Baby boomers

Studies show that most Coin Collectors are apart of the Baby-Boomer generation. they stated that the younger generation millennials are investing more in online currency then actual coin collecting. My question is, do you feel that once the Baby-Boomer generation passes will the Numismatic community fall behind? Where will coin collecting be in 40 years? (doing a research paper)

 

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The coin hobby generally tends to be an older population.

You'll hear an awful lot of people telling you that the hobby isn't getting any younger, and all the kids are doing other things. They'll tell you that as people start to die, the hobby will start to shrink.

The problem with that is, you can find articles in "The Numismatist" (the publication of the American Numismatic Association) that say the exact same thing... from 1901. The hobby has clearly not died in the 120 years since, and I don't expect it will when the baby boomers start to fade either.

Take it from me, a 33 year old collector.

There will always be people who gain interest later in life, and come to the hobby when they retire. The fact is, this is an expensive hobby, and usually it is the older, established people who have more income or disposable cash to play in this hobby.

 

Well my father and grandfather tried to get me into the hobby when I was younger but I had no interest in the hobby.

It wasn't till I retired I found my love for coins and the hobby and my kids no how much I enjoy it.

I feel in time they both will come around as I have when I pass on to the next life they can enjoy my collection.

Or I guess they can sell it but I fill that they will keep it for the sentimental value just to have a part of there dear departed father.LOL
Dave

 

I am a 15 year old and have been collecting for six years. I am trying to move on from casual collecting to more serious numismatics (selling coins as well as buying them). The hobby is not endangered.

 

Coin collecting is not endangered but coin clubs and coin shows are seeing declines. Mostly due to the internet. IMHO.

 

No one knows the future, of course, and extrapolating from the past to the future doesn't always work out how one expects. Such future projected ruminations can only involve guesswork.

A couple of cultural and economic changes might occur in the next 40 years that could greatly effect the hobby in ways that it has never before seen. If all money becomes electronic - the world is already slowly moving in this direction and it will admittedly take some time - then people will not get exposed to coinage in the way that they used to. Children won't find wheat pennies or buffalo nickels in change and form a sense of wonder about them. They may only experience change in museums, in antique stores or in movies. What would drive a person who rarely or never uses change to a coin show? It seems like people need exposure to the substance of this hobby to become interested. Limited exposure will likely result in limited number of interested people overall.

As for me, I almost never use cash or coin in transactions today. I have probably used tangible cash less than a dozen times in the past 2 years. Receiving change has become a rare novelty that I really enjoy, but the frequency of these events has plummeted.

This is my guess: if the above happens, and nobody knows if it will, then numismatics will likely greatly diminish. It will become a specialty hobby like old phones or cameras but continue as an academic pursuit. I don't think it will disappear completely because plenty of people collect hordes of obsolete things. But once coins stop circulating, assuming they do, it's hard to imagine interest surging. I have absolutely no idea what this could do to coin values. The extreme rarities will likely always possess upper class distinction as expensive things to own, but the vast mass of commons and easier to obtain coins may become even easier to obtain. It's hard to say.

Another distinction to consider is the much debated and controversial difference between "numismatics" and "coin collecting." The two terms often mean the same thing in everyday use, but Numismatics also refers to the study of coins rather than their mere acquisition. Coins have a rich cultural history and I don't see this sense of numismatics disappearing at all. What I've said above refers mostly to the concept of coin collecting. Some coin collectors become numismatists and some remain collectors. The vast majority straddle the line between these two senses.

I don't think the hobby will ever vanish, but I have a hard time believing that it will greatly expand in a digital world of increasingly electronic commerce. But, as has happened in the past, the world itself may change in ways we could never expect and alter the entire fabric of how we live.

 

I think the hobby will thrive in the future generations.

 

With apologies to Mark Twain: “Reports of the death of coin collecting have been greatly exaggerated.”

 

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I feel due to this generation so involved in mobile phones , computers and the like, collectibles in general will fall way behind....I saw this when i had my coin and stamp shop. The average age of my clientel were in their 30's going from mid 20;s to mid 80's ...That is when i decided ( as i was in the trade ) to sell off all my items and forget my kids as they will more than likely just melt the gold and silver and try to spend the banknotes. Numismatics in my eye will not just fall behind, i think it will die. I am 61 now and am retired from coins stamps and the like. Let the younger generation of today look after themselves as they will not be thankfull for anything given to them in our hobby.

 

No one can answer what will be in 40 years time as we cannot read the future.... If we could read the future, then we would know all prices of metals and when to sell them..correct??

 

Always be aware that anytime mainstream media does a story about coin collecting it’s that it’s a “dying hobby”

Also be aware the media has been pulling out the same story for 50 years and rewriting it — usually by an author who quickly proves he or she doesn’t have a clue of what they are talking about.

 

I also play around with old muscle cars and old car guys have the same laments. They fear when our generation is gone that these wonderful old cars will go to scrap. Maybe... Maybe not.

The thing about silver and gold is that they always have and always will hold intrinsic value. Whether or not the coin hobby continues to thrive. Well, only time will tell.

I love old coins and I love old cars. I don’t see many young folks gravitating toward the old cars. Heck, they can’t. My generation has dramatically overvalued them. I will say though that seeing the younger collectors here on CT have given me hope that there is a future in our hobby.

 

It ain't dead or dying..........you just get a new generation of old guys coming into the hobby every 10 years or so, so while the participants in the hobby ain't getting any younger there is a most definite perpetuation.

 

On the other hand, it is the internet that makes collecting enjoyable for me.

 

True for most. Few people actually live within neighborhoods that have their own coin club or shows. Before the internet groups, both were long distance trips for the majority. Now everyone can be almost anonymous and learn as much as they wish or not.

The other side is that by FAR, the largest complaint on the internet is that new people with their youtube generated enthusiasm and almost complete lack of true information inundates the forums,
And the 3rd side of that , No one has to answer them if they do not wish, but they do anyway as it is human nature, that if you have a flyswatter in hand, and see a harmless fly go by on its way outside, you swat because that is what you do

 

The hobby was dying in 1995.

It was rejuvenated by a new wave of collectors brought on by the states quarters and it will still be rejuvenated when these new collectors are old men and women.

After that it's difficult to predict.

 

Let's say a true coin lover like me wanted the hobby to die and the bottom falls out the numismatic market. I will still be more than happy to buy all your guys 1909s Indians and wheat cents for $1 a piece. Or all your capped bust halves for melt. I can't wait for that dreadful day all you guys throw in the towel on this doomed hobby and sell me your worthless metal coins so you can by a fractional share of bitconnect with your proceeds.

 

I’ll give you $2 each!

 

I submit the theory that as life spans get longer, we will have more collectors rather than less

 

We have more coin collectors now - it is just coin collectors represent a smaller % of the total population. Actually I think the real potential in growth of the hobby lies with the emerging economies of China, India and etc. AS these economies build, expand and sustain a solid middle class demand in collecting their own country's numismatic history will increase accordingly.