Numismatists Without Coins

We had a very active member in our local coin club who went blind the last 10 or 15 years of his life but he still had fun when it came to being with coin collectors and sharing his knowledge on collecting.
It must have been quite an experience for him. He was a very nice man.

A collector hired by the Bank of Canada money museum said that he had to give up collecting due to conflict of interest.

So that is an example of a numismatist who no longer collects.

This approach is certainly easier on one's wallet

It's a really interesting question, and especially pertinent in the often-virtually-conducted-world we have been introduced to in the last 18 months.

I am guessing that there exist art historians who have never owned a piece of art from the era which they have studied. Why not coins?
Certainly there are areas of numismatics where I don't possess a coin, but where I have responded to a question on CCF by using the internet to learn and then answer (there are names for people like this ...some more polite than others ).

Merriam-Webster says numismatics is "the study or collection of coins, etc." (my italics)

So apparently the answer is yes, you can study coins without collecting them, and still be a proud numismatist.

The gratitude from the members is its own reward.

A digital collection is much cheaper, especially with relative lower costs on storage devices.

"Numismatist" is not a synonym for "coin collector", and never has been, even before the Internet age, even though many of us treat it so. I'm a member of several "numismatic societies", and when people ask me "what is numismatics", I just say "coin collecting" beause it's the simplest thing to say - even though I know it's not technically true.

A "coin collector" collects coins - it's right there on the label. They might, or might not, actually know something about the coins they collect, but knowledge is not necessary to just be a "coin collector".

A "numismatist" is, by definition, a student of coins. Knowledge about the coins is everything. They might, or might not, actually own any coins, but possession is not necessary to just be a "numismatist".

Now, many of us are, of course, both "coin collectors" and "numismatists", we both collect, and want to learn as much as possible about the things we collect. But it's entirely possible to be a "true numismatist" without owning a single coin. Indeed, many professional numismatists in the world's museums and universities dislike and disapprove of "coin collecting" as a hobby, especially for ancient and mediaeval coins. "Coin collectors" are seen as part of the problem, the source of the demand which fuels grave-robbing and the looting of archaeological sites.