Blank Canvas Collecting

So many collectors get caught on the train. Or, they stick to the super-highway.
   They ride the rails. They hug the big road. They watch the rest of the world whoosh by without ever taking a side road.
   This is the world of set collecting. And, there is nothing wrong with set collecting (I have done it -- although I have never finished a set).
   Set collecting stems from the early days when coins could be found in circulation and coin boards were widely available. What a great pastime it was in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s.

Use you imagination! Coin collectors can learn from these boys.
Create a unique set that tells your story. And have fun!

   The coin board had it all. The limits of the collection were well-defined. The rare ones were clearly marked -- sometimes, the hole was already filled with a cardboard filler labeled "rare." Your progress was immediately evident by counting the number of unfilled holes. All told, your future was laid out in front of you.
   The coin board or folder was a masterstroke. But ... .
   In some odd way, it all reminds me of growing up in a neatly manicured suburban neighborhood. Every house, the same; all yards squared with geometric precision. Tidy.
   How comforting.
   Many numismatic writers have made a living suggesting different versions of this suburban theme. Collect Lincolns! Collect all the Buffalos. Now, I like Lincolns and Buffalos.

But do I need them all? Do I want the coin board to shape the next few years of my life?
   And let me be a bit radical here: Was it really a good idea to prompt collectors to get one of each YEAR AND MINT? Was this really a ground-breaking insight? Of course, I only have praise for Augustus Heaton and his 17 points of light. But personally, I think a collection from a single mint is more interesting. And, more relevant. Think about it.
   Alas, most collectors are completists. It is a psychological thing I guess.
   So, why not complete a set of your own design? Why not start with a (coin) board where you punch the holes?
   A blank canvas. That is what I suggest. Complete this instead. Fill in the white space.
   Let collecting become a creative act wherein each coin is chosen to tell a larger story -- a story larger and more exciting than a canned set that someone else thought of.
   Use your imagination to tell a story with coins!