...??), they would have a first option to reacquire these AT THE PRICES I PAID (no silly rise in market prices among "gentlemen").

See why I'll never be rich? And I take pride in that. Unlike some, I don't see any of this as an "investment".

[Guest Darrell]

...So again, if there's no "need", then why even consider it?

Well, I'm not going broke or have emergencies looming that are making me think about it .... but simply a case of "changing" my collecting focus. There are many items in other fields I have always wanted, but cannot and will not likely be able to afford them in the future.

Like Young Collectors who buy EVERYTHING they can find, soon the experienced collector midset takes over, and the Generalized Focus yields to specialization or a more defined route.

[Bob]

What's your change in focus? I.e. from-to?

[Guest Darrell]

What's your change in focus? I.e. from-to?

While I've got collections from US/Russia/German/Commonwealth/French/Italian among its anf bits from a few others .... I would like to focus more on higher up German / US medals at this stage.

[Guest Rick Research]

"higher up"

In what sense? Retail price? Or... Knights Crosses with Swords and oakleaves rather than 1st Class Iron Crosses?

I've been collecting basically since birth (very odd "Addams family" background) and after over 45 years of PAYING for these things (rather than playing with what was on hand for free ) I am still as entertained and satisfied with some thing for $20 as I was when I was 10.

I have never felt the "need" to Move Up to

Big Boys Toys from that old old

but evvvvvvvverybody hassssssss a Knight's Crosssssssssss with oaaaaaaaaaklleeeeavvveesssssss, ssssssoo I havvvvvvve to havvvvvve onnnnnne toooooo......

Those days are OVER.

For anybody mortal, plunging into the Bragging Pool in A.D. 2009 is N-O-T going to work.

If you mean "higher up" in that sense-- forget it.

Some people MIGHT be able to convert decades of Collecting Stuff to a single spotlit Wuzzit worth more than the house it's in... but I ain't one of them.

I HOPE you aren't falling into the trap of

Collecting What Other (sniff) People Say You Should Be (sniff) Collecting to... "matter"

because there's neither chance, hope, nor most important of all satisfaction in that.

NOTHING wrong with being a pack rat, as long as you are HAPPY with what you have.

I've been priced right out of so many collecting areas I'm right back to adolescent packrat days.

Quite happily.

And enjoying everything I got when I did.

Change yes... but if you are a COLLECTOR... you'll reget Selling Out in order to get into Anything Else...

just for the sake of something different.

Change focus, sure-- but keep what you've got.

You never can tell what 10 years from now will bring you back to.

I sure do wish I still had those Dutch Expedition Crosses!

It MIGHT even be keeping me sane-- though it's proibably too soon to tell on that front. :catjava:

[Eric Gaumann]

Well, I'm not going broke or have emergencies looming that are making me think about it .... but simply a case of "changing" my collecting focus. There are many items in other fields I have always wanted, but cannot and will not likely be able to afford them in the future.

Like Young Collectors who buy EVERYTHING they can find, soon the experienced collector midset takes over, and the Generalized Focus yields to specialization or a more defined route.

I think I'm kinda in the same place/stage as you Darrell. I started out, 35 years ago being "into" German and US WW2 stuff. But being a kid I could afford very very little; just got a few very cheap items. When I finnaly got some discretionary income I got the obligatory EKs and whatnot. I initially focused on TR but that got expensive. Then went to Imperial, and I got a pretty decent set of stuff (for my budget). Then I went to Soviet and went nutsola.

Most of the early US stuff is gone or just collecting dust. The TR and Imprial items I still have and I enjoy displaying them. I just don't see me going back and enlarging that collection. Unless I hit the powerball and then all bets are off!!

My thinking is I'd like to keep and display much of what I have. But, there is some of it that when, if the time comes when I really need some serious dough, I'll sell. Not without serious reservations, but will sell and enjoy the fruits of my collecting.

To me these are just material things and they should take a back seat to serious attempts to improve ones happiness or lot on this planet.

How about focus yourself and go that route but keep a few of the very best other goodies? Just in case.