how many collectors

[ausjack]

just wondering how many people you think collect and how many are actually on the net :scratch_one-s_head:
I wouldn't be on the net if I didn't get hurt and I was collecting before so I think there's a hell of a lot more collectors than what are actually on the net..I've never been to a fair, meet or coin clubs so to the people that have how many would you think are on the net. Also when they show the mint on the news there's thousands and thousands of people, where are they all..where do they go?

[r9453]

Except for grannies, I reckon most collectors are online. :swoon:

When I went to the RAM this year it was school hols. There was a cue at the mint your own and about 4 sales staff were kept pretty busy but I'm not sure how many of the visitors that were there that day would be as keen as the members of this forum. However, some would be keeping an eye on eBay, I guess.

[Goose]

My guess is that about 5% of the people in the U S collect coins....not counting those that throw some change into a jar. My extended family (Kids, spouses, grand kids, brother & sister) numbers 43. Of the 43, I am the only one that collects. Of the above 5% in the U S that collect (again a guess), possibly 25% of those buy, research, or discuss coins on the net. The other 75% just order from the U S mint or drop into a coin store now and then.

[Fulvio]

Depends what you define a collector as.

The Melbourne Numismatic Society is a pretty serious bunch of hard-core collectors, which gets about 20 to each meeting, out of perhaps double that in membership. None appear to be online, certainly not here.

Lots of people collect coins "for the grandkids", sometimes specific series. They're not here either, though they may be on ebay.

I would say the 5% mark is pretty right if you include everyone. If you narrow the scope, it gets a lot smaller, very very quickly. The sort of crowd we have here would probably only number a few thousand, tops.

[Sapyx]

The Queensland Numismatic Society, of which I am currently Secretary, has a membership of about 80 at the moment. About half of those are interstate members or from regional Queensland. We likewise get about half of our local membership coming to meetings. I'd say about two-thirds of these members know enough about computers and the internet to qualify as "computer literate collectors". A couple of these - hi humpybong and Brissyboy - are also members of this forum.

For other statistics on the number of collectors, consider:
 - the mintages of modern int products. The mints aren't stupid and have a fair idea of roughly how many people might be interested in buying the things they make. True, not all collectors want or are interested at all in modern mint products, but it's a good indicator.
- the number of copies of the CAB magazine printed or distributed online. That number should give some indication of the number of serious coin collectors.

[robbiegal]

the CAB sales could be a good indicator of the Australian market
remembering that it also includes notes  (coin and banknote magazine)

I don't buy it anymore and threw away an almost 3 foot plie just recently

most of the members of our coin club also don't buy it (about 25 financial members) but they read the copies that other members bring to the meeting (cheap bees!!!)

so I'd suggest that the CAB sales plus an easy 30% ? maybe more would be closer to the real collector numbers

[ausjack]

thanks for the comments team ,appreciate it :ok:
I was just thinking about different things and thought about the wedding sets and how they get the numbers to mint and thought it strange that the mintages for each year varies so much e.g. highest 2004 at 3,963 and the lowest being 2009 at 2,299 so I was thinking how strange it was that the numbers drop so much when I thought they would have gone up every year as does the population so then I started to think about collectors and how many would be on line and well here we are

If I were to join one I think I'd have to go with your lot Sap, a lot closer and I hear you about members all over as small places like here we don't really have a choice and have to travel and that's the problem so I'm so glad I have you lot :friends:

[lacey]

Hi AJ.  I would think that now the set or only proof coins, sooner or later the Mint will lower the numbers minted even more.  They are stupid filling the box with proofs, as you can already buy the normal proof sets. I will be interesting to see what happens.