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 Replies: 21 / Views: 2,227 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
Poll Question
Almost anything I do with regard to coins - buying, selling or just talking/learning about them - is done ELECTRONICALLY. I haven't been to a coin show in years. As a result, I don't often see the faces of the folks I'm "talking" to. I often wonder if ANY of the people I'm talking to are female...as electronic names or "handles" can be pretty vague. I get the impression that the vast majority of the people I "talk" to are MALE. My suspicion is that females make up less than 10% of the hobby, perhaps even substantially less than 10%. My poll is this: Do females make up LESS or MORE than 10% of the hobby? In addition to choosing your answer, it would be helpful if you could identify your gender on your response, as well as any other text you would like to add. And NO...this is not a cheap trick for me to meet women...or men! I've been happily married for almost 32 years and I will not HIT on you... unless you promise to give me MANY, MANY, MANY valuable coins for FREE! 
Edited by weerdsteev
04/09/2009 10:50 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
The problem with acquiring a decent statistic with that type of info is exactly what you noted. Way to many internet transactions and no way of knowing who is who. Men as a guess like to go to coin shows and women just don't or so it appears. From what I've seen for many, many years, women just don't go to coin, gun, knife, hunting, fishing, boat shows. Women do appear at car, computer, camera, dog, cat and clothing shows. Women usually seam to waste more time doing things like raising kids, shopping for family food, housework, dishes, paying household bills and other trivial things. Just don't know why they don't spend more time doing the important things like men do. I'm going to get killed for that statement.   |
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
18% is the official percentage based on This Poll As well as CCF stats from member registrations
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Valued Member
United States
369 Posts |
I vote more than 10% My local coin shop is run mainly by a man, but his wife helps a lot. I also work a Wal-mart, and most coin collectors there are women. Maybe 50-60% Sorry I've been away for so long. I've been busy with school and work, haven't been doing a lot of collecting. It's good to see the familiar names are still here. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
I voted more than 10%......but I do think it's an overwhelmingly male dominated sport. I don't know why this is, perhaps the reality of what Carl says might really be the case. I try to encourage my Nieces (3) to be interested ......but to no avail......well.....there's a little bit of interest in one of my three nieces, but....it is what it is. My Nephew loves coins though ! The Girlfriend.......not really sure how deep her interest is beyond "sharing my interest". Her 4 year old daughter seems to be.....but then again....she's attracted to all shiny objects and loves money !!.....Ha Ha... |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
In reality I blame those statistics on our method of raising children. Boys just have to have everything in blue, girls in pink. Boys always are given balls, guns, tanks, cars for presents. Girls usually get dolls, doll clothing, kitchen sets, tea sets, combs and hair brushes. Parents will always take a girl to a dog, cat, clothing store or show. Parents will always take a boy to coin, gun, knife, computer shows. Parents usually have no idea of how this may set the stage for the future interest in an idividuals outlooks.
Seldom I see a girl at a gun shooting range. Many, many times I've seen a man with his son there though.
Then too, there it that thing called peer presure. As a girl goes to school, discussing coins is for boys. Even a boy lately can't say collects coins or is a nerd.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
I voted less than 10%, BUT...I am recruiting my daughters into the FAMILY!  That boy collecting coins back in middle school was me, and I'm still a NERD! Guilty!  success, Edited by oih82w8
04/09/2009 11:04 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16826 Posts |
There is a cultural aspect to it, too. In North America, Europe and eastern Australia it is clearly and by far a male-dominated hobby. For my coin club here in Australia, the figure is historically only 8.5% female membership. But from what I've heard of organized numismatics in New Zealand, Britain and Western Australia, the gender balance is much closer to even.
For a voluntary hobby such as coin collecting, once a strong gender bias appears, it becomes self-reinforcing. If, say, most of the collectors that attend a coin show are male, then the dealers will assume that any female present will have been dragged along by their husbands and not actually be a serious collector, and so will be reluctant to waste their time with them. I imagine it would be discouraging for actual collectors to be ignored and not taken seriously, and many would give up and find a hobby where their interest is better appreciated.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
I voted less than 10% but I think it is only a little bit below that threshold. There are a few show circuit dealers who are women- Joan Miller(Miller's Mint), Liz Coggan(JJ Teaparty), and Laura Sperber(Legend Numismatics) are a few that I can think of off the top of my head. Locally in St. Louis, Scotsman Auction Co has several Woodside women actively involved in the family coin auction business. I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside every time I see someone with their young daughter in a shop or at a show and the girl is taking an active interest in coins  That will probably be me in a few years if I ever have a daughter(no kids yet but planned in the near future). I think alot of dads think that coin collecting is more for the boys so the girls just do not get the exposure to the hobby that they probably could get. If you do not have that exposure as a child, odds are that you will probably not just pick it up as an adult. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4227 Posts |
Even large coin collecting organization's national shows used to promote that bias. It has only been in the last few years that the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association started calling organized events for non-collecting members of the family spouse's outings instead of wive's outings.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1291 Posts |
Well, so far it's looking like the poll is supporting my suspicions. I know that doesn't necessarily make it true but I guess it's the perception among most folks. My two kids (one boy, one girl) are both grown and neither had any interest in collecting when they were young despite equal opportunity to engage with the hobby. Like I said back in my first post, most of my contact with collectors (buyers, sellers, horders...whatever) is electronically. I can't tell you how many times I've either bought or sold something on ebay where it seemed like I might be dealing with a woman, but it turned out to be a man. It's like I'd sell something to an eBayer with an ID like Lori_333@providername.com and then through the course of events I'd find out that I was REALLY dealing with her husband, Bob, who was just using her ebay ID to buy coins. Funny story: About a year ago I made a few ebay sales to a person in Georgia who had an address that definitely contained the name of a woman. The PayPal account had the same obviously female name attached to it. But whenever this person sent me some correspondence they always signed off as "Buffalo Rider". Time went by and I pressed them on this a little and they sent me a black and white photo of an individual sitting on top of an American Bison and a note stating the bison's name and when he died. The individual had long hair and looked a little heavy and I thought it was a woman. The note also contained a clue that said, "I'm sort of famous." I wrote back in jest and asked "are you some relation of Annie Oakley?" The person wrote back that HE had been in some movies and that... "I ain't no girl!!" It turns out that there were some "B" western movies back in the '70's and this GUY "starred" in them, and one of them was named "The Buffalo Rider", where he goes riding about on a huge bison exacting revenge for the senseless slaughter of the bison and Indians and all those other bad things our forefathers did out in the old west. Needless to say, however, that was him on top of the buffalo in the photo, and I guess that he didn't like that I thought that he looked like a woman because he never bought anything from me again after that! |
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Valued Member
80 Posts |
I think there a lot more woman collector than anyone thinks.I seen a lot of post that say look what my grandmother left me.
Edited by MacMan
04/11/2009 10:28 am
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Moderator
United States
6563 Posts |
There is a difference between "collecting" and "hording" as was the case for older generations. Their change jars were all silver |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
The reason you're seeing "grandmother left me the coins" is probably because grampa died first!
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Moderator
United States
16679 Posts |
My fiance and I go to all the major shows together. Although not an avid collector or coin nut like myself (I eat,sleep, and breathe coins ) she still has a pretty substantial collection, a loupe, and basic interest. I would put her in that 10%. Let's put it this way. If I past away tomorrow, I am confident I have given her the knowledge to deal with my collection appropriately. swcoin.ecrater.com
Edited by vermontensium
04/11/2009 6:11 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4227 Posts |
Quote:
Let's put it this way. If I past away tomorrow, I am confident I have given her the knowledge to deal with my collection appropriately. So, you told her to distribute your collection to all the Coin Community Forum member?!? |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 2,227 |
Posted 04/09/2009 11:56 am
