One in 10: miser?

[Tuberale]

While re-searching through Sudden Wealth, came across the following quote. Care to comment?

"At a treasure hunters 'convention' at Austin, Minnesota early in 1964, one authority expressed his conviction that at least one adult out of every ten engages in secret miserly practices today."

I'm not sure if "secret miserly practices" means hoarding silver coins you find in change (2 this month for me!). But if so, that piggy bank cache might contain more than you think it does.

How much in you piggy bank? I should take mine to the bank to be counted deposited!

 

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[Connecticut Sam]

It would be great to found misers treasures.

 

[GringoStarr]

The one in ten Miser was probably true in 1964, maybe less today, as credit cards were not in common use, then.
A Miser, by definition is one who denies himself the basic needs to life in order to save money; also a mean or grasping person.
Misers tend to be rare in a capitalistic society, yet there are a few still around. This may be a family tradition, or a response to a psychological hurt
that one has never recovered from, a poor childhood, a gold digging ex, someone cheated by a trusted associate etc.... These are the examples come to mind.
It would pay to keep an eye out for rumors of a miser, they can accumulate surprising amounts of money over time, in spite of a modest income.
They are generally risk adverse, so that traditional investments might not appeal to them. I know a man with a large business, that of buying and selling coins, bullion, scrap silver etc... Von Mueller mentioned cyclic hoarding behaviors pertaining to business and economic ups and downs such as we are having today.
My friend say he sells gold as fast as he gets it in; who knows where it ends up. It doesn't all end up in safety deposit boxes to be sure.
Someone will find a miser's stash, perhaps a few of our t-net members specialize in misers when doing their research.

Exanimo!

The, "Gringo."

 

[Tuberale]

I disagree, although we can agree to disagree on definition of miser. I believe the original quote was just to note many people have stashes of money they never intend to cash-in for just the face value of. It might be in a piggy-bank, which gets cleaned out and counted every 6 months or so. Or it could be a significant amount of silver or old coinage someone is "sure" is worth more than face value. Misers I have known did not deny themselves basic needs. They often have/had a deep distrust of banks, and many of them went through the Great Depression, only to see money they thought safe in bank accounts become worthless. Some would hide money or caches of money at different places wherever they were likely to return, to be certain they'd have money available if they were in the area again. A "mean or grasping person" might better be described as a "scrouge", from the Dickens' character.

I think the business of metals buying and selling is quite different from being a miser, in general: quick turnaround is essential to insulate yourself from the rapid ups and downs of daily market conditions. But suggest the market is volatile, and those same buyer/sellers are likely to hold back on their liquidation of assets, effectively hoarding assets until the market stabilizes.

Gold, platinum, silver, coins, gems: all have potential.

 

[Connecticut Sam]

Great comments. I am seeking true stories about Connecticut bury treasures. [email protected]

 

[Connecticut Sam]

Many fine comments.