Why coin sales flat

I've been on top of that for over the past 10 years. And the return on investment with certain non-USA coins is already a fact.

It was just a hunch of mine when I first started pursuing South Korean coins that these might just be a good investment, and that prices might go up. "Investment" wasn't really the reason why I started collecting them. I had no idea how right my hunch was, but make no mistake: I just happened to be right about that.

I'm mostly now focused on studying and writing about them, as that is the more rewarding aspect for me now.

If I had known the kind of return on investment for the key-date pieces that I did sell, I would have spent even more on those gem pieces that were going for just a few dollars!

 

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So what are we supposed to call Oriental rugs?

 

Whatever you want. At least, I've never heard a rug object to the term.

 

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True, I should have said generally. There's definitely a difference between falling for something and playing the part doing what you need to to pass the class and move on.

The common courtesy part isn't, only true jerks try and push things if someone asks nicely. The problem is the cancel culture and outrage culture that has emerged where people are getting fired and physical threats for jokes they posted years ago, pushes to make it a hate crime for referring to someone not by their preferred gender if they even have one etc.

It went way past common courtesy particularly in places like Twitter and thats what the majority of society who are normal rational people are fed up with as it's exhausting how many people spend their days just trying to destroy other peoples lives over trivial matters while pretending to be morally superior.

 

Forget that, how do I make out my donation check to the United NEGRO College fund !!

 

The obvious problem is that too many beginners don't actually have Beginner's Mind.

 

Their cup is full of preconceived notions and you tubes' misinformation and there is no room for true learning. Empty the cup!

 

There's also alot to learn before you take the plunge into coins, whether it is moderns, MSDs, Saints, or World/Ancients.

While the resources are there today more easily accessible than 30 or 50 years ago, there is also more demands on ones time today and more stuff to distract you (NetFlix, YouTube, Instagram, etc.).

When you were collecting as a kid, Doug, it was only Little League, TV, and school that competed for your time. Today, there's alot more stuff (Karate, Dance, school extracurriculars, etc.) plus gaming/video games, the Internet, Social Media, cable TV with 150 channels, etc.

 

I view part of the problem with beginners not accepting being beginners as the internet. Way too many people think they can Google something and they are knowledgable.

Facts or trivia are googleable. Knowledge is knowing how to interpret and apply facts. Too many people in all walks of life now have access to trillions of facts and no knowledge so they cannot properly understand them. However, because they look up a random fact, they now think they are knowledgable.

Too many useless facts, way too little knowledge nowadays.

 

Not sure this is a "thing" yet or not, but here goes: To alleviate the "I can easily learn things via internet" phenomenon among us coin collectors, I think that coin show organizers would do good to have a "coin grading competition" in which dealers participating in the competition can have a coin (in a slab or not, with the grade covered by piece of tape) that they will show visitors to their table. Each visitor marks down the grade they think the coin is on a printout (or better yet, a google doc or survey thingy on their device) and does the rounds at the tables. This would have the added benefit of getting more people to visit dealers' tables to talk and get business going.

At the end of the show, the organizer shares the "actual" grades with everyone, along with the comments from the owners of the coins as to why the coin is graded as such. This might get people interested in the art of coin grading, which is more of a skill (knowledge), and not something based on random facts.

 

PCGS and NGC have each done this at shows in the past with prizes for the top performers

 

You're making the assumption that there is a hard science everyone must agree grade when they're aren't. Even the best graders in the world and best series experts disagree on grades. XF and lower is pretty easy and straight forward but AU and up especially in MS there's room for debate. There's certainly incorrect grades that can be given though when they're too far off.

They're graded just as correctly today as they were graded 20 years ago, or 40 years ago, or hundreds of years ago. Coins are always graded at the time to their contemporary standards. It doesn't really matter if today isn't "correct" according to 40 years ago as it isn't 40 years ago anymore, it's up to each person to keep current with the current standard.

 

Whose "standards"? Not a third parties, nor the ANA's. TPGs have their own standards they profess, so by definition if they assign a grade it is "correct" because they can simply claim "that is our "standard"". The absurdity is laughable if not so sad.

Btw, David Bowers, someone more respected in the hobby than any TPG owners, founders, or employee likely will ever be, has written extensively how even lower circulated coins like IHCs are dramatically overgraded by slabbers today.

It is simply a large con job on a hobby, simple as that. I respect their opinion on authenticity, and would have used them if they would have simply applied ANA standards to their grading services. That is the original sin that led to the corruption we see today.

 

Completely unnecessary attack, but I'm not going to attack Bowers for absolutely no reason. Plenty of the people you mentioned are on the same level as him if not higher which isn't an attack on him.

Not even remotely true.

What ANA standards would those be? The ANA guide even says that it's just reporting the current standards. The ANA isn't out there driving standards and frankly are growing more and more irrelevant as time goes on.

The ANA had the chance to take hold of the hobby and be the driving force in grading driving the standards and being the leader of the hobby. Not only did they not do that, but they got out of being a TPG all together.

They turned the leadership and grading standards over to others and that ship has sailed, they won't be able to take that back over again.

 

I have said this before and I will state it again. It is a recipe for corruption to have a for profit company in charge of an industry's standards. ANSI is a non profit Corporation and it is high time that the ANA or some other non profit steps up and start driving the bus. We need a non-partisan group to not only set the standards but to do a whole lot more.
Edit: the fact that the ANA is not a TPG is actually a good thing as there is no conflict of interest which is exactly the problem with a for profit TPG setting standards. It is a conflict.