Weekend wonder

It is Friday. The weekend.

I was somewhat disappointed to find that I have to wait another week for the long Labor Day weekend.

But this weekend is still a good time to have one of the last flings of the summer season. If that is not on your agenda, perhaps you can pause and take stock of the upcoming fall collector season.

Are you planning on going to any coin shows in the next four months?

If you are, make sure you have a little spending money that you can draw on.

In the current economy, money is tight. The natural reaction is to say no to everything because money is tight.

However, a little planning should be able to free up some dough for a numismatic splurge.

Even if it does not, a visit to a coin show is a good opportunity to see what is available and review your current acquisition goals.

You might find more opportunity to act than you think.

Does your area have a coin club?

It might be time to join.

Most collectors have no collector home. Though this is commonplace, it is not smart.

The free resources available in the minds of the club members is an untapped resource.

Go to a meeting and begin to tap it.

Have a grading question? Go and ask.

Have a pricing question? Go and ask.

What about identifying what looks like a doubled die to you, but might not be? Go and ask.

While nearly everybody knows enough to pick up his money from a bar or a gambling table when he goes, it is amazing that participants in organized numismatics leave so many resources untouched and on the hobby table when they get up to leave.

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

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