Okay, after six days on site at a summer ANA show, I feel that I have gotten re-centered into "reality", as opposed to interacting on the Internet. There are some WILD differences: 1) I went six days with the finest numismatists on the planet and only ONE TIME did the words "doubled die" even come up. 2) I saw only TWO dealers on a 700+ dealer bourse that even DEALT WITH toned coins as a specialty. (I believe I saw every table, but won't swear to it.) 3) Errors are covered anywhere @Fred Weinberg is, but VERY VERY FEW dealers specialized in errors of any kind (Fred is the Mac Daddy, after all), and even LESS of an emphasis was on varieties, per se. 4) I won a lot on the Stacks/Bowers internet-only portion of their ANA catalog auction sale yesterday, but I got to examine the lot up-close and personal in ideal lighting conditions last Friday. 5) I thoroughly enjoyed myself there, and can barely stand it some days here. 6) SIX DAYS WITHOUT TALKING TO A YouTube MAVEN!!!!!!!!!!! Therefore, Resolved, This is not the same hobby as practiced at major shows as opposed to online - almost nothing in common.
The Internet IS a Farce as it pertains to numismatics. So much nakedly aggressive marketing that is pure garbage. So much doctored stuff. So much disinformation. You get what you pay for, in numismatics and life. If it’s free, it simply is worth less. Applies to information as well as anything else. I sat with my good friend Carl Waltz, Jr. (Mr. Matte Proof Lincoln) for HOURS, and BEGGED him to bring his book to a traditional numismatic publisher. News from him: in addition to the now infamous GSC coin in a PCGS MPL holder that ISN’T one, there also has been one in a business strike 1909VDB holder by PCGS that has turned out to be a Matte Proof. Two PCGS mistakes, one each direction.
Not backward this time. @paddyman98 caught me being summoned by my two fellow judges to our conference. I had been shooting the Society of Bearded Numismatists (SOB) meeting.
BTW, Carl’s exhibit was all about the diagnostics of matte proofs vs. better business strikes, for the whole series. Really good sharp B&W pics. Color would have been superfluous to the story being told. Full disclosure: Carl took a first in U.S. coins and I was one of three judges for the class.
I believe every word, Kurt. Even at the smaller regional shows, one draws in a totally different vibe. I suspect it’s called real communication.
Yes, I believe that with my whole being. Things are free for very valid reasons. Every word I write here is free for the reading, as is everyone else's writings, and ALL of it, EVERY BIT OF IT, is appropriately priced. Bellman's Universal Truth of Internet Life #1 applies - if it's on the Internet for free, you're not the customer, your new lack of privacy is the PRODUCT. Filter everything on the Internet through that filter, and it looks a whole bunch less attractive a deal. The EU has figured this out and is pushing back HARD, but we Americans are way too stupid.
I believe that anyone who has been in the hobby for a while understands that a forum like this is its own unique microcosm. You get a LOT of new folks here, asking really basic questions (and often, the same questions over and over). That's just the nature of a place like this. Compound that with - every time you see a news story about coins, what's it about? Some common every day penny that has some crazy error or double die and is now worth thousands. There are literally dozens of books claiming that if you look closely at your pocket change, you'll get rich. A website like this is where those poor deluded people are going to come to ask questions, and then get discouraged when they find they aren't suddenly millionaires. However, after people have gained a bit of experience and knowledge, you'll find that most of them don't focus on errors or varieties (some do, and that's cool - if they are knowledgeable and have actual errors). Most of them don't focus on toned coins (some do, and that's cool - if they are naturally toned, original, attractive, eye appealing pieces). As people gain experience in numismatics, they specialize and then begin to share that information - and that is truly the benefit of a website like this. I get to see the sort of stuff that you may not even see at a major show like that, because someone has spent the time to learn and collect. The other major difference between a forum like this and a show like that - the sort of people that you are going to hang out with at a show are generally going to be more experienced, and have similar focuses as you do. It's a self selecting bias. You aren't probably going to go hang out with the John Reich or Cuban society unless that's what you collect. And a brand new beginner wondering if his beat up penny he found in a parking lot is a super rare error variety probably isn't going to go to a show like that at all. So, yeah, stating that the internet forums and coin shows are completely different is both stating the inanely obvious and completely missing the point at the same time.
