How much time do you spend on numismatics per week?

Granted, but his point was a valid one in that the members of this forum, or any coin forum for that matter since most of the members of this forum are the same people who make up the members of all the other forums, are the exception - not the rule.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that people who participate on coin forums are the definite minority among coin collectors. They are the few among the many. And that very thought brings you to the question of how does one even define a coin collector ?

When one tries to do that, to define a coin collector, some take exception to it for it makes them feel slighted in some way when they don't fit the definition. And I suppose that is to be expected for it is quite normal for everyone to want to fit in, to be a part of a group - it's human nature after all. And I believe that pretty much everyone has a different definition of what exactly does define a coin collector.

Take me for example, I stopped collecting coins 10 years ago, sold my entire collection. So how could I possibly be considered a coin collector ? But I think you would be hard pressed to find anybody who is more immersed in the hobby than I am. Oh there might be a few, but they're going to be very few in number. But in the end I'm not a coin collector, I was for over 50 years, but I'm not anymore. Now I am a numismatist in the strictest sense of the word - I study coins. I write about them, I teach others about them, I look at them and examine them in minute detail, grade them, on a daily basis - 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But I'm not a coin collector, by any definition.

But do I feel slighted ? Not in the least. And I guess that's the lesson I'm trying to get across - nobody should. You see, people are just like coins - every single one of them is unique, no two are ever the same. It is you who defines who you are and what you are - not somebody else.