Grab a couple of the club's "Charter Members" at one of the conventions & listen to them talk about the old days. I love listening to some of the "old-timers" (many younger than I am ) talk about going to shows & trading "stack for stack". And each one of them loved collecting that way. But just like what has happened with baseball cards, you bring in a high dollar factor & then it becomes more business than fun...and it becomes all about the money. But not for everyone. This club has some really, really great people. Years ago, there was a well-respected member that I would bug every time he posted because I loved a chip that he would always show. Later that year at the convention, he came up to me & put that chip in my hand & sold it to me for at the most HALF of its value. Why?? Because he wanted to -- for him, it was obviously not all about the money.

If you haven't ever read the story, find the story about Phil Jensen's "missing" collection (it was recently reprinted in a CCTN). One of my all-time most favoritest people (not just in this hobby, but of anyone that I've met) wrote the story. That will show the character of many of the people in this hobby & in this club and maybe how the hobby has changed since then (although I'd bet that the author would still do the same thing even now).

Steve Bedo