For pleasure, I have started to read a book entitled In the Light of Morning Fires and Foggy Mornings about small town life in Ohio in the 1950s. The author, Fred Whissel, has an interest in numismatics and may become a future contributor. This book has given me a chance to both understand his writing style and to reminisce about what life was like many years ago.

So many of the stories within the book just remind us that “you had to be there” to completely understand how things have changed. In today’s fast-paced world, we’re left to wonder what changes remain and whether they will be for the better or simply a change.

Monnaie de Paris noted on a recent issue "For the first time, Monnaie de Paris is introducing a coloured coin with a red heart for the €10 silver proof coin." At first, we were confused thinking it was the first time Monnaie de Paris had issued a colorized coin, but that's not the case. Apparently, "the first time" refers to the red heart.

The colorizing occurs on a coin that is not round. The existence of a coin that is not round has been done on many occasions. Of course, they are not intended to be spent but serve as a collectible.

It makes one wonder “What do traditionalists think about coins that aren’t round?” Are they considered gimmicks? For token and medal collectors, it was likely never about the shape of things because many objects were some other geometric form. Some countries have created spending money that wasn’t round. To date, the United States Mint hasn’t made a known product that wasn’t round, so could that be the next innovation we see as collectors?

The prevailing attitude in the hobby could be that anything that has the potential to increase collecting interest could be a good thing. Even if the item is not something you would personally collect, I have seen plenty of times when the act of collecting is respected above all.

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