Success derives from coin collecting

Are coin collectors more successful in life than noncollectors? I think they are, but I have no way to prove it.

This is a thought that has crossed my mind many times over the years, but news of the auction results of the Armstrong Family Collection made me think about it again.

Heritage Auctions pulled off a sale that realized $5,276,320 Nov. 1-3. That’s amazing. Perhaps no other firm could have done as well.

But while we all know Heritage as a numismatic firm, it is much more than that. It has expanded into many fields using the lessons it learned over the years in the coin business.

There was almost nothing numismatic about the Armstrong sale. Personally, I am interested in things once owned by Neil Armstrong, who was the first man on the moon.

However, pieces of the Wright Brothers airplane and plaques of the lunar lander are not numismatic, are they?

But Heritage has built a business nearing the $1 billion mark annually because of numismatics.

What’s more, the items in the auction were authenticated by Collectibles Authentication Guaranty™, a sister company to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, the third-party coin grading service.

Here is another example of lessons learned in numismatics being applied to other fields.

Both certification services are part of Certified Collectibles Group, which describes itself as offering the world’s leading certification services for coins, bank notes, comic books, magazines and stamps.

That’s a familiar list. Chet Krause, the founder of Numismatic News, built a publishing empire in the second half of the 20th century. He took lessons he learned in numismatics and systematically applied them to other fields.

Since I worked for him for many years, I witnessed his success close up.

Krause compiled a list a publications in fields that hugely overlaps the CCG list and added others like sports cards, antiques, and old cars to it.

These are just three examples of outstanding accomplishments by individuals and firms that began in coin collecting. While there may be other things involved, does coin collecting provide the secret sauce that allows us to make the most of the opportunities that life offers?

Again, I can’t prove it, but I think there is something to this possibility. What do you think?

I have met many successful people in all walks of life at coin shows. They have much going for them. I suppose it could be that the qualities that make someone go all into coins are the same qualities that make them successful in all things. In any case, I am privileged to know them.

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