Female Vs Male Collectors ?

I'm hoping to get my daughters interested, but I think they're just a bit too young. All my eldest keeps asking is "Do I get your coin collection when you die?". How comforting.

VICK, that's the right attitude! I had the exact same views about coin collecting when I was a teenager (and still do today); but it seemed like I was the only one who held that view back then. Most kids weren't mindful of the 'value' of the crap they spent their money on.

Pocket change 50....I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance Too bad we aren't close so we could grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks and talk coins. That would be fun!
Skip...I hear what you are saying about the age demographics. That is a concern BUT it was a concern back when I started collecting some 40 years ago. I remember all the dealers selling at the tables were my dad's and grandpa's age. Now when I go to a coin show the dealers are for the most part my age and a little older. For years they always told me it was nice to see a "youngster" collecting coins. And a girl youngster at that. I haven't heard that in years tho as I am approaching 60. I have met some nice dealers over the years.

Side-stepping the topic...
I have reached a a compromise with my sister:
She toleratetes, and even tries to understand, the workings
of a coin collector's mind and I strive to understand
her love of quilting and fabric.
We trade our experience:
My 'winnings' at a coin show and her latest quilting
project and/or material shopping excursion.
It keeps the peace.

And then there is Cobey: she is the girlfriend of one of my dealers.
She is also a crafter of jewelry. But by osmosis she
has learned much about about coins. She is my 'go to'
person for aesthetics:
"Cobey, I need your opinion: does this fit into my set?"
[ Barber dimes - selected for eye appeal and strike]
1) "A no brainer! Of course it fits!!"
2) "No, your dime is better."

But do women collect coins? Sure, some do.
And it is to all of our benefit that they participate on the CFF.

@kbbpll At least your daughter is just asking. My eldest daughter states it as a matter of fact!

I met SlurExe97 at the last Coin Expo in Toronto. It was interesting to talk to a young female numismatist - who was fascinated in more that just the basic elements of a coin... Her interest in cameo strikes and error coins made the conversation refreshing and makes one feel optimistic about the future of the hobby...

Here in eastern Australia, I'd agree with the 90:10 ratio. This is what I see at coin shows, and also what I read in the membership records of the coin club of which I'm the Secretary - 200 past and present members on the books, only 20 women. I'm actually a member of two coin clubs, there's an active membership of about 30 people between the two of them - and only two of them are women.

I do not know why coin collecting has such a strong male bias, but it's been discussed on the forum many times before. Here's just one old thread on the subject and here's an old but still open forum poll in the Canadian section.

As I commented in the other thread, it's not a universal ratio. There are more female coin collectors in Britain, for example. I've heard it suggested that women there are more likely to find an old Roman or mediaeval coin while gardening, which gets them interested in coins. But this can't explain the higher proportions of female collectors in places like New Zealand and Western Australia, where that sort of thing can't happen.

I do know that, once a hobby acquires an extreme gender imbalance, the stereotype becomes self-reinforcing: coin dealers, for example, will tend to assume if a couple walk into their shop that they're there because the guy is a collector, not the girl. If a woman who wants to collect coins faces such active bias, they're likely to become discouraged and go find some other hobby where they aren't prejudiced against. I'd also imagine it's intimidating walking into a coin club and being the only woman there, so when it happens, she doesn't join - so there still aren't any other women there the next time a woman walks through the door.