Is Coin Collecting Dead

I can remember the first time I hooked up to the internet and picked the first # on the list. It turned out being a long distance # and the bill the following month being for $400!

I have a Shed full of that type of stuff

Me, too. I resemble that remark.

I've been collecting since I was a kid. Coins also.

I'm trying to remember why.......

Coin collecting is a very long-lived hobby. I would say modern-day coin collecting is at least as old as the oldest known uncirculated coin. However, only until recently coin collecting was a luxury in which only the privileged could afford an indulgence. Just about 100 years ago in the US, that all changed when banks began a new trend in the loan industry and also when virtually every town suddenly had access to electricity.. middle class was born.

After the depression coin collecting enjoyed another revolution in the US. I would bet that the dominant demographic for collectors for a number of decades after WWII was probably veterans, and next their sons. But I was not a coin collector during those years, I wasn't even born until 1978. So I am speculating, here. My husband was born in 1969, and probably cannot remember a time without collecting. His father was a WWII vet.

I remember when I was first introduced to the hobby in 1999. I remember that the coin clubs and shows were almost exclusively attended by men, the majority of them retired, and the occasional retiree's wife who brought coffee and baked goods. Some GenX collectors were around at the shows with their kids. I found it all quite boring and stuffy, but I paid attention. Again, I am speculating, but at the end of the 90's, the hobby was still quite underrated, and poised for the tech revolution.

The internet has helped quite a bit, and the availablilty of information helps to ensure that obscure or hoarded rarities can now find their way out. But I believe that even if you couldn't reliably shop and learn online, there would still be all the clubs, all the shops, and all the huge shows there are today. I have a gut feeling that we are about to experience the next revolution for the hobby, and many newer, younger recruits are soon to dominate the halls. Here is the reason: digital photography. I was just the wife of a collector, except until I took my first beautiful photograph of a beautiful coin. Now I'm hooked. The imaging of the coins has inserted a whole new dimension into the experience of admiring, sharing, buying and selling. It is a monster in some ways - there are entire numismatic markets that now revolve around skillfull imaging (some are fads, some legit).

Coin collecting is not dead. No, that tolling bell you hear is just the shift change, a new generation about to redefine the hobby, but with respect for and guidance from all you coin gangstas, you bosses who still help define the hobby for the better. You know who you are, and your expertise and guidance will shape the next age of preservation and appreciation of all existing coin collections... Even in spite today's fiat coinage. In fact, because of it, coin collecting will not die.

You asked.

Currently 16. Been collecting for a few years now - maybe 4 or 5. I had a hiatus for a while when I didn't get any new coins, but I still looked at my coin collection and tried my best to organize it. I know some other people who collect coins too. It is certainly not dead - just sometimes peoples passions are not as vocal or visible.

Alex, That is great to hear. Do you have any family or friends that collect? I am curious, can you describe the modes/venues to which you are exposed to the hobby most? i.e.internet, club, shows, magazines, etc.. I am interested in what draws Young Numismatists, especially 1st gen.

I'm 15 now, and I started collecting when I was 13. I may not have been collecting long, but I sure as heck know a lot about numismatics.