Young coin people..... (20-45 young)
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here's some advice that should be good.
Learn ALL you can about coins. And every other collectible you can.
I predict a tidal wave of tangible asset disposal by millions of people who will retire with inadequate funds and ...
HAVE TO dispose of collectibles and other items they own.
I'd study all hobbies and collectibles. I'd also start NOW to establish relationships with dealers. Rare coins as well as bullion.
Get mentored if possible.
I think this will be a tremendous opportunity for the younger crowd who will actually heed and prepare.
If you do get serious about this, I'm sure you can find where to form alliances and get direction. It's available and those wanting to pursue it should be able to find it.
IMO 
18
Comments
Sounds like solid advice
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Generally agreed,
However, once obtained, even at a fair or better price, who will we sell the collectables to?
I'm really hoping I can get some stuff at a better value on the way down. However, if the collectibles market truly drops, I don't see a reason to buy/horde anything I'm not truly passionate about. I personally could care less if sports cards are selling at nickels on the dollar. It's just cardboard to me. I will try to learn about what I'm interested in, and if certain items get more affordable then I'll become more interested.
When prices truly drop, it's not a a better deal. It's often equally fair.
What do you mean by alliances?
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
This assumes demand will increase to where it was before. That is not guaranteed to occur, and frankly I find it improbable.
I think the long-term coin market looks very bad. I am in a coin club at work. Im 32. Im the youngest by 31 years. There are over 100 members.
This is the future. 95% decrease in value that may never recover.
Minor Variety Trade dollar's with chop marks set:
More Than It's Chopped Up To Be
That's great your company has a coin club. I like how Boeing has a coin club and issues medals each year.
I’m not going to sell my collectible coins on the cheap !
Save your money and pay up !😎
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
save, buy, save, save, save, buy buy....
It assumes nothing about the market or its level.
It states that people are more willing to listen to guidance and advice from a contemporary.
Assisting in disposition of assets has always been a profitable profession.
Flip, flip, reinvest, reinvest, save, buy flip, repeat, repeat, repeat
Save the best sell the rest, then sell the best.
And pay an expert to tell you when, where and to whom.
Sounds like life in general.
Since getting into coins and bullion I have only lost money/value. I am in my 30's. I joke that the coins are part of my retirement portfolio, but its been the worst performing investment I think I could ever find. I estimate I'm about 50% in the hole after almost 10 years at this. I dont know anyone else, nor have I ever met anyone else outside of online forums, who collects coins.
In the past this might have been a hobby where you can assume your investment would appreciate over time (and maybe still is if you're smarter than me). But it seems like unless you have unlimited funds to play in the very high end of the market, you just have to assune everything you buy is headed down the tubes.
What "keeps me going" is personal interest in the items, not a profit motive. I enjoy thinking about the history that goes along with them, and the hunt of trying to find a nicer widget than I've already got within my budget.
What i really hate about coin collecting is that it seems like around every corner is somebody looking to rip you off. So many dishonest sellers (and buyers), and miscellaneous scams and fraud. Makes it hard to trust anybody.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this hobby to others, outside of bullion as a limited hedge. Coin collecting feels like a bottomless hole that you just keep shoveling money into.
If the collector base really does start to shrink, assuming boomers sell off their collections in retirement, maybe some coins that had previously been very expensive will attract new collectors with big price drops. Personally, I'd love to pick up a high relief saint but could not afford over $20k for a nice example. When an ms63 drops to $5k I might consider it.
Hate to be negative, just one guy's perspective. I enjoy my modest collection and will continue to try to learn and improve.
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I’m 37 and it’s only on this forum that I feel young anymore
Latin American Collection
It is a cycle that repeats with generations..... most collections are dispersed (though some go to museums or such)...The important part (as @topstuf said) is learning about coins and other fields... knowledge is power, and in this field, converts to cash.... at least when done properly. There is some good luck involved... being at the right place and time...and none of us can be everywhere at once...
However, all of us are somewhere 
Cheers, RickO
I foresee this hobby largely going the way of stamps in coming years, especially with the rise of digital forms of payment. As the collectible itself loses a parallel that people use in their day-to-day, they will be less interested in pursuing the collection as a hobby. How many people got their start sorting through their change to fill folders, and took that spark as the motivation to create a higher-value collection later in life? As hard cash slips out of the channels of commerce, fewer and fewer people will be attracted to the hobby.
However, I don't think it will die out completely. The inherent collecting fever is very compatible to date sets, type sets, and the like (it was why the Statehood Quarters were so popular among kids). Top-tier, really choice coins will always be in demand, though they may lose substantial value relative to all-time highs. Niche areas already exist, and only need a few collectors to maintain a market. But the dreck, common date Morgans, lesser circulated gold, all but the best clad, will all slip to next to no premium over melt. Most Saints barely see any premium over melt now, but that invites bullion investors to be able to partake in the artistry and history of numismatics as well.
So, average-income collectors probably shouldn't collect to make a fortune. Market is too mature, collecting base is too old with no replacements. Collect what you like because you like it. I just tell myself that it's a hobby I enjoy, and any lost value over time is the cost of that enjoyment. Better than throwing it away on golf balls in ponds or clothes I'll probably be too fat to wear within a couple of years.
Hey and in 30 years you and I will sell coins to each other.
8 Reales Madness Collection
By the way, there are different trends and levels of maturity when looking at the different areas of World coin collecting.
Just saying.
8 Reales Madness Collection
43 here and I feel somewhat young.
My YouTube Channel
Then apply yourself to the concept and reap a whirlwind.
41 here. Young? I sure don't feel like it in the morning....
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
For everyone over 45... The first round of prune juice is on me!
Old in my thinking ......... IMHO coin collecting comes in many levels and not necessarily better than the other thus attracting different point of views. I don't see it as part of investment vehicles in anyway unless you are playing in the big pond.
It should be a fun thing without constraint ..... buy what you want within the budget and enjoy
Younger generation would probably shell 1K for a new iPhone without blinking but maybe would think really hard to spend it on a perfect Peace 21
This ......
@neildrobertson ....... I see the same dilemma too as far as the down turn which very seldom often in this level of collecting especially those I want
Happy collecting
As the "read the book" era is gone, forums such as this are an invaluable resource. The OFR coin forum as well, but only for the more advanced and critically thinking novices.
Absolutely... the folks on this forum would have a big head start.
In... COINS anyhow.
the rest of the "stuff" will (would) be a steep learning curve.
I don't consider the ...OFR... a "coin forum."
With the internet, one can get up to speed so much more quickly today than ever before.
Experts at your fingertips who answer your questions quickly.
Numismatics is better than ever
47 now so I don’t count as young anymore I guess. Still, 20+ years as a young collector has taught me a few things.
I’ve noticed that when a family bails on a collection the nicest stuff stays in family as long as possible or may never come out. It takes a strong market or bids to get quality pieces off the sidelines. A falling market won’t present many opportunities to buy killers for less.
I believe the circulating coinage creates interest argument is hollow because it takes much more than that to peel 4 plus digits out of someone. It’s when they’re considered miniature art sculptures does one get comfortable trading huge lumps of cash.
1000 dollar I phones are more useful than a round metal trinket. Can a coin access all recorded knowledge in human history in an instant? Use that tool to create wealth and then spend it on frivolous collectibles if you care to.
I think there is an assumption that the majority of people paying four figures (or more) for a coin are well into their collecting journey and had more humble beginnings. There are examples that don't follow that narrative of affluent retired folks that jump into the deep end. I think most hobbies have tiers of collectors like a pyramid. For every whale, you have hundreds of small time collectors below them. And if the small timers decrease in number, then the whales probably will too...maybe not in the exact same proportion.
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
"The OFR coin forum as well, but only for the more advanced and critically thinking novices."
Really????? I hope that was a joke. There is precious little activity on there, and what passes for activity is mostly a wet wankerama. Most of the OFR is the equivalent of 10 year old kids finding out the power of the F word for the first time.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
If I’m younger than 20 then what am I if I’m not young.
Collect the Key dates but also other dates or types for the sure enjoyment of design.
Don't miss the boat with assumptions.
It's not the folks who KNOW coins who will need the guidance.
Think of the millions of heirs who will inherit all sorts of stuff and never have been even exposed to the items.
Ignorance MUST be bliss. There's so much of it.
Benjamin Button?
I was thinking the same thing! I am almost there as I am 19.
ANA-LM, CWTS-LM, NBS, TAMS, ANS
Coin collecting has been a “dying hobby” since I was a kid collector. And that’s north of 50 years ago.
Your sentiments are similar to mine. A (noticeable) decrease in the collector base buying low priced coins now increases the probability (not certainty) of a smaller number transitioning to the higher end later.
I agree with your first paragraph, where the nicest stuff will actually remain in demand. The potential millions who will be selling or passing their collections mostly don't have anything that can't be bought right now any day of the week. Lower prices also make it more likely that highly desirable (subjective I know) material will be off market and other collectors will be "locked out" if rare or really hard to buy, assuming these people can actually afford to keep it. I expect a noticeable proportion of involuntary selling.
Presumably, today's collector base includes a noticeable number and maybe proportion of higher end buyers who started buying coins as bullion substitutes. The internet also decreases the need to collect from change as 40 or 50 plus years ago. However, at the margin, a decrease in this collecting cannot be positive for the size of the future collector base.
I watched my youngest daughter participate in the ANA Young Numismatists Live Auction online a couple weekends ago. The YN’s (up to age 17) were bidding on classic US, ancient, and world coins with ‘money’ earned by doing service projects and numismatic activities. They were able to chat with each other online during the auction about why they were interested in certain coins, pointing out whether a coin was cleaned or was a scarce variety. Some of the lots went for astonishing amounts in YN dollars. Interestingly, a large percentage of participants were girls, which I believe will be a growing trend!
I’m enthusiastic about the future of our hobby/distraction/addiction. These kids are somehow being introduced and educated in coin collecting. So long as we keep talking about it, we can continue to spark an interest.
I can't wait! I need a chain cent and a small eagle half dollar for my type set. Can someone point me to any desperate, starving retirees who are willing to part with one of these for 50% of bid?
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
I'm 43. Ready to rock!
Too young
The main issue is with collectibles in general—the majority of young people don’t want anything to do with them. No one really collects anything anymore.
This WILL extend eventually to coins as well, it has hit stamps, cards, toys, figurines, very very hard.
Compare How many homes in the 1980’s and into the 1990’s had curio cabinets and all types of collectibles around—and then compare to lately.....almost none.
I am being very careful in the coin area what I retain going forward.
@topstuf Here are some questions for you and anyone else who wants to answer. What are some areas of collectibles that interest you in relation to your OP? What types of collectibles might be obscure that myself or others wouldn't necessarily know about but are potentially interesting? I am just looking for suggestions. This could help people start researching and maybe find some niches that interest them.
Thanks!
It will take a basic ...interest.... to become "expert" enough to advise where to move any collectibles or other hard assets.
It might be attempted to teach but won't work unless there's interest on the part of the "advisor."
But....to answer your question....
Stamps, guns, cameras, classic cars, coins, bullion, .....ALL of which could be in a batch of "what pops left me."
A background in finance and psychology won't hurt.
The important thing to remember is that THIS audience can't conceive of not knowing ...anything... about coins.
But, trust me. Heirs rarely know enough about inheritance to know where to turn.
Oh yeah, Get a good relationship with bank trust departments and estate lawyers.
Much sage advice by Topstuf in this thread.
I like buying XF+ pre '21 morgans, but I'm not a "young" collector.
This may be the case, but I've asserted before that collecting stuff is an innate personality trait more than it is a learned habit. Since the population is growing, there should be an increase in the number of collectors in the world, and those "dormant" collectors should have a collecting itch that needs scratching. The trick is to turn on collectors to coins, not to turn on non-collectors to coin collecting.
Oh, and 15 years ago, nobody really played board games anymore.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Yes, tastes definitely change over time. Board games have grown. Electronics and video games have grown massively. If you have a well sorted Commodore64 or Atari Jaguar, there are people out there looking for it that weren't 20 years ago.
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me