What's the best thing that has happend to our..

Julio

hobby in your opinion in the last 5 years? What is the worst? jws

MikeInFL

Best: The advent of the "coin internet" -- the instant multimedia communication between collectors, buyers, and sellers (i.e. forums, eBay, Heritage, dealer websites, etc.).
Worst: A toss up between First Strike and Coin Vault.

Steve27

The best: the internet (great access to coins, coin collectors, and information about coins).
The worst: the internet (great venue for scammers).

09sVDB

The best: the internet and easy of communication. The worst: deception like coin vault

tradedollarnut

Best: Set Registry
Worst: Set Registry

ram1946

Best: the internet for its ability to broaden the market, distill intelligence and level the playing field
Worst: the internet again for its uncanny ability to perpetuate fraud under an anonymous veil

AnkurJ

What is Coin Vault?

RichieURich

Coin Vault is a TV infomercial where common coins are hyped by extremely aggresive salespeople. The bad part is that things like state quarters are hyped as "rare coins" that "you'll be lucky to get these" and "they won't be making any more of these" and the coins are sold at prices of at least 3 times their value, and often more.

Comments from the group: is this an accurate description, or have I not been negative enough?

ram1946

RichieURich, you're much too kind in your portrayal of this fine entertainment venue.

Coxe

Best? Registries.
Worst? Registries.

The registries have helped fuel interest in collecting and coordinate communication among disparate collectors with similar collecting goals. They have also showcased some world-class colelctions that the masses would normally only see when they'd go to auction, normally when the collector died. (It's terrible when some folks participate in registries and hide their sets.)

On the downside, the competition at TPG registries is raising a generation of collectors with less interest in their coin sets than their plastic sets. It also easily promotes dipping of truly great and rare original coins to get that next registry point.

roadrunner

Best: Lots of money chasing hard assets

Worst: Wannabe's - road kill cafe

dizzyfoxx

The best: I joined the hobby

The worst: I joined the hobby

ziggy29

The Internet, eBay and registries -- and perhaps the growth of the slabbing industry -- have ALL had some very positive and very negative impacts to the hobby. It's hard for me to single one out, and it's interesting that many of the things that have improved the hobby in some ways have hurt it in others...