RCC/Then is Different From Now

Then is Different From Now

I recently won a few old volumes of The Numismatist and The Numismatic Scrapbook in a numismatic literature mail-bid sale. All of them dated from the 1940s, and flipping through them over the past few weeks I have really gotten the sense that the coin collecting hobby was a very different pursuit in the 1940s than it is today.

Obviously the selling prices numismatic items has changed dramatically over the past 50 to 60 years, but what I noticed had much more to do with the pace and focus of the hobby.

Releases and stories about the annual American Numismatic Association (ANA), for example, did not spend much time touting the number of dealers that would be available to serve eager collectors. They focused far more on the educational and social events of the convention rather than its commercial aspects. Today, in contrast, the number of dealers and tables available on the bourse floor is typically touted as a primary reason for attending any large show or conference regardless of who is sponsoring it. It would thus appear that show promoters have learned that today's collector is drawn more by the opportunity to buy than the opportunity to learn or interact with fellow collectors.

Another thing I noticed was the way individuals and clubs promoted National Coin Week (NCW). Flipping through the yellowed pages of these old journals, I came across many pictures of huge coin and currency displays assembled for NCW. Many of these exhibits included hundreds of coins and took many cases to display! They were displayed at banks, coin stores, and department stores among other locales. While they did not appear to be long on numismatic or historical information about the coins or currency displayed, they certainly offered an interested passerby a wide range of items to view and wonder about!

Today, few individuals or clubs produce exhibits for NCW and I'd hazard a guess that those that do have scaled way back from their 1940s counterparts. Higher relative coin values and security issues no doubt are partly to "blame" but I also believe that today's collector either doesn't have the time or doesn't choose to invest the time in promoting the hobby the way collectors of the past did. The hobby has become a far more personal pursuit for most collectors and I think we all suffer because of it.

U.S. collectors especially have been able to transition into a "lone traveler" persona, I believe, because of the wealth of published information on just about every series of U.S. coins and/or currency. In the past, one had to rely on the knowledge of dealers and fellow collectors to get a sense of grade rarity, die varieties, market availability, strike quality, etc. Nowadays, a collector can buy one or more books about his or her area of interest and instantly have a wealth of information ready for review. Books can now also be supplemented with up-to-the-minute data gleaned from any number of internet databases, and any remaining data "holes" can likely be filled in by an "anonymous" email exchange with a small number of dealers or collector specialists across the country or around the world!

Because of all this information, collector seem more and more inclined to pursue sub-specialties within a series (collecting minute die varieties, for example) rather than the more traditional date and mint collections. This type of collecting moves the focus away from the appreciation of coin's overall beauty, eye appeal, and place in history on to minor differences that can only be differentiated through use of a l0x loop! It's all far too scientific for my tastes.

There is no doubt in my mind that it's a different collecting world today versus 50 years ago but I pass no judgement on which is better -- I leave that decision to each collector. I guess it just give me pause when I consider that hobby pursuits are meant to offer a relaxing escape from the day' stresses and yet each passing day seems to move the hobby toward a hype and intensity level far from its stress-free ideals.

Happy Collecting!

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