Waiting builds character

Commemorative silver dollars are on my mind this morning. The Mint is going to unveil the new 2009 Louis Braille silver dollar July 2 at the National Federation of the Blind’s 2008 convention in Dallas.

It is an appropriate venue. It is appropriate to promote the upcoming commemorative coin, but my fear is that with all the hullabaloo in the news media that is likely to result, there will be an awful lot of people who will want to buy one.

The coins will not be available until the spring of 2009, nearly one year off. That is probably going to frustrate not a few would-be buyers.

We live in an age of instant gratification. Desires that are not rapidly met are replaced with other desires and the original impulse can be lost.

Even longtime collectors can get revved up by coins recovered from sunken ships and want to buy right away.

I have had not a few inquiries over the years from readers who want to know how to buy a specific coin mentioned in a specific article and are disappointed to learn that it is not available at all times from the dealer community.

In short, the thrill of the hunt is not necessarily appealing to one and all.

When the coin is unveiled at 8 a.m., July 2, at AT&T Plaza at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, I will be prepared to wait. I hope others will be, too.