Before the internet existed was it possible for you to collect what you currently collect?

TheGoonies1985

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Sapyx

Of course, since it's not hypothetical for me; I started collecting long before the Internet was public knowledge.

The Internet has of course made things much easier. Back in the late 1990s - before I had ready access to the Internet at home or at work - I bought an odd coin from a dealer that just had "Trebizond - Aspen" written on the 2x2. I thought it was Byzantine (I didn't have any Byzantine coins at the time) but it's not. I'd never heard of the Empire of Trebizond before. It had, like, a three line summary entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica (which is kind of sad, for an empire that lasted for as long as the United States has so far existed) and didn't even give a list of rulers. None of my coin books covered the time period (1204-1468) or the country. I even bought a Byzantine catalogue (an old 1970s edition Sear) hoping to find it, but alas, not listed (the current edition Sear Byzantine does list Trebizond coins).

I ended up spending several weeks in the University library, before finally finding a single book on Trebizond history that mentioned their coinage issues (and from which I learned that the coin denomination is actually called an "asper", not "aspen"). From that, I was able to determine the rough time period of my coin.

Today, you can run a Google Image Search for "Trebizond Asper" and find several coins exactly like mine in the top ten hits, after just milliseconds. You can also read up the several-pages-long Wikipedia entry on the Empire of Trebizond, if you've a mind to do so.

So yeah, kids these days don't know how lucky they are.

Maxfli

Before the internet existed was it possible for you to collect what you currently collect?

Of course it was possible. The advent of the internet didn't change what interested me as a coin collector, it just made finding them a little easier. You don't miss what you've never had.

TheGoonies1985

I know without the internet it would be frankly impossible to collect what I collect now. It is even hard with the internet so few coins come up for sale. But a few come up here and there and I am very happy when I can land one.

HoledandCreative

Lots and lots of lists of coins for sale through the mail. Phone calls to try to buy the ones you had been seeking for years. Now, with so many inventories available at our fingertips, a miracle. 8-)

harasha

Lots of great mail lists and catalogues for ancient coins, that I was big on, at the time.

Nap

It would have been rather difficult to obtain some of the rare stuff without having auction representation in the pre-Internet time.

On the flip side, everything was cheaper.

nwcoast

Yes. Before the internet, there were coin shops that had display cases filled with all sorts of coins from around the world. Additionally, there were publications that featured foreign coins and advertisements from dealers that specialized in such materials, often offering catalogs through the mail.

asheland

About half of my collection, most likely would not be possible without the Internet.

syl

There were lots of brick and mortar stores and great mailing lists. I started alot of my foriegn stuff (not Canadian) through Jeff Zrit down in Texas.

YQQ

got my start in 1965 in Switzerland.
My hang-out friend was a coin collector for profit at that time. he was also the director for the Numismatic Department of a very large bank in Zurich. he got me going... no internet then.
yes, most large Swiss banks were dealing in coins, a very lucrative business back then.
H

BillJones

I was not collecting British and Roman coins in the days before the Internet. So I can’t speak to those.

I was collecting U.S. coins, tokens and some medals during the pre Internet days. I could find the pieces I wanted at the major shows and from selected dealers’ stores. It took longer to find the items, but my resources were more limited too.

I have often used the Internet to find British and Roman coins. I would not have done as well without it.

SilverAge3

I imagine had I been collecting world coins, esp British, then, i'd have sought out British coin dealers and auction houses more than I currently do, although some of these coins likely showed up in stateside auctions and shops, relying on paper catalogs, and calling dealers.

OGDan

I collect coins with Chinese chopmarks. Before the internet, it was quite difficult to collect in this area outside of Asia. I probably wouldn't know about this area of collecting, let alone be able to assemble the collection I have without the internet.

krueger

Bought off lists.
Returned alot ,keep track of all,
Only keep about a third + of coins I bought.
IF I do that on ebay I get blocked. That's OK
, or get cussed out at shows if they know I returned their coin! At least three cuss outs over the years. Ha!
I saved money and have better coins. I have seen inexperienced collectors taken advantage of as dealers sell them cleaned junk as though they are gems/ even whizzed coins.

MrEureka

Before the internet, you could collect anything at all if you were willing to travel and/or rely on a dealer to find the coins. Today, you can skip the travel and cut out the dealers.

ChopmarkedTrades

@OriginalDan said:
I collect coins with Chinese chopmarks. Before the internet, it was quite difficult to collect in this area outside of Asia. I probably wouldn't know about this area of collecting, let alone be able to assemble the collection I have without the internet.

Some people did, and for those with dedication it seems that the difficulty in finding rare stuff was offset by low prices. Still, it would take years to put together a top-quality world chopmark type set back in the day even with unlimited cash compared to the availability that the internet enables today, as you mentioned.

SaorAlba

I've collected English, Irish and Scots hammered since the mid 1980s - basically buying from a description on a price list and being satisfied or not with what you got. I remember selling a lot of it later in the mid 1990s when I upgraded - selling on ebay again with just a description but no pics. Of all that I bought back pre-internet I only have the Scots coins as I have never sold one of those only added to the hoard.

coinkat

The short answer is yes followed by resourcefulness. And by that I mean are you willing to engage in the hunt and search?

Collecting extends beyond knowledge but how knowledge is applied- its about casting the big net and timing. Perhaps the internet has helped with the timeline in locating certain coins- but that has come at a price. Certain coins are best purchased with an in hand review- pictures are helpful but they often do not truly capture what is important. And there really is no substitute unless one is willing to live with the consequences of buying based on an optimistic perception of an image that simply may not resemble the coin that you thought you were buying.

WCC

No, I don't think so. Most from my primary series have been from auctions but without the internet, prices would almost certainly be noticeably lower and don't think most would have been sold where I could find it.

bidask

Not only was it possible but buying raw world coins were great bargains if you could grade yourself and certainly slabbed coins were all around at lower prices than today imo

Abuelo

I collect since the 1980s. No internet back then.

The_Dinosaur_Man

I prefer to collect without the Internet. For me, it's way more fun and thrilling to find the coins I need by luck and happenstance.

It's ironic since I build websites and take photographs to sell coins online.

SYRACUSIAN

@MrEureka said:
Before the internet, you could collect anything at all if you were willing to travel and/or rely on a dealer to find the coins. Today, you can skip the travel and cut out the dealers.

And if you were willing to travel, you could attend auctions that most collectors ignored. The few ones that travelled, often divided the lots that they were interested at between them to keep the prices low. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t. And that’s without counting the shows. A different era.