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.