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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mac266, post: 2960216, member: 26371&quot;]I&#039;ve evolved immensely.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like the OP, I started out with Whitman folders, trying as hard as I could to fill every hole from spare change.&nbsp; Hey, I was 8!&nbsp; Unfortunately, all throughout my teenage years and even into my early 20s, I continued with that same attitude.&nbsp; I was not a connoisseur by any stretch.&nbsp; I was merely a coin hoarder, not a numismatist.</p><p><br /></p><p>In my early 20s I moved to an area in Colorado near the ANA.&nbsp; There is a coin dealer here who owns a coin store with his adult son.&nbsp; BOTH are past presidents of the ANA, and BOTH have been editors of the famous Red Book.&nbsp; After only a brief conversation with the elder of the two gentlemen, I realized my folly.&nbsp; He convinced me to join the ANA and take some of their correspondence courses, which I did (I haven&#039;t done them all, which is why I still struggle with grading mint state and proof coins!).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>That was the beginning of my real journey into being a true collector / numismatist as opposed to a hoarder.&nbsp; In addition to the courses, I finally picked up on the adage, &quot;buy the book before the coin,&quot; and began reading and STUDYING numismatics.&nbsp; Now in my 40s I look back at some of the stuff I bought back then and realize my mistakes.</p><p><br /></p><p>My interests have changed over the years, too.&nbsp; I usually focus on one coin series for a while, then buy a book and get interested in something else.&nbsp; I suppose I&#039;ll never achieve the status of greatness in expertise doing that, but I don&#039;t intend to be the next Q. David Bowers, either.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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