Hello everyone! I turn 21 on the 22nd this month, and I was looking for a nice ancient coin to treat myself to. Nice ancient coins can be expensive, and I started thinking of how much I should spend. I like buying coins because they can be good investments if you know what you’re doing, or get lucky! Whenever I go to a coin show, I am always by far the youngest person there. I’ve had this in the back of my mind for some time now. I am trying to consider if it’s worth paying hundreds of dollars for a single coin, most collectors are older. Passing away is unavoidable. With many collectors being older and will pass away eventually, do you think coin collecting with eventually die out with coin prices dropping along the way? I was curious what other people’s thoughts were!
Coin collectors have ALWAYS been older. It takes money and older people have that money. Younger people grow up and become older and their interests change ect. Collecting isn't going anywhere
Happy birthday! I do not think the hobby of ancient coin collecting is dying out. The cost of acquiring them certainly isn't, at least not for coins in better condition. As for being the youngest at shows, I've seen younger and know several very young and very serious ancient coin collectors, people who are the next generation of leading names in ancient numismatics. Coin shows might be dying out though.
Well geez... now you're just going to wait for us all to kick the bucket? There are many more experienced collectors on here that can give you a better idea of where the hobby is trending and how prices may go in the future - I will let them weigh in (if they want to). Frankly I don't know. But I do not collect as an investment... I am sure there are much smarter ways to invest your money if that is your goal. Sorry I cannot help - good luck.
He’s only about to be 21. There is the potential for him to do pretty good since he could have these coins for 30, 40 or 50 years before selling. I do agree investments should most be other ventures but with how long he could have them a positive return on nice coins could easily happen
There was a thread here a while ago about whether or not the prices of ancient coins have gone up. Examples were given of coins that sold 20 years ago or more for prices much higher than the coin would sell today. Ancient coins are not for investing. If you love coins and love the history then ancient coins are for you. Invest in the stock market or mutual funds, they are much more reliable investments than ancient coins. I am specifically writing about Ancient coins.
Birthday treat ancient coin...something iconic yet not bankrupting...Get an Alexandrian Tetrdrachm. Doesn't have to be the best, but the heft of the coin and the history is mesmerizing.
Yes, that is true and my post above should qualify that the cost of acquiring certain types of coins in higher states of preservation is increasing . Even that qualification might not really be true though... I'm just basing it on what's happening with the types of coins I'm currently trying to collect (observer bias )
I usually do well with ancient coins! I’ve made a very good amount on coins I bought when I first started collecting, and have traded up!
i concur with you on that even tho i find it hard to sell my coins (i've managed to sell 2 in 15 years..right @Alegandron , @Ryro ?!)
I started out at 12. My first coin was a Gordian III antoninianus bought for $30 back in 1981. I had a paper route and an active lawn/gardening business that supplied the funds. I eventually got all of the 12 Caesars....however, I sold my collection at consignment when I was 18 to help pay for college. Fast forward 37 years and Gordians' can still be had for $30-50 in pretty nice condition. So I would not always consider ancient coins a great investment. In some cases the prices have risen dramatically, but not always.
I just turned 23, and I've been collecting ancients pretty regularly for the past couple years, and sporadically before that. I don't know anyone else my age in 'real life' who shares that hobby, but I'm sure there are some out there, and many more of modern coinage. And many of them will get more interested in it as time and money accumulates, I imagine. To me it's a natural extension of my interest in history and archaeology, and the result of encouragement from a professor with a massive collection of ancients, and having taken classes where we spent a lot of time on the subject.
The Internet is playing a tremendous role in expanding and reinforcing this lovely, educative and promising hobby.
We want ancient coins, so we invoke the (unnecessary) "investment" excuse/justification. It might not even be wrong. But, there have been threads on this noting prices can go down: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/prices-can-go-down.297348/ On the part of CoinTalk devoted to selling coins I wrote this: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/domitian-denarius-ex-cng-ancient.308619/ about a coin pictured at that link: ex CNA (= CNG) auction V (Dec. 9, 1988), lot 379 with PR $370 + 10% + shipping = over $410 thirty years ago. With ticket. TRP COS VII DES VIII PP, struck 13 Sept. 81 - 31 Dec. 81. (A narrow time period.) RIC Domitian 58, page 269, plate 118. Sear I 2720. [Extremely sharp portrait. Lovely toning. $345 + $7 shipping in the US. I accept PayPal and checks.] It didn't sell. (Just so you know, I am not the buyer from 30 years ago). Someone thought they were getting a great coin and I'll bet they used the "investment" excuse. It didn't work out for them, did it?
This topic comes up pretty regularly on CoinTalk. The hobby is fine. Now what coin to buy? I would second a tetradrachm of Alexander or if size and heft interest you, consider a bronze from one of the Ptolemies. Ptolemy IV, BC 246-222 AE, 41mm; 12h Obv.: Bust of Zeus-Ammon right Rev.: ΠΤΟΛΣΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΣΩΣ; eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopia tied with fillet before, ΔI between legs