Bungee Jumping will quicken your pulse. But if you're looking for intense concentration, visible tension, and a flurry of activity based on extreme urgency, you'll find more than enough of it in the lot viewing room at a Heritage auction sixty-five minutes prior to the start of a session.
Regardless of how sophisticated and enticing they become, I predict Internet-only auctions will have a hard time convincing serious buyers that they no longer need to physically view coins before bidding on them.

At Heritage, we spare no expense producing accurate and appropriately detailed descriptions of every lot. To this we add state of the art color and black and white photographs, plus Internet images on every single-coin lot. Despite all this effort, the majority of our coins sell to bidders who have personally viewed them. I'm convinced that no matter what innovations we add, when coins of significant value are auctioned, the potential buyer's need to view them will never change. In numismatics there is no substitute for hands-on examination. Should there be? I doubt serious coin collectors will ever value convenience more than quality.

As an experiment, I asked four of our most experienced numismatists to examine a coin, then provide a written description. Granted, I'd selected an unusual piece with some interesting characteristics, including a well-hidden nick among the devices and atypical coloration. When the five of us compared notes we couldn't help but laugh. In some ways, our descriptions were so different we could hardly reconcile that we'd all looked at the same coin!

Variant opinions of each coin are a critical and necessary part of the collecting process. For good reason, someone prepared to pay five or ten thousand dollars for a coin expects to be granted personal inspection and has every right to accept nothing less. There is no replacement, or close substitute, for holding a coin in your hand. If you are an experienced numismatist who thinks differently I would enjoy hearing from you.

I have found that many consignors with significant numismatic property expect the auction company to make it convenient for potential buyers to examine their coins. I encourage those thinking about consigning to any auction to peek in the room during the lot viewing prior to one of Heritage's auction sessions. Often they will see thirty-five, or more, very intense people bent close to lamps examining the goods. Moreover, when Heritage attends a competitor's auction, our most knowledgeable numismatists must view the lots, looking for undergraded coins and sleepers. We couldn't afford the time required to participate if our buyers were denied this opportunity.

I think most, if not all, active auction participants, including both collectors and dealers, would agree that the real work at any auction is done during lot viewing. Once a coin has been examined, appraised, and the value determined, executing the bid is a relatively simple task.

To conclude, I wish everyone involved in the Internet auctions and various electronic trading networks great success. In fact, I believe Internet auctions provide an invaluable service. Just as viewing significant coins before buying them is a necessary part of the major auction procedure, the swift and frictionless trading of coins viewed as commodities will soon be dominated by the Internet. As it should be.

As anyone who has read either of my novels knows, I'm not the least bit timid about predicting the future. Cyber auctions will flourish, but it will be decades -- if ever --before they replace in-person auctions, especially at the top end of the market.