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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ken Dorney, post: 2780891, member: 76086&quot;]The last 10 years?&nbsp; Well, the change has taken more time that that.&nbsp; I too took a break for about 10 years and when I came back things had changed exponentially.&nbsp; Many of us remember the heady days just prior to the internet, the time of seemingly endless hoards of cheap coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Hoards were bound to run out of course as the supply has always been limited (they are still around of course, but have declined significantly).&nbsp; And with the advent of the internet it was bound to happen that those who were our suppliers before are now our direct competitors.&nbsp; Some kid (in any source country, use your imagination) may find a stray coin while kicking a bottle.&nbsp; Before, he would not know what it was and had no resource to find out.&nbsp; He may have just sold it to some antique store or dealer.&nbsp; But now he can pull out his phone and a world of information is literally at his fingertips.&nbsp; He doesnt need to spend $10,000 on basic books.&nbsp; He needs nothing except to sign up on Ebay and viola!&nbsp; He is now a &#039;dealer&#039;. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>That of course is one change.&nbsp; A marked increase in competition.&nbsp; One might think that beneficial, and it is to some (but not to others).&nbsp; But with regards to Ebay.&nbsp; Ebay has changed like everything else, but overall those changes were for the benefit of the whole, not the part.&nbsp; Ancient coins are just a tiny part of it.&nbsp; In order to attract more business they allowed anyone and everyone to list, and to do it for free.&nbsp; The result has already been pointed out by Ed.&nbsp; An endless list of overpriced junk which will absolutely never sell (at least for those prices, and certainly not on Ebay).</p><p><br /></p><p>And other sales venues have changed.&nbsp; Ancient coin dealers have always been an older bunch, and we have lost a lot of them in a decade.&nbsp; In order to replace them, some venues have allowed just about anyone to join up (cant say I blame them, they have to eat too).&nbsp; Overall there has been an influx of inexperienced dealers who really dont quote grasp what it is they are doing.&nbsp; This has resulted in a lot of over-pricing, over-grading, poor shipping, the list goes on.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, on to prices.&nbsp; I see them as constantly changing, as, well, they do and are.&nbsp; Sure, the days are gone when you could buy an EF Gordian Antoninianus for $10, just as the days when you could buy movie popcorn for a dollar!&nbsp; Prices will always rise and fall, but ultimately rise for the obvious factors.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is increased competition for coins now, both by dealers and collectors.&nbsp; As I already pointed out anyone can now become a dealer, so why sell to one?&nbsp; Reputation, experience and knowledge means little when considering the almighty Dollar, does it not?&nbsp; Most of us while collectors at heart still want to see our collection sell for the highest amount we can.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this increased competitive world good material is getting &#039;scarce&#039;.&nbsp; Its one reason why we see so many tooled coins nowadays.&nbsp; Add to this modern collectors who are getting into ancients and demanding slabs.&nbsp; If you look at Heritage nearly everything the sell is slabbed.&nbsp; That will be the future 25 years from now, and thankfully I wont be around to see it happen!</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, I digress.&nbsp; What was the original question?&nbsp; I honestly have forgotten![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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