Anyone work in entertainment biz? Coin show?
Pedzola
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Who can get working on a coin-oriented documentary series? Lots of stories to tell that could be interesting to a wider audience.
Famous people/artists (Saint Gaudens), disasters (shipwrecks, fires), conflict (civil war / branch mints), $$$ (famous rarities / collectors), politics, early american history, mining, etc etc.
Seems like there are just about unlimited story lines around coins. A lot of the stories have been explored but not from the coin perspective.
I'm not trying to drum up business for the hobby I just think it would be interesting. Wouldn't the history channel crowd bite on something like this?
Who's on it? What are your favorite numismatic stories that could be explored in a documentary or tv show?
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Interesting thought!
If it were documentary style I would probably watch an episode or two. I hate to admit it, but if you added some fake drama like in Pawn Stars, American Pickers, or Oak Island I might get hooked. Double bonus points if you included a few "Why Coin Dealers Drink" scenes.
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I did write a script for a TV Show based on actual historical events which included factual references to specific coins. It wasn't picked up for the intended series, but it still could be reworked into a show of its own.
Did you watch any of the Van Gogh movies?
I haven’t and it’s take a really compelling story to get me to watch a film on JEF, ASG, VDB
Do people know the history of money enough to care about the 1933 executive order?
There isn't ever going to be a series that is substantially or primarily about coins or coin collecting for anything other than a YouTube channel.
Coins and coin collecting is a niche field, not one with mass appeal. There isn't a single person whose prominence is from coin collecting that is famous to the non-collector population. St Gaudens isn't famous, except to US coin collectors and maybe the very low number who study (in some depth) American art or American history during this period.
Look at the change in cable TV programming. It isn't an accident.
Channels I used to like (History Channel, A&E. TLC) now have much of the schedule filled with garbage reality series. One of my favorites (Nero Wolfe) was cancelled after two seasons for this reason.
No, not generally.
Isn't that for really old, dead people like my great grandfather?
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Cool idea but the pool of potential viewers would be too small.
Sure, we would love it, but how many others would?
Very limited interest. We in the coin collecting world forget how few of us (comparatively speaking) there really are. Cheers, RickO
There are cool stories to tell and many that would have broad popular appeal if handled well. However, it really would be best produced as a video podcast with YouTube and others. It would be a big initial investment with a long time to make money.
Maybe if you held an 1804 dollar for a few seconds, then cut away to a quick TikTok dance!
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Even within collectors, the base is too fragmented. Coins that are of interest to one segment have much less if any interest to others.
As an example, one of my favorite US coins are US Assay Office which are related to the gold rush. I recall seeing one (or more) episodes, but these coins are incidental to the events, except to coin collectors. I don't recall any mention of these (or any others) in any account I have seen or read and don't believe the non-collecting public cares one way or the other..
I almost never see posts on this coinage on any coin forum (including here) or articles in the numismatic press. The coins just aren't interesting enough to most collectors, even to the low proportion who can afford it.
Other coins?
Over 99% are too generic where the non-collecting public would also have any interest in the events specifically due to the coins.
@WCC You’re right but I was thinking less about specific coins and more about the stories behind them. Like who posed for the Buffalo nickel or the models behind some of the designs. Did Sinnock lift another’s design and take credit for it on the dime? Then there are historical things where one could dive into what was happening at the time and feature coins. For example, civil war and coin hoarding, tokens, and encased stamps.
I remember one a few years ago on the baseball card market collapse.
He was trying to sell his junk wax and nobody wanted the junk. He set out to determine why?
Also, had alot to do with his fractured relationship with his father.
I am toying with a book idea and have an idea for a documentary.
How about the Farooq Auction with a spy twist? Or the "lost" 1913 nickel from the car wreck? How about a pickers type show?
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Focusing on "personal interest stories" would make a big difference. I recall it becoming prevalent in sports broadcasting starting with the 1996 summer Olympics to attract non-traditional viewers.
It started my journey toward losing interest in sports programming almost completely. Irrelevant and has nothing to do with the game.
This and the apparent necessity for athletes to bring their politics into the game and out in public. Today, I don't watch hardly anything.