Be prepared

With the rapid sellout of 350,000 the Boy Scout commemorative silver dollars in 2010, it is probably a safe bet to claim that many collectors are former members of the organization.

Scouts are known for being prepared.

This motto can be applied to many situations. It occurs to me that one of the situations that many of us will face as we prepare for the winter season is the possibility of illness.

The cold and flu season seems to be starting in and around Iola, Wis., early this year as many individuals that I encounter regularly have been sniffling.

One colleague said that about a third of attendees at a baptism were battling something. She quickly came down it as well.

Illness usually equates to down time and isolation from the usual daily activity.

It can offer a time to think or study.

So to all collectors out there, if you have to endure a bout of illness in the next few months, be prepared.

Have a numismatic book that you have wanted to read handy. You might be able to snatch a few hours with it and thereby become a better collector.

You might also think about the hobby’s future, either your own or that of all of us collectively.

What do you think will happen in the coming years. How will that affect us?

Put your thoughts into an email and send it to me at david.harper@fwmedia.com.

Perhaps we can give exposure to new topics in the letters section of Numismatic News as a result, or perhaps offer a new way to look at a familiar topic.

Either way, getting a discussion started will prove to be benefit to all of us.

Becoming ill is no fun, but if you can spend some of the time with numismatics, perhaps it will help taking your mind off the sore throats, coughing, sneezing and other symptoms that we know are just around the corner.

That’s better than just lying there don’t you think?

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2013 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."