Template:Short description Template:About
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists
Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors include beautiful, rare, and historically significant pieces. Collectors may be interested, for example, in complete sets of a particular design or denomination, coins that were in circulation for only a brief time, or coins with errors. Coin collecting can be differentiated from numismatics, in that the latter is the systematic study of currency as a whole, though the two disciplines are closely interlinked.
Many factors determine a coin's value including grade, rarity, and popularity.<ref name="CW1">Template:Cite news</ref> Commercial organizations offer grading services and will grade, authenticate, attribute, and encapsulate most coins.
HistoryEdit
Template:See also People have hoarded coins for their bullion value for as long as coins have been minted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the collection of coins for their artistic value was a later development. Evidence from the archaeological and historical record of Ancient Rome and medieval Mesopotamia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} 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."</ref> indicates that coins were collected and catalogued by scholars and state treasuries. It also seems probable that individual citizens collected old, exotic or commemorative coins as an affordable, portable form of art.<ref name="Coin Collecting">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> According to Suetonius in his De vita Caesarum (The Lives of the Twelve Caesars), written in the first century AD, the emperor Augustus sometimes presented old and exotic coins to friends and courtiers during festivals and other special occasions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While the literary sources are scarce, it's evident that collecting of ancient coins persisted in the Western World during the Middle Ages among rulers and high nobility.<ref name=Norwich>Template:Citation</ref>
Contemporary coin collecting and appreciation began around the fourteenth century. During the Renaissance, it became a fad among some members of the privileged classes, especially kings and queens. The Italian scholar and poet Petrarch is credited with being the pursuit's first and most famous aficionado. Following his lead, many European kings, princes, and other nobility kept collections of ancient coins. Some notable collectors were Pope Boniface VIII, Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XIV of France, Ferdinand I of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Henry IV of France and Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg, who started the Berlin Coin Cabinet (German: Münzkabinett Berlin). Perhaps because only the very wealthy could afford the pursuit, in Renaissance times coin collecting became known as the "Hobby of Kings".<ref name="The Coin Collection History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="Coin Collecting" /> 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.<ref name="The Coin Collection History" /> As one of the oldest and most popular world pastimes, coin collecting is now often referred to as the "King of Hobbies".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MotivationsEdit
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.<ref name="Collecting And Investing in Coins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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 United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata. One of the first pieces of legislation the new country enacted (after the revolution that freed it from Spanish rule) was to mint coins to replace the Spanish currency that had been in use.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another example is the U.S. 2022 Purple Heart Commemorative Coin Program.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Collector typesEdit
Some coin collectors are generalists and accumulate examples from a broad variety of historical or geographically significant coins,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a coin each year from a series,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or coins with a common mint mark.<ref name="Coin Collecting Themes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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 Louis E. Eliasberg, the only collector thus far to assemble a complete set of known coins of the United States.<ref name="Eliasberg">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Foreign coin collecting is another type of collection that numismatics enjoy collecting.<ref name="CW1"/>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is most common with coins whose metal value exceeds their spending value.<ref name="Coin Hoards">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="Collecting And Investing in Coins"/> They may wish to take advantage of a spike in demand for a particular coin (for example, during the annual release of Canadian numismatic collectibles from the Royal Canadian Mint). The speculator might hope to buy the coin in large lots and sell at a profit within weeks or months.<ref name="Collecting And Investing in Coins"/> Speculators may also buy common circulation coins for their intrinsic metal value. Coins without collectible value may be melted down or distributed as bullion for commercial purposes. Typically they purchase coins that are composed of rare or precious metals, or coins that have a high purity of a specific metal.<ref name="What is a Coin Collector">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="What is a Coin Collector" />
Grade and valueEdit
In coin collecting, the condition of a coin (its grade) is key to its value; a high-quality example with minimal wear is often worth many times more than a poor example. Collectors have created systems to describe the overall condition of coins. Any damage, such as wear or cleaning, can substantially decrease a coin's value.
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nevertheless, most grading systems use similar terminology, and values and remain mutually intelligible.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Certification servicesEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="coin-collecting-guide-for-beginners.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="ngccoin.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="PCGS Coin Facts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ClubsEdit
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 alsoEdit
Template:Portal Template:Sister project
- Challenge coin
- Coin
- Coin catalog
- Coin grading
- Coin slab
- Commemorative coin
- Exonumia
- Numismatics
- Regular issue coinage
- Seigniorage
- List of most expensive coins