Hmm, these letters look familiar

Anybody who has read this blog regularly this month knows I have been on the road an awful lot lately. The total is 17 days between the American Numismatic Association convention in Milwaukee, Wis., and my journey to Costa Rica.

As you might guess, when I am away, there are things that I cannot personally attend to – including chores at home, but that’s another story.

My point today is the Letters column in Numismatic News. Apparently the contents of the Aug. 21 issue were so stupendously good that many of them ran again in the Aug. 28 issue. For that, I apologize to one and all. This should not have happened.

On the brighter note, I am receiving e-mails and letters pointing out the mistake, which will fill some of the future Letters columns. I even fielded a phone call from a concerned reader.

It is gratifying to me that the Letters section is considered important enough that these concerns are expressed. Readers opinions are important to me. They are important to other readers. My view is they are the heart of the newspaper. They are the pulse of life for the hobby.

Don’t ever be bashful about pointing out my mistakes. That is one of the reasons the Letters section exists in the first place. You won’t hurt my feelings – well, OK, sometimes you might, but I am a professional and it is my intention to make sure all sides are heard from.

One reader told me at the ANA convention that the only thing his wife reads in Numismatic News is the Letters section. Obviously we collectors have something going on when we can sustain the interest of someone who doesn’t take an interest in coins.

Keep those e-mails and letters coming. I’ll keep working until I get it right. I’ll keep working until I get it right. I’ll keep working until I get it right ... Oops, there I go again.