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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Randy Abercrombie, post: 26401537, member: 92655&quot;]Times have certainly changed. You couldn&#039;t have convinced me when I began collecting in the 1970&#039;s that error coins would be the hot ticket in 2025. But it certainly is. Now my interest is from a historical perspective and I was a perfectly happy collector of worn slick fifty cent IHC&#039;s, V-nickels and the like... And fact is, today that market still exists. If a young person wants to jump in and collect with his school lunch money like I did, he can still have a great time. I can remember clear as day looking at St. Gaudens at $300.00 and wondering if I would ever have that kind of money. Now that $300.00 coin is a $2500.00 coin, but has the value really changed considering inflation? </p><p><br /></p><p>Two things have dramatically changed our hobby since I began. One is the introduction of the TPG&#039;s and one could write a college thesis on the change the TPG&#039;s have made to the hobby landscape. Most of which, I am not a fan of. The other is the proliferation of Chinese counterfeits. I would surmise that for every one dedicated collector, you will find fifty casual collectors. They may buy a coin to put in their sock drawer to give to their kid down the road. Those are the folks whose heart gets broken and are permanently sullied from the hobby when they discover their coin is fake. That has a terrible downwind affect for the rest of us. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now to me the heartbeat of the hobby is young collectors and the few shows that I attend are always very kid friendly. I always carry no-date buffaloes in my pocket to hand out to kids at shows. I have to do my part to keep the hobby alive. Not too awful many years from now, I will need some buyers![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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