How the non-numismatists view us and an analysis of the differences between the numismatic and "
wingedliberty
Posts: 4,805 ✭✭✭
I thought about this issue while driving home today from grocery shopping. Its something that has occupied my thoughts for a few weeks now. I have several friends at work who are diehard coin collectors among a department within a financial institution that has about 35 people on that floor. Every now and then we get together in the conference room for lunch and share recent purchases and
talk coins. We go to shows together and belong to local coin clubs. I also have numismatic friends who
are outside of work and some are dealers, while others are close personal friends in other professions.
While driving home, a thought occured to me as to what characteristics and traits binds us together.
The similarities are interesting and made me think of this thread.
1. Be it banker, janitor, attorney, or pool contractor, We all love history. I don't mean casually, I mean
big time. From Greece, Rome , to WWII and modern history, including current events and politics.
2. We are all very meticulous and organized. Attention to detail is key. Whether its about personal
finance or from the standpoint of how our homes look, hygene, etc.
3. We all like scifi. I mean, every one!! Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.
4. Despite different professions and economic strata, we are open minded and tolerant.
5. We are all very sensative and very passionate. About personal relationships, politics, religion,
and that translates I think into numismatics, how we are picky about coins. If we are picky about
everything else, we are more picky and sensative about coins.
I guess my question is this:
Since 95% of coin collectors are male, and about 60% are single.
Are these common traits to that demographic, or more specifically to numismatists?
Certain people in the mainstream look at the hobby as nerdy, I have been told
my certain teenagers. ( I am 34).
Your thoughts?
Brian.
talk coins. We go to shows together and belong to local coin clubs. I also have numismatic friends who
are outside of work and some are dealers, while others are close personal friends in other professions.
While driving home, a thought occured to me as to what characteristics and traits binds us together.
The similarities are interesting and made me think of this thread.
1. Be it banker, janitor, attorney, or pool contractor, We all love history. I don't mean casually, I mean
big time. From Greece, Rome , to WWII and modern history, including current events and politics.
2. We are all very meticulous and organized. Attention to detail is key. Whether its about personal
finance or from the standpoint of how our homes look, hygene, etc.
3. We all like scifi. I mean, every one!! Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.
4. Despite different professions and economic strata, we are open minded and tolerant.
5. We are all very sensative and very passionate. About personal relationships, politics, religion,
and that translates I think into numismatics, how we are picky about coins. If we are picky about
everything else, we are more picky and sensative about coins.
I guess my question is this:
Since 95% of coin collectors are male, and about 60% are single.
Are these common traits to that demographic, or more specifically to numismatists?
Certain people in the mainstream look at the hobby as nerdy, I have been told
my certain teenagers. ( I am 34).
Your thoughts?
Brian.
0
Comments
There are other commonalities among coin collectors. They tend to be more
intelligent than average, often much more. They also tend to be more precise
and analytical.
There. Now I feel a little better.
The higher intelligence part certainly applies to you. I find your posts to be among the most
thoughtful on the forum.
Brian.
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I generally agree with your 5 points, save for the fact that I, personally, am sloppy as a pig.
One observation I've found interesting is that I believe we coin collectors have a lot more in common with each other than with a typical member of the public. Given this belief, before I started frequenting this forum, I expected that posters would generally get along quite well with each other. Boy, was I WRONG! However, it still seems strange to me that we spend so much time attacking each other when, to a non-collector, we are totally weird. I mean, paying above face value for a coin!! And then boasting about that fact!! Gathering a bunch of coins that differ only according to date and/or some small, insignficant letter!!! My goodness, how bizarre is our behavior!!!
Mark
<< <i>Brian:
I generally agree with your 5 points, save for the fact that I, personally, am sloppy as a pig. >>
Me too!
I am talking about mustard on slabs, pizza sauce on 2x2s, you name it, now thats sloppy.
LOL
Brian
I am not meticulous, but I am not a slob either. I really don't care what I paid, or to catolag my purchases, I just want coins that look very cool in my Dansco album.
I am 35, married, and care nothing for politics. So perhaps I do fall into the general category somewhat.
I haven't a clue why I love collecting so much? It is just amazingly fun and rewarding in ways I still cannot consciously understand. Perhaps I feel like I am putting together a jigsaw puzzle of history. Piecing it together one original Barber half at a time.
Tyler
-Jarrett Roberts
My assessment of your 5 putative characteristics of Numismatists is as follows:
1) History buffs-probably true.
2) Organized- probably true for real afficianados since it is a requirement for understanding value, varieties, grading etc. Meticulous in appearance- Hardly; take a look at the people at the next coin show; they tend to dress far outside an sense of fashion or even tidiness. In fact, they seem oblivious to fashion.
3) SciFi??????- Apparently not a necessary characteristic except among your coin friends. Also may be a generational thing
4) Tolerance- Not my impression from the posts on this form where there seems to be a wide spectrum of views; many ( points of view) are fairly intolerant of others.
5) Sensitivity- Yes but not in the way you may mean; Even the intolerant seem to be very sensitive to negative feedback or experiences in encounters with others. This fits in with the tendency to introversion. Thus my revised opinion of points 4 & 5 may explain the silly fights that occur on this forum between members.
I also agree that this is to a great extent a personal hobby whereby much time is spent alone staring at inanimate objects.
Thus introversion is not a disadvantage but not a requirement. With an internet forum available to communicate many blossom. Are coin collectors more nerdy- seems so. The male preponderance is very striking and may be related to your point#1. Maybe women are more practical and have others things to do with their money; they are certainly more social. The racial and ethnic distributions are also disproportionate to the general population. At the LB show the vast majority of participants were non-Hispanic Caucasian males. This does not reflect the demographics in the country and certainly not Southern California; it may at least partially reflect ecconomics and duration of time in the country. My guess is that coin collectors have higher performance IQs although not necessarily verbal IQ; this is a fairly complicated field. Educational accomplishment would be hard for me to predict. My guess is that the formal educational level of dealers is less than predicted by the intelligence. You don't need an advanced degree to be a succesful coin dealer ( I hope this isn't misunderstood by our Lawyer Dealer Friends). For collectors the same may be true but at the upper end you need expendible cash which means in most cases more income. Income is linked to education. Another observation is that coin people in general are fiercely entrepreneurial. This provides a strong tendency to the political right side of the spectrum. Oh I know there are exceptions but I bet I am right in this assertion. Age distribution. This is a hobby for the young and older male. Read the comments of forum members. They usually explain that they began as a youth, gave it up during the young adulthood and returned when they had raised their kids, had some discretionary income and needed diversion. This age distribution does not apply to the professional dealers.
Interesting Thread! Whatever their profile- many really special people participate in this Forum
Obscurum per obscurius
I hate it when you see my post before I can edit the spelling.
Always looking for nice type coins
my local dealer
The real scary part is that I was a coin collector(since age 6) long before any of the other things.
Brian
1. I don't work ½ the time and I can afford it too. I'm not rich but I'm not poor either. I don't really care much about history. Through coin collecting I have learned more history than I did in school. School sucked & I was a goof-off that interfered with geeks that actually wanted to learn. I took an F rather than write a 5 page essay on the rise & fall of the Roman Empire. Coin collecting taught me about it.
2. Meticulous and organized? I live from piles. A pile is a stack that has fallen over and spread out. Piles of clean clothes on the bed. Piles of dirty clothes on the floor. Piles of dishes in the sink. Piles of books, magazines & junk mail on my desk. Piles of spare clothes, Butterfinger wrappers, 7-11 coffee cups, & building supply tickets in the front of my trucks. Piles of tools in the back getting rained on.
3. We all like scifi. Nope, Al Bundy is my all time male role model. Rambo was the best movie ever made. I got all snively & choked up when Rambo surrendered but no, I didn't cry when Old Yeller died.
4. Open minded and tolerant. Not me. I'm narrow minded & set in my ways. It's myway or the highway.
5. We are all very sensitive. I have a problem with the sensitivity issue. When I have a job I work 10 or so mean cut-throat ex-cons that don't understand a word I say if I use a word that has more than 4 letters and doesn't start with D, F or S and don't grunt, spit or yell when I say it. I don't interrupt 2 robbers & a crackhead having a conversation about their PO Officer & ask "Virgil, would you please mind getting me another roll of nails? I seem to have run out." It's like HEY YOU FRIGGIN RETARD WHEN YOU HEAR THE GUN STOP SHOOTING IT MEANS I NEED SOME MORE NAILS OK YOU GOT A LEARNING DISABILITY OR WHAT??? IF YOU DONT WANNA WORK YOU CAN TAKE YOU LUGHEAD SELF BACK TO THE STATE FARM AND CRAWL BACK UP IN A CELL WITH BUBBA THIS AINT 3 HOTS & A COT THIS IS THE REAL WORLD SON!!
Then at 3:30 I do a 180 degree personality change because at night I do sissy things like play dressup with Barbie dolls & cook & clean & do housework and iron frilly little girl dresses because not only am I a rough & tough construction worker but I'm also a single parent raising a 5 year old little girl all by myself. So the sensitivity thing blows my mind & messes with me.
Oh yeah, I've been collecting Morgans 30+ years. All the 97 stuff is basically my kid's.
Wanna go get a beer at the local "Breast Emporium" and be real sensitive?
The good thing about having multiple personalities is that there's always a designated driver.
Yes, I'm an agent of Satan but my duties are largely ceremonial.
<< <i>HEY YOU FRIGGIN RETARD WHEN YOU HEAR THE GUN STOP SHOOTING IT MEANS I NEED SOME MORE NAILS OK >>
LMAO... reminds me of my Plastering days except we just yelled "More Mud You Friggin Mule."
For those that don't understand that we were yelling at the Hod Carrier to pack us over some more plaster. I was the mule myself for many years.