The country mouse goes to town

I have been collecting for fifty years or so (I started very early!). I have mainly collected from home or within short distance of it. I have relied on dealers sending me their lists, auction catalogues, a bit of swapping and trading at coin clubs, and more recently occasional internet use. I have been very fortunate in having an excellent local dealer who somehow finds things that are interesting and reasonably priced. I have never had to travel far but recently went to my first major coin fair.

Apart from being overwhelmed by the number of dealers' stalls - and I understand this was a slow day for fairs - a few things struck me.

There were no bookdealers. One stall had some Krause catalogues. Yes I can buy secondhand catalogues on the internet but it would be nice to see a coin book dealer in person.

There were no stalls representing any society whether national or local. There are so many excellent groups and clubs you would think they could be a display on a board with details - rather like a freshers' fair at college. There were no sellers of collecting equipment - magnifying glasses, coin envelopes tickets, albums or boxes.

The items on offer were mainly modern coins, quite a lot of bullion and some ancient. Not many medallions or tokens. Many dealers' displays were not priced at all. There were whole trays and bags of hoard coins without any indication of price. If I went to a store that had shelves of goods that were unpriced I would wonder what was going on.

Like many collectors I collect what is on offer and I can afford. I tend to buy something that looks interesting and then research it. I accept that dealers want stock that will sell at a reasonable price and is easily identified and by definition interesting material is rare and hard to come by, but if we want a hobby that is lively and will be passed on to the next generation do we have to think differently?