I have been collecting Romans since 1974 when I sold my collection of Dutch coins to a 'dealer' . He wasn't a numismatist as I knew more about the coins he sold than he did. I would never have called myself then a numismatist as I realized how little I knew. Only decades later, having seen thousands of ancients passing my hands, I dared call myself numismatist at a modest level. But I know stories to tell about rulers, denominations and representations on coins; yet I am no scholar. Most people trading coins are dealers and few are really knowledgeable. Beware of those who state their merchandise is 'very rare' and then show a bad quality common example. Slabbed ancients are often of poor quality and only slabbed to get more money. I buy internationally and meet many sellers. One of the nicest jokes French sellers accidentally make when appraising an 'Altar of Lyons' coin of the emperors Augustus or Tiberius (altar = autel in French) to describe the coin as a 'Hotel de Lyon' coin. Then I know I am dealing with someone who knows nothing about numismatics, but he/she makes my day! Frans
That dealer is a moron, and an elitist. It has been said that a numismatist is someone who spends more on his library than on his coins. Great definition, but... I'd say a numismatist is someone who studies coins, not just hoards or accumulates them.
I have always thought the difference between a collector and a numismatist is books. A numismatist spends a lot more time studying and learning about coins. As I've grown older I've come to a different opinion, probably because I'm also a runner. As a runner I know that know matter how fast you are or how much you weigh or what you look like or what kind of shoes you wear, if you lace them up and go run, regardless of the distance, you are a runner. With that in mind, I now believe that no matter how much you know about coins or how big your collection is, or if you have ever sold a coin or been to a show, or bought a graded coin, or even paid a premium for a coin, if you collect coins of any value at all, you are a numismatist.