The future of rare coin collecting

I did an informal survey at the Orlando FUN show in January. Of the thousands in attendance, I saw roughly 25 women customers and 20 children in my 3 days there. This got me thinking... what is the future of the hobby, particularly of rare coins? My interest in coin collecting began around age 8 when my grandfather would give me a few of his coins each time I came to visit. I also had a local coin shop owner who was patient with me and kind, often taking back coins at full price that I had bought from him just so I could "trade up." He probably only made a few bucks off of me for the first year or so, yet he seemed to enjoy showing me coins and teaching me. I had a few great "old guys" that kept me interested and excited about rare coins. I wonder, is this model dying? What will the future of the hobby look like in 30 years? 60 years? Will the economy, bullion prices, or other factors turn coin all collectors into investors? Will the hobby, particularly the rare coin hobby and market be alive and well a generation from now?

 

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I think so. Even if it all becomes investing, that is a hobby itself to a lot of people.

 

The EXACT SAME discussion took place in 1978, 1985, 1993, 2004, and today. Each and every time people bemoan "lack of young kids", and "lack of women" in the hobby and predict its doomed. It comes up all of the time.

Simple fact is coin collecting in a middle aged man hobby. Always has been, always will be for some reason.

Adjusted for inflation, I do not see the price of morgan dollars, or most collectible coins being out of line. Even a $8000 chain cent in G is about the same its always been. Its always been expensive, its just expensive used to mean $1000, now its $8000.

Personally, I think slabs have taken a lot of fun out of the hobby. Yes, I understand they have prevented people from getting burned as well, but its simply more fun to be able to hold your coins.

I think this is why ancients have taken off like they have. We still get to hold our coins. That is just my opinion though.

 

I dont think medoraman is happy unless he can say "handling coins" and "ancient coins" atleast 3 times a week

 

I personally think the market will be in a long term decline for demographic reasons. As the baby boomers age into retirement they are starting to sell their collections, and I just don't see my generation as interested as they were, nor do we have as much money...

I think part of what's kept prices up are the investors, but if we see 5 years of price declines in coins and 5 years of price increases in stocks/bonds I think you will see a lot of the investor money leave for good. Collectors can afford to stick it out, but investors will leave all at once, markets eat like a bird and poop like a bear...

 

The situation you describe is perfectly normal. When I joined my first coin club the average age was 55 years old. That was 39 years ago and most of the members that were there when I joined are now dead. The club is roughly still the same size and the average age is now 55 years old. I'm now a member of several other local clubs and looking back for their demographics over the last 40 years their average age has not changed by more than one year.

For some reason women have never been well represented in numismatics. Children are never represented by more than small numbers. This is because most of them are there for a brief time only. But when they return they stay for 30 years or more. This is why the hobby is loaded on the high age range.

Two weeks ago and our local club show we had and attendance of about 500 and 38 of them were children.

 

i was at a show in november, and at 40 i think i was the youngest one there.

 

do you think the wide acceptance of digital currency is hurting or helping the coin collecting scene?

 

I agree with Chris (medoraman) on this one......we have had this same discussion many times over the years. So many times people say that the hobby will die, because it seems so top heavy with older folks, and when those folks pass on there will be nobody to take their places. What happens, though, is those older folks are being replaced with new older folks. Don't make sense? Picture this......Often times collectors are introduced to the hobby at a very early age and then, for one reason or another, leave it for a period of time. Marriage, school, work and other obligations take their toll on the amount of time a coin enthusiast can devote to his/her passion. As time passes, and the obligations diminish somewhat, folks begin to return to the hobby.....I was very interested in collecting as a youngster, was less passionate as a young man due to family and cash constraints, and gradually much more enthusiastic upon retirement when there was more time to devote to the pastime.

 

This is a no brainer. The future of RARE coin collecting will become the games of people with big pockets. Just how many times have you looked at the catalog and drooled at the pictures only to find out the values of them are just simply outrageous or impossible to obtain for the rest of your lives?

 

Yes, my own interest waned for a number of years between the ages of 18 & 25 due to college expenses, then I had to sell them all to buy an engagement ring! But I got back into it, as you said.

 

And over the years how many of those impossible to obtain pieces have you obtained? I know in my case it's been several. Of course there are still many pieces that I can only dream about.

 

Maybe.

I simply feel too many people have forgotten this. Yes, its perfectly fine for an advanced collector to own expensive coins which you shouldn't touch. They are worth a lot of money. I don't pull out expensive coins and rub dirty fingers all over them either.

However, to many, (kids, people interested in history, etc), the attraction of coins is the physical connection. Being able to touch it, hold it, feel the weight in your hand. Trying to introduce a kid to coins in slabs I believe is fruitless. If the hobby gets to the point all coins are in plastic, then we will go the way of sports cards.

Even adults, when I show them a coin of ancient Rome they think its pretty cool. When I pull out a sestertius out of the holder and let them hold and touch the coin, feel the massive weight in their hand, that is when people really start to appreciate them.

 

I understand the idea that coin collecting is generally a middle aged man's game. But look at the demographics at play, there are 80 million baby boomers in the U.S. compared with 50 million gen Xers, that's almost 40% less people who will age into the peak collecting years. If you assume the same overall portion of each generation will be interested in collecting, I think a pretty reasonable assumption, then demographics alone will decrease the demand by 40%.

 

You haven't met my eight year old daughter. She is like me, she loves money in all it's forms. She is my helper searching coins, only problem is she keeps her finds or wants to sell them to me at full retail - coins I buy in rolls at the bank with MY money. Be careful the monsters you create.

 

I agree 100%, being able to hold the coins gives a very intimate connection with the history, something slabs don't do. I have shown people some of my coins, and when I first give them the slab that's all they see, they don't ask questions about the actual coin. If the first coin I give them is raw they immediately make comments about the coin intself, it's date/condition/value... It's a huge difference and one that is certain to affect people's decision to enter the hobby.

Funny story about those leaving those expensive coins in holders, I was at a show where a collector asked if I wanted to see an S-79. I said sure, not like I will ever own one. He pulled the raw coin out of his pocket.

 

Maybe would be my answer. I have seen a ton of people predicting a huge surge in this hobby in the 1990's and 2000's since the boomers would be aging. Did we see such a surge? I don't think so. A lot of coins are handed down from generation to generation. I guess I don't think I would hang my hat on a huge surge of material hitting the market just because of baby boomers. Could be its just because I am not worried about it, I plan on my son getting all of my stuff, and hopefully Dad will have groomed another coin hoarder by that point.

 

The hobby is of course open to everyone, but seriously, who cares if it's dominated by middle-aged men? We've become a society that wrings its hands over pretended paradigms of inclusion - are there enough women? kids? what's next? how well are the various races represented? do we have enough handicapped collectors? should we encourage numismatics in the gay and lesbian community? lol

 

My story is the same as some that have already posted. My father introduced me to coins when I was very young (7 or 8 years old) and brought along with him to the shops and shows. As I got older, I collected this and that, but eventually came back to coins. Now, at the age of 35, it's great to talk with and share my collection with my father (who is still an avid collector). It's also a hobby I hope to share with my kids. It would be great if they took to it, but even if they don't, they will at least know the value of my coins when I pass on.