While at the Baltimore show on Friday, someone asked to borrow the 19th century Krause - I have no problem helping someone out, especially after they just spent a few hundred at my table. The guy was looking up a Peruvian coin, an 1885 something or other, and was curious what they ran in high grades. Krause's highest listing was an XF at $40.00 - my guess for an UNC was $70.00 to $75.00 - but that was only a guess. At this point my father came back to the table and I pointed the guy to my father and he asked his question again. After a bit of a pause, my father stated that in UNC the coin would run between $75.00 and $200.00 and explained the wide gulf in price for an UNC. Halfway through the production of the coin, the dies started to wear and progressively got worse, but they were not replaced or cleaned up. The finer detail UNC's are more desirable and therefore demand a high price. I just looked at my father and shook my head. Then I wondered how much I might know after 30 years experience as a coin collector and dealer. -Steve
yeah - I try to explain that occasionally. Until your impress a youngest with some routine bit of expertises from 25 years ago, you continue to function under the delusion that they are your intellectual equal Ruben PS - it aint just coin collecting...
My wife and I are both over 60 and have been married coming up 40 years. But we still surprise each other with tidbits of knowledge that we come up with now and again. Heck, sometimes I surprise myself with what I can pull up from the dusty recesses of my mind.
well, it also has to do with how you spend your life. I am alway pushing the envelope and consider the exploration of new ideas, art, literature, science, anthropology, history, the study of people and faith as core to my existence. I'll stop when I'm dead. Humanity is a relay race of experience and knowledge. Ruben
Some deep stuff going on here, I guess to be old is only what we make of it, but to be young dumb and, well you get the picture.
I completely agree. The trick is to be able to distinguish between experience and stubborness. There's always something new to learn.
Nothing like "old timers" that's for sure. The other day a guy had some slabbed coins to sell. One was marked as a DDO and the boss didn't know what it meant. I thought he was bluffing at first but he's never really been into that part of coins. I was still amazed though as he pulls such little details out of his head at times it amazes me. 42 years as a dealer has taught him this.
