Coin collecting
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Coin collecting is the
Many factors determine a coin's value including grade, rarity, and popularity.[1] Commercial organizations offer grading services and will grade, authenticate, attribute, and encapsulate most coins.
History
People have
Contemporary coin collecting and appreciation began around the fourteenth century. During the
During the 17th and 18th centuries coin collecting remained a pursuit of the well-to-do. But rational, Enlightenment thinking led to a more systematic approach to accumulation and study. Numismatics as an academic discipline emerged in these centuries at the same time as a growing middle class, eager to prove their wealth and sophistication, began to collect coins. During the 19th and 20th centuries, coin collecting increased further in popularity. The market for coins expanded to include not only antique coins, but foreign or otherwise exotic currency. Coin shows, trade associations, and regulatory bodies emerged during these decades.[4] The first international convention for coin collectors was held 15–18 August 1962, in Detroit, Michigan, and was sponsored by the American Numismatic Association and the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association. Attendance was estimated at 40,000.[8] As one of the oldest and most popular world pastimes, coin collecting is now often referred to as the "King of Hobbies".[11][12]
Motivations
The motivations for collecting vary. Possibly the most common type of collectors are the hobbyists, who amass a collection primarily for the pleasure of it without the intention of making a profit.
Another frequent reason for purchasing coins is as an investment. As with stamps, precious metals, or other commodities, coin prices vary based on supply and demand. Prices drop for coins that are not in long-term demand, and increase along with a coin's perceived or intrinsic value. Investors buy with the expectation that the value of their purchase will increase over the long term. As with all types of investment, the principle of caveat emptor applies, and study is recommended before buying. Likewise, as with most collectibles, a coin collection does not produce income until it is sold, and may even incur costs (for example, the cost of safe deposit box storage) in the interim.[13]
Some people collect coins for patriotic reasons and mints from various countries create coins specifically for patriotic collectors. One example of a patriotic coin was minted in 1813 by the
Collector types
Some coin collectors are generalists and accumulate examples from a broad variety of historical or geographically significant coins,[16] but most collectors focus on a narrower, specialist interest. For example, some collectors focus on coins based on a common theme, such as coins from a country (often the collector's own),[17] a coin each year from a series,[18] or coins with a common mint mark.[19]
There are also completists who seek an example of every type of coin within a certain category. One of the most famous of this type of collector is
Coin hoarders are similar to investors in the sense that they accumulate coins for potential long-term profit. However, they typically do not take into account aesthetic considerations.[21] This is most common with coins whose metal value exceeds their spending value.[22]
Speculators, be they amateurs or commercial buyers, may purchase coins in bulk or in small batches, and often act with the expectation of delayed profit.
A final type of collector is the inheritor, an accidental collector who acquires coins from another person as part of an inheritance. The inheritor type may not necessarily have an interest in or know anything about numismatics at the time of the acquisition.[23]
Grade and value
In coin collecting, the condition of a coin (its
By the mid 20th century, with the growing market for rare coins, the American Numismatic Association helps identify most coins in North America, numbering coins from 1 (poor) to 70 (mint state), and setting aside a separate category for proof coinage. This system is often shunned by coin experts in Europe and elsewhere, who prefer to use adjectival grades.[24] Nevertheless, most grading systems use similar terminology, and values and remain mutually intelligible.[25][26]
Certification services
Third-party grading (TPG), aka coin certification services, emerged in the 1980s with the goals of standardizing grading, exposing alterations, and eliminating counterfeits. For tiered fees, certification services grade, authenticate, attribute, and encapsulate coins in clear plastic holders.[27][28][29]
Coin certification has greatly reduced the number of counterfeits and grossly over graded coins, and improved buyer confidence. Certification services can sometimes be controversial because grading is subjective; coins may be graded differently by different services or even upon resubmission to the same service. The numeric grade alone does not represent all of a coin's characteristics, such as toning, strike, brightness, color, luster, and attractiveness. Due to potentially large differences in value over slight differences in a coin's condition, some submitters will repeatedly resubmit a coin to a grading service in the hope of receiving a higher grade. Because fees are charged for certification, submitters must funnel money away from purchasing additional coins.[30][31][32][33][34]
Clubs
Coin collector clubs offer a variety of benefits to members. They usually serve as a source of information and unification of people interested in coins. Collector clubs are popular both offline and online.
See also
- Challenge coin
- Coin
- Coin catalog
- Coin grading
- Coin slab
- Commemorative coin
- Exonumia
- Numismatics
- Regular issue coinage
- Seigniorage
- List of most expensive coins
Examples
References
- ^ a b Garrett, Jeff (10 February 2023). "Pricing Hard-to-Price Coins". Coinweek. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "The Origins of Coinage:The earliest coin hoard". The British Museum:Explore/Money. britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Collecting". britannica.com]. Retrieved 14 December 2010. Quote: "The Nestorian scholars and artisans who served the princes of the Jazira (Mesopotamia, now Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) in the 12th and 13th centuries designed a magnificent series of coins with motifs based on ancient Greek and Roman issues. Some of these so accurately render the details of the originals that even the inscriptions are faithfully repeated. Others were modified in intriguing ways. [...] The great variety and the sophisticated use of these images reveal the existence of well-studied collections."
- ^ a b "Coin Collecting". Britannica Online. britannica.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Tranquillus, C. Suetonius The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Section LXXV". gutenberg.org. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-14-011448-5
- ^ "Ferdinand I | Holy Roman emperor | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b "The Coin Collection History". coincollectingalbum.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Brief History of Coin Collecting". 2-clicks-coins.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Collectors: Emperor Maximilian". zoomcoin.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Collecting". BBC. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Brief History of Coin Collecting". 2-clicks-coins.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ a b c "Collecting And Investing in Coins". oldandsold.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "First patriotic coins".
- ^ "National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coins | U.S. Mint". www.usmint.gov. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "10 Rules of Coin Collecting | Coin Collection Tips | American Numismatic Association". www.money.org. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "Coin Collecting Themes-One From Every Country". australian-threepence.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Eggleston, Gary. "7 Popular Coin Collecting Themes". bellaonline.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Collecting Themes". coinandstampcollecting.articlehq.net. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Hall, David. "The Eliasberg Collection". PCGS - The Professional Coin Grading Service. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
His goal was to assemble a complete collection of United States regular issue coins, of every date, metal, denomination, and mint mark known to collectors at the time. He accomplished this monumental feat by 1950, by purchasing the last gold coin he needed (1841 $2 1/2) in 1949 and the last silver coin he needed (1873-CC no arrows dime) in 1950.
- ^ Ajaero, Tony Martins (30 January 2020). "Coin Dealer Business Plan [Sample Template]". ProfitableVenture. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ "Coin Hoards". australian-threepence.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ a b "What is a Coin Collector?". 2-clicks-coins.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Herbert, Alan (20 September 1999). "European Collectors Stick With Verbal Grading System". Professional Coin Grading Service. pcgs.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Guth, Ron (2009). "German Coin Grading". germancoins.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Grading Standards". fleur-de-coin.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "The History of Rare Coin Grading". Austin Gold Information Network. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Grading Services: Who They Are and What They Do". coin-collecting-guide-for-beginners.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "Coin Grading Systems - The History of Coin Grading Scales". About.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
- ^ "NGC". ngccoin.com. NGC.
- ^ "PCGS Coin Facts". pcgscoinfacts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Travers, Scott (10 October 2009). "THE 10 GREATEST MYTHS OF 'SLABBED' COINS". usgoldexpert.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ "A Companion to Rare Coin Collecting - Grading Services". mycoincollecting.com. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ "PNG, ICTA Announce Results of 2006 Grading Services Survey". pngdealers.org. Professional Numismatists Guild. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.