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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;houston_ray, post: 55225, member: 1943&quot;]This post is simply to offer my perspective on changes in numismatics over the past 35 years or so.&nbsp; I am writing simply for the the purpose of sharing my viewpoint.&nbsp; Nothing more. </p><p><br /></p><p>Please note I am not a dealer or a trader, nor have I even been an active coin hobbyist during the past 35 years.&nbsp; But I have always enjoyed collecting coins and it&#039;s sometimes gone dormant for awhile....it&#039;s never become extinct.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I began collecting coins in the 1960s, it was a simpler game.&nbsp; I found most of my coins by going through rolls.&nbsp; Lincolns, Jeffersons, Roosevelts and Washington quarters.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Grading coins was not as complicated: I was happy to just designate them Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, or Extra Fine.&nbsp; I never had any uncirculated coins to worry about.</p><p><br /></p><p>I lost interest in actively collecting coins in my later teens and early 20s.&nbsp; Too many other things to do.&nbsp; But I never got rid of what I had......and eventually I came back to it in the early 1980s or so.&nbsp; It was fifteen years later.&nbsp; I struggled with much of what I saw.&nbsp; Coin prices had gone up....big time.&nbsp; Finding good coins in rolls was not easy anymore.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I struggled with dealers.&nbsp; 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).&nbsp; I tried joining a coin club.&nbsp; It was ok, but difficult to ferret out buyers and sellers for the coins I had or wanted.&nbsp; Hit or miss.&nbsp; It was tedious and I never got quite comfortable with it; largely because I was a novice and just wanted to have &quot;fun.&quot;&nbsp; But the price of coins had risen to the point where it was much more a business.&nbsp; Even if you want to have fun, if the rules change to a business flavor....then you gotta have knowledge and know the details.&nbsp; So once again I put them away....this time for almost 20 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>The World Has Changed!</p><p><br /></p><p>From my perspective, the internet has revolutionized coin collecting.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>First, I can go online within my own home and learn about ANY coin, ANY mintage, get wholesale and retail prices.....with no fuss.&nbsp; Simple.&nbsp; Easy.&nbsp; Check and cross check.&nbsp; Informative.&nbsp; Fun.&nbsp; I can do my homework and the only limitation is my willingness to learn and ask more questions.&nbsp; Coin history, grading techniques, prices, information articles, it&#039;s all there.&nbsp; Sure I supplement it with a few books (PhotoGrade and the PCGS Grading Guide for instance), but the internet is real cool.</p><p><br /></p><p>Second, eBay puts me toe-to-toe with everyone else.&nbsp; Instantly, I can link up with buyers and sellers of the coins I want or choose to sell.&nbsp; Digital cameras take good pictures.&nbsp; No running around trying to find someone oddball guy who might want my 1917-S mercury dime in G condition.&nbsp; There are dozens of people who will look at my coin on eBay now.&nbsp; If it&#039;s priced right, then folks bid and it SELLS.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I like eBay.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please don&#039;t get me wrong.&nbsp; I&#039;m not against dealers; and have bought a few coins from them recently.&nbsp; But now I&#039;m armed with DATA, HISTORY, and COMPETITION.&nbsp; Furthermore, I&#039;m not star-struck by eBay.&nbsp; It&#039;s an online forum, but I think it&#039;s a darn good one.&nbsp; Of course, there are good people that use it, and some ripoff artists.&nbsp; BUT HEY: what did you think went on in the early 1980s?&nbsp; On the whole, I defend eBay.&nbsp; It&#039;s a generally a good system, with generally good people doing business and hobbying for the right reasons.&nbsp; A few duds...sure....just like anything else we do.&nbsp; Do your due diligence, be fair and decent, and the net result will very likely please you versus any other process, I reckon.</p><p><br /></p><p>Third, the internet allows a guy like me to link up with cool people like you.&nbsp; Easily.&nbsp; I don&#039;t have to drive ten miles once a month for a club meeting.&nbsp; (But that&#039;s a fun thing to do....don&#039;t get me wrong!).&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; It&#039;s a GREAT DEAL.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>So right now, I&#039;m collecting and really enjoying the whole ball of wax.&nbsp; I appreciate the fine people I&#039;ve met via eBay.&nbsp; I have met some wonderful people online here.&nbsp; Generous, decent, funny, and from Alaska to Florida.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The business side of collecting coins is much more of an issue today.&nbsp; Alas, it&#039;s just the signs of the times.&nbsp; 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: </p><p><br /></p><p>This is a great time for numismatics.&nbsp; Whether you are a hobbyist, business collector, or professional.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Regards</p><p>Houston_Ray[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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