Future of the hobby

you missed the point what i was trying to say is colelctors cant buy coins at decent prices any more investors are treating it as a commodity and speculation is causing the prices ot go up

 

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when exactly were the prices not affected by speculation? the price of coins hasn't risen dramatically, the buying power of the US dollar has diminished compared to other world currencies making some coins appear to be more expensive. Russians can afford to drop big dollars on coins because they are cheaper than paying in Euros in Europe.

-Steve

 

to the extent that they are now? hardly ever other than 1980 and 1990. whether the dollar falsl or the price rises its the same end affect to the collector here you still have to pay more coz the incomes dont rise at the same rate

 

actually you should be paying less in hard financial times - as more people start to feel the crush of the economic troubles, the easier it will be for them to unload coins. key dates in rare coins can be had for realistic prices, but don't look to dealers for those deals - you have to buy direct.

in the next year or so, you should be seeing some excellent deals out there as people liquidate their commodities.

-Steve

 

Coin collecting will have its ups and downs, but I believe will be around forever in some form. What worries me, and this will be my discussion topic at the next club meeting, is that new collector's are going to be harder to keep for long periods of time. I see so many businessmen and investors dealing in coins and know that there's going to be a new collector out there who gets his or her heart broken early in the game and give up if the experience is bad enough. I know the YN program is probably really great, but is it enough? Do they cover ethics, safety, buyer beware type stuff? Anyone have any experience with that or have any suggestions for keeping new collectors interested?

 

let them explore and discover things. my son is just about 7 and his enthusiasm is infectious, he loves looking at coins and is not limiting himself in anyway, nor am i. what i find mundane, he finds amazing - it's fun to watch him look though a box of coins - he picks out some very interesting coins - he knows only one thing - he likes them. that is enough for me and if it keeps his interests up, then it's a great way for him to learn.

sadly, the best teacher is experience and for many, it's an expensive education. i was talking with my father last night about why i lost interest when i was 10 or so - i was only collecting coins i could get at coin shows - had i started with Lincoln cents i would have been able to be active and keep the enthusiasm going, even if i didn't find anything, i could still be "doing" the hobby.

-Steve