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 Replies: 49 / Views: 8,371 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1267 Posts |
Living in San Diego for 15 years afforded me the luxury of being able to attend the Long Beach shows on a fairly regular basis. I was able to put faces to names of both dealers and fellow collectors whom I'd become familiar with on sites such as this one, and it was a wonderful experience. Thus at least for me it cemented both friendships and relationships, ones that I now rely upon as I get back into collecting and find myself living in another country where what interests me is not available locally.
It would be a shame to see the shows disappear, but if they are not being attended I certainly understand why.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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Then too, I heard many of the same complaints about a so-called "dying hobby" long before the internet came to be. I get the feeling that people have been saying the hobby is dying for as long as it has been a hobby. If the internet was around in the 60s I bet every other thread would have been about how the hobby is going to die from clad coins. Quote:
The danger of the Internet to numismatics is also its' strongest advantage - amid the plethora of new things to do and new ways to waste time will come the exposure of our hobby to thousands who would never have noticed it otherwise. One article on a mainstream news outlet about a major coin sale could bring thousands of clicks of interest, and just like any other form of advertising, you only need to sell a few of them to do well. Social media has helped a lot too even-though it is probably the most underutilized tool by the hobby as a whole. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
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Social media has helped a lot too even-though it is probably the most underutilized tool by the hobby as a whole. As much as I might want to, sharing even the slightest bit of my hobby on social media feels like a bad idea. There's no privacy and nothing is secure. I don't even want to Like or Follow coin-related pages because it exposes too much on my profile and I don't trust that whatever privacy settings I allegedly control are always going to work. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
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As much as I might want to, sharing even the slightest bit of my hobby on social media feels like a bad idea. There's no privacy and nothing is secure. I don't even want to Like or Follow coin-related pages because it exposes too much on my profile and I don't trust that whatever privacy settings I allegedly control are always going to work.
Quoted for Great Truth™. Social media is far too porous for openly sharing something which makes you a prime potential crime victim. And the stuff about name and address not being present is all but done; at this point there aren't many of us whose physical locations haven't been compromised in one business hacking or another. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2815 Posts |
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Am I going to get better deals by getting to know the old timers in the local coin circuit? Maybe but probably not. I can kick back in my living room, bid on coins on the large screen, not have to worry about travel expenses, security issues, and the hassle of haggling with grumpy old men and just bid with confidence on a better selection of coins online. Why put up with the hassle if I don't need to?
My sentiments exactly. There's nothing better, IMO, than sitting back, relaxed on the couch, surfing through thousands upon thousands of ebay listings, Great Collections listings, Heritage, etc., etc. It's a virtual coin show in the palm of my hand. Being a newbie to the hobby (~6 years), this is the only way I've ever collected. LOVE it this way. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4418 Posts |
Many of the guys I first met at coin club meetings and shows, some 30-40 years ago are now what some would call a "grumpy" old man. We still keep in touch, mostly by emails and phone contact. Last month, one of the guys who lives 700 miles away, visited me. We spent a few days together. While a good many coins have come and gone in the past four decades, I have a number of old coin friends who seem to stick around. The comradery remains priceless.
sign me .............. a not-too-grumpy old man
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1267 Posts |
 Well said, ExoGuy. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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As much as I might want to, sharing even the slightest bit of my hobby on social media feels like a bad idea. There's no privacy and nothing is secure. I don't even want to Like or Follow coin-related pages because it exposes too much on my profile and I don't trust that whatever privacy settings I allegedly control are always going to work. Definitely understandable, I don't nor would I use my personal Facebook for it either. A throwaway account I wouldn't be overly concerned though. But there are a lot of other options too like Instagram, YouTube, ect that are much easier to hide who you are. It certainly isn't something individual collectors need to utilize, but for educational purposes, dealers, coin organizations ect the whole spectrum is underutilized. PCGS does a good job with some education videos on YouTube and some others have started to embrace it, but there is a lot of potential from an educational perspective that the hobby really hasn't caught up with yet. More things like interesting coin of the week or something along those lines would be another way. Some registry sets have fantastic write ups about the pieces they have there that would translate well to Instagram stories as an example. There's actually a pretty decent amount being done by younger collectors on the various platforms and would be nice to see it embraced more by the rest of the hobby especially considering it can be done at a very low cost. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4418 Posts |
@HadleyDog .... thanks for the kind acknowledgement.
Back when I was in a large coin club, I was the auction manager. We routinely ran 80 to 100+ lots a month. Each member could submit up to three lots, and we averaged around seventy folks at a meeting. We had a loosely formed grading committee that met once a month to review and list all lots for inclusion in the newsletter. To me, that was a most enjoyable evenings, sitting among a half dozen or so fellow enthusiasts, sharing our knowledge and pulling one another's leg, in the process. I don't remember much about all the coins we processed, but my fond memories of those nights with the guys are still with me. As much as I do enjoy the internet stuff, excluding the social sites, the internet can't hold a candle to the live, coin club activities.
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
I am in a coin club and we do auctions which have about 80 lots a month. Its mostly 2-3 people submitting, but no limit per member. We get about 30 people per month and its a lot of fun. Its also a venue for educational talks. Nothing on the internet could replace it.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5192 Posts |
The death of the coin show has been greatly exaggerated!  In fact, business is booming! Yes, the internet and online marketplaces like ebay have made things easier and perhaps reduced overhead, but nothing beats holding a coin into your own hands and examining it yourself. |
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Moderator
United States
189340 Posts |
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The death of the coin show has been greatly exaggerated! In fact, business is booming! The shows were de facto "dead to me" the past three years, but I finally made it to a one this spring and it was indeed booming!  I should add that the two and a half years after this topic was started (9/17) were booming as well. It was that "thing" from 2/20 to 2/23 that kept me away.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5192 Posts |
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The shows were de facto "dead to me" the past three years, but I finally made it to a one this spring and it was indeed booming! Which spring show did you attend? |
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Moderator
United States
189340 Posts |
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Which spring show did you attend? http://goccf.com/t/438528It is really late winter. I still call it "spring" because for many, many years before it was in late March, but it moved back to February to give dealers time before a March show in the midlands. Also, winter weather is pretty much over here by February. The fall show has always been late October. We used to have a summer show in June, but that ended ten or 15 years ago. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4418 Posts |
Looking at the above posts, I see that my last comment in this thread is dated 2017. Fast forward six years to 2023, now, I'm still bumping into collectors at shows. Attendance is strong, as is the market. Dealers are hungry to buy, and I sold all I brought to part with at a show last week. The local clubs are doing well, too. My only complaint is that there don't seem to be many young folks attending. I recall making that same observation over forty years ago ....  |
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Posted 09/20/2017 6:15 pm
