As the year closes, our editorial staff has an annual tradition: sorting through the more than 1,000 stories that have appeared in Coin World and selecting the top 10 stories of the year. This year, because of the way the holidays fall, the list will be in the issue dated Jan. 13, 2014. However, putting it together reminds me of both the dynamism of our hobby and the changing nature of news and our interaction with it.

In his Nov. 25 “The Joys of Collecting” column, Q. David Bowers wrote about the permanence of print. The message resonated with readers and he’s revisited the topic this week.

Readers keep letting us know that they enjoy the experience of a physical print publication — the turning of the pages, not knowing what comes next; the quiet, relaxing time that a publication gives a reader to escape the daily grind.

Thankfully, even with the rapid changes in how people consume information, which have rocked publishing of late, it looks like print publications like Coin World aren’t going away anytime soon!

In fact, they’ll likely get better as traditional content from our trusted team of writers is supplemented with timely online offerings that will better allow us to interact with readers and provide more avenues for collectors to interact with one another.

This dialogue will then inform our print coverage as it appears in Coin World, which will result in an even more robust publication with more interesting and relevant stories.

Some readers have said they prefer their publications delivered as digital editions for computers, tablets and smartphones. We’ll continue to deliver content this way and work to enhance the reader experience.

We also tried some new things in 2013 that will inform our new offerings, like the weekly digital publication Coin World Next. Its content and approach will now be integrated into our website and eNewsletter offerings.

As with any new, challenging endeavour, we’re learning as we go. As Coin World maps out its digital strategy for 2014, we’re planning new initiatives that have the potential to expand the hobby and make Coin World an even better source of news, commentary, features and values.

We aim to help provide our audience with more effective ways to build a collection and discover new things to collect. At the same time, we’re looking at ways our various editorial products — both in print and online — can help introduce new people to our hobby.

It’s an exciting time at Coin World, and for our hobby in general.

On behalf of all of us at Amos Press in Sidney, Ohio, a warm happy holidays to you and yours, and thank you for allowing us to be a part of your coin collecting experience.

Best,

Steve Roach

sroach@coinworld.com