I just do not usually buy Darkside coins, BUT..........

They invented electricity there as well?

 

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Well it's indeed blasted 'dark' here.........Nitey nite all.........

 

Last time I was in Europe the sun didn't come up until almost 10AM.

 

Bad timing or location, it seems. Depends on where you go (latitude) and when you go. Where I live (near Cologne/Köln), for example, the sun comes up at 5.45 now; sunset is at 21.30 or so these days. In winter that is somewhat different of course. New York City is roughly on the same latitude as Naples/Napoli in Southern Italy. Cologne is like Calgary (in Alberta, Canada) in that regard ...

Christian

 

Oh, and terminology aside, I am not really fond of such colored coins. Then again, those pieces look much better than the "painted" pieces you sometimes see. Sorry for the little OT excursion.

Christian

 

Ah - seee

Fortunatekly for youy that is not the only thing i collect

 

To each their own. A lot of people think they are artistry, some don't think that. This is why we have a wide range of coins for collection purposes. I think they are a lot more artistic than our respective countries turn out (US and German coinage isn't overwhelmingly artistic as of recent)>

 

I don't entirely disagree with that. Well, my preferred coins are circulation pieces (or circulating commems), and from time to time I buy surcharged collector coins too. So what you showed in the initial post would most probably not become part of my collection, but as designs they are attractive ...

Christian

 

I have always thought that the term "Darkside" just shows the phenomenal insularity of so many collectors who refuse to consider anything other than U.S. coins. There's a whole world out there, people, go exploring! And while you're at it, get on a jet and realize that not everybody speaks English. Conder tokens, English silver going back a thousand years, Canadian, British Empire, British Colonies, French jetons, Spanish colonial, Danish, Netherlands, Asian coins, ancient Greek and Roman coins, even U.S. Mint-produced coins for dozens of other countries, anybody who refuses to explore any of that has an ... Incredibly ... Closed ... Mind.

 

I think we're getting way too serious. It is a figure of speech, just as "slider" is for a borderline AU/ MS coin that could go either way. I never mean it in any derogatory sense, and to think otherwise is being awfully hypersensitive. It is a common slang term in the hobby. Goodness, some folks really need to relax more and not be so knee-jerk. I've been using that term for over 30 years, humorously, as I have always had some non-US coins throughout my collecting days. If I didn't think that way, would I have just spent $1000 on a set of Australian coins that I have always considered at the very pinnacle of quality in terms of mintage and artistry?

 

Yeah, I use the term and I am an American. I use it good naturedly since I know I fight an uphill battle. For some reason, maybe our geographic isolation versus most other countries, US collectors are extremely likely to only collect US coins.

I simply use the term as a joke to get US collectors to see how silly it is how they do not open up their minds to the whole world and 2600 years worth of material in it. I never mean it or have meant it as an insult to anyone. All coin collectors, be it only US, colorized, MS70 chasers, world collectors, ancient collectors, hoarders, I consider my friends. Its just some friends I have more to talk about than others.

 

+1 Very well said!!!

 

I have always been under the impression everyone is comprised of both the light side and the dark side, similar to the Chinese concepts of yin and yang.

You need both sides in order to be whole. So, by extension, it seems we should have both light side (coins of our own country) and dark side (foreign) coins in order to be a complete collector.

To just collect 1 type or the other leaves us incomplete.

I don't see it as a negative term, but rather as referring to just half of our collecting whole.

I agree with what some others have said about U. S. coins though. If they were the only kind to collect, my stack would be pretty small.

 

I was not aiming my comments specifically at you Morgandude11, or anybody else for that matter. But the term does have some pejorative connotations, whether anyone chooses to recognize it or not. (Dark intentions, dark humor, dark deeds, I need not belabor the point.) It's interesting that one of our brothers from the EU also finds it not so amusing. More important than the actual term, though, is that I think it might keep some people away from a whole world of rewarding collecting possibilities that are outside the borders of the United States and the last two centuries. And that is a whole world of light to me!

 

Sounds good, except that, from what I know, it's American collectors only who use that term. Some even extend that we-have-the-light-you-have-darkness concept a little and call Canadian coins "gray". And please don't say "lighten up" to me when non-Americans are supposed to be the Dark Side.

Christian

 

Even the US gets its fair share of that light. Well, maybe it is the heat these days after all (somebody else just mentioned that in a different topic); I did and do not specifically target anybody here. The topic was just a welcome opportunity for venting a little ...

Christian

 

Christian, I think its just an American joke, and you are taking offense since you aren't getting it. Us American collectors already consider European collectors more advanced since almost by definition you collect coins from many countries. Also, you are much more open to collecting ancients. Its just an inside joke us American collectors of world and ancient coins say to tease US only collectors effectively.

I sure hope you do not take offense by it. Like most of the world, humor does not translate well.

Chris

 

Same here--no defamatory intent whatsoever--term of endearment, and collector slang. I was not attempting to be politically incorrect--this is common terminology for world coins from US collectors, and I honestly believe that it is said with a fair degree of envy due to beautiful designs coming from non-US mints.