Previewing The Coin Market In 2017: A Long-Term Outlook For The Hobby

It is primarily comprised of older white men who are entering the latter stages of their lives. Who said everyone is?




It definitely is representative of the demographics of the coin collecting community and so is this website. There are very few nonwhites, women and younger people getting involved in coin collecting. That is going to cause problems for this hobby in the future. Like stamp collecting, this hobby may be entering its final stages.




You made that up. I never stated all of them would. I am an Indian American who collects a variety of coins. My favorite kinds of coins to collect are US Colonial coins and Pre-1800 American coins. I love the Booker T's because of its historical significance and the story behind that coin.

Also, let me clarify that my post pertains to the US market. The rest of the world's coin markets are insignificant when compared to the US collectible coins market. We got the most money and are willing to pay top dollar for high quality authentic items. Basically, we are the big dogs and you are the fleas. No other country's coin community comes close to the collective size and wealth of our coin community. Where our coin community goes, the rest of the world's will follow.

If the point of the conversation is how do we draw more people in, I still say one huge draw is the lure of the treasure hunt. The idea that one of those pieces of metal weighing down your pocket might be worth a gajillion dollars has a real appeal that crosses lines of gender, creed, nationality and race.

Seed the media with stories of those valuable, rare finds--those "In God We Rust" State Quarters, and even the occasional 90% silver coins that are still in circulation, that are worth many times face value. Get people LOOKING at coins, dropping by coin shops to see the kinds of coins they should be looking for, and those who have a bent for the hobby will discover that they enjoy the coins themselves.

The real treasure for most of us is the enjoyment of these small works of art and pieces of history, but I'll bet good money that nearly everyone here initially had their interest piqued when they got their hands on some old coins and hoped they were worth a whole lot of money.