"MY EVOLVING VISION IS A DIRECT RESULT OF MY COLLECTING EXPERIENCES."

As stated previously, I began collecting coins in 1974. For me, this was a satisfying, but solitary adventure. I persued this hobby alone for the first 6 years. It is my firm belief that this was a severely "Vision-limiting condition".

The following factors were strong influencers of the direction and scope of my Numismatic "Vision".

-Collecting friends and partners: After 6 years, I finally "roped" 4 co-workers into the hobby. The variety of collecting interests, ideas, and acquisitions that we shared with each other helped to open my eyes to new areas for collecting.

-Dealer influence: My early sources of coins were primarily small dealers (local and mail sales) who had limited inventories with regard to number and variety of coins. What they offered was a prime determinate of my interests and "Vision" of what coin collecting was and should be.

-Readings: Fortunately, I have always enjoyed reading, and the accumulation of a reasonable numismatic library was probably the first "portal" through which I became aware of a wider range of coins than existed in my collection at that time.

-"Luck of the Draw": Simply stumbling onto something new from time to time (at a show, or in Coin World, or a dealer's case) would introduce a new arena of collecting.

All of these influencers inevitably led me to be a "Coin Accumulator" vs Collector, and develop a bad case of "blurred vision". As time passed, some of theses accumulated coins would hold my interest and lead to further collecting. Others would be forgotten and stored away, but not actively collected. For a number of years I would buy additional examples of the same coin for my collection. This is what was in my field of vision. These were the coins that I could see.

To BE Continued: "Growing Appreciation of Coins Relationship to What Is Happening in the World"