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Help with academic study requested - survey for coin collectors

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Geo-location - The Old Currency Exchange (1st July 2016).jpg

The first part of the survey was aimed at estimating how many people collect Irish coins and where they are located on the map. Although the users were anonymous, I could tell what countries they were based in. Unsurprisingly, the most common locations were USA/Canada, Ireland and the UK - with 30%, 25% and 23%, respectively. 

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o   The USA is the largest market in the world for collectible coin and banknotes [1]

§  The ANA[2] lists 1,637 dealers (incl. overseas dealers)

§  The BNTA[3] lists 83 dealers (incl. overseas dealers)

§  There is no Irish numismatic trade organisation


[1] Chris Stokel-Walker. 2013. The 10 Most Expensive Coins and Banknotes in the World. [ONLINE] Available at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53557/10-most-expensive-coins-and-banknotes-world. [Accessed 22 February 16].

[2] American Numismatic Association (https://www.money.org/)

[3] British Numismatic Trade Association (http://www.bnta.net/)

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·         Collectors tend to be very private about what they collect and who they talk to [1]

o   Irish coin collectors have been subject to aggravated burglaries in the past [2]

o   Coin collectors and museums are now a target for organised crime gangs

§  There is a global market for ‘looted’ coins and artefacts [3]

§  Dealers and collectors have to be very careful about where they buy [4]

·        Predictably, the Numismatic Society of Ireland was non-responsive to all digital communications since the National Museum of Ireland has been engaged in a very aggressive policy towards coin collectors and metal detectorists (not mutually inclusive) in recent years[5]


[1] Mary Madden & Lee Rainie. 2015. Americans’ Attitudes About Privacy, Security and Surveillance. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/05/20/americans-attitudes-about-privacy-security-and-surveillance/. [Accessed 26 February 16]

[2] Garda Confidential. 2011. Appeal to the public - Buglary in the Kilcolgan area of Galway, Aggravated burglary in Rathmines and Collectors coins that were stolen in Kildare. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=6998&Lang=1. [Accessed 24 February 16].

[3] vox hiberionacum (Early Irish Christianity and Early Medieval Ireland). 2013. Treasure Ireland: On the Recent Recovery of Looted Irish Antiquities. [ONLINE] Available at:https://voxhiberionacum.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/treasure-ireland/. [Accessed 03 March 16].

[4] Jim Cusack (Irish Independent). 2011. Gardai suspect gold coins from looted treasure trove. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-suspect-gold-coins-from-looted-treasure-trove-26712970.html. [Accessed 03 March 16].

[5] Michael Green. 2013. Looted Irish Treasure Recovered in Britain. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ireland-information.com/blog/?p=539. [Accessed 01 March 16].

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·         Surprisingly, my primary research results suggest that collectors do not use social media for their hobby but this does not mean that they don’t use Social Media for other purposes.

 

o   Facebook (40%), YouTube (13%), Google+ (10%), Twitter (8%) and Instagram (8%) were the most popular social media platforms in use by survey respondents  

 

·         In contrast, almost 80% used online numismatic forums to do so

 

o   Numista, Predecimal.com and Reddit/r/coins were the most popular

However, this influence has recently been stunted by the Facebook group of social media platforms[1] when they suppressed organic reach and, effectively, forced social sellers to advertise. This has also affected hobby groups and ‘not for profit’ organisations.

·         Facebook states that organic reach now = 16% of an account’s fans / friends but the consensus online is that is it more like 1%


[1] Facebook and Instagram generated $16.29 billion and $600 million in 2015, respectively (Marketingland.com). WhatsApp will be monetized when the user base reaches 1 billion.

Edited by OldCurrencyExchange
added extra info

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·         As expected, 95.5% of the respondents in this survey were male.

·         Surprisingly, the age cohorts were spread fairly evenly with a small uplift in the 66+ cohort

old currency exchange - coin collector age cohorts.jpg

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Thanks for sharing the results! :) 

  • Like 1

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I'm not sure why the differentiation between forums and facebook etc. Surely forums are just different social media sites, but with a more focussed audience? i.e. you can filter out virtually all the unwanted self-centred crap associated with the mainstream sites.

Coin acquisition of the week would be even more unwieldy if members felt compelled to post half a dozen images for every coin - a selfie of the person looking, another examining the coin, another negotiating the price, another shaking hands on the deal and finally a proud owner holding it beside their face with an inane smile, plus a spare in case there isn't enough exposure to be acceptable. :wacko::unsure: 

 

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I found your comments on the security issue to be interesting and must admit that it is a concern to me which I do think about when posting new acquisitions. In your research was there a pattern to robberies; i.e. gold coins, high value, etc. etc.?

I think there is a balance to be struck between enjoying a collection - which also means sharing it with other collectors - and security. If the only way to enjoy one's coins is in the safety deposit room of a bank then why bother?

 

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That's a very good info. Any results on the survey for  slab or raw Irish coins?

Edited by josie

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On 23/08/2016 at 3:28 PM, jaggy said:

I found your comments on the security issue to be interesting and must admit that it is a concern to me which I do think about when posting new acquisitions. In your research was there a pattern to robberies; i.e. gold coins, high value, etc. etc.?

I think there is a balance to be struck between enjoying a collection - which also means sharing it with other collectors - and security. If the only way to enjoy one's coins is in the safety deposit room of a bank then why bother?

 

I think it is important to wipe all possible properties from photos before posting them. To be safe, I also use a camera without GPS.

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1 minute ago, Sword said:

I think it is important to wipe all possible properties from photos before posting them. To be safe, I also use a camera without GPS.

Good point! I don't use GPS on my phone when taking photos. But the security aspect of GPS is something I had not considered.

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