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Who Collects Coins?

There are basically 4 groups of coin collectors. While maybe not every coin collector fits into one or more of these categories, most do. The categories are inheritor, hobbyist, investor and hoarder.

The majority of coin collectors start out in the inheritor category. Some coins are passed on to them from a relative. Or maybe they were given to them by a friend or the coins were just found in their change.

However the coins came into their possession, the new collector didn’t purchase them and usually has no knowledge of coin collecting. Once in their possession, if these coins spark an interest, the inheritor becomes a collector.

The hobbyist collects coins for their artistic or historic appeal. They enjoy the challenge of trying to obtain all the coins in their chosen categories. The hobbyist can easily move into the investor category.

The investor sees the opportunity to increase their original investment in coins. They can appreciate the artist appeal of the coins, and may get a lot of personal pleasure in the process of completing their collection, but their main reason for collecting is the potential return on their investment.

Then there’s the hoarder. They collect coins just for the value of the coins. Their collections usually include everything they can get. They have no interest in the artistic or historic appeal of the coins. For them the value of the coin is the face value or the value of the material the coin is made from.