Collecting Coins is NOT Rational: Part 2.

Back in January I threw a dart at the Rational Collector. The dart hit the bullseye. There are no rational collectors!
   But some folks disagree. Is it because they have read many a thick book on numismatics? Is it because they keep a tally of sale prices? Maybe, they have fattened their wallet by trading in coins.
   Boastful? Yes. Valid reasons why collecting is rational? No.
   Here is why.
   First off, possessing a coin for enjoyment makes no rational sense. What can you actually do with it? Roll it down the hall? Flip it (heads or tails) in front of friends? Bounce it into a brewer's cup? Of course, most "rational" folks will say: "No stupid, I will study it!"

The tower of Babel.
Slabs are antithetic of collecting.

   I have a quick answer for that. You do not need to possess a coin in order to study it. That is what books are for. And for the pioneer numismatist, museums/society collections have many of the examples you want to examine. Finally, you can seek out some irrational collectors -- they will have that rare die-state (the one with the meaty cud) that fascinates you. BUT, you do not need to possess it!
   So here we have our first test of rationality. Do you need to possess the coin? If your answer is: "yes, I want it" or more often, "yes, I need it" -- well, clearly this is irrational behavior.
   No one needs an old coin! No one who is rational that is.
   To wit, collectors need coins because they have formed an emotional bond with the object. An emotional bond? Yes, an emotional bond! This is blatantly irrational. Humans form emotional bonds to other humans, not objects! No other beast -- dog, cat, horse, chicken, fish -- loves an object!
   So here we have our second test of rationality. Are you emotionally attached to the coin? Or, does you heart flutter when you view it? If your answer is: "yes, I want it" or more often, "yes, I need it" -- well, clearly this is irrational behavior.
   No one loves an old coin! No one who is rational that is.
   Think about it this way. When you see a coin (in your specialty area: say, a nice Cap cent with big cheeks) that is missing from your collection, you become obsessed. Your conscious world narrows; you start calculating and strategizing; you size up the competition; you are struck with fear -- nothing else matters! Of course, there is a dissenting part of you (some aberrant, albeit rational, neuron) that argues with weak voice that the world would not end if you failed to attain the prize. But collectors have long learned to ignore that feeble hint of rationality. We WANT the coin! we NEED the coin! And, we will do whatever it takes to get it!
   Bid high! Bid higher! Bid the highest!
   So here is our third test of rationality. Will you pay more than "book" value for the coin? If your answer is: "yes, I want it" or more often, "yes, I need it" -- well, clearly this is irrational behavior.
   Here we go again ...
   No old coin is worth more than "book" value. No one who is rational would pay more than "book" value that is. Hell, the coin is not worth book!
   I know what you are thinking. You want to talk about Art. You want to discuss demand. You want to blow smoke and bring out the mirrors (all the while holding your rationality behind your back in the form of crossed fingers). Don't bother -- you have already lost the argument. Art is not rational. And, neither is Love.

Now of course, the necromancer does not suffer these existential threats (at least not as acutely) that plague most collectors. Instead, the necromancer embraces the irrationality of collecting. We collect because we love the objects we desire. There is no escaping this tautological spiral. This is why it is irrational. We simply cannot get our head around it. Nowhere is this "crystal" than when we love the unloved. And, nowhere is the grand delusion of rationality so obvious than when hold a slab.