Question for the old timers

...and for me, I guess an old timer could be somebody that was collecting in the 70 & 80s .

Anyway, I'm sure the question's been asked before but, I was wondering what the internet has done to values of coins, once it got into full swing in the 90s.

I would guess it has driven prices down. Sometimes when I find stuff on ebay, I think how hard it would be to find one without it. Some I can't imagine ever being able to find without the internet.

What did you guys use before the internet to locate coins? Just the local dealers?

 

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Many dealers mailed out catalogs, and there were still traditional auctions, etc.

 

I can only speak for me. In the pre-internet 70s I mostly collected coins from circulation and bank rolls. Then, as now, it was mostly an interest in silver coins, but they were more plentiful back then. Silver dimes were particularly common even after the silver quarters and halves were mostly pulled from circulation. Dateless buffalo nickels still circulated in the 1960s, and Canadian coins were far more common than now. While mostly interested in silver, I also put together an almost complete set of Lincoln cents through about 1964 from circulation.

The internet has probably had a dual effect. Prices are lower because of the increased availability, but also higher because of the increased number of people collecting them. Maybe it's been a wash. The worst purchases I ever made in my life were from a local dealer when I first started collecting. Fortunately for me, I didn't have a lot to spend.

 

Don't forget the other resources of the internet. Many of the reference books I use online would otherwise have cost me hundreds of dollars. Then there's educational places like cointalk.

 

For me the internet has made getting info a lot more easyer. Other then buying from the Mint and a few dealers I still like buying coins the old fashion way from shops and shows. There are to many cons and rip off artist out there on the internet for me to buy coins from someone I do not know or trust.

But to answer your questions: I think that the internet has help raise prices on coins just for the fact that the internet has made coins more available to the novice collector. When I started collecting you had to go to shows, a shop if you could fine one, buy books or magazines if you could find them, or buy a graysheet/greensheet to get the info or coins (high grade coins) you were looking for. But as Cloudsweeper has stated the 60's, 70's, and even into the eary 80's you could still find coins in circulation that you can not find today. It was not uncommon to find teens, 20's, 30's, and 40's coins back then.

 

For me as a new collector, the internet and computers have made collecting so much more enjoyable and something I can do on a daily/hourly basis even at work. (tisk tisk).. I now use a comptuer program to catalog my collection, and the internet to verify current values in real time. I look at it more as a resourse, however I'm not familuar how it used to be.. sounds like there were more die-hard collectors back then, that people now don't appreciate as much.

-DJ

 

As one who started before the internet, the internet has opened up a whole new world to collectors. Perhaps it has dropped the price on some coins but with the ability to reach millions of collectors it has brought to light many new areas of collecting only enjoyed by a few before. Errors and Varieties are one example. Before the internet there were books, publications, some shows and shops. Try to think of collecting with out internet, no coin talk, no ebay, not having the information you want, there when you need it.
Bill :smile

 

I agree with Andy. Many coins on e-bay are over priced. I can take ten pictures of any coin I own and choose the top two that hide the flaws. Even if you are able to get a refund from the seller, you are still out the postage. I haven't purchased a raw coin on e-bay in almost a year, with the exception of certified coins. With e-bay or internet purchased I perfer the security of certified coins unless you know the seller.

 

I've also thought that could be a possibility. Because now there's a huge selection of anything you could want, but the internet is also catering to millions of collectors around the world. Which leads to many more people fighting for coins.


I think Ebay can be a valuable tool for just watching coins go and see what people are willing to pay. I watched an NGC, MS-61 1878-CC Morgan with great eye appeal, go last night for 193.00. Nobody bid on it within the last few hours. It ended there. The red book prices them higher. NGCs price guide prices them higher, but Ebay is like a real time price guide.

The info available now is incredible. If anything, if people really want to, it's easier to get well educated, faster than at any time in history. IMO, this applies to all hobby forums and info online. If you're willing to search and read.

I was out of the hobby for 14 years, and never really learned much to begin with. I'm not boasting or anything but I was amazed at how easy it was to get caught back up on what's going on and learning everything back. Mainly thanks to the internet and help from this forum.

The one coin shop within 20 miles of me closed up when I was a kid. Now, there's a couple antique malls around that do not specialize in coins and that's it. Have to drive 60 miles to find a shop. The only one I've been to had a decent selection but was very disorganized. I'm probably the only one in my town that collects so forums like this really make the hobby more enjoyable.

 

Personally, it has opened a wealth of buying knowledge where back in the 60's you only got coins from a local coin store or found them in your change. There were no slabbed coins unless you were a die hard buyer. Nobody ever knew who else was collecting and you never even thought of contacting a neighbor or store more than a few miles away.

Internet has opened up a world of knowledge, trading and auction buying that simply wasn't available years ago. I love it. :hail:

 

"Question for the old timers "

I resemble that comment!

 

The occasional visit to remote coin shops. Maybe two a year or so. My collection and collecting habits were relatively sedentary at the time with very little change in the complexition or composition.

Ben

 

lol Yeah, at first I was going to be more PC and go with something like "senior collectors" but it sounded too goofy to me.

Funny, I've never had to make a post anywhere with a question for the punk kids.

(Not to say there aren't knowledgeable youngsters here.)

 

Honestly, for those who have collected for decades the web will allow for more complete collections. So for those hard to find coins, and the "last one to complete the set" pieces.. its a "gold-mine". I'm looking forward to that while attempting to fill in the gaps in my grandfathers colleciton. I remember him looking for years for a few choice coins, but never had a way to get them. Now hopefully I can.

 

Mostly shops seems like there were more little shops around in the late 60s & 70s , coin mags had dealers listed , then there were companies that would mail lists out of the coins they had .
rzage

 

Yeah but nowadays it seems you have better luck shopping on Craigslist and Ebay as your local coin store. You have everything you want at your fingertips.

 

Interesting question. i think it is one of the few times you'll find people do not wax nostalgic about how "great" the old days were.

If you were living in a city, you probably had access to a few dealers and/or flea markets. But if you lived in any kind of rural area, you were fried.

Maybe the only thing that was cool was going into our local Ben Franklin dime store and standing in front of the stamp and coin rack for probably hours on end. They would have the whitman folders, stamp hinges, the Whitman "black book", envelopes of exotic, foreign stamps for $0.99 (or whatever). Those were my little voyages out of the midwest.....

Finally, all the coins and stamps on approval! Talk about spending way too much. Ah, the names of yesteryear - Kenmore, Mystic, Littleton, Calapan, .......

I don't know if prices now are more or less. I would say, that in general, prices are more FAIR. That assumes you have at least did a bit of research before you buy. And you can't say there is a lack of material out there to study.

So prices up or down - hard to say. I'd say they're more where they should be.

 

I believe the internet has had a little bit of an effect on the prices of coins. Online auctions and stores have made buying coins much easier for some people, ones who dont have coin shops close to home or coin shows every weekend. I remember the only way to find out about coin shows here was to hope you caught it in the newspaper the weekend before.

 

I'd say you're probably right. A lot of communication going on between people over what's a good deal and what's not.

BTW, I sent you a PM a couple days ago. Did you see it?

 

except the ability to hold the coin , bought 2 coins over the internet this year sent back 2 50% not too bad , brought back 3 out of 20 I bought at store , guess I'm a little pickey .
rzage:smile:hatch::hammer: