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 Replies: 13 / Views: 224 |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
For the first time in my life, I attended a coin show this morning. I was there to sell coins on behalf of my aunt, as I am her POA.
Most of the dealers appeared to be at least 65 years old. The attendees skewed towards an older demographic, though I did see a few younger people and even a few children.
Now I find myself wondering about the long-term prospects for rare and vintage coins. Even if the dealers and the older coin collectors attending the coin show eat their vegetables and keep their blood cholesterol and blood pressure down, they won't live forever. If their children/heirs are not interested in coin collecting, those collections will flood the coin market and may depress prices. Coin collecting involves a lot of responsibility to protect the coins from theft, oxidation, dirty hands, moisture, and various other risk factors.
Although my aunt's coin collection is very small, my actions today (selling coins without buying any) put downward pressure on prices. If there are too many people like myself out there, there will be too many coins chasing too few buyers.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1417 Posts |
A valid question... I can't say what the future holds, but I had wondered recently if they had held their numismatic value thus far, so I checked out the sales ads in a 1966 copy of The Numismatist. Every example has held its value since 1966 that I've checked  Before posting I chose another at random, back in January of 1966, a "brilliantly toned" 1856 flying eagle proof was being offered for $2,650, about $27,000 in today's money. Checking PCGS, most graded examples are PR64, booking at $28,000 Will this continue, I don't know, but I found it interesting how well the prices correlate to sixty years ago. Edited by MintedNotPrinted
Yesterday 2:26 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19376 Posts |
The collectable 'industry' continues to grow--sometimes explosively, sometimes slow and steady. There are ups and downs, but I believe the trend is steady growth over time. As far as numismatics goes, many who are 'new' to the hobby collect for different reasons than what motivated those aging collectors (over 65)--back when they were kids/teens. Having said that, who knows what the collectables market will be 200+ years from now......
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Pillar of the Community
United States
936 Posts |
Since Covid prices have increased a lot. I think more time and money brought many new people into the hobby.
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Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
As an old fart, I'm not too worried about it either way as I won't be here! However I am actively selling my stuff, accumulated over 60+ years, and I think everything has done very, very well. Anything with silver or gold has that intrinsic melt value that will always be there as long as the metal is valuable. In the 1960's, who would have thought silver would reach $120/oz and gold over $5k? Where will it be in 30 years? Who knows?
Collectibles of any kind go up and down, but long term they mostly go up, IF you stick to actual rare stuff instead of whatever is being hyped. When I was actively buying in the 60s-early 90's I bought a lot of stuff from old people. Now I am one.
You also need to remember that old people have the money and the free time to devote to their hobby that most young folks do not. I have a nephew who is almost 40 who is interested and I encourage him when I can. However with work, family, volunteer work, and life in general he has no time and not much money to invest. As he gets older he might be more active.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
26601 Posts |
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IF you stick to actual rare stuff instead of whatever is being hyped Like Beanie Babies?  Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7362 Posts |
You can never tell, there have been times that coins have gone down in value. There are other collectibles that once people assumed would keep on going up like Stamps which have crashed in value and are selling below face value. So coins may keep on going or they might not. I think if you are selective and buy quality you will do well but there is no guarantee.
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Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
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Like Beanie Babies? ...and those "rare" MS-68 Ike dollars! I always chuckle a bit at condition rarity on common coins, but to each his/her own! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6714 Posts |
I think you are conflating two questions. Will coin collecting remain popular in future generations? Will coin shows be popular in future generations.
I think lots of people will continue to enjoy coin collecting for decades to come.
I also think the days of crowded, loud, chaotic, dimly lit coin shows are numbered.
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New Member
 United States
16 Posts |
Brandmeister: Why do you think that coin shows are on the way out but not coin collecting? I think coin shows are great because of the superior convenience. I can easily visit multiple dealers in one place. If it hadn't been for the coin show, getting offers on the coins I was trying to sell would have required driving all over the place.
I'm aware that people buy and sell coins online, but I don't like that idea. At the coin show, I was able to hand the coins to the dealer, and the dealer was able to hand the coins back if I didn't want to accept the offer right away. There was no need to mail/ship anything and no need to get insurance on the coins. There's just so much less that can go wrong when buyers and sellers physically meet.
If I had been interested in buying coins, I would have asked each dealer how much he/she was charging for the coins on my wish list, and I would have been able to inspect the coins myself to verify the claimed condition of each one. Again, there's just so much less that can go wrong when buyers and sellers physically meet.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1236 Posts |
Rare graded coins should continue to go up in value however I worry about fakes ruining the hobby. I doubt any major significant hoards get uncovered with mass amounts of rare date classic coins. Likely a few here and there as collectors pass away but likely not enough to change the values significantly. Common mass produced stuff like proof sets will likely never be worth a ton. But as others have said there will be ups and downs.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6714 Posts |
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I think coin shows are great because of the superior convenience. I can easily visit multiple dealers in one place. I can log onto ebay and view coin shops from all across the country. I can do that at my own convenience at any time of day or night, comparing quality and prices from the comfort of my couch. Most good stores take decent pictures, so I can examine the coins with much better detail and lighting than a loupe at a coin show. Many shops offer a full, no hassle refund on coin returns. When examining coins online, I have full access to historical sales prices on similar coins and all my reference websites and books. I can refer to them without any space or time pressure. Online, I also do not have to navigate aisles packed with people, breathing the same air that might carry flu, COVID, or whatever other contagious junk is floating around that month. Quote:
I'm aware that people buy and sell coins online, but I don't like that idea. If that's your starting point, then your remaining options are physical coin shops and physical coin shows. I stand by my belief that online coin shops and ebay will be the preferred coin shopping method for everyone under 50 or 60 years old. As the old timers fade away, coin shows will also fade, except perhaps the huge ones like the World Fair of Money. Edited by Brandmeister
Today 2H 48M ago
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Brandmeister: I'm also concerned about infectious airborne diseases. That's why I've doubled down on vaccination and N95 masks. I have air purifiers running at home. (Believe it or not, there are ways to build air purifiers on the cheap.)
I make sure to get the Novavax vaccine the flu shot every year. I got revaccinated against MMR in 2024-2025, because it was easier than getting my titers checked. I've also made sure to get all the other vaccines that I'm eligible for.
I wore a 3M Aura mask (which is N95) at yesterday's coin show. It's my overall favorite mask to wear when I'm breathing the same indoor air as others. You can test a mask on the cheap by spraying a sweet or bitter solution with a nano-mister. You can judge the effectiveness of a mask by whether you can taste the sweet or bitter solution.
You can build an air purifier on the cheap by taping a 20"x20" furnace air filter to the back of a Lasko 20-inch box fan. This filter can be a 4-inch thick MERV 13 filter (most effective), a 1-inch-thick MERV 10 filter (cheapest and most portable), or a 2-inch-thick MERV 11 filter (intermediate solution). If I were a dealer, I would use one of these box fan air purifiers at every coin show AND wear a 3M Aura mask.
You should also read up on Corsi Rosenthal boxes. If you want a quiet air purifier, I recommend the Brisk Box from a company called Clean Air Kits. It uses an array of PC fans (which are quiet and energy efficient) and four MERV 13 filters (much more cost effective than the proprietary air filters used in commercial air purifiers).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1281 Posts |
I can not argue against Brandmeister opinion. You have to remember that the younger generation weather good or bad prefers to shop on line and never leave their home. As the boomers get older and die off this will be come the way most shop. And it has already begun to happen.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 224 |
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Posted Yesterday 2:49 pm
