Ask HN: Any Fellow Numismatists on HN?

[palferrari]

Enthusiastic numismatist here. I’ve noticed during my time in the hobby, many fellow enthusiasts are (often older) ex-software engineers. I have wondered why that is. My best guess would be that the “science” of grading is relatively complex and fascinating.

What are your thoughts on the current state of the hobby? How do you think we can appeal to younger folks to get in to coin collecting, despite the further digitalization of spending money?

[ksaj]

I'm not sure all collectors are interested in grading.

I have a fair collection. Most of them are worth exactly face value. I collected them because they are unique in some way. For example, the Canadian $1 coin that set of an FBI investigation because a border guard thought it was a listening device. I have another coin that I have kept because it is the same denomination and year as what Brian May from Queen uses as a guitar pick.

I have some "ancient" coins from a few places around the world as well. I have no idea if they are worth anything. They're just cool to have. And I have some that are genuinely valuable. But I don't even collect those because of value. For example, I like to collect gold and silver coins with holograms on them -- because I like holograms.

I also have a few different Bitcoin "medallion" coins like you used to see in every rap video. Again - something nice to look at, and there's an interesting story attached.

Maybe that's what you hope to culture in younger people. There's an aesthetic value to the coins that one can appreciate and relate to other areas of their life.

[ThePhysicist]

I became more interested in coins and monetary systems after reading "A history of money" by Glyn Davies et. al. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45426.A_History_of_Money). It's quite long but it goes into great detail about monetary systems and coinage throughout history. The discussion of how the Romans, Greeks and British used coinage to fund their wars and political endeavours, how they diluted the gold or silver content their different coins over time and how that led to unwanted side effects is quite fascinating, at least to me.

Most coins themselves are not very interesting from an artisanal point of view I find, it's more the story behind them that's often really fascinating.

[searchableguy]

> How do you think we can appeal to younger folks to get in to coin collecting, despite the further digitalization of spending money?

By teaching them about the history of money and currency.

I had a short lived interest in collecting old stamps and coins after watching pawn stars on history TV. Although I was more motivated by how much they paid for old stuff rather than the old stuff itself at first.

[palferrari]

I’m glad you brought that up. There was a minor renaissance we saw on cable tv with shows like Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Storage Wars, etc., that brought up collecting old americana and the like to a younger generation. I think though it’s as you said, the dollar amounts were at the forefront of what was shown off more so than than the items itself.

I make good faith attempts to pass things like Franklin and Kennedy half dollars to younger folks in my life, while explaining some of the facts around them, hoping it plants a seed, much like when I was young.

[palferrari]

Note that “science” in quotations is in regard to the inherent subjectivity of coin grading, but is in no way dismissive of the nuances and strive for consistency

[scott31]

For those who don't know what numismatist means: A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics

[palferrari]

Hah, I tried to make that clear by including “coin collecting” in the post. Hard to get that from dissecting the word though :)

[sloaken]

I collect but it is more for 'unique' as opposed to value. By unique I mean unique to me. I never grade anything beyond the level of 'oh that looks nice'.

I have many US coins of various flavors but am getting bored with the US quarters and British 50P. Both appear to be just trying to ruin coins like stamps became ruined.

My favorite was when a friend obtained for me a set of communist Russian coins from the 70 and 80s. I love going to flea markets and odd second hand shops to search for interesting looking coins.