I think about this a lot. The main question is: Is it good or bad that this hobby is growing? It majorly took a boost when the state quarters came out. I remember always seeing quarters on QVC or the Home Shopping Network. I forgot which one. Maybe both. It's great that people are taking an interest in this! Maybe the new nickels will lure people in more. But remember Newton's third law! (It kind of works with this) If everyone starts collecting...it damages the "system" a bit. If everyone collected everything like they did the state quarters...then there would be no 21st century coins to collect. They'd all turn out like the 1943 penny. Everyone saved them. I don't see the new nickel or the state quarters being worth much in the future. It's more of a fad than a hobby. Don't get me wrong...I think it's awesome people are taking an interest and learning....but do consider the reaction. Do you agree or am I out of line?
i think this falls under Greshams Law which is the name of the observation made by Sir Thomas Gresham, 16th century financer, that when two coins with the same face value but different intrinsic values are in circulation at the same time, the one with the lesser intrinsic value will remain in circulation while the other is hoarded.. lol
Well look at it this way. The Mint claims 100 million collecting the state quarter. A few of these have branched into more traditional series. This is good for the hobby. These were people who until 1999 had no interest in coins.
Quote by rolltide: ___________________________________________ The main question is: Is it good or bad that this hobby is growing? ___________________________________________ i think it is good and bad at the same time. it's good because more people are taking interest in coins. The bad thing is that if everyone has a specific coin, the coin may not be worth anything.
I think it is good because more people should be introduced to this hobby (and the good people in it) even though it may mean we will pay more for that coin we want. As far as the hoarding of pocket change...I think that is a short term phenom every time there is a change in design. I think most of those coins will re-enter circulation eventually when people lose interest, move on to other coins or realize that their hoard is worth about face value. A lot of coins now days probably re-enter through CoinStar which is processing more coins each year than the mint produces...and that is a boatload!
Well in a way - yes. But actually it is a little more involved than that. You see, in 1943, the first of the copper coins was discovered and it created an uproar. And very soon there was a rumor that got started that swept the entire nation like wildfire. This rumor was reported in newspapers, magazines, on the radio - and most importantly - by word of mouth. In a nutshell the rumor was that Ford Motor Co. would give anyone who turned in one of these coins a brand new Ford - for free. As a result - Ford was inundated with counterfeit examples of these coins. And of course Ford - denied the rumor entirely
In order to maintain demand for coins it is critical that a new generation of collectors be recruited. Sure, if you want extremely low prices even for significant rarities and little competition for coins than you're better off with the old status quo. Don't make too many assumptions about the ultra moderns. While mintages are huge and enormous quantities are being saved there is also a huge demand for the coins. While an XF Delaware quarter will not soon command a large premium there is every possibility that a superb gem will.
the new mint series are, in my personal opinion, diluting the hobby the state quarters have led to a bit too much hoarding and to some collectors who know almost nothing about numismatics itself
