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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,266 |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
Considering the amount of fake coins constantly being put out by the Chinese (and others), would you recommend coin collecting to someone if they asked you?
If someone starts now, it may take years for them to find their focus. Meanwhile, the mass counterfeiting continues unabated and expands to new areas. While most coins may be genuine today, a few years from now this may not be the case- if nothing changes, it is just a matter of time when there are more fakes than genuine coins at least in some areas - the genuine ones are no longer minted after all.
To a certain extent, it has been a matter of luck whether one makes money on collecting coins or not. Over time, some coins increase in price, some don't (unless, of course, one aims to purchase the top rarites which are more likely to go up - or there is a spike in PM prices). Now however, it's not a case of how much you may gain (if anything) but how much money you may lose due to purchasing fakes. Any possible gain can be offset by purchasing a few fakes for which you pay the full market price but are actually worth 0.
If you'd still recommend collecting coins - why would you do so? Won't collecting coins soon mean simply going out of your way to get duped? Or do you expect the TPGs to step up their game in a few years?
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Valued Member
South Africa
331 Posts |
Personally I won't I try to keep my collecting out of the spotlight, I have a pocket piece which I play with and people will ask about it but I never tell them I collect coins.
many will say they have this and that coin but that is it.
so no I won't it is a relatively expensive hobby but I find it rewarding, I never plan to sell my coins so I'm not in it to make money
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
Of course I would.
Collecting coins and stacking silver .. and gold is valid the
same it was 50 years ago.
Today there is more information available that you can carry around
on your hand held device.
In the future there may be apps that can scan coins and tell
you if it is authentic and what grade.
It is not all about making a profit. Of course if you build
a large enough collection it should have good value after decades
of accumulation.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
If your going to be that paranoid about counterfeit coins destroying the hobby , then I would not be a coin collector . there are a few ways to stay fairly save and that's to collect raw circulated coins that are common and semi-common . and learn the different diagnostics between a genuine coin and a fake . The answer to your question ; would I still recommend coin collecting to others in the face of counterfeits ? Yes I would !  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1311 Posts |
Counterfeit coins are going to be the ruination of the coin collecting hobby, nothing paranoid about it. Not to mention, today's youth has little to no interest in the hobby, just look at the average coin collector's bio. JMHO
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Valued Member
United States
424 Posts |
@DL20K, not only would I recommend coin collecting to someone, I am actively beginning the next generation of collectors in my family.
@thecoinguy1964, please allow me to respectfully disagree with you. I attended a local coin show about a month ago and there was a large percentage of young collectors there. There was even a table that was set up by a teenage brother and sister just getting into the coin dealing business. I supported their efforts and encouraged them to continue. From my perspective and in my area I will say that coin collecting is a family oriented hobby with a solid future. BTW my granddaughter (7) collects and now her younger brother, my grandson (5), is becoming VERY interested. Of course Papa CC is VERY encouraging.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
I am reading this as mostly for the younger set, so no, but I definitely wouldn't discourage it for the rare individual that might be interested. Any communication on it would have to start via Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Kik, WhatsApp etc., or it wouldn't even register. Maybe it might be about 27th on the list, well below art, music and coding. I generally don't make recommendations to adults unless asked. JMHO.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
To someone just starting out I'd say "yes" BUT out of circulation.
Cents and nickels.
Get them used to the overhead (albums, 2x2's, flips, etc.)
If it doesn't catch on with them then there's no significant loss.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I agree that Jefferson nickels is good place to start. Especially this series. There are gobs of nickels floating around that are now an obsolete design for over 10 years already. A lot can be learned about grading and it is possible to find an almost 80 year old coin in your pocket change. There are members here that have completed a complete set at no cost. ( They still have the initial investment of saving a nickel ) Once one see's just how difficult it is to find certain dates, or just how difficult it is to find one nicer than the next of any one date, they are well on their way to learning about coin collecting. Then they are equipped to move on to other type coins. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I did not see at first that the OP was from Poland. I bet that there is a Polish coin series to collect though in circulation that could be fun.
I also think sending a new collector to a place like CCF will help them learn about coin care, grading, and pitfalls like counterfeits.
One can learn what a fair price is only after they learn to appreciate what makes one coin better than the next.
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Collecting anything is usually motivated by a search for knowledge. Coins offer one of the greatest depths of current knowledge and new research available.
Coins have been counterfeited since coins began production. You can learn to spot the vast majority of those counterfeits regardless of if they are 2000 year old Roman fouree or the consistently crude China junk made yesterday.
Id recommend our hobby to anyone who has a modicum of persistence and a thirst for knowledge.
I wouldn't recommend it to those with limited patience.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
My view is it all depends on 1) Why YOU collect. and 2) WHAT you collect. To collect what I consider to be high $ series, such as Morgans/Peace or 18-21st century sets will of necessity be risky. ANY rare issue is prone to be faked, the adage "buyer beware" is paramount.
Collecting for investment is never wise. Rate of return is very poor, better off in other venues. Rare coin investment is speculative, just look at NGC's newsletter, lists the ups & downs of "investment" coins...BIG drops, LOW gains. If you have the resources (most of us don't), then your decision to risk, I for one would pick other risky ventures.
Most collectors chose what they "like". I'm more of a "pou de tout", meaning one of each (saw that on a menu once!). A wide variety, centering on those of affordability (cheap) and lower denomination/contemporary. Small cent issues 1857-2017, filling in the blanks w/o the BIG boys, nickels 1913-2017, and dimes 1916-2017. Have to draw the line there, budget constraints, but do have smatterings of the others, enough to work on a 7070. I have purchased KNOWN fakes, only for the learning aspect on how to spot 'em. Nobody likes being "taken", but that becomes a factor basically when going after the rarer hole fillers. Each of us needs to LEARN about counterfeits, at least be AWARE of the possibility.
I have had zero fortune in gaining new numismatically interested individualsl within my family. Youngsters just roll their eyes, "there goes Gramps,...again" and the older ones are wondering who's going to inherit the small amount of bullion and coins I do have!
Hopefully, the contests, giveaways, and sale items on the forum here that I'm doing, will help to inspire new collectors, that's my ultimate goal. A hobby is something you should enjoy, be satisfying, leave the drudgery of investments to your broker!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
634 Posts |
I think that coin collecting will only "die out" if cash ceases to be used in everyday commerce altogether. That is the greatest threat to the hobby.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
today's youth has little to no interest in the hobby, just look at the average coin collector's bio. JMHO The bio's have changed very little over at least the past 80 to 100 years or so. The average coin collector has always been an older male with a average age in the 50 to 60 year old range. When I started studying coins over 50 years ago the age of the average collector was pushing 60. If you go back an look at the attendance photos from the early ANA conventions around the beginning of the 20th century, you will see that the attendees are around 60 years old. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
Counterfeit coins are going to be the ruination of the coin collecting hobby, nothing paranoid about it. Not to mention, today's youth has little to no interest in the hobby, just look at the average coin collector's bio. JMHO All so true. I recently attempted to get my granddaughter into coins. She seams interested but would rather mess with the internet, videos, computer games, etc. Counterfeiters have already ruined many hobbies. Even our own government and manufacturers of items end up ruining hobbies like collecting. Postage stamps, Hot Wheel cars, Beanie Babies, etc., etc. are only a few. My Son tried Sporting Cards but as he found companies started making so many, their values just fell, fell, fell. He showed me how he could buy boxes of 500 for $5. Now with everyone wanting to get rid of Pennies and maybe Nickels, those too will become difficult for kids to collect. The Half Dollar is almost gone and nobody wants those baby sized dollar coins either. May as well tell kids to try collecting Egyptian Mummies. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
At my desk and going over a collection I purchased some time ago, I was going to respond with an enthusiastic "Yes!" Perhaps draw together all the exciting fields of history, metallurgy, art, economics and manufacturing. Then I ran across this, and have to conclude that coin collecting may not be for everyone.  Edited by Chute72
03/03/2017 08:12 am
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,266 |
Posted 03/02/2017 07:50 am
