Questions From Returning Collector

Hello! My first post here as a 2nd time around collector. This board looks to be very helpful to me and I hope you'll welcome a newbie.

When I was a kid in the 60s growing up in a small town in Ohio, I began to collect coins. I remember going into a local dealer who was a good guy and I did my best to fill my Lincoln Cent and Jefferson nickel blue book collection. In the 70s, my Dad bought proof sets for me. When I was a junior in HS, I was more interested in buying a stereo system than collecting (even hung my turntable from the ceiling to avoid vibration) and persuaded my Dad to buy "my" collection to fund my need to play Aerosmith and Zepplin loudly. He did so, but kept the collection until he gave back to me about 15 years ago. Needless to say, I was touched by his generosity but I really didn't revisit the hobby then. Yet, now as I approach 50 and need to find things to resolve my mid-life crisis, I want to start over again. I wish my Dad was alive today to share in my desire to get back into the hobby. I know I have so much to learn and that really excites me.

When I was visiting Richmond, VA last week, I decided drop by a local dealer and I purchased three coins that interested me:

1.) Capped Bust 1836 Half - marked VF condition, paid $75. An absolutely beautiful coin to me and as I browse this forum, I want to learn more about the various versions of this coin (I want to figure out exactly what I bought too). The dealer marked this coin as "small" for small date, but I don't see that designation in published price guides. The purchase price was a little stiff for my "budget" (what is a budget when you want to buy everything?), but as I read up on grading, I think the coin might grade higher. I really like this series, but I am fearful that I can't afford to buy too many because I really would like to buy at the VF+ level.

2.) Seated Liberty 1858 Quarter - condition unmarked, but again I'd say VF+, paid $40. Another beautiful coin that could be a series to focus on and might be more affordable to do so.

3.) Seated Liberty 1891 Dime - marked VF (looks cleaned? or it's a coin in wonderful condition - can't tell difference), paid $20.

You have no idea how excited I am to have done the above as my first foray back into the hobby.

Now, if you'll indulge me, a few questions/observations for your kind reaction.

- Is the hobby trend going exclusively toward "slabbing"? I'm really not interested in this aspect and want to be able to buy coins without those designations. Two reasons, I don't care since I'm not going to resell and secondly, I want to be be closer to the coin without a bunch of plastic in the way.

- What do you recommend for coin holders? I have the cardboard 2X2 flip covers. Is that okay for decent coins?

- What reference material should I use to stay on top of coin pricing? I bought the Whitman blue book to get a sense of what dealers pay and got some of the coin magazines for current retail pricing. Do you recommend subscribing to the gray sheets I've seen advertised instead of a magazine? I did buy the ANS grading guide to build my knowledge on that aspect.

- Do you use ebay to acquire your coins? I know that's a wide open question (I've used ebay many times before for other things), but it looks to be filled with "slabbed" coins way outside my price range. I live in a fairly small mid-west city that has just a few stores (can't wait to visit them).

- What are some suggestions you have for sizing up a dealer? What should I expect for coin markup - 10-15%?

OK, I think I've overdone it for my first post. Sorry, I'm really gung ho right now and if it wasn't a holiday, I'd be hangin out at a dealer right now.

Thanks in advance for any replies!