When A Fellow Forum Member Pays A Visit.

Kind of an ancient thing for the ancients thing, eh?

 

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Just a bit after I first got started collecting in 1980 I went to Frank L. Kovacs office on Post Street in SF. He was always gracious and kind to a 12-year old. I then was a regular participant in his mail order offerings for several years. He now I guess is a renowned authority in field of ancient numismatics, they just named a numismatic library at Stanford after him.

 

Sadly, yes. It's true. I may sound jaded (and I most certainly am) but it is just a changing society. Different demographics, technology, expectations, etc. Back in the 'old' days people would travel to meet one another in person. It was part of a buying budget. There is so much more to the experience. But that is lost on newer collectors and it may be difficult for me to explain or for others to understand.

Part of it was just meeting other people of like mind. Also, people you knew only through phone conversations or (aghast!!!!!! written letters) you could meet in person. I corresponded with Basil Demedriadi and sold him coins for years before I went to London and met him. Such a great guy, but I would never have known if I hadn't taken part of my budget and gotten on a plane.

And of course there is the experience itself. Traveling to another place, taking that chance....I recall staying in London and getting bitten by bed bugs at the Senator Hotel. Other dealers will remember!

But, I am isolated here in California (what with its cost being often ten times of elsewhere). Those who live closer to the east coast of the US have amazing opportunities I cannot imagine they do not take advantage of. If I lived on the East Cost I would be flying to Europe probably monthly.

 

I'm just glad to hear that neither of you have been washed away!

 

A Charles I...I agree, we all need to see that coin.

 

And you're northern California and I am southern California. Don't know anyone else around my neck of the woods who post here either.

 

That's part of what I am saying. While California is huge and it takes roughly 12 hours or so to drive the length its not so far from one end to the middle. Back east people complain if they have to drive two hours or more. They can hop on a plane to Europe roundtrip for the price of a single half decent coin. Why dont they do it? I dont know. The experience for them would be exponential. But then those who have opportunity do not know what they possess.

I have corresponded with many around the world. Just one example, a London resident bemoaned that he would love to one day visit the British Museum! True. Not embellishing the facts here. I just shake my head in wonderment. It is very true, youth is wasted on the young. And in this case I could say that proximity is wasted on those the closest.

 

Yes, @TypeCoin971793 ! If you've never been before, you should visit Biltmore. The grandeur is breathtaking. I must confess that parts of it remind me of Hogwarts Academy from the Harry Potter films.

 

@Aethelred —there's a restaurant near my home that has a gallery of autographed photos of both local and famous celebrities who have visited the restaurant. It might be fun for you to create a photo gallery in your coin shop featuring CoinTalk members and their screen names who have visited you at your business.

 

@FitzNigel
@Orfew
Absolutely!

 

I was drawn to the surfaces the moment I saw it. It's a splendid example!

 

That is a lovely example! Some great details

 

Wow, a beautiful specimen.

 

Beautiful coin!

I have a ragged brother coin who was beaten, maimed, drilled into and thrown into a well to never be seen again.


Charles I (1625 - 1649 A.D.)
AR Shilling
O: CAROLVS D G MAG BRI FRA ET HIB REX (Charles, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland), crowned bust left, XII (value mark) behind.
R: CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO (I reign under the auspices of Christ), cross moline over square-topped shield coat-of-arms. Triangle-in-circle mintmark.
Tower Mint
6.16g
30mm
SCBC 2799, North 2231

Possibly holed in history as a "Touch Piece", AKA a Good Luck Charm

 

I guess the difference is that if you spend $1200 on a trip to Europe, you will never see that $1200 again. But if spend $1200 on a coin, you will see most, if not all, of that money again. I guess at this point you ask yourself if the experience is worth it. In my opinion it is, but that might be everyone’s answer.

 

I suspect in another 10 years we'll all be having after-work vacations to famous sites courtesy of 3-D, without the hassle of a plane ride, being mobbed by other tourists... or having your wallet lifted in a back alley in Rome by an old Roma lady who then scratches you on the side of the face when you scream for police assistance, then when she sees you won't let her get away she opens your wallet and spits right in shortly before police arrive and haul both of you away for several hours until they can get a translator and figure out what happened. (Sorry for the rant, the incident still upsets me after all these years.)

Anyway, not that I vented....yeah, 3-D is coming along at breathtaking paces. The last time I tried a unit (last year), I had a hard time distinguishing the fact that I wasn't really at the place I was seeing. Imagine what that may be like in a few more years, plus you know prices are only gonna come down as the technology becomes more mainstream.

 

We all make choices where to live. When retired, the options would seem to open up and allow those who think access to Europe is a benefit to move next to a cheap airport. I had my fill of travel (including a lot of TDY to California) long ago so my easy access to an airport never struck me as a benefit. I do, appreciate places like the BM putting their collections online. My supper tonight was a huge ear of corn on the cob (9 cents on special sale at Lidl). Two ears would have been too much to eat. We all make choices.

I hear our collecting hobby will die since young people don't want things like coins but experiences like travel. I hope some of them change their minds as they age. Perhaps people spend ten times as much to live in certain places (NYC, California, London etc.) because they are willing to pay more for the privilege of paying more. Why they still live there when they retire escapes me. For the price of an efficiency flat some places you can not quite buy Biltmore but it may seem that way. Everywhere has its good and bad points. We moved to be where we are because it seemed like a good place to be in retirement. I wonder how many of my neighbors considered proximity to Europe when they moved here. I just returned from taking my wife to the easy in/easy out airport. I never knew I had it so good.

 

Did this incident happen on the Circumvesuviana local railroad line from Naples to Sorrento? (The husband of the couple with whom we were traveling had his wallet picked at the beginning of this train ride; I was wearing a money belt and not carrying a wallet, so I was spared from pickpockets for the entire trip.)

 

No, but funny you mentioned that. A friend of mine did get his wallet picked on the train in Italy the year before my incident. I guess the train over there is an open invitation to help yourself to other people's wallets. LOL