This post is simply to offer my perspective on changes in numismatics over the past 35 years or so. I am writing simply for the the purpose of sharing my viewpoint. Nothing more. Please note I am not a dealer or a trader, nor have I even been an active coin hobbyist during the past 35 years. But I have always enjoyed collecting coins and it's sometimes gone dormant for awhile....it's never become extinct. When I began collecting coins in the 1960s, it was a simpler game. I found most of my coins by going through rolls. Lincolns, Jeffersons, Roosevelts and Washington quarters. Sometimes a friend of my dad would allow me to go through stashes of their silver dimes and quarters and pick out dates: as long as I replaced one silver dime or quarter with another. Grading coins was not as complicated: I was happy to just designate them Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, or Extra Fine. I never had any uncirculated coins to worry about. I lost interest in actively collecting coins in my later teens and early 20s. Too many other things to do. But I never got rid of what I had......and eventually I came back to it in the early 1980s or so. It was fifteen years later. I struggled with much of what I saw. Coin prices had gone up....big time. Finding good coins in rolls was not easy anymore. Silver coins had not been minted for 20 years and clad coins (minted in the millions and millions) were pretty much all that was out there in rolls. I struggled with dealers. Either they were juking me around about coin grading condition (no slabs yet) or lowballing me on price (as a seller) or pounding me on price (as a buyer). I tried joining a coin club. It was ok, but difficult to ferret out buyers and sellers for the coins I had or wanted. Hit or miss. It was tedious and I never got quite comfortable with it; largely because I was a novice and just wanted to have "fun." But the price of coins had risen to the point where it was much more a business. Even if you want to have fun, if the rules change to a business flavor....then you gotta have knowledge and know the details. So once again I put them away....this time for almost 20 years. The World Has Changed! From my perspective, the internet has revolutionized coin collecting. First, I can go online within my own home and learn about ANY coin, ANY mintage, get wholesale and retail prices.....with no fuss. Simple. Easy. Check and cross check. Informative. Fun. I can do my homework and the only limitation is my willingness to learn and ask more questions. Coin history, grading techniques, prices, information articles, it's all there. Sure I supplement it with a few books (PhotoGrade and the PCGS Grading Guide for instance), but the internet is real cool. Second, eBay puts me toe-to-toe with everyone else. Instantly, I can link up with buyers and sellers of the coins I want or choose to sell. Digital cameras take good pictures. No running around trying to find someone oddball guy who might want my 1917-S mercury dime in G condition. There are dozens of people who will look at my coin on eBay now. If it's priced right, then folks bid and it SELLS. I can find ANY coin on eBay; be patient, learn the market, make offers, do due diligence.....I have a level of control like never before. I like eBay. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not against dealers; and have bought a few coins from them recently. But now I'm armed with DATA, HISTORY, and COMPETITION. Furthermore, I'm not star-struck by eBay. It's an online forum, but I think it's a darn good one. Of course, there are good people that use it, and some ripoff artists. BUT HEY: what did you think went on in the early 1980s? On the whole, I defend eBay. It's a generally a good system, with generally good people doing business and hobbying for the right reasons. A few duds...sure....just like anything else we do. Do your due diligence, be fair and decent, and the net result will very likely please you versus any other process, I reckon. Third, the internet allows a guy like me to link up with cool people like you. Easily. I don't have to drive ten miles once a month for a club meeting. (But that's a fun thing to do....don't get me wrong!). But now I can sit here at my desk any evening of the week and chat with folks who like coins, smart people who know a lot more than I do....and they want to share their experiences and knowledge and joy of collecting coins. It's a GREAT DEAL. So right now, I'm collecting and really enjoying the whole ball of wax. I appreciate the fine people I've met via eBay. I have met some wonderful people online here. Generous, decent, funny, and from Alaska to Florida. The business side of collecting coins is much more of an issue today. Alas, it's just the signs of the times. But armed with the internet and eBay, and having access to great folks like you in a forum like this...what can I say but: This is a great time for numismatics. Whether you are a hobbyist, business collector, or professional. Regards Houston_Ray
Well said Ray Like you, and more than a few others, I started way back when too. But the world changes, every day. And everything in it changes - including coin collecting. And if we don't change with it - well it just passes us by.
Great post houston_ray! The biggest difference I can find between you and I is the fact I have hooked up with collectors ALL over the world and do tons of trading with some really great foreign collectors. They provide what I want and I in turn do the same for them and we make every effort to keep values within a few bucks of each other. I just received a shipment of Austrian silver commemoratives from a Netherlands collector and now must locate $71 worth of coins that he desires to balance things out. I have also found that many foreign coins can be purchased here much cheaper than they can in their home country. Recently I purchase a relatively rare 1800's quarter which was valued in a low grade at $350 euro and I got it for $53 and passed the savings on to a Netherlands collector who knew there was no way he would ever own that coin. Since then I have shipped various coins over to him to sell for me simply because they are worth more, some times much more, than what I paid. We keep a running tab on all our trades and everyone is happy. If it were not for the internet none of this would be possible and I still wouldn't be collecting world coins! Probably, at this time I am sitting on one of the most varied silver euro commemorative collections in the U.S. and the bulk of them has come out of trading. Who do I have to thank? The internet and collecting friends all over the world and I have absolutely loved every minute of it!!!
Ray, Excellent post and a very astute summary of the coin hobby/business over the past few decades. Like you, I like and use Ebay because it levels the playing field. I feel somewhat lost in a coinshop anymore, and can't shake the feeling that everyone in there is miles ahead of me in knowledge [probably because it's true]. On Ebay, I can stare at a coin for an hour if I want to, look up prices, etc... and act with no pressure. The high prices compared to when I was a kid are still a little intimidating. Gone are the days when I could buy Indian Head pennies in the local coin shop for five cents, and be satisfied. Anyway, I like the way you summarized things.
sylvester, I am in no hurry my friend! It is always better to look ahead with anticipation than look back with regrets! Still have some quarters to look up for you as well!
Touche, Ray! Great post! Wish I'd have written that! My sentiments exactly - start to finish! I was lucky - my dad was a banker and used to bring home silver coins and wheat pennies. That was in the early-70's. Just like you, I got out of it but always kept my collection. Got back in very briefly in 1984-85. I think eBay rocks! True, it's easy to get taken but what a great way to follow prices. Only regret...I forgot to grab my strongbox full of wheats when I moved out of the house when my ex-wife and I split! Haven't seen 'em since (the wheats or the ex)
