Younger collectors?

At 70, I went to my first coin show. I love them. Much better than trying to make out what you are buying in the internet. I end up keeping the junk from the internet, so I don't have to ship it back. Mostly cheaper items. I think the shows are fantastic. I still have to work to feed my habit - collecting.

 

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When you get to that age, you will find how often you miss the work that one calculated the number of decades before they retired. I have retired twice and back part time again. You will be surprised how the activity of doing a job ( voluntarily , but for pay) makes you feel young again as well as giving one expendable cash. I suspect I will retire again in a couple of years, but I don't expect it to last.~one way or the other .

 

Now retiring from being a moderator enters my mind more often than from work

 

Say it isn't so.........

 

I am seriously considering retiring for the second time in about a year. But if I do I will not have anything to look forward to retiring from.

 

From what I've seen, most of the millennials don't collect anything.

 

Teenagers now adays are more focused on social media and parties to really appreciate history. I’m an exception and I don’t tell anyone about my hobby because they are all very judgemental. Plus people are too busy partying and struggling in school to pay any attention to this type of stuff. I guess I’m a bit of a pessimist but I don’t see the hobby gaining traction among future generations.

 

No matter what the age, make a small set or start one for someone and see if it sparks anything. I'm doing it for my girls both for learning and investment in the future and maybe they'll get the itch along the way. And it's something people don't get anymore regularly so it's unique. Everything goes in waves. It will come around again.

 

I feel like most don’t go to coin shows reasons because parents can’t take them or don’t have enough money to take.

 

You can go back further than that. NCnocvice's observations match the same ones I noticed when I started collecting/going to shows 45 years ago. Almost all those dealers/collectors from back then are dead now but the coin shows are still continuing and prices are a lot higher now than they were back then. All those 50 to 80 year olds you see today were 5 to 35 back then.

Back when joined my first coin club in 1975 the average age was 55 years old. Today in the clubs I belong to it's around 57.

 

Good observation. Sometimes some of these shows look like a geriatrics wing at the rest home. Just kidding. I think it would help out my kids if they went to a show and saw some more people closer to their age is all.

 

Very true, I am also a young collector at 14 and I agree, I am in the same boat with all of that besides the hobby not gaining traction, I think it will do just fine.


Thanks,
Jacob

 

I wish there were more younger collectors at shows. It would really keep my sons more interested in the hobby I think.

 

And based on what I have seen they all write very well. My experience with college level kids is that most of them could not compose a message to post here.

 

Another issue is security. Many people are afraid to mention they collect coins for fear of being targeted for burglary. A friend's obituary mentioned nothing of her help with the YN programs with the ANA, CNA (now RCNA) and two local clubs for fear it would make their home the target of people looking to get some easily convertible items into cash. So there is a "silent majority/minority" out there that secretly collect.

 

I know all about that. I'm in law enforcement and I completely get that line of thinking. It's a shame that there are people out there who will try to take advantage.

 

Finally, somebody who recognizes this. Most people that I go to highschool with don’t know where Britain or China is. I’m naturally prone to history and geography, so it seems inconcievable that people I work with can’t grasp basic knowledge such as the location of Britain. Perhaps I’m surrounded by idiots but there is always a tiny group of people who still may take interest in numismatics.

As for shows, the reason I don’t go is that I am either far too busy or just shy. I’m not particularly good with human interactions and it feels wierd since there aren’t any young collectors at shows. The main reason I don’t go is social awkwardness but I’m not sure about others.

 

I think there is a lot of that. I know my 12 yes old won't readily talk to a dealer at the show unless the dealer is being very friendly to him.