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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;jaceravone, post: 569961, member: 9474&quot;]I was just reading the thread from Phoenix (Tyler) about him taking a break from coin collecting.&nbsp; That just stinks.&nbsp; He will be greatly missed.&nbsp; But his thread got me thinking about what he said about selling his coins to earn money for clothes and stuff and I couldn&#039;t help but philosophize.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This has just got me thinking about us &quot;old guys&quot;, anyone who is my age (37) and older.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I have been into coin collecting my whole life.&nbsp; I was never part of any club or group until last year (2008).&nbsp; I had never joined an on-line group until the summer of 2007 (Coin Talk).&nbsp; I never had any friends that liked collecting.&nbsp; Basically, I just sat in my own little world and collected everything that I could afford and everything that I found interesting.&nbsp; I didn&#039;t know about slabbed coins until a few years ago.&nbsp; I definitely didn&#039;t know about grading (I knew enough to find the best coin possible).&nbsp; There were tons of things that I didn&#039;t know.&nbsp; Thanks to me getting on-line a few years ago, my knowledge and experience have quadrupled.&nbsp; The Internet is awesome and powerful.&nbsp; But unlike the young ones of today who have computers at 5 years old, I didn&#039;t get my first computer until I was 18 (1990). That was a good old IBM 286! Remember those! With the Xerox dot matrix printer.&nbsp; Man where they slow!&nbsp; I first got onto the Internet in 1995 and only after all the urgings of my friends who said I needed to get email.&nbsp; What the heck is email???&nbsp; This apparently was all the rage back then.&nbsp; But it wasn&#039;t until 2004 that I started to &quot;surf&quot; the Internet and it was only after Jan 2008, that I found myself constantly on the computer and most of that was due to Coin Talk. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Now that I have joined the digital world and been surfing on-line, I have to say that coin collecting in the current century is very intimidating.&nbsp; I could understand the pressure that a young numismatist would feel when hanging with those of us who have vast collections and unlimited financial resources.&nbsp; For someone like myself with an obsessive personality, I can&#039;t even imagine being a coin collector at a young age in todays world.&nbsp; I definitely could see myself getting frustrated when everyone is talking about the new mint set or proof set they just got and I am stuck at home not even being of age to get a drivers license.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>But even back then, I knew enough that if I wanted to buy a coin, I had to work and make money.&nbsp; I bought my first coin sets from the mint in 1986.&nbsp; Sure, I think my parents helped me out some.&nbsp; But I remember the day when my dad handed me the order form for the new ASE proof coin.&nbsp; I was standing in my bedroom and my dad gave me the form.&nbsp; I remember the talk when he told me that if I wanted it, I had to work and save for it.&nbsp; And so I did.&nbsp; I had 4 paper routes back then.&nbsp; I would mow grass in the summer and shovel snow in the winter.&nbsp; I would paint houses and do whatever else it took to make that money so I could buy coins.&nbsp; I would walk door to door selling wrapping paper and holiday cards.&nbsp; Remember those days????&nbsp; Things are different now.&nbsp; I would never send my kind wandering the neighborhood looking for jobs to do.... and I live in backwoods WV. Its as safe as it can get around here and I still wouldn&#039;t do it.&nbsp; Heck, I used to walk for miles looking for anyone that may want to hire a 14 year old to rake their yard for 10 bucks.&nbsp; But today it takes at least $40 to do the same job and who wants to pay that?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I never had to sell anything to buy clothes, because I didn&#039;t care what I wore.&nbsp; There were those families who had money and those who didn&#039;t.&nbsp; And we were one of those that didn&#039;t have money.&nbsp; My mom bought me one pair of jeans, one pair of sneakers and a few shirts and that was it all year.&nbsp; We looked forward to the holidays so we could get more clothes.&nbsp; Thats right!!!! We wanted clothes for gifts!!!&nbsp; Who the heck wants that when you have Playstations and Xboxes and whatever other gadgets that are out there.&nbsp; I remember when I got an Atari! All our games were hand-me-downs from our cousins.&nbsp; I played Frogger for years.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So my point being.... all these years that I had no contact with anyone who knew anything about coins.&nbsp; It allowed me to be the coin collector that I wanted to be.&nbsp; I had no outside influence.&nbsp; No pressure.&nbsp; No jealousy.&nbsp; I never felt that I was being out done or out collected.&nbsp; I lived in ignorant bliss.&nbsp; I just wish that some of you young guys could experience that.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have only experienced all that stuff after getting on-line and surfing the Internet.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I can understand why Phoenix or Catbert or anyone else just needs a break every now and again.&nbsp; I just hope they all come back.&nbsp; Peace.&nbsp; Joe[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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