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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 21193, member: 112&quot;]To my way of thinking the root of the problem is more the way people look at things or perceive them to be than anything else. Almost without exception - what is the very first question that is asked by a person who finds, buys or inherits a coin or group of coins ? What is it worth is the answer. They don&#039;t care about the history of the coin or why someone would have collected it in the first place. All they really want to know is what can I sell it for. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now perhaps with time, these people will develop an interest in coins as a result of their efforts to determine value - but most will not. Once they realize that the object which caused images of all the things they could buy to dance through their head is worth less than the cost of a night out - they&#039;ll likely throw it in a drawer and forget about it for the next 2 decades.</p><p><br /></p><p>And the reason they always think the coin absolutlely must be valuable is because of their perception of age. If the coin is older than they are - it is old. Therefore it must be valuable. It is this same perception which drives people to purchase these common date and hugely overpriced coins from TV, the newspapers and yes at coin shops too. There may be a few who purchase these items for their memory or historical value. But I absolutely guarantee you the primary reason for the vast majority of buyers is money. For as the man said millenia ago - money is the root of all evil. The mere thought of it drives reason from the mind.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now be honest with yourself - how many are there who honestly don&#039;t care in the least bit, about the value of your collection ? There are a few who can honestly make this statement - but very few. I know I can&#039;t. Sure I collect coins because I love the historical aspect, their beauty and I love doing the research required to study them. But I also always keep the value in mind. For when anyone spends, what to them is a significant amount on a coin, it is foolish not to keep it in mind.</p><p><br /></p><p>But the only way you can accomplish this is with knowledge. And knowledge requires effort - something not everyone is willing to expend. They would rather sit back and tell themsleves that the folks on TV could never be selling these coins for these amounts if they were not truly worth it. That the dealer in the coin shop would not be asking the price he is if the coin were not worth it. And they chosse to believe this because they want to believe that they got a good deal and they stand to profit from it at some point. And the same is true for many collectors. They just don&#039;t like to admit it. For no one wants to admit that they made a stupid mistake because they saw dollar signs dancing in their eyes.</p><p><br /></p><p>But there is nothing wrong with this - it is human nature. What is wrong is when you look in the mirror and refuse to admit it even to yourself. Don&#039;t get me wrong though - coin collecting is a great pursuit. I absolutely love it. To me it almost a way of life. I love all aspects of the hobby. But I won&#039;t ever try to fool myself into thinking that I don&#039;t care about money side of it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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