WHAT HAPPNED TO COIN COLLECTING DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION from 1929 AND THE FOLLOWING WW2 YEARS
petitioncrown
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WHAT HAPPNED TO COIN COLLECTING DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION from 1929 AND THE FOLLOWING WW2 YEARS
TELL ME YOUR IDEAS?
Did the effect of the period before and post the GD assist Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany then continued with WW2?
The Great depression started in the United States, stock prices , news, stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday).
(DJIA) fell by 13 percent after the Federal Reserve System (The Fed) attempted to raise interest discourage stock speculation after boom of 1920s. Between October 29-November 13 stock prices fell by 40 percent, over $30 billion disappeared from the US economy. 9,000 banks declared bankruptcies and wiped out 9 million savings accounts, 86,000 businesses closed doors and while wages fell by an average of 60 percent unemployment went up to 25 percent resulting in 15 million jobless Americans.
The Worlds Most Prestigious and Valuable Silver Coin. Thomas Simon and two Kings of Numismatics together Petition Crown & 1804 $
Comments
A movie was a nickel and included an ice cream cone.
For Hitler's rise to power?
The events shaping that happened before 1929, with much due to Germany's economic struggles with the WW I reparations payments (1918+), hyperinflation (1921-24), etc. It set the stage.
For coin collecting?
Coins are a luxury good, so sure the demand will go down.
I know my grandpa bought a co-worker's coin collection (Barbers, etc.) for face value. Some people had to sell.
My mom was raised in the Depression. She turned out fine.
The US coin market held reasonbly firm through the depression. The advent of "penny boards", etc, and the booming market for new issue commems had a lot to do with it. Also, I imagine that the pervasive thriftiness of the era made coin collecting an especially attractive outlet for people's natural desire to spend money.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
While my Dad was not a real coin collector, though he did have some large German silver coins that somehow made it through the depression... They are from the 1800's.... I have them now. Cheers, RickO
People "filled in holes" in penny boards during the 1930s and 1940s.
Most people would not pay more than face value for a coin that they needed.
Top end collectors did get hit by economic conditions, a la William H. Woodin.
The present emphasis on top condition was confined to a very few collectors, very few.
Some people made their own penny boards, like this one.
A couple times my table was next to Art Kagin's at the Iowa Numismatic Association. He began his business in 1933, I think. People wouldn't buy $20 gold pieces for $21, and collectors turned in lots of National Bank notes instead of saving them. When he went into the service he didn't have time to sell his stock, so he put it in storage and by the time he got back it had all gone up in value.
Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
Coin collecting was one of many hobbies that did very well during the Great Depression and into WW-II. A wide variety of coins circulated or were available cheaply (face value +), and there was sufficient technology to allow people to experiment at home or in clubs.
Not sure where the OP is going with the Germany thing - far more complicated than coin collecting.
I think Kagin's was actually founded in 1933
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
What do you NOT have?
You have regularly posted that you NEVER sell a coin.
I think I'd pay to see the vault.
I had an uncle who actively collected during WWII. He even found a 09s-VDB . I have his 1945 coin value book.
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
The son of Secretary of Treasury Morgenthau collected coins from circulation. His uncle even bought some Lincoln cents as birthday gifts for him. Other family members also had small collections including proof coins.
Frankly, a lot of coins that had dropped out of circulation ended up getting spent out of necessity. My grandmother said that when she was about 11-12 she got a flying eagle cent in change when she bought some penny candy with a nickel. And she spent it a few days later.
We all know what ricko does not have.
Lance.
FDR was an avid collector during those years of coins and stamps. Some issues in the 30,s are hard to find in gem condition like the Washington 1936 D Quarter. That money worked hard in the Midwest during the depression.
Stamps, yes & well-known as a philatelist. Coins, I have never heard that, never ever.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/536807/fdrs-coin-collection-where-did-it-go
I always had the impression Franklin and Eleanor were always short a few coins, at least until his mother died (1941). Roosevelt had a landed, inherited estate, but cash was often short.
If someone had a coin they already had a place to spend it. Their were a few very wealthy collectors then but few. Coin values and the level of collecting is driven by the consumers level of discretionary spending and the level of confidence the consumer has in the economy going forward.
The 1930s was a tough time for almost everyone and few coins were minted during this period. An inelastic money supply and a persons ability to by stock on margin with 90% debt set the country up for the perfect storm and the not so great depression. Coin collecting or any other collectible did not fare very well as a result
@BillDugan1959 Hi Bill, well I got that from the gold coin that came out a few years back. A gold coin with FDR on it. Inside was a pamphlet that said he did collect coins and and had quite few. I can't remember the exact wording. Thanks for keeping us on our toes!
Isn't it amazing how many 31-S Cents were saved!
FDR's collecting passion was stamps. But he also had a small coin collection. Morgenthau had a collection of commemorative silver that was displayed in his Treasury office. There are invoices from dealers where he bought coins for himself and family members' collections. [The primary source location is NARA FDR Library and Museum Collection]
I can imagine that Rock Collecting was big during the Depression . Also collecting colorful bits of used paper (Stamps).
We had a government in control of the people. Nothing has changed, with respect to that. I wasn't there but heard tale from a few sheeple who were. See Israel Switt's story as written by those who spread rumors and lies about him.
There were a couple of reasons why no one would pay $21 for a $20 gold piece. First, most people didn't have $20 or were willing to "waste" the $1 on a coin. Second, some people thought that it was illegal to hold gold coins after Franklin Roosevelt issued the Gold Surrender Order.
My mother thought that. She thought people had to hide the fact that they had those coins. She was amazed when she saw gold coins openly offered for sale at the coin counter in Gimbels Department Store in New York City in the early 1960s.
I once asked Abe Kosoff what it was like dealing during the Depression. When it started he was working for a dealer in New York that was in a fairly strong cash position. They were able to buy in some incredible stuff from people that had been wiped out in the stock market crash and needed to raise money. For example, somebody brought in a pre-1907 Proof set that went from cent to double eagle. They bought the cent through half eagle part of it for $2 over face value, but told the guy to spend the $10 and the $20 because they could not sell them in that market, and did not want to tie up that much face value of their capital. As it was it might have been years before the market recovered enough that they could sell the cent through half eagle at decent prices.
In my view it was one of the most helpful and productive times for the government.
How different we see our own history.
Coin boards baby!!! They were very popular and were produced from 1934 through about 1940.
Those coin boards look very cool. I remember a huge surge of coin boards when the State Quarters came out but never even knew these existed!
People simply did not have the money. Having enough to eat a constant daily struggle.
I know what you mean. It was an accident that I discovered a coin board back in 2002 not knowing what it was. I loved the look and later the history and bought just about everyone I could find (they used to be dirt cheap). But over the last five years or so they have virtually disappeared. Now, only the most common varieties ever show up.
David W. Lange has published several excellent books on coin boards. They also contain a lot of fascinating information about the 1930s and 40s.
Several coin dealers promoted collecting by offering coin folders combined with premium lists - $5 for a 1931-S cent and $25 for a 1914-D cent, etc. There was real hope in finding one of these in circulation. Today, there are no such obvious opportunities.
This was an amazing discussion , great material thank you from the FORUM. Names of dealers the enviroment at the time, really interesting and for me important
The Worlds Most Prestigious and Valuable Silver Coin. Thomas Simon and two Kings of Numismatics together Petition Crown & 1804 $