Poll Question: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing new collectors today?

The biggest challenge for today’s collectors is having enough money to buy decent coins at reasonable prices.

Bill, Atlantic Beach, FL

Unless one has deep pockets, one has to start with the Lincoln cent and go from there. Prices are high and keep rising; gold is out of the question. Half dimes are nearly impossible. Morgans are great, but there are several that are very costly. Hopefully, a new collector gets a good start with coins from his/her grandparents.

Name and Address withheld

With the silver-based coins taken out of general circulation over the years, new collectors have extremely limited opportunities to find coins with value. This takes the “fun of the find” and continued interest out of becoming a collector. A current trend is trying to find mint error coins, as evidenced by numerous Facebook listings.

Larry Dean, Shawnee, KS

I believe that the biggest challenge facing new collectors today is the higher prices for coins and even supplies such as albums, holders, and other miscellaneous items caused by inflation. This sometimes keeps collectors, especially younger ones, from buying gold and silver coins.   

Dave Burdis, Charleroi, PA

I think the biggest hurdle for new collectors is cost. I remember several instances 25-plus years ago when I bought coins at local auctions for a fraction of their listed value. Now, people are paying two to three times that value, often more. I also peruse a few online auction sites and see the same thing happening. I find that I now have to really search for a good deal. Another possibly equal problem is the ever-increasing number of fakes out there that aren't advertised as such. It would be easy for a novice collector to get duped into buying some of these.

Daryl Conley, New Mexico

New collectors face different challenges today than beginners in the 1960s and 1970s. Even though many coins are slabbed, they still need to learn how to grade properly, and for this, they have many tools: grading books, grading tutorials online, and they can still ask older collectors what we used to do. They can also take grading classes, so there is no excuse not to learn to grade properly.

I think the biggest challenge is not finding any good coins to collect in circulation. When I was just starting out, silver half quarters, dimes, and even some partial silver war nickels circulated freely until 1964. You could find buffalo nickels (although most had no dates) and even the occasional barber dime, mercury dimes, walkers, and Franklin halves, V nickels, and Indian head pennies could be found by searching rolls from your local bank.

A major challenge is the cost of coins today; most young people don’t have the disposable income to collect what might interest them. Any new collector needs a mentor or an experienced collector to help guide them.

Roy, Address withheld

High coin prices. It’s nice for old collectors, but when you are new, you see coins you can’t afford and lose interest really fast. I enjoy collecting as I have for over 60 years, but even I have put things on hold. Leave it to the investors and say goodbye to the collectors.

Gary, Address withheld

I believe counterfeiters will be their biggest challenge.

KE, Germantown, OH