In this issue is a great article about space medals written by our Charles Calkins, and a good one it is, I know he had to gather information and pictures from all over the world. Thanks for all the work Charles, it is much appreciated by your friends. Also I would prefer that you did not send the Secret Service to confiscate my 1964 Peace dollar that is in the Featured Coin column because my piece was minted in Paint Shop Pro. ô¿ô

My other hobby interests include reading (I have a collection of hundreds of hard-bound science fiction books where I've read all about Roy Wilson). I also have collections of stamps, plates, sports cards and matchbook covers; and, when I can find the time, I can still play a pretty mean guitar. But, other than family, coins are my life's love. I know only enough about stamps, plates, sports cards and match covers to get me into trouble. Like many of you, my coin collecting interests were dormant during college and military years. But post-military, as we were settling into central Ohio again, I began attending a weekly bid-board auction at a local coin shop. Interestingly, the coin shop was also a pizza parlor. Both businesses were run separately under the same roof by different owners. The front of the store was a coin business complete with display cases and bid-board operation. The rear of the shop was a full-service pizza parlor with a soda counter and serving tables. Both businesses were busy operations that seemed to complement each other. The pizza crowd became interested in the coins; and the coin crowd could dine on pizza and soda as they perused the display cases. At some point, I noticed the coin business didn't carry any supplies - just coins. So, one day I talked the owner into permitting me to open a coin supply section in the shop. Now there were three separate businesses housed together. I sold coin folders, 2X2s, tubes, reference books, magnifiers, and about everything you'd ever need in coin supplies. After a successful year of selling supplies, the coin-business owner decided to sell out and to move his interests into real estate. So I negotiated a deal to acquire his shop and inventory. That's when my very own coin business, "Coin Fantasy" was born in 1976. I did fairly well, but the expenses of running a brick and mortar coin business were surprising! So, by the late 1970s, I closed shop and reverted to strictly mail-order. I initially had a decent local client base, but began a national ad campaign in the hobby publications. Between display ads, mail-bid auctions, and mail ads, I've done decently over the last twenty-five years. And recently I've begun to convert to the internet, which is probably where the real future of the hobby lies.

My coin interests are varied. I collect and sell a little bit of everything, including some currency, foreign coins and tokens. My favorites include error and variety coins, error currency, beautifully toned coins (especially rainbow-tones and pastels), older proof cameo coins, and plate-coins (those actual coins depicted in numismatic reference books). I've built a large library of reference material over the years. That really comes in handy and is worth every cent. Don't ever hesitate to buy the books. They'll pay for themselves quickly. I enjoy being a member of many hobby organizations. Most of these memberships include regular periodicals and newsletters which I read voraciously. Education is the key to not getting bitten too hard with the bad deals that all of us have experienced, especially in our earlier hobby years. For a number of years, I was the Vice President of the National Association of Numismatic Advertisers. It was a self-policing organization similar to PNG which promoted education and truth-in- advertising. One of the unique elements of this organization was the "blind-testing" committee. That committee regularly ordered coins from its member-dealers utilizing set-up names and addresses from all over the country. The orders were varied and designed so that the dealers couldn't possibly know the testing committee had placed the orders. But if the committee received any questionable coins from those orders (such as cleaned, altered, or over-graded) then the selling-dealer was first given a written warning, then suspended from active membership, and on the third occasion was expelled from the organization. It's an interesting concept.

I've written articles for a hobby periodical and I've been gathering material to write a book someday on coin preservation and coin collection security. Over the years, I've had many dozens of my coins published in numismatic reference guides. Many of these published coins are new varieties which I've discovered and for which I've been credited. In fact, John Wexler and Kevin Flynn, who are prolific hobby writers/publishers on variety coins, are about to release a new hobby reference book, a guide to Walking Liberty Half Dollar varieties (mostly doubled dies and RPMs). About a dozen of my Walkers will appear in that book, most of which are new varieties that I've discovered. I miss those days of having hundreds of dollars of silver coins going through my hands every month. I wish I had all of those coins today. I also miss the good old days of face-to-face business with fellow collectors in my coin shop. That camaraderie and interaction can never be duplicated in mail order, or even on the internet. But being a member of WINS comes very close to duplicating it. Coin collecting is a fabulous hobby comprised of study, research, science, art, history and folklore. Nothing can replace "the thrill of the chase" when you're seeking a coin. The only thing that runs a close second is "the satisfaction of the find". Try to enjoy a little bit of our hobby everyday.

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