Show a hit, now hit the road

Tuesday is a travel day for me as I make my way back to the United States from the World Money Fair in Berlin.

The Krause Publications staff has been in the German capital from Tuesday to Tuesday. That is quite a long time, but yet the time elapsed quickly.

We were busily engaged in trying to read the Berlin tea leaves to see what kind of year 2013 might be. I am optimistic about the rest of the year but certainly there was no unanimity of opinion. The most honest answer that I received was a simple admission that he did not know.

Who can know the future?

Certainly judging by the number of new booths, bullion-related items will continue to dominate the commercial sector of the hobby.

Tearing me in the other direction was a tidbit I learned from the Royal Canadian Mint that something on the order of 18 percent of their revenue is generated by sales of low value sets to the public by Canada Post.

That means the collector impulse lives. That means curiosity is alive and well.

That means the hobby will go on.

That is the best news I could get in Berlin.

Good luck to everyone as the rest of the year unfolds.