"This Dying Hobby"

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by KeyHunter, Nov 16, 2021.

  1. expat

    expat Remember you are unique, just like everyone else Supporter

    I think it would give a false interpretation if it was based only on a single region, as numismatics is a worldwide hobby. From my perspective, the nearest coin shop/dealer to me is busier than ever.
     
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  3. charley

    charley Well-Known Member

    I am referring specifically to the commentary of philately decline.
    I was not asking from a numismatic perspective.
    I think you may have misunderstood what I was referencing.
    I agree with you statement though, concerning the coin hobby.
     
  4. KBBPLL

    KBBPLL Well-Known Member

    I collected stamps briefly as a kid. Got some mint state from gramps, to me they were really old (early 1900s). Got the grab bag things from mail order. Pulled all the plate blocks off whenever mom got new stamps. There was so much to collect and none of it was worth anything, even in the early 70s. I quickly lost interest. It seems like it's a lot easier to focus on something with coins.
     
  5. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    One problem with stamp collecting (and maybe the main one) is that the stamp issuing entities create new stamps at the drop of a hat.
    It's a money making process for governments.
    Why should Tuvalu issue stamps honoring Mickey Mouse?

    My US stamp catalog is larger than ANY of my US coin catalogs.
    The first US postage stamps were issued in 1847.
    By 2017 there had been 5211 different US postage stamps issued.
    That's in 171 years; that's slightly more than 30 per year.
    And that's only postage stamps.
    That doesn't include Air Mails, Postage Dues, Revenues, postal cards, postal envelopes, duck stamps, etc.
    The commemoratives killed large interest in stamp collecting.
     
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  6. Seated J

    Seated J Well-Known Member

    Kanga has put his finger on the main cause. There was also the fact that every commemorative issued about after 1940 was saved in great numbers, many collectors put away full sheets. With such a glut they never appreciated in value, and most issues can be bought in bulk as discount postage for less than face value. The original buyers got hosed.
     
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  7. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    Are there any parallels with coin collecting that we could use as indicators that our hobby faces some of the same headwinds?
     
  8. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    I collected some USPS stamps and bought sheets, annual sets etc. They are worth nothing but the printed value on the stamp, and I have been using stamps from the 1990s for a couple of years now. And the post office folks wonder why I never buy stamps - I did, like 25 years ago!
     
  9. Vess1

    Vess1 CT SP VIP Supporter

    I don't collect stamps but last year I went to the PO and bought two sheets of the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower stamps. Was a cool picture. I put them in a frame. They're forever stamps so I guess when they cost $2 a piece some day that's what they'll be worth.
     
  10. gronnh20

    gronnh20 Well-Known Member

    No philatelic thread is complete without an inverted Jenny.

    DSCN3107.JPG DSCN3108.JPG
     
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  11. Sunflower_Coins

    Sunflower_Coins Importer and Exporter

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  12. KBBPLL

    KBBPLL Well-Known Member

    The Miller Mint catalog is mailed with all old stamps. They're cool to look at. I feel bad about chucking it in the recycling, but not that bad.
     
  13. gronnh20

    gronnh20 Well-Known Member

    The USPS even tried to create a rare limited edition inverted, inverted Jenny. They couldn't sell the commemorative Inverted Jennys, so they tried to create a rarity to sell off the remaining stamps.

    https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2013/pr13_079.htm
     
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  14. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    I believe the US Postal Service chopped off the arms and legs of the philatelic hobby by issuing increasing numbers of issues each year with rising prices for those who wished to have a complete collection. And I see the same scenario in the US Mint. I think my last philatelic purchase was a plate block of $5 stamps face. I think that both may come roaring back in the next century, and maybe my clone will be happy.

    Jim
     
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  15. Rushmore

    Rushmore Coin Addict

    I tried to get into stamps back in 2004-05 but the hobby just couldn't hold my interest. The only stamps I currently own are the overrun countries 1943-44 and the FDR memorial 1945.

    Holding a silver dollar in your hand is more sexy than holding a stamp.
     
  16. Seated J

    Seated J Well-Known Member

    I've got the overrun countries and the national parks issue of 1934 framed and hanging on my wall. If USPS had stuck to issuing stamps like that and not tons of garbage every year philately might still be alive and well.
     
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  17. Rushmore

    Rushmore Coin Addict

    I went to the ND State Coin Show in Fargo today and there were a lot of kids there, there was even a YN table.
     
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  18. COOPER12

    COOPER12 Well-Known Member

    Saw 4 kids at the local coin shop this morning.
     
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  19. longnine009

    longnine009 Darwin has to eat too. Supporter

    Maybe this will give hope to some who think coin collecting is dying. There is an ad in this weeks Coin World (pg35) for 20 year old Abigail Zechman. She is running for the FUN board of governors. She is also a student at the University of Central Florida working on a degree in Elementary Education. She wants to be a numismatic educator to YN's.
     
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  20. Gilbert

    Gilbert Part time collector Supporter

    If memory serves, one of the moderators posted a comment some time ago that the number of under-30s on CT is fairly substantial. So no, I do not think our hobby is dying.
     
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