Old coins are the money makers of the future.

Coin collector George Robinson said stamp popularity had been on the decline since the 1980s and unused mint condition stamps were the only ones that made a small sum of money.

Mr Robinson has been in the coin and stamp business since 1990.

He owns G & C Quality Coins and Stamps in High Street, Maitland, and said stamp collectors were very scarce.

He said the value of stamps was a result of the large capacity in which they were produced.

“Everyone goes out and buys commemorative stamps and passes them down in their family but they aren’t worth anything because so many people are doing the same thing; they aren’t rare and it’s flooding the market,” he said.

Coins fair much better in the market because they are produced in a smaller mintage.

Mr Robinson said baby mint coin sets, commonly given to newborns, were soaring in value. He said the 2011 sets sold for $35 and were now worth $50 with more increases expected.

“I know of one mint set that was done by hand that is worth $140 now and will reach $300 soon,” he said. “Coins aren’t produced like stamps, with coins someone is going to miss out on buying them because there is only a limited amount.

“Bank notes are good for value too because there are a lot of scarce ones.”

Mr Robinson said there were many coin collectors, but most had stopped extending their collection momentarily because of the condition of the financial markets.