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Average age of note collectors?
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21 posts in this topic

I started collecting large size currency at 26 and I'm now 41.  I've only bought online, from heritage, stacks, lyn knight, ebay, and various retailers.  Since I've never been to a show or live auction I have no idea how old a typical collector might be.  One of my concerns is future demand.  Will Millenials or Generation Z be interested, or will all their money be tied up in Bitcoin? 

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I'm much like you, same age bracket, very few attended shows if any, etc.. Collector age often comes up (when I say collector I'm talking about a person with the means, interest, time and passion to collect an item/s) and my opinion is that the average age of the collector will always remain middle age and up as that is typically the time of a persons life where all those things align. I'm not overly concerned with future demand, one, because I do think the future collectors and collector base is out there (there will be a slow gradual turn over of geezers to 40 somethings, most people probably won't even notice), two I don't collect because I necessarily think it is a good investment (although I hope so) I collect because I enjoy it. I'm not planning my retirement party anytime soon.:)

Good topics by the way, glad to see someone else posting here.(thumbsu

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I'm 34. So a bit on the younger side compared to many on these boards I guess.

I don't think I'd recommend note or coin collecting as an investment and I don't think I'd buy in hopes of recovering value or making a profit later.

I built my Zimbabwe set - which is the lions share of my note collection - knowing pretty much the whole time that I'd be very unlikely to get my money back or make a profit because interest in those has mostly trended down as we get further from the hyperinflation and prices have come down big time in the last few years. The recent release.of a new series has sparked new life and interest but I remain convinced that the long term trend for everything in that set other than maybe the 100 Trillion note is down (not that it has much further to go now, they're down so much lol).

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Be assured banknote collecting will grow, I started at 42, and I am now 50 years of age, I spend all my spare time looking and researching online. In the decades to come, paper money “banknotes” will be obsolete and discontinued by banks and governments, future generations will look at banknotes as antiques, a memory of history, art and commerce. The time is now to collect as high quality and rarity as you can afford. The notes that will be most in demand will be the most artistic and historical “colonial notes”. Covid-19 has really launched this hobby towards the online platforms, Third party grading has made it easier to showcase banknotes online, I predict within 10-15 years paper money will be no longer, prices will go up dramatically.

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55 minutes ago, Banknote King said:

Be assured banknote collecting will grow, I started at 42, and I am now 50 years of age, I spend all my spare time looking and researching online. In the decades to come, paper money “banknotes” will be obsolete and discontinued by banks and governments, future generations will look at banknotes as antiques, a memory of history, art and commerce. The time is now to collect as high quality and rarity as you can afford. The notes that will be most in demand will be the most artistic and historical “colonial notes”. Covid-19 has really launched this hobby towards the online platforms, Third party grading has made it easier to showcase banknotes online, I predict within 10-15 years paper money will be no longer, prices will go up dramatically.

In general I'm with you but I don't tend to agree with your timeline. Central banks around the world have been experimenting with digital currency for years. My current collecting interest, Ukraine, launched a pilot project in 2016 to consider the possibility of issuing it's own digital currency, the e-hryvnia, but have yet to move on it. I guess we'll see how Venezuela does when/if they go cashless. I highly doubt the U.S. will be cashless in my lifetime and hopefully I've got another 40+ years in me.

It is a great time to collect, as populations grow so does the collector base. As society slowly transitions to cashless, notes will become more sought after by collectors and the average age of serious collectors will still be around 45-50. I think.

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On 3/18/2021 at 7:23 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

It is a great time to collect, as populations grow so does the collector base. As society slowly transitions to cashless, notes will become more sought after by collectors and the average age of serious collectors will still be around 45-50. I think.

Many barely use cash now. I'm not sure new generations will continue to have interest in this as it all becomes historical novelties with no relevance to them.

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11 hours ago, Revenant said:

I'm not sure new generations will continue to have interest in this as it all becomes historical novelties with no relevance to them.

The personal connection might be gone but the historical relevance will still be there. I imagine money/note collecting will fall into a similar vein as art, fossil/mineral, books/manuscripts, arrow heads, ephemera,  etc.. People like to collect and they will continue to collect notes and coins for decades to come. I just can't see the collector base shrinking in size, it will continue to grow, but a loss of market share can and probably will happen at the same time. Low grade and common notes will remain low, high grade and rarities will climb. I just have a hard time envisioning much will change overtime other than the prices due to inflation or a gradual increase in value. Teleport me 50 years into the future and there will still be a bunch of >40 year old individuals bidding on banknotes. Telepathically maybe? hm

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6 hours ago, Fenntucky Mike said:

People like to collect and they will continue to collect notes and coins for decades to come. I just can't see the collector base shrinking in size, it will continue to grow, but a loss of market share can and probably will happen at the same time. Low grade and common notes will remain low, high grade and rarities will climb. I just have a hard time envisioning much will change overtime other than the prices due to inflation or a gradual increase in value. Teleport me 50 years into the future and there will still be a bunch of >40 year old individuals bidding on banknotes.

We (people) like to assume that the future will be a logical continuation of the present and recent past. In some ways it often is. But I think the bit about "low grade and common notes" is important here, because the vast majority of the notes that most of us have are either low grade or common. lol Yeah. I think rare old Education series notes may go up in value over time - maybe even adjusted for inflation - but I still laugh at some of the marketing spin that some dealers still try to put on Zimbabwean Notes and other notes that have never and will never be rare. lol Except, of course, for the P-72! lol 

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2 hours ago, Revenant said:

But I think the bit about "low grade and common notes" is important here, because the vast majority of the notes that most of us have are either low grade or common. lol

Absolutely, 100% agree.

2 hours ago, Revenant said:

Except, of course, for the P-72! lol

You're killing me! :roflmao::signfunny:

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2 hours ago, Fenntucky Mike said:

You're killing me! :roflmao::signfunny:

I suspect you'll live. lol:baiting:

You picked a fun theme. If I recall correctly, the hideous thing - for you - is the art on the P-72 isn't reused on any other 3rd dollar notes - it's very special in that way. So you can't switch to a different note like the 10 and the 5 Billion.

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As a resident of Indonesia, from personal experience, I would say that there is interest in numismatics across the board.

This ranges from the mundane: one coin or banknote from every country to the obscure such as buying common coins and paper money to be incorporated into collages and other artwork to the bizarre  like using British, Australian and other pennies, pouring some type of Acryl on them in order to renovate the floor of a bathroom.

Generally serious collectors here are those with money and educated to a greater rather than lesser extent.

There is a market for items ranging from 1¢ to multiples of $1000 Dollars.

The passion albeit oftentimes hidden is invigorating.

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I have collected banknotes for over 30 years. I find our hobby healthy though not growing.

Before covid put them into hibernation, I used to go to lots of shows. Most collectors who attended were in the 30-60 age group. I see few young collectors coming into the hobby. 20 years ago there were more younger collectors about. Whatever younger people are collecting, they don’t seem to be going for banknotes so much!

However, I do see banknote collecting as a hobby continuing as there will always be an interest in monetary items, even if banknotes become a thing of the past. Also, as has been pointed out here, there is a good supply of attractive inexpensive lower grade notes out there for us to collect.

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You are absolutely right when you say that Millenials or Generation Z are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies or other trending assets (NFT for example) than anything else. 
But we should understand that it's not that hard to do now and the entry threshold into crypto investments is really low, and you can always find additional hints for that online!

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Just read an article the other day from a Malaysian blogger who said that there is quite a re-juvenification of the numismatic trade going on in Malaysia. 

Much of the dealing goes on in the social media though people are also opening shops in cities besides Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Philately in Malaysia appears dead, however. There is a terrific flea market in Amcorp Mall on Sunday. Great for buying and selling!

All this action draws people into the hobby as average earnings are not terrific in Malaysia and with a bit of intellingence a good supplemental income can be made at varying demographical levels. Also, income taxes are low and not overly complicated and duties as well are not prohibitive. This also helps residents to accumulate spare cash which can be invested into collectibles not only real estate or the equity markets.

Lastly, an important quantity of books have been published concerning numismatics in Malaysia. Some of them are collectibles in their own right. In Malaysia many collectors buy both the coin (or banknote) AND the book.

 

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One thing to look at is the number of Youtube channels that are dedicated to currency and look at their subscribers.  I think that is a very tellling indicator or how popular a collectible is with young people.  Also, look at the number of local numismatic clubs and their members, I see a down turn in that segment, and it has been for quiet awhile.  If I remember correctly, "The Numismatist" from ANA publishes that data once a year.

Are there young people entering the hobby, sure.  But not like it was decades ago.  There is a local coin club in the city I live in, but 95% of the kids that attend it are either dragged there by a parent or they are dropped off for some "free" daycare, and the kids are not that concerned with learning.

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On 1/20/2022 at 11:30 AM, RB3 said:

One thing to look at is the number of Youtube channels that are dedicated to currency and look at their subscribers.  I think that is a very tellling indicator or how popular a collectible is with young people.  Also, look at the number of local numismatic clubs and their members, I see a down turn in that segment, and it has been for quiet awhile.  If I remember correctly, "The Numismatist" from ANA publishes that data once a year.

Don't disagree, Youtube up in-person clubs down, I really don't see a way of reversing that though. Maybe all these coin clubs should have there own Youtube cannel and/or live stream for every meeting. I also think that there are more middle to elder aged people watching Youtube than you suspect. Lot's of people looking to get rich quick from numismatics, as opposed to collecting. 

On 1/20/2022 at 11:30 AM, RB3 said:

There is a local coin club in the city I live in, but 95% of the kids that attend it are either dragged there by a parent or they are dropped off for some "free" daycare, and the kids are not that concerned with learning.

Sometimes that's all it takes, just to be exposed to collecting, and then they return in 20-40 years. lol Most kids I know are not generally interested in the learning aspect of numismatics, at first, they want to see something shiny, pretty, worth a bazillion dollars, or ancient (not the collectors). Setting the numismatic hook with learning as your bait is a though sell to a YN.

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On 1/19/2022 at 6:31 AM, IndoHound said:

Just read an article the other day from a Malaysian blogger who said that there is quite a re-juvenification of the numismatic trade going on in Malaysia. 

Much of the dealing goes on in the social media though people are also opening shops in cities besides Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Philately in Malaysia appears dead, however. There is a terrific flea market in Amcorp Mall on Sunday. Great for buying and selling!

All this action draws people into the hobby as average earnings are not terrific in Malaysia and with a bit of intellingence a good supplemental income can be made at varying demographical levels. Also, income taxes are low and not overly complicated and duties as well are not prohibitive. This also helps residents to accumulate spare cash which can be invested into collectibles not only real estate or the equity markets.

Lastly, an important quantity of books have been published concerning numismatics in Malaysia. Some of them are collectibles in their own right. In Malaysia many collectors buy both the coin (or banknote) AND the book.

Numismatics seems to be booming in the Asian markets, it certainly has been in China for some time. Philately seems to be the only collecting area that the Pandemic couldn't breath life into for some reason. (shrug) Any numismatist worth their salt knows that a good reference book is a valuable tool. It sounds like you've got a good thing going in Malaysia. Hopefully that continues. (thumbsu 

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Secondo le me ricerche e i feedback dei clienti di Mania Casino https://casinomaniaonline.com/ Online l'età media dei collezionisti di banconote è compresa tra i 25 e i 35 anni. Tuttavia, ci sono molti appassionati e hobbisti di tutte le età che amano collezionare banconote. Vi auguriamo di trovare quello che state cercando!

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On 2/22/2021 at 1:12 PM, pbj204 said:

One of my concerns is future demand.  Will Millenials or Generation Z be interested, or will all their money be tied up in Bitcoin? 

I think they WOULD be interested -- IF they knew about their beauty, artistry, history.  Ditto coins.

The problem is that you are more likely to be exposed to videogames and useless hours spent posting on social media than being exposed to the beauty of what constitutes the words and images on our currency and bills.  Ditto coins.

I wish I had been exposed a long time ago, when I had more $$$ and more time. xD

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