I will be the first to admit that the internet has really became my addiction in the coin hobby. I spend my time looking at the Heritage auctions,coin dealers and of course hours surfing Ebay. I really have to monitor my time because I could really chew up some time looking and reading about coins and currency. I also think it has pushed the hobby right int the public eye. Seems like you never have the advantage when dealing with a person anymore. The average joe can just google his old coin and before long he has it pulled up in MS69 grade and a unreal price in his mind regardless that his coin is VG on the generous side. I began collecting in 2007 so I have never had to do without the internet in my hobby. With so much information to ponder and study at your finger tips collectors cam easily become well informed before making any purchase. For any of you guys that collected prior to the internet give me your thoughts on this. Has the internet helped our hobby or has it kinnda killed the face to face collectors? Do you find it harder to buy coins from the average joe? I probablly wouldnt have near the collection I now have if not for the internet since I live in a rural area and am generally a private person by nature. Do you feel that coins and the metals market are now more manipulated with internet availability? Just things to ponder as I surf CT on the internet LOL.
Well - I sure some will argue against, but I think more will say it has helped. I collected prior to the internet, but mostly from the mint. I did not start using the internet until about 2001 - when my interests expanded. I really only have a couple of dealers in my area, so the internet opened up a whole new world. I think it has helped, sure it has hurt in some ways, but more advantages than disadvantages. And the best part - a couple of coin forums where you can get lots of information for real experts. Just my opinion.
I took a long break from coins starting in 1994 due to my coin shop I went to closing & mainly due to jr high and high school. I got back into collecting in early 2009 & its the internet thats kept me interested. I have a great access to any coin I want within my budget pretty much. I get alot of help from posters on here & I can read read read.
There have been many threads on this subject. The internet has surely driven prices down because now the entire world has to compete with each other on ebay and other sites. There isn't some secluded place where there's only one example of a coin and you either take it or leave it. People don't have to rely on dealers as much with so much product on the internet. The forums have probably helped the most. When I collected before the internet, I knew very little. When I got back in and came here, I learned a lot, very quickly. Saves a lot of time. I appreciate the third party feedback of the forums. Both good and bad.
I was not in the hobby before the interenet so this is all that I know. If the internet didn't exist my collection would consist of penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half, and nothing else. Because of the internet I have seen other odds and ends that have caught my attention such as MPC, fractionals, state currency, national currency, depression script. Most shops don't have currency displayed or if so very little. I wouldn't have even know to ask if I hadn't seen certain items on the net.
I re emerged into the hobby from taking a break in 1972. A disability left me with a lot more time on my hands so I started sorting my stash. The internet has become a huge part of the hobby for sure. I have met many wonderful people who share some common interest in coins and other things. I believe the internet has allowed us to become better as a whole by allowing interaction among ourselves that is not possible without it. We police, promote and share with those we would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. The future is now and it is us. gary
I have been online longer than I have been in numismatics -- first BBS post in 1984; joined the ANA in 1993. However, because of precious metals, I knew about numismatics and coin stores in the early 1970s. Also, for the last seven years, I have been writing the "Internet Connections" column for the ANA Numismatist which forced me to keep expanding and extending my interactions. So, yes, I spend a lot of time online, chatting here and elsewhere and just surfing generally. However, I also invest many dollars of travel and hours of presence in coin shows, numismatic conventions, local clubs and other traditional social engagements. I do not see an either-or. One supports the other. However, I also am somewhat restricted in my physical travel and the internet makes it possible for me to "get out" far and away more often than I could have before the WWW was invented. (Internet coin nets existed via FidoNet in the 1980s as "store and foreward" batch mode discussions with overnight transport of packets: not bad, but not the Web.) Hard to say about the pricing as buyers drive up prices as surely as suppliers bring them down. I neither buy nor sell online. In fact, despite being the assigned columnist for the internet, I actually recommend against online buying. Note, however, a huge exception. When I was writing about the Great Fairs of medieval Champagne, I went to VCoins and searched for appropriate examples many times over two or three years until I had a representative sampling. I perceived that more as "mail order" via the Internet, as opposed to the frenzy of sniping in an online auction of Chinese fakes.
