Two e-mails that arrived in the past week tell me that even though it is a new collecting season, the same old human nature dogs the hobby.

One e-mail came from an outraged buyer who wanted to share his story as a warning to others. The other came from an outraged would-be seller who wanted to know who the American Numismatic Association thinks it is interfering in his online auction business.

Let’s start with the buyer. He bought an MS-67 coin that was “professionally” graded by the Backyard Slabbing Service (I am not using the actual name here). He wanted to cross it over into a slab from one of the leading grading services, but didn’t want it put in a holder if it didn’t make at least MS-60. Well, it didn’t. He is upset.

What this tells me is he probably got the coin for MS-60 money or less and was hoping to profit on his “real steal.” The steal, though, went against him.

He claimed to be a longtime reader. If that is the case, it didn’t do him much good. Backyard Slabbing Service has never had an ad nor has it ever been mentioned in a story. That ought to speak volumes to him. If you never heard of it, perhaps a little caution is in order. Sure, new businesses spring up all the time and it might just be the one to take the market by storm. However if you are offered an MS-67 coin from a purported professional for MS-60 money or less, can you connect the dots here?

If I remember the quote correctly, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway fame said that if you play poker for 15 minutes and don’t know who the mark is, it’s you.

Then there is the seller. He was offering to sell an error that could bring a high price. ANA intervened with the online auction firm because of what was claimed. The item was delisted.

What does the ANA think it is doing interfering with business that way? Well, for one thing, it is the so-called consumer protection that everyone claims to want to have but so seldom ever seems to make itself evident in the marketplace.

For another, from what information I was given, the ANA had good reason to act. Perhaps I do not know the whole story here, but you get the idea.

In a free market, there are problems. The only true defense is education. Education cannot prevent all mistakes, but it reduces their frequency by enough to make this a very enjoyable hobby.

What’s going to be hot in 2008? You can win a prize for your opinion. Do you think the recent First Spouse gold coin sellouts can continue? Will this year’s issues rise further in price?

What about “W” mintmarked uncirculated platinum American Eagles or their gold and silver counterparts?

These are just the new issues. What about regular collector coins that have been around for a while? We are getting ever closer to the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent. Can the key dates of the series, the 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 plain and 1931-S be next year’s rockets? Coin Market editor Harry Miller has already pointed out in his column that Lincoln prices are moving in response to demand related to the upcoming centennial.

Will Barber coins outperform the Seated Liberty versions on a percentage basis?

Will U.S. nickels be the place to be when a new composition is finally decided upon to replace an alloy that has been in use since 1866? Will Shield nickels and Liberty Heads race to the top, or will the ever popular Buffalo design beat them both?

I get to think about these questions as we prepare to produce the 55th anniversary issue of Numismatic News. Price performance and the speculative element have always had a place in the life of the paper. Chet Krause remarked from time to time that the closure of the San Francisco Mint in 1955 helped boost interest in S-mint issues generally and the cent and dime of that year specifically. That boosted circulation and ad volume. No one knew then that San Francisco would soon be back at work less than 10 years in the future.

I would like reader thoughts to be in the anniversary issue. Pick a coin and write a couple of sentences to explain why you think it will be hot in 2008. It couldn’t be easier. E-mail me your pick at david.harper@fwpubs.com. Identify yourself because there is a bonus. We are giving away a Liberty Head $20 gold piece and some current silver American Eagles for the best responses.

The best part of this is there is no wrong answer. Who knows? Gold $20s might themselves be the place to be in 2008. What do you think? Let me know.

Will the third offering in the First Spouse gold coin series sell out when they go on sale at noon Eastern Daylight Time today?

When the first two were offered in June, buyers snapped them up in approximately two hours, leaving some collectors shut out of the process.

If I consider the results of the Numismatic News online poll that closed yesterday, I would have to forecast that a sellout is imminent.

Only a minority of respondents, 38 percent, said they planned to buy the proof and uncirculated coins that carry the image of a Draped Bust half cent design used 1800-1808 during the time Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States. That minority, though, is enough to ensure a sellout.

Because Jefferson was a widower when he was in the White House, the numismatic design was chosen to represent this period. Martha Washington and Abigail Adams were on the first two issues and Dolley Madison with be on this year’s fourth issue.

Rather than base a forecast solely on the poll, would-be buyers will have to consider the steps the Mint is taking to assure maximum fairness and availability. Only one unc. and one proof can be acquired per household. That is a reduction in the order limit from the five imposed in June.

Overall mintage is 40,000, which evenly split means 20,000 buyers can grab the whole issue.

That doesn’t sound like a large number but it requires some $16.8 million in expenditures by buyers. That is still a large amount of money for the hobby.

Another consideration is totals. I find it interesting that three First Spouse sellouts would add up to 60,000 troy ounces of gold. That is almost double the amount of gold currently on the market for 2007 proof Buffaloes and it nearly equals the amount of gold in the 2007 bullion Buffaloes sold to investors.

These numbers seem to imply that the Mint is becoming a custom minting institution existing for the pleasure of meeting collector desires for esoteric coins that have no basis in the real economy.

That doesn’t mean the third First Spouse coins won’t sell out. It also may be a desirable state of affairs for the Mint, because the profits are higher for collector coin sales.

What do I really think? My gut tells me they will sell out – perhaps not in one day – but since I am not planning to buy any, my opinion is a cheap one.

Anybody who has read this blog regularly this month knows I have been on the road an awful lot lately. The total is 17 days between the American Numismatic Association convention in Milwaukee, Wis., and my journey to Costa Rica.

As you might guess, when I am away, there are things that I cannot personally attend to – including chores at home, but that’s another story.

My point today is the Letters column in Numismatic News. Apparently the contents of the Aug. 21 issue were so stupendously good that many of them ran again in the Aug. 28 issue. For that, I apologize to one and all. This should not have happened.

On the brighter note, I am receiving e-mails and letters pointing out the mistake, which will fill some of the future Letters columns. I even fielded a phone call from a concerned reader.

It is gratifying to me that the Letters section is considered important enough that these concerns are expressed. Readers opinions are important to me. They are important to other readers. My view is they are the heart of the newspaper. They are the pulse of life for the hobby.

Don’t ever be bashful about pointing out my mistakes. That is one of the reasons the Letters section exists in the first place. You won’t hurt my feelings – well, OK, sometimes you might, but I am a professional and it is my intention to make sure all sides are heard from.

One reader told me at the ANA convention that the only thing his wife reads in Numismatic News is the Letters section. Obviously we collectors have something going on when we can sustain the interest of someone who doesn’t take an interest in coins.

Keep those e-mails and letters coming. I’ll keep working until I get it right. I’ll keep working until I get it right. I’ll keep working until I get it right ... Oops, there I go again.