Is it possible to over estimate the importance of the web browser to today's coin collector?

laurentyvan

I think not.

As a child who collected stamps my main references were the 3 volume Scotts, which I poured over and nearly memorized. Those and a few old tomes from the library seemed to be my only contact with the wider world of stamps in those days. I lived on stamp approvals for the longest time as there were no nearby stamp stores.
By contrast the web gives me almost unlimited reference from hundreds, if not thousands of sources; almost an embarrassment of riches, both textually and visually.

I wasn't aware of stamp clubs around me as a child so I was kind of a solitary collector except for the occasional family member or friend with the same interests.
The on-line community that I can participate in here at PCGS goes beyond my wildest expectations as a youngster growing up: the local club of yesteryear is the global club of today, offering the opportunity for forum members in check in at all times of the day and night, every day! Somehow that strikes me as rather remarkable.

The buying opportunities on the web seem to absolutely dwarf any other source of coins. Everyone is a buyer-everyone is a seller.

I thought this might be an opportunity for members who have been doing this awhile to share some of their reminicences about coin collecting prior to and after the establishment of the home computer web-based browser.

Things have certainly changed-are they all for the good?

ajaan

To answer the question: NO

1jester

The web is a great equalizer. And that's a wonderful thing.

However, I pine for the good old days of getting coins from Littleton...



.....NOT.

laurentyvan

Do you care to elaborate just a little...? There were two questions posed, one to open and one to finish.

1jester

Well, Don has a great point. Not all change has been for the better. For us to be able to look out, others can also look in. Privacy loss is a very sad result of the technological changes.

ajaan

<< <i>Do you care to elaborate just a little >>


Who, me? or jester?

ajaan

<< <i>Well, Don has a great point. Not all change has been for the better. For us to be able to look out, others can also look in. Privacy loss is a very sad result of the technological changes. >>


You got all that from my reply??? Wow!

laurentyvan

the importance of the web browser to today's coin collector?

Only in the context of coin collecting was the question asked-I have not suffered any outrages to my privacy; yet...

1jester

I think one of the issues is that we may never know to what extent our privacy has been invaded.

Don, yes.

newbiecollector

All I can add is that if were not for the web, and this forum in particular, I would never have found what i needed in collecting.
I was, and probably still am, a lazy collector. I was interested for many, many years but did not take the time to "please myself" with collecting coins. The net and here allowed me access.

Now I can and, even though I am not able to collect high value items I have one hell of a good time with my coins...

laurentyvan

The net and here allowed me access.

So Newbie, to you the access was of primary importance. I too enjoy the access. The web allows me to instantly (in most reasonably common cases) compare and contrast to my hearts content. And here is where my heart resides.

newbiecollector

It allowed me access to this forum. That may sound simplistic but for me a HUGE thing. From there I branched out, in my limited way, finding other coin sources.
I have never found (or looked) for other contact forums. I don't need and don't think I can find better.

As most know on here, I don't have super high value coins, I don't specialise like a normal collector ususally does. I do collect a few ship coins and I have some others I like a lot. Here I get respect for my limited collection, TONS of advice and help towrads further collecting.

I could not have ever gotten that without the web and this forum. Never.

Clankeye

<< <i>Things have certainly changed-are they all for the good? >>



Well, here's an illustration of where it has changed for the good.

Before the net, I eagerly awaited my latest issue of Coin World. Back then you lived and died by the written word of a coins appearance. Now, in my estimation a lot of dealers back then could have won awards for their lurid prose. Coins were "rainbow, eye-popping, stunning, drop dead" everything.

You would read the dealers descriptions, decide if it sounded like your coin, and hope for the best. Also, hope for an honored return policy. But, it could lead to trouble. My single worst numismatic experience came from a seller in Coin World who described a set of coins in adjectives to-die-for. So good I decided it was okay to order without a return privilege. Long story short, the coins were the biggest dogs I'd ever laid eyes on--it was almost fraud--except they were graded by PCGS (another reason I felt I could buy sight unseen)--so it wasn't fraud, just exaggeration.

The minute I got them I tried to get the dealer to take them back at a $100 loss to me. Just to get them out of the house I hated them that much. Wouldn't do it. This was about an $800 set of coins.

It got ugly and I learned a few things about the real world that maybe I didn't know.

That was then--this is now. Now there is access to instant images of the coins. Now there are more dealers at your fingertips. Now you can browse eBay or join forums like this and see thousands of more images of coins than you could in the past. You can learn from the experiences--good and bad--of others... and most importantly for me--you can share the camaraderie of the hobby. Before numismatics was a rather solitary affair for me.

It adds tremendous depth to the experience. ...And I have rambled enough.

Clankeye

elverno

I tend to agree with those who believe that it's generally for the best. As a specialized collector I can tell you that I could never have put together my collection if I had to count on local dealers or mail order alone. And I live in Los Angeles!

For all that is wrong with the Bay of E and its ilk the fact is that I see more online in a week than I used to see in a year of prowling the shops and going to local shows like Long Beach. The internet has also led me to a multitude of online "virtual" shops that have a greater selection than anything I've ever found in person.

It has also connected me with some of the most meaningful friendships of my life. I don't mean this forum, yet... I mean collectors of similar interests who would never have spoken to me at a show, even had I known who they are. My best friend in the past 10 years, who unfortunately passed away in October of 2002, came about after he sent me a rather snide comment that if I were putting up a website on Napoleon I really needed to get my facts right! He was right, and I ended up with a mentorship that started me into serious collecting.

And finally this forum. It has been the most pleasant experience since 2002; to stumble upon a group of erudite, intelligent, witty, sympathetic and knowledgable ladies and gentlemen. Folks, it's an honor to post with ya!


Sniff...

laurentyvan

It adds tremendous depth to the experience. ...And I have rambled enough.

You never ramble enough Colonel.

No, NO, quiet Sally! No I will not let him know you wish to talk to him-Quiet woman! (inside aside-OT)

The depth of the experience resonates with me. I come to work and want to buy a coin. On lunch I visit several websites, e-bay, contact a couple of forum members with questions or post a thread and receive responses, pictures, advice, expertise. And then maybe I'll go to a coin store-armed with a wealth of information. The web does certainly add depth to the process.

Coin stores that used to be able to cheat you (and were inclined to do so) are at the mercy of an unrelenting flow of shared information between hobbyists that make their survival nigh onto impossible.

laurentyvan

And finally this forum. It has been the most pleasant experience since 2002; to stumble upon a group of erudite, intelligent, witty, sympathetic and knowledgable ladies and gentlemen. Folks, it's an honor to post with ya!

Thanks, sniffle, Vern. You're right Vern, the associations one forms in any hobby are as important and probably for some people, more impotant than what we collect. Just think, 20 to 30 years ago a letter a week for a total of 52 conversations; today I know some posters who do that in a week, easy. And if you wanted some face to face or phone time it was gonna cost you, both in time and money.
Those who went to the FUN show all said the same thing, show was great but getting to meet other forum members was more fun.

Not too many years from now, we'll be sharing information via vision phone, and I'll have a hand held camera shaped like a thick pen that I pass slowly over the coin in question as those who wish to can look for errors or die marks, etc. The web is only the tip of the iceberg!

cladking

The web makes coins available which would otherwise be nearly impossible to locate.
Many types of specialized collecting have become possible for the first time.

hookedoncoins

I couldn't imagine coin collecting without the internet. Before the internet my collecting consisted of finding wheats in circulation, old jefferson nickels and the occasional world coin that got mixed into circulation.