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Coin collecting is here to stay
Gazes
Posts: 2,315 ✭✭✭✭✭
I know this has been raised in other posts but I thought it made sense to raise my points in a new thread. I keep reading those who think that when our society goes "coinless", coin collecting will disappear. I also hear that young people are not interested anymore. Here is why coin collecting is here to stay
1) why is coin collecting dependent on people currently using change ? How many of us started because of finding a coin in change ? People collect because of interest in history, because of an interest in gold as an investment, the beauty of coins, etc. All those factors will always be around. People collect ancient coins---did they get their start finding an ancient roman coin in change ? Of course not.
2) when I was young I played chess. We were told that when computers got so good that they could beat the world champion, people would not want to play anymore. I am serious ---there were serious discussions that chess would cease to exist. Today chess is as popular as ever and yes computers can beat the world champion. Why? Because the same factors why people enjoyed the game then still exists regardless of computers.
3) do people not collect Renaissance art becUse it is not modern art? Did collection of gold coins disappear when they disappeared from circulation?
People will always love what we love about coins. Their beauty, the history, the rarity, the desire to want to own the best. There will always be people ready to step up and get a value if others leave.
Coins collecting is here to stay.
1) why is coin collecting dependent on people currently using change ? How many of us started because of finding a coin in change ? People collect because of interest in history, because of an interest in gold as an investment, the beauty of coins, etc. All those factors will always be around. People collect ancient coins---did they get their start finding an ancient roman coin in change ? Of course not.
2) when I was young I played chess. We were told that when computers got so good that they could beat the world champion, people would not want to play anymore. I am serious ---there were serious discussions that chess would cease to exist. Today chess is as popular as ever and yes computers can beat the world champion. Why? Because the same factors why people enjoyed the game then still exists regardless of computers.
3) do people not collect Renaissance art becUse it is not modern art? Did collection of gold coins disappear when they disappeared from circulation?
People will always love what we love about coins. Their beauty, the history, the rarity, the desire to want to own the best. There will always be people ready to step up and get a value if others leave.
Coins collecting is here to stay.
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I would actually like NOT having to buy 2 modern Roosies every year!
Most of the gloom-and-doom predictions tend to have the, "Oh, those kids today are so much worse than when WE were kids" feel to them. People have been complaining about "kids today" since Adam and Eve!
I have a feeling people have been complaining about the death of coin collecting for nearly as long.....
I'm one of those (rare?...maybe not so rare?) guys who started collecting when I was 35 years old. And I'm sure there are MANY who started when they were pre-teen, then got busy working on real-life, only to return in their later years. So I don't think there is much data to support that an absence of 20 year old collectors is a long term indicator of future problems.
Finally, I don't think that problems affecting the high end of collecting necessarily exist in the more moderate areas, (and vice versa). While many of the more vocal members on these boards are high end collectors, I just don't see the problems they lament being issues in the area I inhabit. (i.e., CAC influence, rampant grading inflation, lack of quality material, etc.)
Everything is relative....and I think things seem relatively healthy!
The 'chicken littles' have been squawking for decades.
I also think that in 10-15 years people are going to really lament not buying more than they did today....I'm already seeing this from just 5-6 years ago. These are truly the days...
I started with coins, when I was a lad of about 8 years old and collected until about 13 or so when I started high school.
I dabbled in my early 20s but then went to college and after graduation I paid off student debt and was focused on my career. Not until I was about 39 y/o did I get really serious about my set.
I have spoken to David Albanese and he told me that 'if he had an extra million dollars---he would put it all into coins'.
I am not stupid---I pay my bills, I am almost debt free and I invest very heavily in my retirement fund (coins are a small percentage of my net worth).
But if guys like Dave Albanese and TDN (who I think are both intelligent people) are not afraid to heavily invest in coins----they put their money where their mouth is----I'm going with that opinion, as I feel it is a good, safe investment and it's also a heckuvalotta FUN!!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
There is not much interest with kids today, I've tried with Grand Kids, Nieces, Nephews.
Made it as interesting as I could, too.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I would curious when some of the older people here started collecting. While the demographics may look challenging, maybe there is a strong collecting contingency that started later in life.
Agree with this statement
Who do you think has the time and money to attend? Thus it is, thus it has always been, and thus it will always be......
As long as we use money of exchange, we should have collectors of old money
Coin Collecting is not a singularity. There is extreme granularity.
Yes, while SOMEONE will always collect, the critical mass to maintain a hobby could falter.
The same arguments listed above could be made for stamp collecting, but it is in the tank.
Roman coins, except for the EXTREME, can be bought for $2 each, not exactly where I would want to see the hobby go.
Coin collecting overseas varies by country, but in many countries, it is a virtual ghost town.
If over the next 20 years, 90% of the population base for coin collecting moves on, then there will be metric tons of coins with no collectability. Toss in a round of the 79's 80's inflation, where anything less than $1 is just eliminated, since it takes $1 to buy the smallest of anything.
Hummels, pogs, State Quarters, comic books, cels, lladro, beanie babies, hot wheels, action figures, trading cards, cabbage patch, Franklin Mint, 85% of the US Mints stuff, Elmo, Brass Cash Registers, English Antiques, Depression Glass,
I collect old cars. Just like coins, just because it is old and rare can mean nothing. Supply > Demand = falling prices
One of my cars is a 1930 Model A. I am one of the "young ones" that have one, as I got it in 1969 (my first car).
Sceamingly popular, everyone had one, still have quite the following, but the prices and in a steady descent. Anyone who had one, or wants one, basically has one. The guys who had 5, are down to 2, and many can no longer drive. I do not even bother to lock mine, as 99% of the population of the US could not start it anyway, much less drive it a mile without wrecking it.
My mother collected everything in the world. She is now in senior living, and went from 4200' house to 800' apartment, and 3 storage lockers to 1. She just does not understand why 90% of the stuff she has collected does not have a market anymore.
So, for me, collecting is NOT about investment and potential profit. I regard my coin purchases about as buying a dinner at a restaurant: Very enjoyable, glad I did, but tomorrow, it is worthless. It does not mean I regret the dinner, but it is not part of my investment portfolio.
So, for me, collecting is NOT about investment and potential profit. I regard my coin purchases about as buying a dinner at a restaurant: Very enjoyable, glad I did, but tomorrow, it is worthless. It does not mean I regret the dinner, but it is not part of my investment portfolio.
EXACTLY!!! I collect for enjoyment. If in 15-20 years the coin collecting market tanks, I'll be happy to add to my collection.
And if the coin collecting market does tank, I'm letting everyone know that I'll be happy to buy your 19th century silver coinage at melt prices.
HAPPY COLLECTING
I get a kick out of people who get nervous when they see only old people at coin shows.
Who do you think has the time and money to attend? Thus it is, thus it has always been, and thus it will always be......
Bingo!
- Jim
It was very reasonable and very logical at the time. However, empiric evidence proved the contrary.
We are now the modern equivalent of the Greek philosophers, trying to apply our knowledge and wisdom to try to answer a question. However, as in the past, that's not necessarily going to work. The OP gives some very valid points, but can they withstand against empiric evidence?
The empiric evidence we have is that in virtually all other collecting fields, when the primary source of material shut down, collecting interest slowly but steadily declined. This happened to stamps, it happened to telephone cards, and several others. For all these fields, someone somewhere is still collecting it, but the numbers are decreasing and very few new collectors join in. The children of today have never seen a stamp or a telephone card, why would they suddenly start collecting them in the future? The children of tomorrow will never see a coin (and some time after that, a paper bill). How many of them will take active interest?
I agree with mustangmanbob - I view my collection as money spent. If it has any value down the line, that would be great, but that's not the reason for collecting.
In 1965, at the age of 15, I attended my first coin show and was one of the younger people on the bourse floor.
In 2016, when I go to a coin show, I'm still one of the younger people on the bourse floor.......
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Hummels, pogs, State Quarters, comic books, cels, lladro, beanie babies, hot wheels, action figures, trading cards, cabbage patch, Franklin Mint, 85% of the US Mints stuff, Elmo, Brass Cash Registers, English Antiques, Depression Glass,
I don't think coin collecting can be grouped with collecting those other things. Most coins have intrinsic value in the gold and silver contained within them. That gold and silver will always attract people to wanting to collect them beyond the gold and silver content.
For the other things you mention, there is no intrinsic value to keep collectors long-term. They only have value because enough people perceive them to have value. Eventually, they're seen as having no value.
I feel that peoples interest in precious metals and saving will continue to spark an interest in collecting coins. we will always have that.
As long as we use money of exchange, we should have collectors of old money
+1
But it made me feel good about the future of coin collecting. At least we have 2 things going for us... (1) Coins have intrinsic value and (2) They don't take up a lot of room so they're easy to collect.
I can tell you one thing that hasn't changed -
In 1965, at the age of 15, I attended my first coin show and was one of the younger people on the bourse floor.
In 2016, when I go to a coin show, I'm still one of the younger people on the bourse floor.......