Personally Feel That RCM Has Sunk The NCLT Hobby

Issuing so many new designs has killed the "special" that used to be in the hobby.

What I mean I will explain from a US point of view.

In 1975 when they started making our Bicentennial coinage - EVERYONE noticed - not just coin collectors - b/c it was such a radical change from the norm.

People could not get enough of them and saved them like crazy. B/c so many of each were made (two years of issue), they really are not worth anything special. But it was the "WOW - look a quarter with a drummer on it!" that had people amazed.

When the State Quarters started to some out, the first couple, like the bicentennials, made a "WOW" impact. But the new designs soon became commonplace.

People who have been collecting a long time were used to trying to "complete" a set. This was done mainly by looking in circulation and was fun.

The State Quarter program's new designs brought other people into coin collecting but not for date and MM anymore, it was all about the new designs. So newer people, never having had the "WOW" factor the bicentennials held for so long for being so different, won't, from first hand experience, understand just how fun it was to have a different design to be so very special.




And there might be another key point - the word "rich."

Only a rich person could ever afford a complete set of Canadian NCLT - and this one reason why people, like myself, don't want any of it anymore. Another thing to consider for people who are not rich is that they like to buy something special that will increase in value. If I am not mistaken, NCLT loses a lot of its value within the first couple years.

But I think its the "wow" factor of fewer US special designs that helps them keep a lot of their value.

However, I also fell as more and more special designs are being made by our mint, the values are declining. Look at the RP ASEs. The RP 2011 ASE is still very expensive. The RP 2012 ASE sells for less than issue price as does the EP 2013 set.

The more there is of something, the more common it is, the less value it has in the long run.

Its like after your 6th piece of pizza - its just not what the first one was when you were hungry and could not wait to get it home to start eating it.

I don't think Canadians should be "honoured" by your purchasing power.

Also, what is the older generation and the new numismatist?
I'm 31 so I'm not sure where I fit in that lexicon.

"I was an employee, until I got caught smuggling gold pucks up my booty"

You got me there. That was really funny actually! LOL

As far as whether or not I should feel honoured that you bought a few polar bear coins. No, I do not. If you read through my posts, you will see that one of my big concerns is that the three biggest collectors of Canadian NCLT (Dan Hughes, Augustus and Martens) have all called it quits this year. That is no coincidence! That is of concern! They built and dominate the registries for these coins, and that has come to a very abrupt halt! Go check out their sets on the NGC registry and you will get your much needed dose of humility ...

These set registry collectors finally got the message, they probably had to buy 10 units to find one 70 grade, now they can pay 40% of issue months latter although I feel NGC give special grades for special customers you don't see many MS 70 by PCGS,

Proliferation is the enemy of Completion.

There is no question that many people who collect contemporary/modern coins feel that urge to complete.

But, for the RCM, I'll bet that it is a good bet that losing the Completionists is a fair price to pay for enlarging the market with those cartoon character coins, et al.

I don't see how anyone pays 3x melt for a commemorative coin, and hopes to profit financially.

Perhaps it would be more useful to think that the 3x melt price includes the unrecoverable rent you are paying for the privilege of holding that coin year-after-year.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

It wasn't that long ago when the Canadian NCLT section here was full of people banging on about the newest releases and posting about how much profit they had made by flipping the new coins as soon as they got them.
I would imagine that many collectors felt like they had been "Stung" with this blatant profiteering and this may be a part of the reason why there is such a backlash at the moment.
Food for thought

This analogy is perfect... my early NCLT purchases took my breath away with their beauty and symbolism of what those coins meant to me. Now, I don't even open the RCM flyer anymore, it goes right into the recycling bin...