Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 37509, member: 57463&quot;]I believe that the ANA has taken samples and published them.&nbsp; I know for a fact that Coin World pays well to have a professional firm sample their readership. The CW information is proprietary, of course.&nbsp; Even if I remembered specifics, I think it would be wrong to cite them.&nbsp; I do remember the easy generalities that we all know by observation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most collectors are in late middle age, median 55 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most collectors are white.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most collectors are middle class.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most collectors are men.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most American collectors collect American coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Michigan leads the nation in the percentage of collectors in the general population.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reasons for these facts are not always well explained.&nbsp; It is true that you have to have leisure and discretionary income in order to pursue a hobby.&nbsp; Why collecting numismatic items seems not to resonate with women is not understood.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>As Americans of Spanish heritage who have lost their direct contact with their original cultures tend to rise up the social ladder, they have the resources to spend on recapturing some sense of contact and understanding for their traditions.&nbsp; So, Spanish American numismatics has been slowly strengthening. The same seems to apply to East Asians and South Asians.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, this being Black History Month, Martin Luther King&#039;s dream may or may not have come to fruition.&nbsp; Cultural cross currents for identity and identification may have continued segregation in unexpected ways.&nbsp; As a consequence, an American of Negro heritage would have to be fairly well integrated into the mainstream value set in order perceive a reflection in the coins of the 19th century.&nbsp; Suggesting that there are &quot;Black&quot; coins such as the Booker T. Washington commemorative is just insulting. Anyone not three days dead knows a sop.</p><p><br /></p><p>It might be said that numismatics is a hobby for old white guys because we successfully marginalized everyone else.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, I have interviewed some of those &quot;marginalized&quot; people and they all seem pretty happy, enjoying the hobby, and buying, selling and collecting in a pursuit where knowledge is king.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in