Who? (And the Spectacular Underperformance of 2023 Quarters from a Hobby Perspective)
Today I bought some comics at Barnes and Noble.Ok... why is this important?Well, first off, I paid in cash. Second, I got a bunch of quarters. I got three quarters. The first one I got was the New Hampshire one from 2000. Big whooop. The last two, however, where the Wilma Mankiller was the subject of the reverse. And when I saw it, I thought to myself... "WHO?"No seriously, I did. And that leads me into today's article.Before 2022, we had 22 years of states and National Parks quarters on the back of our coins. After the Tuskegee Airmen coin released in 2021, we had about 8 months of Washington Crossing the Delaware. What did the last 22 years of coins have in common with each other? They had an ability to make us care. With the states, they led to collectors all over the nation begin casually looking through pocket change to see if they had any of the cool, new designs. For the National Parks, a sense of wonder and a love of nature led us to collect these. The mint was hoping this love of collecting would drive the new American Women quarters to success.Except... they didn't.REASON 1: Collector Burnout.Its 2023. In 2019 and 2020, David Ryder led us into a storm of rare coins, new programs, and new stuff all in general to capitalize on the new collectors coming in during the pandemic hoping to get some financial security. This was a great bubble for the hobby...except, it burst. At the moment they introduced ANOTHER new series for us to spend our money on. With the new director not playing with the crazy artificial rarities that Ryder did, I guess the hype died down and people realized how much they had spent on the coins. This may have killed off a lot of hype around these coins, which had lots of potential. But then again, maybe they didn't, for...REASON 2: Do we really care?Don't get me wrong, the women on the coins have some very interesting stories of activism and personal achievement. But do the hobby, 90% male, honestly care? From a point, men like achievements celebrating brotherhood, sacrifice, or an interesting story about nature. We, as men, generally have a hard time relating with sisterhood and the motives of women. We can learn, but can we really adapt them into our life? (yes, but its not natural, if you know what I mean) So, at no fault to the subjects on the coins, I don't think the hobby really paid them much due when they came out for the above reasons.REASON 3: WHO ARE THEYYeah...this is probably the biggest one. If they chose subjects who's work have had implications on our lives and on the nation as a whole, I think we would be more invested in the coins as a whole. But...other than Eleanor Roosevelt, all the others have accomplishments seemingly only limited to their race or art as a whole. Some had effects across a bunch of different elements of life, but their accomplishments have unfortunately been buried by the history books.This is a series with a lot of potential. Maybe if the hobby appealed to more girls the coins would do better. Maybe if they chose better subjects. Could they have released it at a better time? The world is so full of "what-ifs?" All we can hope for is the improvement of the series at this point. They are already knee deep into plans for 2024.Thanks!Songs of the DayI don't want to take it anymoreI'll just stay here locked behind the doorJust no time to stop and get away'Cause I work so hard to make it every day
