[marzoumanian]

I'm the old timer who recommended you read "True Mint," Mr. Samosa4U. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. Lots of great stories. As others have said in this thread, understand that Rosen cared about cards BUT only if they were as close to GEM MINT as possible. Because he knew that he could then make easy money selling them. So in that sense he was all about the Benjamins. But there's no denying that the SI piece from 1988 on him was a huge boost for the hobby.
On May 22, 2016 I interviewed Rosen for a book I'm working on about Mastro Auctions. I just pulled out the transcript. Here's what he said about money:
"Money means a lot to me. But money doesn't mean you have to be a pig. My thing was hogs eat, pigs go to slaughter. And I never was dishonest to anyone, anyone. And I preach that to my children, honesty is the best policy." Rosen died in January 2017.
I once asked him at one of the old Chicago Sun-Times shows in Rosemont, Ill., when he would be writing his next book. He told me that a publisher wanted him to write a book about his dealings with MLB players and celebs. But he had no interest. He then told me some off-the-record stories about how some of the players he dealt with could be pretty nasty to the public and how it shocked him. Yes, Rosen was a character, as others have already made clear.