Has The Economy Caused You To Switch To World Coins?

Actually, the opposite. I see a decline in US coin value and increase in world coin value. Reason, supply and demand. US coin collecting has mostly been driven by US collectors and with the economy down so does the value decline. World coin collecting is global in nature. I see a challenge getting higher end pieces at a good price.

I am shifting gears solely to focus on world coins as I see the US market taking a dive for the mid term.

The "Economy" didn't play a role in my collecting of World Coins. But my "Personal Economics" have driven it! I still collect US coins and currency, but they do get kind of pricey for better stuff, so I supplement my needs with coins and banknotes from throughout the world.

Sometimes even they have a slowdown.. I just recently added 22 new countries and today I added yet another The Georgian Republic for a total of 158 countries as of this posting.

So yes your dollar will go further with world coins, in most cases, but there are the pricey exceptions, as with any hobby!

Me too for personal economy reasons I started collecting world coins. The price of Lincoln cents I want are not in the budget. But I did not drift too far into the dark-side as I collect world coins minted in the United States. Fun, Cheap, but not easy to find common world coins from 1940's to 1960's.

Terrell

I agree that prices for US coins are falling faster than world coins because of the ecconomy in the US. But my interests have never been in the Popular collecting areas - because prices have run up already.

I collect Mexican 8R counterfeits not because they are Mexican, but rather because they are an under appreciated part of US numismatics.

I actually stopped focusing on US coins a few years back because I thought that the prices were just too high. I still buy one from time to time, but only when I find a deal that I cannot pass on.

I find "world coins" much more intriguing now. There is obviously more variety, more history and the coins more affordable.

With the US series I collect, I have not seen a decline, as a matter of fact, they have been on the rise. I have never seen such ridiculous ebay listings as I have in the past year. What were consider common dates, are now graded and certified and listed for 5 or 10 times what they were at last year and some for hundreds of dollars. Not that they are selling but it is just plain crazy.

With the mint really getting into the dealer business, more now than ever, they have gotten so greedy that I am worried we will soon see the bottom fall out on what the majority of novice collectors are collecting.
The State Quarter and Presidential dollar programs looks a lot like the baseball craze of the mid 80's to mid 90's. We have special finish coins now in mint sets. There are designations and insignificant varieties of DDO and DDR ad nauseum that even the top grading companies are recognizing is nuts.

This sounds a lot like the way it did when baseball card manufacturers killed the goose that lay the golden egg.
When people need money and take the State Quarter coins and Obama holographic sets to the local dealer looking for some money to go grocery shopping the only consolation they have is that a quarter is still worth a quarter.

The dealer will say. "I have buckets full of those" or "I'll sell you all you want at face, I'd rather you carried them to the bank for me."

I have a steamer trunk full of baseball cards, the plastic sleeves are worth more than the cardboard inside.
The only thing most of my baseball cards are good for is to shim up a piece of furniture that shakes when I walk in a room.

It's just an observation and my opinion, but I've seen this before in all sorts of collectibles and some antiques being reproduced.

Collecting coins should be for fun, so if you like collecting quarters, have fun. I think if you want to at least have a chance of making money, buy silver and gold or old classic key dates when you find a deal whether they are US or not.

I used to only collect U.S. coins and never had really any desire to collect any other country. I have very expensive taste for u.s coins and its all for the early stuff which always was in the $1000 and up in price well after having to sell the stuff I did manger to put together I tried collecting Roman stuff. Then got out of that. Then I rediscovered my new passion Icelandic coins not expensive but really hard to put a Unc set together which has become my new obsession