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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 24128, member: 57463&quot;]I agree with that.&nbsp; My comment about being &quot;educator-in-chief&quot; was only that it can be discouraging.&nbsp; I believe that &quot;social change&quot; (so-called) comes from one person at a time.&nbsp; Even if you could blast your message from the sky, it would still have to be understood by each person individually. So, the good work you do educating individual collectors might not show results immediately or broadly.&nbsp; However, like you, I also feel an obligation to help others enjoy the hobby and I also believe that helping one person at a time is the only reasonable way.</p><p><br /></p><p>In terms of television sales, the medium requires that these people bring the most common material to the viewer with the easiest message possible.&nbsp; We can (and do!) condemn them, but I think that they are in a bind of their own, and I do not mean financially.&nbsp; Like all of us, I have benefited from &quot;educational&quot; TV, the Discovery Channel, Nova, etc.&nbsp; Really, though, I avoid them.&nbsp; They cannot do more than flash images accompanied by words that are easy to understand.&nbsp; Depth and discussion, reflections and questions are impossible on TV.&nbsp; So, the coin sellers are pretty much limited in what they can say -- even if they wanted to say more.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Also, the material must be immediately recognizable.&nbsp; The History Channel can sell Alexander easily enough; Aspasia of Miletos might not get an audience.&nbsp; So, too, with the coin guys on TV.&nbsp; I just posted about jetons and medals.&nbsp; You cannot sell them on TV because no one recognizes them.&nbsp; Morgan Dollars and Buffalo Nickels, etc., etc., are instantly recognizable.</p><p><br /></p><p>All of the above just sets the stage for saying that one reason that I like to write about medals, stock certificates, etc., etc., is that I want collectors to get out of the lazy mental habit of only perceiving the easy images of common American coins.&nbsp; It widens the opportunities for enjoyment and puts the collector into a better buying opportunity.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, in my monthly column, I also mention websites for American Type Coins.&nbsp; That might be about dealers with informational websites, clubs, or individual collectors.&nbsp; Again, however, the point is to get the readers to do something unusual for themselves and gain from it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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