I remember when gold and silver were ...

On Monday morning it is sometimes tough to fire up my memory and get focused on the news and features for the coming week.

I think back to years ago and shrug.

Even if I get myself up to speed for the week, my memory needs a little more prompting than it used to with written notes that I leave myself.

Numismatics is an amazing field to employ your memory.

I have long marveled at dealers who have customer profiles in their heads of who they are, what they are interested in buying and even remembering many coins sold to them in the past and what the selling prices were.

Does numismatics train people to have good memories, or do people who already have good memories gravitate to the field?

I am hoping it is a bit of both.

As I see more gray hair in the mirror as I shave in the morning, I find that I read more and more articles about the benefits of staying mentally active with crossword puzzles, sudoku and other games that tax your brain.

Does numismatics do the same thing?

When I first walked in the door here at Krause Publications I had a lot to learn.

My memory was a helpful aid in this process, but it also helped in general work flow.

I could remember what stories were written, who wrote them and what issues of Numismatic News they appeared in.

This went on for years.

Others here would simply ask me when we ran something, and I would direct them do the correct past issue.

Back then as now, we received inquiries where the sender would write something like, “You recently ran a story on Mercury dimes. I lost my copy. Can you send me a new copy of it?”

Recent in this context usually meant something like six months to a year ago, not last month.

Now after 36-1/2 years here and roughly 1,900 weekly issues of Numismatic News, I no longer have instant recall of what was published when.

I hope I have employed my memory for more important things that will lead to better articles in future issues.

So to all numismatists out there, I ask: was your memory better than average when you found this field, or has your years of activity and study trained it to be better?

Let me know by sending an email to: david.harper@fwcommunity.com.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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