Darkside memorable moments for 2007

SYRACUSIAN

I'm sure that there have been some exceptional moments during the past year in this cyber heaven of ours. What have they been for you?


I will add mine later, because I don't want the OP to bore you to death. .


It can be posts, coins that shocked you,personal moments, emotional outbursts and all sorts of stuff out of the ordinary.

ajaan

Going to Athens and meeting Syracusian. Moving into a new house.

TwoKopeiki

Meeting Don at the Niagara Falls, NY show

1jester

Getting a fantastic, superb, uncirculated Conder token from Roman in a giveaway.....


.....and yeah, my son Matthew was born May 30.

wybrit

The biggest moment was successfully selling my house in MN in the middle of winter (January). There was nothing much numismatic to crow about in 2007 though, except for picking up a couple of nice pieces from a respected forum member.

Daltonista

Getting married, and then two days after returning from our fabulous
Bahamas honeymoon (see below), being offered, and accepting,
a great promotion at work.

ASUtodd

Not getting shot at work....... I love my job.... sorta!
Todd

ccrdragon

nothing numismatic for me, but I did celebrate the arrival of 2 healthy and wonderful grandchildren this year (1 boy and 1 girl)!

theboz11

I got married to a wonderful woman that I met on the internet, I was single for more than 18 years.

secondrepublic

Birth of my second son on Feb. 25th. Top numismatic highlight of the decade for me still hasn't happened - it's coming up very very soon.. Of course I will be just a distant observer as this piece trades hands for the first time in decades.

1jester

<< <i>Birth of my second son on Feb. 25th. Top numismatic highlight of the decade for me still hasn't happened - it's coming up very very soon.. Of course I will be just a distant observer as this piece trades hands for the first time in decades. >>



Wow, that is one awesome coin. It would surprise me if RareCanadian didn't snap it up for his/her(?!) collection.



PS: congrats on your second son!

SYRACUSIAN

<< <i>I got married to a wonderful woman that I met on the internet, I was single for more than 18 years. >>









Ah ok, so the bank account number that my partner sent me was yours! I thought that the name sounded familiar...

Well, apparently it's been a busy year for Darksiders, and full of happy personal moments.

Meeting the fungus and Kelly was a highlight, but I couldn't have suggested a worse time, the hottest summer in 50 years, that made everything difficult, incl. breathingh except for Kelly. Other than this, nothing really worth mentioning on a personal note.




But there have been memorable moments, or rather posts. You see, every now and again, I come across an incredible post,that often has very beneficial potential if not plain life changing consequences for me. To illustrate this melodramatic statement, I'll mention a couple of recent examples:

last chance to escape from the rant

I usually read Mr JHF's posts even if US-Phil coins are not my cup of tea. Up until recently, I thought that Mr JHF was a very knowledgeable and respected collector in his field , always eager to answer every single thread posted on US Phil coins and very polite, almost too much for my taste! What I did not know was that he was the owner of the number one PCGS registry set in the very competitive US Phil. coins category. One day, someone posted a thread that referred to the realized price of a certain key coin, which was unreasonably high according to the author (whom I cannot remember and apologize for this) , or something like it.

That post triggered an extraordinary and unusual reply by Mr JHF, in which he gave a free lesson on how to become number one in your field (his advices could be used in any series), by using his own story as an example. In short, he was encouraging to aim for the best coin you can afford, know your subject very well, learn, learn,and learn some more, observe and keep track of the market, and do not hesitate to overspend on a coin that according to your good knowledge ,well kept records and instinct, is undervalued and underrated.

Many lessons learned there, such as that unlimited financial means will not guarantee you the formation of a top class set, if they are not backed by deep knowledge and enough self confidence to defy mainstream concepts,price guides and ironic comments from other collectors, that will eventually change and will agree with you later. Another lesson was that owners of the top sets in very tough categories are not necessarily arrogant, as I used to think. At the contrary, looking back now, the few arrogant collectors that I happen to know, usually have never read any numismatic reference other than yearly price guides, and have an erroneous perception that their collection is better than it really is and that the top is close. Arrogance is based on the financial ability and is fed and grown by ignorance. The real leaders are very often sweet ,knowledgeable and tolerant people, sometimes even humble, willing to share their knowledge, and who become wolves when they have to, without offending or hurting anybody and without showing off.

Another post that had a deep impact on me this year, was by LM. He had sold one of his holey half dollars for an honest but small profit to another member who later put it on ebay and the coin realized an astronomical amount, because it turned out to be a new unrecorded Overton variety. How many chances for something like that to happen? Virtually none. Was Rob unhappy? Yes. Did he need the money? It certainly would be welcome, as by his own admission he's a collector of modest means. Did he bi tch and whine about it? No. Did he demand a percentage from the other member's profit? No, nobody put a gun in Rob's head when he decided to sell it directly, and believe me, he still does not own an Overton book. Instead, he concetrated on the positive, that is the initial profit he had made and that he was the temporary owner of a unique and historic coin. Do I need to explain the lessons of dignity, honesty and positive attitude here?

And recently, in Roman's thread about his steady job, Roy decided to give him some advice based on his own life experience and its defining moments. In one of them,he revealed for the first time I think, that his beloved Beautiful Bride had rejected him twice before she accepted (why? because women are weird creatures), but that did not discourage him a bit. The results speak for themselves after so many years of happiness together. Lessons? That provided that the man is certain of his choice, overcoming the fear of rejection seriously increases the chances for a very succesfull relationship and frankly, there's nothing to lose since there's nothing to begin with. The ego might get hurt, but that's good too. Actually, I am like Roy in that, I've never had this fear (that is quite common in men) , and with statistics on my side, one out of 100 or 1000 will eventually accept. And let's not forget the courage to post it after all these years.

I've been a Darksider for almost 5 years now, and in fact, virtually each and every one of you has at one point or another written at least one such post that has shocked me, has busted false myths and has helped me to become a better collector, ebayer and even a better person. Some have been posted privately,but most are regular posts. Eitherway I consider the DS a magic place where I get free lessons for life. They come when I least expect them and the authors are unaware of the effect that these posts have had on me, because I do not reply, there's nothing to add. Keep it up fellas,

say it loud,
I'm a Darksider and proud,

and a happy new year to all.


PS: Thanks for your patience to read my rant. You gotta admit though, that I have significantly reduced their number lately, and have even introduced a direct escape link.

bidask

I am a proud darksider!

oldshep

Dimitri - One of the most enjoyable part of this forum is people like you that are thoughtful and sincere in your posts. I am always impressed with the tone of the posts on this forum compared to the US forum.
I wish everyone here a happy new year and keep on posting your finds.

Shep

SYRACUSIAN

Thank you shep. I always enjoy reading your posts and of course, I've gotten some very useful advice from you too.


Don't be too harsh on the US forum. 2007 was the year that the greek coin forum finally saw some action, but I won't post the link because I'm ashamed of its content. I know more than half of its members in person, and they are all wonderful people. And yet, when it comes to posting online, the internet brings out the worst in people. I'm sure that this will be the subject of future studies, but until then, I cannot explain why.

Which is why the Darkside is the brilliant and rare exception to the rule, perhaps the only forum on the net that regulates itself and does not need a moderator .