Are coin collectors Stoic or Epicurean?

[JayAg47]

Thanks to this hobby, I discovered Marcus Aurelius and his Meditations, and recently the Discourses of Epictetus. A common theme in these Stoic texts is the significance of moderation, detachment from material possessions, and a focus on minimalism. Stoicism also teaches that true contentment comes from within, rather than from external possessions. One could argue that you can appreciate history without owning coins, just as many people go crazy for dinosaurs without owning any fossils. So I find this hobby seems to contrast with stoic principles.

While I haven't explored Epicurean texts yet, I believe that the act of collecting, the thrill of hunt and the satisfaction in building a collection, along with its social aspects align more closely with Epicureanism. It also celebrates the pursuit of pleasure and the enjoyment of simple, meaningful experiences. This hobby could be viewed as an appreciation for history and beauty, which resonates with Epicurean thought.

I’m not suggesting we need to strictly follow one philosophy or the other, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and how you approach this hobby.

 

Edited September 28, 2024 by JayAg47

[Roman Collector]

Coin collectors are people who have the "collecting bug," and often collect other items as well or they collected such items in the past. I, for example, at various stages of my life have collected coins, stamps, rocks and minerals, and comic books. I'm also a book accumulator and hoarder. I find the notion of "detachment from material possessions" unfathomable. While I appreciate stoic philosophy, I certainly don't adhere to its principles. Rather, I'm an epicurean. I enjoy comfort and pleasure and living well. Why camp in a tent on the ground when you could stay in a hotel with a restaurant? 

[Al Kowsky]

Let's be honest, most collectors of ancient coins are epicurean 😏. We can live without the luxury of ancient coins we have collected. On the other hand, many of us live a frugal life of carefully budgeting the money we work for, avoiding expensive vacations, not going to expensive restaurants, or going out with the boys drinking every Friday night. So modestly collecting ancient coins isn't a bad thing.

[ewomack]

I've read stoic works for years now, and coin collecting has always felt like a guilty pleasure and a violation of attempting to live stoically. Though I'm also not trying to live a fully stoic life. I'm not sure if that's even possible. Every time I buy a coin a feeling of "why did you do that? You didn't need that!" accompanies the transaction. As such, having coins feels equally enjoyable and superfluous for me. First, many nice coins come at a considerable cost, so wanting such expensive items necessitates a decent disposable income, which often necessitates certain lifestyles or careers that deliver such incomes. Arguably, some of those lifestyles come with expectations and stress and can make "simple living" challenging. Plus, coins feel more like luxuries to me, I truly don't need any of them. Spending $500 on a coin also feels immoderate to me. When I've done it, I feel equally great and terrible all at once, I both regret it and don't. After all, I could buy 2 or 3 weeks of groceries for the same amount. Also, why do I buy coins in the first place? Is it to possess them for my own satisfaction or to show them off? Or probably both? Why, especially after I began interacting with other collectors online, did my desire for more expensive or rare coins increase? I experienced bouts of insane impulse, where I simply searched for coins to buy because I just wanted more. Then I posted them online for others to see instantaneously, as if posting them was the entire point. It felt more like a disease than a hobby. That certainly didn't feel stoic, so since then I've attempted to moderate my coin purchases to a level that feels comfortable enough. Every coin purchase is a trade-off, after all. What else could I buy, or invest in, instead of buying a coin? Overall, I live way below my means. I don't do that to afford coins, I do it because I don't want to become trapped by lifestyle fetishes, luxuries, or maintaining status symbols. I've seen too many people spend themselves into misery, and I've come close to doing that myself once or twice over the years. So, though I love coins, and probably always will, they do conflict somewhat with the lifestyle that I try to maintain. Nonetheless, I don't aspire to live the life of a "holier than thou" stoic ascetic, either. I was raised in too much of a materialistic, competitive, indulgent, carpe diem environment to ever become a working monastic. But I try to find balance between those competing tensions, and I think buying in moderation has helped me to find a happy medium. But I still think I could do better. Perhaps the "simple pleasures" of Epicureanism, which also originally advocated moderation (the modern usage is a distortion of the ancient philosophy), may suit me better? Or perhaps that better describes the lifestyle I'm now living? I don't know. But overall, I'm doing okay.

[ominus1]

we are both...it helps to be bi-polar 😛 ...and like RC said, we were/are also collectors of other things too... 🙂   more power to ya!!

[robinjojo]

I'd say, in my case, I'm basically an epicurist collecting and basically a stoic when it comes to auctions.