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Message:: [QUOTE="Ardatirion, post: 1970583, member: 9204"]Pretty much! You know those big, pretty auction catalogs that you get in the mail sometimes? I write those. And I get to see some absolutely unbelievable coins. It's really altered my tastes. I used to collect low to mid grade "stuff" for under $100, like most of you here, until I started working in the field. Now, I see a gold aureus or a Sicilian tetradrachm and think, "Oo, that's a decent grade and a great strike for this issue. Only $3400? What a deal!" But then I wake up and realize that I don't get paid well enough to collect like that. I can recognize quality coins and good prices, but can't afford them. So I decided a few years back to just stop collecting nice coins. I have my little obscure niche and, with few exceptions, stay with that. I love my job, but it is still work. Some I just spend hours playing with coins. But most involve some degree of drudgery. If you're a dealer and you collect, you're going to have a hard time. Collector-dealers have too much emotionally invested in their coins and can't bear to see them go away cheap. A dealer has to think of his stock as units to be sold.[/QUOTE]