Are young numismatist going extinct?
bennybravo
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I used to take my son to shows in the late 90's early aughts. There weren't many younger people there ever, and he'd rack up on dollar bin freebies every time from friendly dealers who were happy to see younger folks at shows. Is there an influx of younger numismatist nowadays that you're seeing, maybe online or still at your local shows, or are you seeing a steep or not so steep decline?
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during my tenure at shows/shops, i just about always saw some young kids boys and girls either present or collecting.
i really liked seeing them at shops because it is pretty easy to overhear at least parts of the conversation and it always made me smile/chuckle to hear them use the vernacular.
though i haven't been to a show in a while and i've been to B&Ms during the pandemic and only saw a few little ones but it is hard to tell if they are just along for the ride to getting something sometimes as i am pretty focused with piles of coins in front of me usually.
There are a number of them on this forum. I saw quite a few at the last show I attended (Summer FUN). There seems to be brisk business being conducted by YNs on less traditional platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, etc. Witter Coin U just got a couple dozen together in San Francisco. In short, there are plenty of them. It also depends on your cutoff for "young"—12? 18? 21? 30?
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Cut off for young? Still breathing!!
Not in the slightest. We just blend in so well online
. It’s also harder to get to shows because of school.
Most of the YNs I either know or heard about are actually rather advanced in their schooling (honors/AP classes and very high GPAs) so dropping school for a few days to fly to a coin show is out of the question. Just what I’ve seen and experienced!
There’s also the problem of EBay being able to provide what a lot of shops or shows can’t - a specialized area of numismatics with thousands of offerings. It makes it a moot point to fly to a show IMO. I have been to two shows in my time in the hobby and the best time I ever had was meeting @Eldorado9 and seeing some of his collection. I haven’t bought anything at a show yet.
Anything you want to know at all about YNs I’ll be happy to try and answer, not sure if you have any questions though.
Have you ever been on Instagram?
The coin world is thriving there.
ctf_error_coins on Instagram
>
I was a YN 25 years ago but this is also why I don't go to shows, and any I'd go to would be a few to several hours of driving. Air travel for a coin show is not something I'd consider.
How young do you have to be to be a young numismatist?
I consider a YN to be under 18, some say 21. I've never heard anything over that from an official stance.
Not from what I'm seeing at the WFOM. Many are younger workers for some of the big firms, but there seem to be decent amount of younger collectors (maybe not official YNs, but under 30 or so) around. I think they collect differently, but they are out there.
I see the bulk of the younger collectors standing inline at the PSA table.
Youthfull dominance for this genre way more than coins.
Services know this where their business growth is.
Coins will be around , but growth is in sports cards.
^^ This.
I asked my youngest kid to come over from CT to the Baltimore show this past April, but he could not because of commitments at school.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
No, the old ones are.
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There are thousands of YNs that have entered the hobby since COVID.
The hobby is alive and well.
I know of at least half a dozen or so, both here and on CT, the last coin show I went to did not have many teenage collectors but quite a few kids (under 10 years mostly), I might be one myself depending on your age specifications, I'm 20...
I think there will always be people who are inordinately interested in these little round bits of metal regardless of their age
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The past few days I was at the ANA, I saw many young collectors and dealers walking the entire floor, myself included. Many getting checkbooks and huge wads of cash out for purchases. There were more YN's than I thought there would be on Tuesday/Wednesday. I think the younger generations of collectors and dealers are doing well.
Like an above post, school gets in the way of more YN going to these bigger shows being held during spring or fall seasons and conflicting with school schedules. I know mine has; I would be at the ANA all week if I could but I'm moving into my college dorm tomorrow.
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What happened to all the young collectors? They grew older!
Us old farts is all that’s left….
I doubt there are as many children putting circulation finds into Whitman folders as there were 60 years ago. There are a lot more options now for after school activities then there were at that time. But I'll wager there are just as many (if not more) now buying collectible coins online then there were hanging out at the local coin shop back in the day.
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We are out there but I think it’s been well said above that time and schedule flexibility are huge restraints when it comes to making an in person attendance at shows/shops/etc.
Also, another thing I feel hinders the drive to make an “appearance” for YN is there is somewhat of an intimidation factor of a face to face aspect. From personal experience and talking to other YN, sometimes it can be intimidating walking up to a dealer/walking around a show and seeing these mostly older men that have probably forgot more about numismatics than a YN currently knows and they know it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that YN don’t always command the respect an older numismatist does, so it can be nerve racking to walk up and try to not say the wrong thing for fear of being shut down or ignored by a dealer. Trying to be assertive but not rude. From personal experience I’ve had interactions with dealers that didn’t think I knew what I was looking at when I’d ask to see a coin or ask for a price on a nicer piece. Dismissive is the feeling I’d get sometimes from usually older dealers. Now this isn’t the majority at all but it happens more than I wish it did. It’s much easier to keep it online because you don’t have to actually talk to anybody and they can’t tell anything about you so that specific bias doesn’t play a factor. But that’s all my personal opinion so if you think differently please explain. Thanks.
Instagram!
@SethChandler has done more recently to promote and support YNs than the ANA in the last 20yrs.
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Anyone younger than college age is a YN in my book. Over the years I've seen an increasing number of youngsters coming in to my LCS. Even if they weren't collectors walking in, they were all collectors walking out and most came back for more.
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Shows are just one data point, you need to look at other venues as mentioned above.
It would be like going to a mall today that has only a few people and say "looks like no one likes to shop anymore."
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There are plenty of YN's.... online, here on the forum... and @Grantu makes a good point about shows and how YN's are often treated - I have seen that when I used to go to shows. So many older collectors do not treat the young folk with respect. Just because they are young, does not mean they know nothing.... The hobby is booming and the young folk are there buying coins. Cheers, RickO
Lots of interesting replies above, I think it depends on how you define the term numismatist. There seem to be many younger kids trying to make money doing the flipping thing, but I think there are fewer younger collectors that are filling albums.
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They have a HUGE internet presence and I have spotted some at shows, too.
The future of the hobby is in good hands.
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Stop with the doom and gloom posts. The hobby is not dying. The hobby is more widespread than ever, and I dare say there are more YN's than ever before...The internet has changed everything.
Don't take it personal when it happens, people who are probably old enough to be your grandparents complain about the same thing all the time. Don't let it get you down either. Just move on to the next dealer- you'll eventually find some who are supportive. Online interactions are fine but if you stick with that, your progress as a numismatist will be stunted. You absolutely need to see coins (lots and lots of them) in hand. There is no substitute for this. As well, the personal connections you make while doing this are invaluable.
It seems like so many young people, and I use the term for people from 18-25 are into silver stacking these days
For sure. I would say for every negative interaction I’ve had. I’ve also had 10 great ones. I don’t think about it too much. As far as staying online, I was mostly referring too the fact that I can understand why old numismatist don’t think they see the “youth” they used to in the hobby. And that is simply because certain things can be easier and simpler online. Not saying its better that way. Personally I’m trying more and more to make in person attendance a must as a way of growing my knowledge in the hobby.
I belonged to a coin club and attended coin shows back in the 1960's and the vast majority of the people I saw were old white males. While thing have changed some, the demographics have basically remained unchanged. I'd like to see more participation from women, young people, and minorities. It's would make the hobby better and more interesting.
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I think young people are still engaged with coins, in spite of all the "competing distractions" young people have these days that weren't around 50 years ago. At least, there's enough of them that we don't have to be going around saying "we are the last generation", just yet.
But I think they are less likely to engage in the "traditional" visible numismatic activities like coin clubs and coin shows, or even coin forums and Facebook groups. They're on the Internet somewhere, on whatever hip and trendy platforms the young people are hanging out on this month.
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Lots of young collectors online. YouTube, Instagram and other social media. Some at shows and local clubs, but not as many. Kids these days don't leave the house ya know, everything's online
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There has been a major uptick. I’m 19 and through my 7 years of collecting I’ve seen a lot more younger people join. I think it’s the mid 20s people that need the push. Kids are pretty easy to get collecting anything.
I saw at least a dozen teenage boys at the ANA over the past couple of days who were actively buying and selling, most without their parents. I saw one young teenager peel off $1,000 cash for what appeared to be two gold quarter eagles.
They had knowledge and money and all appeared to having a great time.
I think there's always been a lack of people in their 20s in collecting. Based on what I've seen/experienced, always lots of kids in the hobby. But when they get a little older and get more involved in school, many drift away from the hobby. They stay away through college and their first job, marriage, first kids, etc. as they don't have much extra cash. Then eventually they get a little extra cash, sometime in their 30s or 40s, and then come back to the hobby they loved as a kid. Not all come back to collecting, but enough seem to.
Been involved in many coin clubs and very rare to have any active members that are age 16 to age 28 or so.
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
Nope. Most have transitioned to platforms such as Instagram where they can reach people/buyers/sellers and not have to deal with regulations or rules set up by online forums or PayPal/eBay/Facebook.
Yes - Instagram and Facebook have been driving forces in the hobby for YNs. I myself wouldn’t be nearly as successful or know nearly as many people in the hobby without social media. Only so many shows you can go to
Interesting replies!
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I believe we actually follow one another on IG.
I've never seen so many young people enter the business in such a short period of time. Once coin shows resumed after COVID, it was astonishing to see how many young dealers suddenly appeared on the scene. It's fantastic.
My last coin show had a bunch of YNs walking the floor buying things. Maybe not buying 4 figure Morgan’s, but spending enough to finish or improve a set.