cladking

"Also, I found it interesting that Sylvester said that in the UK only pre-decimal gets people into collecting. I have a sister-in-law from the UK and the last time we met, she had some "round pounds" four in fact, one celebrating Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland, if I understand the heraldry on the reverse. I wondered how they would look in Proof! So, we do see eye-to-eye on your main point."




Moderns aren't really popular anywhere. In the US the post 1998 coins are extremely popular but these are truly a different class simply because they are popular. I refer to them as ultra moderns. Everyone I talk to in England agrees that the decimal coinage is mostly ignored. Of course this coinage is still being made so even though there's lots of different coins in circulation there aren't any thought of as obsolete type unless they still see the occasional shilling.

There is some mass interest now days in European moderns. The old German 5M cu/ni coins list for prices up to $4,200 in typical unc. These coins were made through the '50's and '60's and it's been known for years that people neglected to save them. Other recently obsolete European coins have attracted a great deal more interest also. These coins have been escalating sharply in price for some time but it's not because they're popular it's because the tiny demand swamps the tinier supply. With many moderns if they ever become popular most people will simply have to collect them in circulated grades, but this will prove problematic with some issues since vast numbers of these have simply been melted when they were no longer used as money.

When a new coinage is issued there is a tendency for the old to get saved and many new collectors and collections to get started. This hasn't really happened in this country, but it may just be a more drawn out process since the older coins are held in near universal disdain. Certainly though the demand for moderns has increased many fold even if it is still at a very low level.

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Tempus fugit

RePeat

Unfortunately, I can't answer many of your questions because I lack the experience in those fields. However, regarding your forth question, I think the internet is/will definitely hurt "most" small coin dealers. But, I do think there is a way to steer the general public away from purchasing items on the internet. They just need to figure out how. The same problem faces all retail business, too.

Coin dealers are like any other business with four walls, but I don't think they operate in the same sense. Take jewelry stores for instance, they advertise, market, and many focus on customer service in order to bring people through the door. Why should coin dealers operate differently? Coins are like jewelry; both can be graded, both can contain precious medals, both can be considered art, both make great gifts, and both can be as cheap or expensive as one likes. However, I do think coins have a couple bonuses; coins have more historic value and they are considered a hobby (I know many of our wives would debate the last one).

So, basically I think the future of coin dealers, big and small, belongs in their hands and they should be able to prosper as a retail business just like any other business in this country.

JDSCOIN

Hello RePeat,

In order for something like that plastic-on-a-keychain to work everybody (or most people) would have to agree to it. I don't know if that will be possible in 5, 10 or 15 years.

There are a lot of collectors to consider as well. Remember, the U.S. Mint makes a great deal of money (profit) by selling coin sets, etc. So, there is that to consider. Coin collectors LIKE the possibility of getting a nice and/or rare/scarce coin in change. If we don't use change anymore, that likelihood will vanish.

Besides that, there is the psychological aspect of having something cold, hard and tangible in your hands that is worth something. So, there will be a lot of hurdles to get over before anything like you describe can really happen. And those are only a few, there are, I would guess, many other reasons as well.

JDSCOIN

GDJMSP

Howdy JDSCOIN - Welcome to the Forum !!

Is this who I think it is ?

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knowledge ..... share it

JDSCOIN

Hello GDJMSP, thank you for the welcome!

Since I am not certain just who YOU are at the moment, I really can't say. But since you are from Utah and I don't know many people from Utah, I'd have to say 'no'.

But you do meet a lot of people in this hobby and it's not entirely out of the question. If you want to tell me more about yourself or about the person that you might have thought me to be (by email if you like), then we can figure this out. I collect a lot of different kinds of coins and tokens - U.S., Foreign, and Ancient.

John

PS: I'm trying to get used to posting in a forum format such as this and I am trying to avoid posting mistakes. I think that I may just kind of look at posts by other people and try to figure out what I may and may not do. The "Preview Reply" button is very helpful. Thank you again!

mmarotta

(The arrow of time is irreversible.)

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Mike M
Michael E. Marotta
ANA MSNS CSNS

mmarotta

(It all depends on how you see things.)

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Mike M
Michael E. Marotta
ANA MSNS CSNS

GDJMSP

Change is inevitable - it will come to pass. But this is a change that I do not think will be coming any time soon.

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mmarotta

(Time keeps on slipping into the future.)

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Mike M
Michael E. Marotta
ANA MSNS CSNS

Andy

"Change is inevitable - it will come to pass. But this is a change that I do not think will be coming any time soon".
(Time keeps on slipping into the future.)

I think that the future is already here and that the change is just not complete yet.
However, I do not think that having no coinage other then minted gold or silver will not kill the hobby. In fact in might have the opposite effect.

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We reap what we sow.

RePeat

That's kinda how I feel. When coins are removed from circulation, I think it will just add fuel to the fire. At least that's what I hope would happen...

onepence

The Future of this Hobby
is more Glorious than any thought can convey
centuries, nay eons and eons, must come and go
before we see the likes again of 1844.

oneness,
dh

Hi

My name is Dean Hedges, aka onepence, and this is my first post to this forum. I have been blessed with many a gift, and thankful to have found this forum. From the few posts that I have read I have found the members of this community readily assisting one another, and for this all here are worthy of my deepest respect. I recently got interested in coin collecting after reading the following quote from the Baha'i community of which I am a member.

"Such advances in science and technology were reciprocal in their effects. Grains of sand--the most humble and ostensibly worthless of materials--metamorphosed into silicon wafers and optically pure glass, making possible the creation of worldwide communications networks. This, together with the deployment of ever more sophisticated satellite systems, has begun providing access to the accumulated knowledge of the entire human race for people everywhere, without distinction. It is apparent that the decades immediately ahead will see the integration of telephone, television, and computer technologies into a single, unified system of communication and information, whose inexpensive appliances will be available on a mass scale. It would be difficult to exaggerate the psychological and social impact of the anticipated replacement of the jumble of existing monetary systems--for many, the ultimate fortress of nationalist pride--by a single world currency operating largely through electronic impulses."

So ... in a round about way I started studying currency and economics.
I think there is a good likely hood that a world government will attempt to pass legislation in effect to something like this

Any coin for A coin
no exceptions
Any bill for A bill
except the usd and reichsmarks which get nothing.

it is also probable most people will only to gladly turn in coins, especially "foreign" coins for a world currency coin.
perhaps slowly, ever so slowly, national heritage banks will emerge
offering among other things ... a museum of national coins ...

as far as the coin collecting hobby
fun and profitable if you have a strategy
like specializing in ???? Hati, Jamacica, Uruaguay, .... , coins
but ultimately what is of value is that is what is perceivied to be as a nearness to God ... for a Baha'i key dates of 1844 & 1863 Iran and Iraqi coins ... anything 1844 & 1863 stamps, coins, pictures, ... today rose petals.

a person of oneness,
Dean Hedges

sylvester

You lost me, what's so special about 1844? Well i know there's something nice about that date from a British coin point of view it being the one year in which you can put together a full set from Sovereign to Silver groat. But other than that you lost me.

Is this any God in particular? (just want clarification, not a religious debate).

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To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'