Numismatists Without Coins

Merriam-Webster says numismatics is "the study or collection of coins, etc." (my italics)

So apparently the answer is yes, you can study coins without collecting them, and still be a proud numismatist.

The gratitude from the members is its own reward.

A digital collection is much cheaper, especially with relative lower costs on storage devices.

"Numismatist" is not a synonym for "coin collector", and never has been, even before the Internet age, even though many of us treat it so. I'm a member of several "numismatic societies", and when people ask me "what is numismatics", I just say "coin collecting" beause it's the simplest thing to say - even though I know it's not technically true.

A "coin collector" collects coins - it's right there on the label. They might, or might not, actually know something about the coins they collect, but knowledge is not necessary to just be a "coin collector".

A "numismatist" is, by definition, a student of coins. Knowledge about the coins is everything. They might, or might not, actually own any coins, but possession is not necessary to just be a "numismatist".

Now, many of us are, of course, both "coin collectors" and "numismatists", we both collect, and want to learn as much as possible about the things we collect. But it's entirely possible to be a "true numismatist" without owning a single coin. Indeed, many professional numismatists in the world's museums and universities dislike and disapprove of "coin collecting" as a hobby, especially for ancient and mediaeval coins. "Coin collectors" are seen as part of the problem, the source of the demand which fuels grave-robbing and the looting of archaeological sites.

Surely, the numismatic aspect of coin collecting is part of the fun. Knowing a bit about the history and use of coins makes it more interesting to collect.
I mean, that is one of my main motives to collect circulated coinage and not fantasy bullion sets.

Good point.

Maybe that makes you a collector-investor?

It's an interesting discussion on this thread, that I think goes back to the notion of why we collect/like coins.

At one extreme, you can be a numismatist who enjoys the study of coins, whether or not you own them. As @Sap pointed out, you can be a collector, who doesn;t care to learn much about the coins he/she collects, but may be driven to complete series, themes, countries, etc. And I think there are invetsors who mostly care that the coins they buy appreciate over time, or the aggregate value of the collection does. I think the extreme of this is the case where the collection is largely bullion items, not even coins with what some people call "numismatic value" (i.e. value above bullion).

And of course all kiinds of shades in between.