Are Coin Shows Getting Crazy

Also...I'm a "baby boomer" and Yes, there are alot more of us than younger collectors but for now we are buying and selling more than ever. I think we'll still be good to go for another 10 years anyway. I don't think serious collecting with large sums of money has ever been a young mans game...Whatever happens after us who knows, but, I think it will continue as strong as ever.

Right--just postulating on the future, based on trends I've observed already. Everyone with their hands in something wants it to keep going up--there's a lot of belief involved. Time always has a way of sorting things out.

Bullion price were mentioned in earlier posts.
From over 40 years of collecting, I have found that bullion prices do indeed have an immediate but indirect influence on the whole of the numismatic market.

Another major variable I have perceived is the exchange rates of currencies. For most U.S. collectors, they would have seen an increase in numismatic prices that follows inversely with the decline in the value of the U.S. Dollar. There is some lag in exchange rates vis s vis numismatic prices, as numismatic inventories are rolled over.

The third major influence is the increasing numbers of collectors that enter the market. This increasing demand is somewhat ameliorated however, by some of the new customers investing in new issues, rather than in the existing stock of U.S. classic coins, where the total inventory available to the market cannot be expanded.

All of these issues can to be sidestepped to some extent by expanding your interests over the whole of the numismatic market.

See my previous post in this thresd.

At my shows, there are still plenty of dealers with multiple binders to look through. They may have them out on the table to freely view, or you may have to ask for one. I have filled many Dansco holes from these sources.

Interesting thread. As mentioned previously, the demographic shift as the baby boomers grow older is having a big effect on both supply and demand. Another major cultural shift involves the fact that most people don't use cash anymore, at least in the US. I know my children think of coins as "antiques" and that attitude is bound to increase rapidly, with or without interesting State Quarters. Like it or not, fully electronic transactions will be the only kind of transaction before long.

Those things would depress me if it weren't for the much more important cultural phenomenon called the Internet. When I was young, coins and coin information were scarce and I'd have to wait all month for the local coin club meeting to be able to talk to anybody about coins. Now, whenever I like, I can have interesting conversations like this one, shop for coins from every corner of the globe, learn about Indian Head die varieties, research Ottoman Empire coins, learn about the historical context of a coin, and get useful answers to any question I can think of. In other words, from a collector's perspective, the Internet has made coin collecting much more rewarding than it used to be.

Many people have the urge to collect things they like. Beautiful, interesting, historical, valuable, and conveniently small antiques will always be popular collector's items. As our society increasingly substitutes virtual objects for physical objects, I don't see other physical objects scratching the same itch any time soon.

I haven't noticed any crazy pricing at my recent coin show visits. However, my latest coin show story from last month is great; I chose 3 coins that the dealer had a total price of $45, I offered $35 for them and he accepted. I had two $20 bills for payment but he said he had no change for that. He asked what else I had, I said $7, and he said he would take $27 for the coins. I thanked him and left very happy.

Paartially true but you must remember that with the internet you now see a much larger quantity of individuals dabbling with coins. There were probably alwayss the same percentage of people buying and selling for a hobby and as a means of profit. The main thing today is you now see it on a massively larger scale. Of course you see many more investors, but there are also a similar increase in collectors.


For sure not true biggfred. I make it a habit to get to most coin shows as they open. Many times while the sellers are setting up. Still seldom see coins in slabs for over $1,000. And I've seen many for prices far below what it must have costs to put them in slabs since the ones in the slabs are basic coins only. Never could figure that one out.