Why are coins so much more interesting to collectors than paper money?

[Mr. Smith Guesser]

Someone asked me this last night and I didn't have a straight answer.

 

Maybe because coins (for the most part) are annually dated which makes it easy to complete a set?

 

Maybe because there are more different coin designs that there are for paper currency?

 

Maybe because older coins are much easier to find in high grade than older paper currency?

 

Maybe coins are just easier to collect in general than paper currency?

 

I literally have no interest in collecting paper currency. (Except in my bank account) But I think about coins almost every single day. And, collecting coins and paper money are essentially the same thing...collecting currency. But I can't even say for myself why I'm so much more interested in coins than currency. It's probably due to all the reasons listed above. But what do you think?

[BillJones]

I like some paper money, but I'm not willing to pay huge dollars for it. My interests have been limited to fractional currency, Confederate currency, Civil War era -script (shin plasters), and some pre Constitution issues of state and Continental currency.

 

One of my problems with currency is that the "currency doctors" are just as bad if not worse than the coin doctors, and I am a babe in the woods when it comes to detecting what they have done. I also don't like to buy problem examples of anything, and even if the paper money is certified and the problem is defined, I just don't want any part of it.

 

For example there was an example of Confederate currency note #1 at the FUN show in a problem certification holder. This is the $1,000 note that was issued by the Confederate Government in Montgomery, Alabama, and it is an icon in the Confederate money series. It is expensive in all grades. Pieces without problems are almost unobtainable.

 

Despite all of that history, I would not touch that piece. I just don't want to put up with the games dealers play with problem coins and notes. This piece would cost me over $10,000, but when comes time to sell it will be the, "Yes it's rare and desirable," BUT it has this problem so it's worth a fraction of what you paid for it." I don't need that foolishness.

 

So I buy relatively inexpensive paper money with no problems that I can see and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[asdfgh]

For me it comes down to certification. Paper money is more expensive to certify. Most dealers at coin shows only have uncertified bills. I would pay for cheeper uncertified bills but not more expensive ones. I too do not want to get into the guess the grade game when trying to sell. I also noticed that during the last recession the value of paper money plunged as compared to coins. That scared me away from currency.

[Conder101]

Possibly because until relatively recently ANY piece of paper money represented a significant sum of money. More than the casual collector could afford to pull out and set aside. Without a large collector base of casual collectors the number of serious collectors remained small.

 

At the turn of the 20th century a casual collector collecting one dollar notes would often be putting away the equivalent of a days pay. That would be like a casual collector today deciding to start collecting paper money by putting away 100 dollar bills. They couldn't afford to do it back then and the collector base just never really developed.

 

It was just a heck of a lot easier to collect cents and nickels.

[thebeav]

Boy, you guys talk like paper is unpopular.

I don't think, especially with the tremendous price gains in the last 15 years, that this is the case at all. As for myself, I know I can sell anything that I can buy in this area.

 

Paul

[Matt_dac]

For me it's similar to why I sold all my graded Mickey Mantle baseball cards; I prefer a collectible with more physical substance and I like having metal content + numismatic value. I used the proceeds from my Mantle card sale to buy two Saint Gaudens. There is nothing like the feeling of a Double Eagle in hand...you feel the weight of that gold!

 

I also find coins to be more artistic though I'm sure there are some fantastic bills to be had.

 

 

[RWB]

Possibly because until relatively recently ANY piece of paper money represented a significant sum of money. More than the casual collector could afford to pull out and set aside. Without a large collector base of casual collectors the number of serious collectors remained small.

 

At the turn of the 20th century a casual collector collecting one dollar notes would often be putting away the equivalent of a days pay. That would be like a casual collector today deciding to start collecting paper money by putting away 100 dollar bills. They couldn't afford to do it back then and the collector base just never really developed.

 

It was just a heck of a lot easier to collect cents and nickels.

 

Good points! Not the "precious metal" reason, but practical personal economics.

[coinman_23885]

I have a theory, but it is nothing more than speculation.

 

The majority of coin and currency collectors are...old. And when they were children, even a dollar was a sizable amount of money to save in large quantities even for middle class families. So, coins were more affordable, and most started collecting those. It is much easier to start with something less expensive like Lincoln cents and switch over to higher denomination coins than it is to switch to an entirely new medium all together (paper). Paper currency is a whole different ballgame in grading, etc., and many stay with what they know the best and started with: coins.

[DaveG]

What makes you think that currency is less interesting to collectors than coins?

 

Or, perhaps, do you mean that you think there are fewer currency collectors than coin collectors?

[coinman_23885]

What makes you think that currency is less interesting to collectors than coins?

 

Or, perhaps, do you mean that you think there are fewer currency collectors than coin collectors?

 

I interpreted it as the latter of the two.

[jpcienkus]

There are some fantastic old paper currency pieces. I've just started to become interested in them. Funny thing is, the currency I'd like to own is so much more expensive than the coins I like to collect.

 

I'm not against currency, but prefer coins.

[RWB]

Paper currency did not gain in popularity until the 1950s. Large amounts of the Green Estate currency were turned in at face value or sold for tiny markups.

[Mr. Smith Guesser]

What makes you think that currency is less interesting to collectors than coins?

 

Or, perhaps, do you mean that you think there are fewer currency collectors than coin collectors?

 

Yeah...fewer currency collectors than coin collectors.

[delta]

For just coins vs paper money, suitable explanations have been provided already in the previous posts, with coins a much more diverse practical everyday option. Most collectors begin with tiny investments as kids saving pennies, or with piggy-bank accumulations, plus of course the precious metals in coins are additionally valuable, and metal is generally more durable than paper, and embodies more substance as a physical object.

 

A more significant comparison might be the collecting of coins vs postage stamps.

[physics-fan3.14]

I know a lot of people like it, but personally, almost all paper money bores me. Maybe not quite as much as modern bullion and NCLT, but its still pretty boring.

 

I was actually thinking, as I walked the aisles of FUN, that it might be convenient to put all the paper money dealers in their own section. They already have a foreign coin section, so why not an exclusively paper money area for major shows? For the most part, coin people aren't really into paper money (and I'm guessing paper money people aren't really all that into coins, for the most part). So, it makes sense to me - makes it easier for the paper guys to find their stuff more easily.

[BillJones]

I was actually thinking, as I walked the aisles of FUN, that it might be convenient to put all the paper money dealers in their own section. They already have a foreign coin section, so why not an exclusively paper money area for major shows?

 

I am sure that Boston paper money dealer, Tom Denly, would not be happy if he were to be pushed from his front row spot in the FUN bourse to the back of the room. Tom has been coming to FUN for more years than he might want to admit, if he is concerned about admitting to his age, which has earned him that prime spot.

[Catbert]

I don't know much about paper money, but I do find many of the designs and various ink colors used compelling. The problem for me is that I don't want my limited resources to be applied to buying a few and then find that my collection lacks the focus it needs to accomplish something. I think some of the large picture posters that can be found in the Money Marketplace Forum here are really cool and I'd like to own one some day!

[Afterword]

I find it considerably easier to spend thousands of dollars on paper currency, than I do on coinage. I suspect it is because I have always been more concerned about how many bills I have in my wallet, than how many coins I have in my pocket.

[Nutmeg Coin]

Currency can be more interesting to many than coins, easier on the eyes with great history and designs. But I have spoken to long term dealers at major auction companies who did not have much luck grading and dealing in currency. It takes a special type of person.

 

Currency is easy to image, all you need is a good scanner and you aren't going to have a bunch of people saying it is impossible to ascertain grade from the images. But the note still has to be inspected they cannot CAC certify currency because it needs to be inspected out of the holder. Pinholes, "foreign substance", splits and numerous other issues plague currency as others have mentioned the doctoring, however top quality conservation can be done with paper money. Paper grading services have black lights and other technology to pick up issues hard to see. Tough to get the "Q" these days.

[wdrob]

 

Currency is easy to image, all you need is a good scanner

 

Good OLD scanner when it comes to the new notes. They are building scanners now that will not image a newer note per government requirements.

 

So all of you that still are using an old scanner (2 or more years ago I think is about right) don't get rid of it. You may need it to image some newer notes one day.

 

Could be sofware related too. Better not upgrade the drivers.

 

 

 

 

[Nutmeg Coin]

I tried to scan some old large size notes at a Staples once and they refused based on "the law". Like anyone is going to try to pass bogus large size notes?