This is a "very rough draft" of an idea I've been kicking around in my head for about a month. Please have a read if you have time and give me some feedback. I'm just looking to see if there is any interest in this idea or if I need to squash it now and forget it. If I have a good reception, I will take some time to refine it and run it by the mods. Any and all comments, good or bad, are welcome. Also any ideas to refine it will be considered carefully. Thanks all! I am wondering if any newer error/variety coin collectors would like to join me in a "research project" I have been thinking about for some time. I normally go do research on errors/varieties as I find something or if I see a coin in a thread that is interesting. Over the past couple of years, I have learned a lot doing this, but I have been thinking about picking one type of error or variety per week, and researching and studying this one type. I would love for as many people as possible to take part in the discussion, but I would like to have maybe 10 or so beginner error/variety collectors to be a part of a, for lack of a better term, weekly class. I want to state up front that I am FAR FROM AN EXPERT. This will be a learning experience for me also. However, I will only use facts, from reputable sources, in the subject matter. I will not be "teaching" things I "think". I would select an error or variety type, research it using a few different sources, compare the information from the sources, and present what I learned in summary. I would also have links to the sites I used for my research. I would present the information and links on, let's say, Sunday. Then, we could all discuss the subject and check out the links. Then on, let's say, Friday I could post a relatively short "quiz" (maybe 20 questions). The questions would be true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, ect. You would have a couple of days to PM me the answers. Then at the end of 4 weeks, whoever had the best average of the 4 "quizzes" gets a prize. The prize would also be a "test" of sorts. I could take a roll of cents from a brick and take one coin out, "load" the roll with an error or variety coin, and see if the winner catches the error/variety. We could keep going until the interest fades. I think this could be a good way to introduce different errors/varieties to beginners while offering a small incentive to learn about the different types of errors/varieties. This, at this point, is just a thought rolling around in my head. I am just trying to see how it would be received and if there are 10 beginner collectors that would like to take part. I have learned so much from you guys & would like to do my part in helping some folks out. It also seems like a fun idea.
I like the idea of this - and I would love to participate in some way. I've been thinking about this being the "focus" of my own coin-specific website, once I get back from New Zealand.
I know I am not a beginner collector, but if you need assistance with any write-ups or explanations, I am available to help out in any way.
I would drop the "weekly class" idea and simply move forward with your project. While it is noble to want to help beginners, I think this idea would be best served by posting your research and allowing anyone wishing to participate to do so on a per-week basis. Basically, do this for you and if others wish to learn from your efforts, that's great, but if not you're still the better for it.
That sounds insanely fun! and trust me if your far from an expert, im 20x farther than that! (So basically im in if you decide to do it!)
I agree. Unless of course this is something you are planning to do elsewhere and charge for. Just post your articles and let the students and others discuss them. In a venue like this, there's no need for formality or strict schedules.
My opinion - do what you want to do but drop the class part. I also think the quiz thing would be better served as a contest. I should add that I'm not a error/variety collector and most likely not contribute but would read information threads on errors and varieties.
I don't think you should tie a weekly class to a contest at the end of any specific number of weeks. The reason is that you may not have the same participants every week. What happens if someone is ill or has to be away for their job? Those who are able to participate every week will have a definite advantage over those who cannot. As for me, I won't be participating because I'm an old fart who is set in his ways, and there might very well be some weekly subjects that hold absolutely no interest for me. By the way, if you're determined to hold classes, it might be a good idea to check with Peter and the other mods to see if these threads can be pinned to the top of one of the forums from week-to-week. Otherwise, they could get buried very quickly. Chris
Thanks all for your insight so far. I am not dead set on a strict, class like schedule. I just thought of that as a way to determine who would get to search the "prize roll." Should I squash that idea all together? I thought that part would be fun...and helpful. I know, when I found my first DD, it really turned on a light switch.
Isn't what you are "proposing" exactly what occurs on a daily basis on this and many other forums? People posts coins and other people talk about or discuss the coin. No class required and participation is optional.
Have some kind if quiz or contest at the end or just pick randomly from people who want to participate.
I understand what your saying Lee, but no. I was thinking of something like a weekly topic. Something like stutter strikes, split planchets, class 4 doubled dies, fold over strikes, PIDT, ect. There are a lot of error types that I haven't, and I'm sure a few others haven't, researched. Just a little more than, "Hey I found this. What is it." I have learned a lot from you guys this way, but some of the error types are rare and aren't gonna pop up everyday.
