For education and direction as well as advice.........

keets

........do you now or have you ever had what you'd consider a mentor??

Al H.

mdwoods

I have several unofficial mentors.

relayer

No, but I do offer mentoring at reasonable rates.

1jester

yes, I've had mentors in many fields. I've sought them out and sometimes they've sought me out. I try to learn from everybody.

nwcs

I've had a few. Only one was helpful to me.

LAWMAN

My first mentor (true story) was the age I am now (54) when I was 27. I had just graduated law school and was waiting for my bar results and I had taken a job with his small firm because he was the consummate jury trial lawyer. He and I tried about half a dozen jury trials back to back from July to October 1977 and we were starting to pick the jury on one right after lunch in early November. He was the kind of trial lawyer who could make the JUDGE cry, let alone the jurors, and he was doing his thing to the amazement of all, when he suddenly grabbed his chest and started to slowly collapse. I ran out from behind the counsel table and caught him before he fell. We got him back into the Judge's Chambers but he was having a dissecting Aortic anuerysm (when the aorta, a huge blood supply to the heart, literally blows up like a hand grenade inside your chest). I rode in the ambulance with him to the hopital, took his old briefcase home with me that night, and went to his funeral the next day. RIP Harry Simon. Now I'm his age and remembering the whole thing gives me goosebumps.

Oh yes, my second mentor died of brain cancer.

Moral of the story: Don't be my mentor, it's dangerous to your health!

Clankeye

Yes. Calling him a mentor maybe wouldn't be exactly correct. But, I learned a lot from a Seattle dealer named William E. Spears.

He was the first one to really show me by various examples the difference between coins with original skin, and those that had been dipped or in other ways tampered with.

He also let me hang around his office (he wasn't a store owner) occasionally and gave me insider glimpses into the dealings of the coin business.

He passed away about two years ago. He was a good man. I miss his company.

Clankeye

razorface1027

do you now or have you ever had what you'd consider a mentor??

Keets; Could you be a tad bit more specific, as in what realm?...

keets

i thought it would be self-explanatory, but maybe not. i was wondering about a mentor within the field of Numismatics, of course, someone who's aided in your growth as a collector.

al h.

jbsteven

I have a few people that I consider mental.

razorface1027

AHHHHHHH OK! Numismatics...ME POP! However, he's no longer with me, he's reached Nirvana. Now, I rely on people at this forum...

ms70

Yes. One gentleman that I'll always be happy I bought a coin from. We became friendly and since then he's taught me a great deal
about numismatics and some of the interworkings of the coin trade. He always has time for me (and everyone else) during shows and
is a straight shooter with kind words. If I ever were to become a dealer, I could only wish to have the respect he has from clients and
fellow dealers.

OneThinDime

Never had a numismatic mentor.

Could probably use one - I'd imagine I might have saved a great deal of money (and might still).

With or without, I plan to continue acquiring.

291fifth

No.

Rob85635

Gee, wow... yea... If I had to guess I have had hundreds over the years. Strawberry is probably my favorite.



Rob the Newbie

FC57Coins

I do have someone who is mentoring me on my collecting and has helped me grow in the field tremendously - has also let me realize how very little I know and how much I have to learn!

RiffRaff1967

I wish I did. For now, I'm spending more time learning than spending $$. This forum has really oened my eyes to newbie mistakes (some of which I have already made).

dpoole

I've had several mentors and much help in general from people in the field, elsewhere but particularly here. Michael has been very helpful to me training my eye for quality coins.

XpipedreamR

Unfortunately, not really. I've been mostly on my own