The Mint's Numismatic Forum in Philly

Yeah, that was horrifying, especially after it was suggested that they take on additional outreach duties with the bodies they had. My snap judgement of Dr. Feingold was that she's sharp enough to have seen exactly where the butter was spread in that place. Did you catch the fact that she didn't characterize her recent hires as "permanent?"

Bottom line, one sentence: Everybody in the room (with a few exceptions) was all about the business of coin collecting, not numismatics. "How do we make more money?"

 

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Don't forget about the purple ones. They went extinct a while back, though.

 

I asked it directly and unambiguously of Mint personnel at the reception, "What percentage of the participants make their living from the coin business?" The answer was 75%. But they also pointed out the last times they did anything like this, the answer would have been 100%.

 

Slabbing did one thing, it massively inflated US coin prices and helped make collecting US coins the most expensive field within numismatics. It always amazes me that I can easily find 1000 or 2000 year old coins at a fraction of the price many modern slabbed coins go for.

Couple that with the bad sales policies at the mint, which means the little guys get further fleeced by big dealers, and the recent surge of investors into the hobby, whom are here to trade coins like stocks and bonds...and the writing is on the wall. Many numismatists are being ran out of the hobby entirely, or are moving to non-US coins.

The US coin market is going to be in for a huge shock in 10-15 years as more baby-boomers die and younger collectors fail to show up or drop out altogether thanks to some of the things I mentioned above. Look at what happened to stamp collecting for an example.

 

So then my question is this: How come you and I can see the truth in that as clearly as the noses on our faces, yet at LEAST 80% of the attendees, and 100% of US Mint personnel can't?

I'll tell you why. They can't see it because Jeff Garrett is all talk and no action. He talks about getting kids involved in the hobby and meanwhile, a coin in his case with a price under $1000 is a rarity. What he means is he wants somebody else to do the hard work while he has cocktails with the 1%.

 

Man, I loved those Maroon Velours. I bought extras in 1993 and 1994, too.

 

You said it best. The dealers can't see it because they have a money interest in things continuing as is. They make short sighted decisions now because it benefits them in the present, and they don't care what happens in 15 years because they'll be retired, dead, or will have moved to something else. And the government employees don't see it because they don't have a private business mentality and get paid and have relative job security either way.

I personally have no emotional or financial interest in the U.S. Numismatics market, being an ancient and medieval collector mainly focused on ancient Roman coins and obscure ancient/medieval Asian coins hardly anyone bothers to collect. So when I analyze the U.S. coin collecting hobby and market, I do so from an impartial outsider's view, using my personal knowledge of the coin hobby as a whole, my experience as a business owner, and my personal experience of having been trained in law school to analyze things impartially from all angles...which has served me well in my legal career. And it is that experience which led me to the same conclusions as yourself.

 

May I offer to a medieval collector a hearty "Happy Battle of Hastings Day"?

 

Thanks for representing the little guys! I had a very tiny interest in collecting back in the late 90's. That went to the back burner and I just recently started back up, primarily with cents, and am enjoying it thoroughly! I consider myself to be a "young" collector at 35. I have noticed that it is really ridiculous to try and buy certain coins and for the new collectors it is a real turn off. Thanks for sticking up to the big guys who control the market. My grandfather lived in Lancaster Kurt but I'm not sure if he belonged to the Red Rose Coin Club or not. I didn't have much interaction with him and his coins. Do you have to live in Lancaster to be a member? I live in Elkton Md currently and don't know of any local clubs here. Looking to gain some knowledge from some new friends!

 

Anyone who feels they can reasonably make a few meetings is more than welcome to a full regular membership. For those more distant, we have associate memberships. We do have a few Marylanders in the club now. There are still about 3 or 4 guys with single-digit member numbers. I know they'd love to talk to you.

 

On the outside chance that someone has not seen this:



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