Social Media and Coin Collecting

VTchaser

Honestly, I started coin collecting in Jan/2020 when i started watching Rob Finds Treasure (RFT) on YouTube. His videos keep it pretty simple in terms of coin roll hunting and what to look for.

Now it seems like everyone and their brother has a YouTube channel or some other social platform for coins/precious metals collecting. Between the massive social push to buy silver a year or 2 ago, I'm wondering if more of a younger crowd is starting to join the club.

For those that attend conventions, have you started to notice a younger crowd attending? I'm 38 so not very low on the age scale. But i know my 7 year old has the bug after watching some videos with me and helping me go through rolls. But that could be just because he enjoys spending time with me

bronzemat

There is a big coin collecting community, on Instagram. Most of the younger generations tend to use social media, to talk, share, and even buy, in the numismatic world.

I'm 44, so not much older than you, and it's taken me awhile to embrace that world. But I have, and there is many smart young collectors out there.

They are just using what they're used too, which is tech/social media.

Tramp

I'm trying to figure out if the younger crowd are in it for collecting enjoyment and the history or to simply flip coins and try to make a quick buck as a side hustle.

See a lot of questions posted trying to find errors from their pocket change or parking lot finds.

Walkerfan

Definitely a whole community on Instagram of younger collectors (though I don’t participate). I’m seeing a lot more younger people at shows, too (and not just because I’m getting older lol but I mean ‘significantly’ younger). I really enjoy all the YouTube channels and videos, too! There is a ton of new and good content out there!! I, personally, use it more for entertainment and education rather than buying and selling.

VTchaser

I don't do the Instagram/Facebook stuff. Left Facebook back in 2006, but i know they have some sort of online store now kinda like craigslist i'm assuming. Wondering if you can find good deals there...

neildrobertson

@VTchaser said:
I don't do the Instagram/Facebook stuff. Left Facebook back in 2006, but i know they have some sort of online store now kinda like craigslist i'm assuming. Wondering if you can find good deals there...

Facebook marketplace has lots of good deals on household goods, cars, etc.. It's a horrible place to look for coins.

keyman64

There’s a big coin community on Instagram, of which I am a part. There are FB groups as well but I do not participate there. There’s YouTube and Whatnot is also a growing platform for coins.

ctf_error_coins

Instagram is fantastic for numismatics and there is a huge community there.

Here is my Instagram page with over 2100 followers ...

https://instagram.com/ctf_error_coins/?hl=en

rte592

@neildrobertson said:

@VTchaser said:
I don't do the Instagram/Facebook stuff. Left Facebook back in 2006, but i know they have some sort of online store now kinda like craigslist i'm assuming. Wondering if you can find good deals there...

Facebook marketplace has lots of good deals on household goods, cars, etc.. It's a horrible place to look for coins.

I've wondered this as well and I don't do social.
The only upside would be if someone inherited a collection and didn't know what they had or where to get rid of it.
A face to face local transaction would be beneficial for the buyer.

PeakRarities

@Tramp said:
I'm trying to figure out if the younger crowd are in it for collecting enjoyment and the history or to simply flip coins and try to make a quick buck as a side hustle.

See a lot of questions posted trying to find errors from their pocket change or parking lot finds.

Same as anything else, some people are in it for a quick buck, and others are aspiring numismatists. Theres many who truly do it for enjoyment and embrace the history associated with it. You will always have a crowd that could care less about the enjoyment and are trying to make a living.

PeakRarities

@neildrobertson said:

@VTchaser said:
I don't do the Instagram/Facebook stuff. Left Facebook back in 2006, but i know they have some sort of online store now kinda like craigslist i'm assuming. Wondering if you can find good deals there...

Facebook marketplace has lots of good deals on household goods, cars, etc.. It's a horrible place to look for coins.

Facebook marketplace, agree. However there are some really great private numismatic groups on Facebook where the moderators are actively keeping scammers and suspicious accounts out of the group, helping to mediate any issues between buyers and sellers, and vetting all the posts to make sure no counterfeits are being sold or problem coins being misrepresented. I am one of the moderators of a gold focused group on Facebook with 4500 members, and it is a robust marketplace with a lot of trusted sellers where I feel safe making a purchase or selling.

There are other Facebook groups where there is barely any vetting new members, the admins are immature, and the group becomes a drama fest for old / middle aged men to act like children. Just have to know which groups are solid and which aren't, but it's similar to the BST here where you rely on references and use PayPal G&S if you're not fully confident.

Instagram is useful too, as long as you know who you're following. There are a ton of bullion scams you have to watch out for on there, and instagram doesn't have a "private group" feature like Facebook does where the people selling items have already been vetted. What happens is these scam pages pay for thousands of followers and comments, so on the surface it looks completely legitimate.

ricko

There is a huge online community of coin collectors on Instagram, etsy and other venues. I do not take part in those, just here. I did check them out, but found them too full of extraneous commentary, and useless/unfounded information. Yes, there are also serious collectors there, a huge following among the younger groups - that is where the future of collecting is growing. Cheers, RickO

johnny9434

i dont like to make it to well known what i collect thus staying away from unforseen trouble

Catbert

I think in order to build a nice collection, one needs access to coins that are available. Nice coins can come from a variety of channels and I've found/purchased coins via Instagram that I didn't think I'd encounter. The other IG advantage are coin videos so one gets a multi dimensional view. The challenge is sifting through all the posts and as such one needs to be selective in what members to follow so your "feed" isn't filled with stuff for which one has no interest.

erscolo

Social media is something I avoid. No facebook, no twiter, no instagram, life is much better that way. I have plenty of sources for my coin collecting, and social media is not one of them, nor will it likely ever be. Too much garbage and society wrecking stuff happens there. Life goes on just fine without it, likely much better.

VTchaser

@ricko said:
There is a huge online community of coin collectors on Instagram, etsy and other venues. I do not take part in those, just here. I did check them out, but found them too full of extraneous commentary, and useless/unfounded information. Yes, there are also serious collectors there, a huge following among the younger groups - that is where the future of collecting is growing. Cheers, RickO

I forgot about Etsy. I used to buy war nickels from there.

robec

I’ve been on IG for 6 years and haven’t had one bad deal. The majority of my coin buys since 2016 have come by way of IG. I see and follow many members there who are also members here, many with highly ranked Registries. PGCS, NGC and CAC are also members.

johnny010

@johnny9434 said:
i dont like to make it to well known what i collect thus staying away somewhat, jmo

What do you colle….ah Nevermind 😊

NeophyteNumismatist

My online presence and my physical presence are separate entities. I joined FaceBook strictly to be a part of Ed Fuhrman's Half Cent Forum. But, I don't use my real name, birthday, or any real personal info. This has caused some challenges in making connections, because people want to know who I am. I have (unfortunately) had to forgo some great connections with very smart numismatists to keep my identity private. I do not share info for 2 reasons:

1. Security. Even though I don't keep coins at home, showing coins online with one's identity visible is risky.
2. Security. My employer does mass searches of social media data, and my social media that is work related is 100% fueled by my corporate PR. The words I say in my work identity should not be mixed with my personal life or numismatic opinions. In the words of Offspring, "you gotta keep 'em separated." Since my work profiles have to be public, my personal profiles cannot. It's the cost of doing business.

NeophyteNumismatist

Interesting fact: As stated above, I used all fake information to setup facebook. However, the "people I may know" are from all over my life. Childhood friends, people I sat next to on a plane and we swapped professional info, college friends, etc. However, I will only connect with numismatic connections. I never cross pollinate to give the aggregator more data.

The A.I. that FB uses to figure out your data is crazy. I went duck hunting, and the guy I was standing next to in the blind came-up as someone "I might know". Sort of scary, really.

dsessom

@DeplorableDan has it exactly right.

jerseyben

If you aren't having good experiences on IG or in FB coin groups... You are either in the wrong groups or are a magnet for drama. I buy coins all the time on IG and in select FB groups. Got tons of killer deals and have dealt with nothing but the most reputable people. The coin market is evolving, whether the older numismatists like it or not. It is perfectly OK to attend physical coin shows AND to utilize social media for coin collecting.

VTchaser

I'm looking for something similar to the BST here. If anyone feels comfortable doing so, please PM me with reputable accounts, groups on IG. I have an account but i never use it. I'm curious how they rank people's trustworthiness.

My LCS normally has decent prices on things. But it's about an hour drive for me. Would be nice to be worry free of fakes from ebay and avoid high fees from online retailers like Money Metals, Apex, etc.

PeakRarities

@VTchaser said:
I'm looking for something similar to the BST here. If anyone feels comfortable doing so, please PM me with reputable accounts, groups on IG. I have an account but i never use it. I'm curious how they rank people's trustworthiness.

My LCS normally has decent prices on things. But it's about an hour drive for me. Would be nice to be worry free of fakes from ebay and avoid high fees from online retailers like Money Metals, Apex, etc.

What kind of material do you collect? The one I'm a moderator of is strictly gold and if you're interested I can invite you, but there's some other good groups on Facebook that I could recommend. The FB groups are specific though, some are general, some are strictly silver dollars and halves, etc. Instagram is a different beast, there aren't groups but you just start following known dealers and eventually you'll see recommended profiles that you have mutual contacts with. I like the Facebook private group aspect because you'll have moderators looking out for you, and everyone on there has a first and last name.

VTchaser

Gold is out of my price range for the most part. I'm into silver bars, rounds, 90%, 40%, and also cherry picking dates/mints for album fillers. Fillers can be anything, i'm working on shield nickels and WLH's at the moment.