Poll About Modern Coin Trends - Traditional Vs Adorned

I could care less what people enjoy.

I voted that it will hurt the hobby in the long run for a handful of reasons:

1) Novelty NCLT exists for the Mint to make a quick and easy profit. With the exception of US commemoratives and maybe a few others, most seem to go down in value, but are nevertheless sold as "investments". I know there are bigger issues out there, but this still seems dishonest. Imagine if you were a brand new collector and spent $80 on a coin only to find out that it's worth $50 on ebay six months later; $40 a year later...

2) When I got started collecting as a kid in the late 90s, there were two coins of each denomination to collect from circulation each year. Now it's all so much more complicated, not to mention expensive. If I was looking at a complete "set" of 500+ coins that would cost thousands of dollars, I would simply never start collecting and spend that money on video games instead.

To illustrate my point, Japanese commemoratives were the first that I seriously pursued. They were reasonably plentiful, held value well, and were aesthetically pleasing. There are only a handful to collect between 1964-2000, but then Japan launched the 47 Prefectures coin series to cash in on the success seen by the State Quarters. There are bimetallic ¥500 (complete set costs about $235 if you were lucky to get them from the bank; $500-600 on ebay) and silver colorized ¥1000 yen that can only be purchased for about $60... $2,820 for the set!

3) I'm increasingly hearing reports that NCLT coins are not "legal tender" and cannot even be turned in to a bank for face value. At that point, why not just collect little porcelain gnome figurines?

4) A few weeks ago, my in-laws came to me with an impulse buy from a yard sale; a Liberia $10 with Bill Clinton and two Cook Dollar $1 9/11 "We will never forget" coins. Worse than novelty junk, they were FAKE. I feel like I see 10 reports of fake Disney Princess coins per day on here. It's nearly impossible to be an "expert" on these coins, and counterfeiters are taking advantage of that fact. That will tangibly hurt our hobby even worse than fakes of coins that only serious collectors pursue.

It's not just coinage, it's everything. Even conservative authorities issue postage stamps with puppies on them, and collectors were deluged with Kennedy stamps in 1963, Princess Diana, Royal Weddings, from places like Dubai and Mali. Even national currencies are becoming 'popularized', with soccer players, politically correct amalgams of history, and the like. It's not just Fiji and the Maldive Islands doing this, so is Canada, and the US was slated to produce a new note featuring a politically desireable portrait until it was stopped this year.

When you've got commercial goods like Elvis on Velvet and John Wayne Commemorative Wall Plates fetching millions of dollars a year, it was only a matter of time until that was recognized by the governments of the world. Now we're stuck with it until federal budgets are slashed to the point where producing such dross is no longer possible.

"I only like a coin of the traditional style, proof or struck for circulation."

However, I have recently taken an interest in medals. Specifically the silver and bronze medals in the C&C sets, as well as the new silver Liberty medals.

Last time I directly supported the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund (PEF) was back in the year 2012.




When a U.S. Mint product is purchased directly from the U.S. Mint itself, you are contributing to the PEF which pays for U.S. Mint operations, Act of Congress medals (e.g. Congressional gold medals), etc... Excess funds are transferred to the U.S. Treasury General Fund of which pays for essential government services.

The U.S. Mint is incentivized to produced/sell numismatic and bullion coins, as a result you will see an abundant number of new issues and new products.

https://www.usmint.gov/wordpress/wp...alReport.pdf

I voted :


Is an extra hobby for me . a simple way to relax and research .

Here's a good example:

http://www.mint.ca/store/coins/pure...nese_Zodiac&

Canadian 1 kilo .9999 gold coin, sold for CAD $75,000. Right now, 1 kilo of gold is worth CAD $51,164. $24,000 surcharge for a ceremonial face value, lackluster artistry, a vague and culturally insignificant commemoration (for Canada), and a meaningless low mintage. Yes, you could break even or even make a profit if gold sees a 50% price hike in the coming years. But why not just buy a kilo bar at current market price? A kilo gold coin is not something that carries any demand beyond its melt value, so why make them at all? There is no way around the fact that coins like these are a money pit.

Say what!?

I have to admit, as a lover of real maple syrup, I would be tempted.

I voted other, I mainly collect US coinage of the traditional style. I also collect irradiated dimes and elongated cents. Although the motorized transformer coin with lazerbeam eyes sweetens the deal