Hi Doug; Welcome to this great hobby.

Regarding your questions posed about some of the shorthand terms we veterans sometimes take for granted; several of whom have responded to your post with the answers..... There may be some additional help for novice collectors forthcoming during our National Convention this August in Las Vegas.

Co-incidently, I received an e-mail over the weekend from Convention Chairman Mike Skelton who has proposed to the Board to conduct an Educational Forum, focused specifically for new collectors, with a panel of experienced collectors who will be able to answer questions similar to those you posed and other questions as well. All we have to do is to stimulate interest on the part of novice collectors such as yourself for such a forum which hopefully will be attended by a reasonable number of interested parties. Are you planning to attend the August convention? Archie