Coin Talk has had absolutely no influence on me at all. I already know everything there is to know about everything.:smile Actually I think the most important thing about CT is the vast variety of individuals with so many different ideas, thoughts, information, interests, hobbies. I feel I've learned more about people than coins here. Of course this is a great place to learn about coins, books on coins, things to do with coins but I feel it's the people of CT that are really great and full of more info than could be found in most places or books. Although I've collected coins for well over 60 years now, CT has been very informative of what I've collected but mostly why I've collected.
Click the 7th link above, SEARCH, and type 'budgood bag', you will find many posts. Here's one: http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t40696/
I think Cointalk along with the other Numismatic Forums that I belong to have had an impact on the way that I collect coins. I used to buy any nicely rainbow toned coin that I could find. Cointalk has shown me that many collectors focus more on strike and surface preservation than luster and eye appeal which is what makes a rainbow toned coin great. I have learned that a true quality coin must have the correct balance of all of the elements of grading. As a result, I now own coins that I no longer think are great simply due to toning. Here is an example of a coin that really does not meet my standards anymore. In the end it has made me a more discriminating collector. Not to mention that I think this is the most friendly coin forum out there hands down.
Thanks for the " refresher " Kirk, I had forgotten about that. That has to be the thread ( or find ) of the decade.
The cheek Paul? Yeah I see it as well. My eye has sharpened as well because of these boards. There is SOOOO much to learn here.
I have really gotten a better idea of the relative value of coins... not to mention an introspective look at grading and how incredibly sensitive it is. Also, there are some great pics on here : )
I just did a google search, and it seems like a "budgood bag" is a bag of coins that came from the CT user "budgood"
I like CT for its vast scope of topics and knowledge. I have been a collector since the 70's. I have not been a member long and I'm not sure exactly sure how it has affected my collecting but it has helped to respark the interest in many areas. I also have a love for Bust coinage especially the halves . I have no idea who bonecollector is, but now I want to find out? Lack
CT has been keeping me interested in coins since I got back into collecting about a year ago. I also got into ancients collecting as I really like some of the pieces I had seen here as well as the knowledgeable posters on that corner of the coin world that answered my questions on that matter.