The next big thing: Write a Post!

This blog has run its course in the current format. 

     This blog was started a year ago to provide a meeting place for CT collectors. I published a starter guidebook soon afterwards. As most of you know, our field of collecting did not have a beginner's guide or a meeting place. We are a small group, spread across the globe -- quietly collecting for the most part.
     Many collecting specialties have websites that allow members to independently post their experiences and questions -- I am member of several of these. These sites have active discussions about what folks are finding and liking. Plus, they have auction reviews and historical tidbits. This is perhaps what is needed for those of us in the CT field.
  
     Up to now, this blog did not offer enough access and flexibility for new writers who want to share their collecting experiences or expertise. This is about to change. I am inviting others to post articles and pictures on this blog, just as I have.

Check out the new page!  It will provide details about joining the blog and becoming part of the CT Collectors' Covenant.  

     Also, do not forget that there is a gathering being planned for CT collectors at the Winter Baltimore Expo. This would be a great time to meet up, share ideas, and do what all great collectors do: eat steak and salad and talk tokens and coins.

One of my favorite CTs for its bold
figures and archaic first digit.
This is BK563 from Kemback, Fife.

     My experience with this blog has been an adventure. When this blog started in June 2013, there were 182 hits by the end of the month; this jumped to 47 hits in July and kept rising to a peak of 1376 hits in January 2014. Since then, there have been 1107 and 1396 hits for February and March respectively, with a decrease to 835 hits with the new weekly format introduced in April.
  
     Our CT marketplace is active. This past April, we had 225 ebay sales. Two-thirds of these sales involved CTs trading below $20 -- there were many nice pieces in this group. I think we all realize the importance of this market segment for getting new collectors involved. On the opposite end, we had some stellar pieces bringing strong hammer prices -- for example, the Covenanter token that sold for $355 on April 9th.
     Some books are selling too: two copies of Brook, two copies of Bason, and one copy of Milne sold last month on ebay. I am selling a few guidebooks on Amazon. This tells us that new collectors are entering the field. In addition, several large collections are being pruned at present: Merchant, Macmillian, Sutherland, and still some Burzinski CTs are crossing the block.
  
We are fortunate to have such a great hobby. I end with a quote from my book, One Coin is Never Enough (2011):

"... as coin collectors, we believe in magic. We love our coins and treat them accordingly no matter how irrational it appears to onlookers. The coins in our collections are special. They have stories to tell, and we marvel at their survivorship, rarity and beauty. Through the act of collecting them, we transform the mundane into the marvelous."