I was watching a documentary on Prime about book collecting. In it, I heard something I found interesting. A book dealer noted the difference between book collecting and art collecting as a difference between comradery and exclusionary collecting. Book collecting, since it is collecting an object meant for mass production, celebrates the fact others will own what you own, and breeds collective research and enjoyment. Art, on the other hand, is an exclusionary act. If One person owns the picture, that means no one else can. Definitionally its about owning something unique that others cannot. I thought about it and I like the comparison. I find coin collecting like book collecting. We are collecting objects we know were mass produced, and this enables us to more freely share what we love about them in my mind. Maybe this is why I dislike the movement in coins the last 30-40 years to have "conditional rarities" and "registry sets". To me this smacks more of exclusionary collecting, "I own the highest graded example, so you never will" type of thing. What do you think of the comparison between book, (and coin), collecting versus art collecting? Please feel free to disagree with anything I think. I would like other's opinions.
I suppose books and coins are closer than fine art and coins. If you collect fine art they tend not to be mass produced, so there’s that. However pricing wise they could be similar if you’re rich enough I don’t think there’s a more affordable hobby than basic ancient or world coin collecting
The comparison works up to a point, because lines of exclusion around income can exist even for mass produced items. Not everyone can afford a Chain Cent, or a 1793 Half Cent, or a Gobrecht Dollar, for example. So, though more examples exist of these than for a single unique Rembrandt painting, they are still exclusionary for many based on disposable income. Rarities often get the most press as well, so even hobbies that collect mass produced items have an element of exclusion to them. I do agree that the degree of exclusion doesn't extend to the point of unique works of art, but I think the comparison is one of degree rather than of mutual exclusivity or kind. In other words, I would consider collecting fine art more exclusionary than collecting books or coins, rather than hobbies with completely different characters. As such, coin or book (or comics, sports cards, stamps, etc.) collecting is less exclusionary than fine art collecting. It's arguably difficult for the average collector to feel much comradeship with collectors who purchase $20,000 or $100,000 coins. But a group of people with similar incomes who collect things within their means could have such comradeship.
