Why does it seem that the older numismatists

Great post - yes I am over 50 - no pony tail & wear a ball cap outside if not wearing my cowboy or safari hat. While trying to age gracefully, I do have my moments ....

 

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Hey, if you want to talk to nice people, go collect stamps.

 

By and large I have picked up helpful knowledge on grading and errors and the fastidious varieties, gradually getting used to abbreviations and terminology. Glib answers don't bother me unless I really wanted to know why. The one remark that makes me cringe is "grease." You might as well say "junk," when this a coin you thought was interesting.

 

I had to LOL at the ponytail comment. I never understood old men with pony tails (or young men for that matter). Maybe they are trying to relive their childhoods? Maybe they are stuck in the hippie-age of the 1960s? Maybe the are just too lazy to get a haircut? To each his own I guess...

For the record, I'm 36, so somewhere in between YN and "old curmudgeon fart"...

 

I just wish I still had enough hair to grow a ponytail.

 

Not sure its the older ones. How can you tell their age from an avatar? But I agree about the generally negative attitude.
As an example, coin cleaning. Its a common subject. Yes, the general rule is, don't clean. But it can be done, and is done. Even offered as a service by at least one major TPG.
But, when you bring it up, you learn very little about methods, outcomes and acceptability.
Cleaning is just my example, but the negativity is there.

 

There are more than a few that go into depth on the subject. Have you tried the search function?

 

In my mind, the big distinction is conservation vs. cleaning. When I see the word "cleaning" in a numismatic sense, I think of an inexperienced collector improperly handling the coin with the intent of making it "better". NCS is a conservation service with experts trained in the handling of coins.

 

Define "OLD" I am 62 and I consider that old but really don't care what others think. I have been told on here to read before your buy a coin research the subject before commenting if you don't know. learn how to grade coins that will help you determine value of the coin, quit typing in caps. I have dealt with these kind of people and you forget these people have been around the block you can learn from them. I had an old conductor who chewed me out every trip on the railroad my boots weren't polished, didn't carry my switch key right, He would say your never going to make an engineer handling a train like that, good thing we aint haul eggs, your beating me to death back here in the caboose. When he retired, I MISSED the ole guy, allot of guys didn't want to work with him I did cause he was going to turn me in for rule violations. later when I became an ole head I heard myself YELLING to the young ones some of things he use to say to me.

 

I'm 38 and with you in that spot. And I have three young sons who adore me right now, will think I'm dumb in 10 years, but eventually come back to adoring me in 20 years.

 

What did you call him? LOL!

 

So long as you didn't make the brakemen in the caboose spill their whiskey, while playing cards, you were okay...

 

I'm doing my level best to change that particular truism.

 

You nailed it

 

I do too, at least the first 5-6 times the old duffer says it.

 

As one of the more senior participants in this seemingly circus atmosphere, I've enjoyed the balance of nonsense to no-nonsense interaction between those seemingly minimally informed and those who've probably interacted in this venue for an excessive period. Dependent upon the subject of discussion, I probably have been both. I constantly personally interact with both extremes while trying to objectively guide individuals through the morass of life. This forum is generally my escape from reality, where I can read naive questions posed, and wait for what is expected to be a challenging response, understanding both perspectives as an objective debate moderator. My philosophy in life is to assist those receptive to objective input, and enable those less receptive to personally learn from experience. Both perspectives are enjoyable!!

JMHO

 

I joined this forum when I was 28 and am now 35. I've taken breaks here and there but I've always enjoyed coming back and reading various posts in most of the available areas here. IMO this place including the "older folk" is fairly tame.

Whether you're young, middle aged, old, doesn't matter. There's a certain, unwritten rule/expectation that you try to do some of your own research and legwork. Some of the rudeness is likely a result of people just being lazy. Not all, but some. Some people like to post just to post something. I wouldn't start a new thread unless I thought it would be fairly thought provoking or at least informational. I agree that this site is not dedicated to newbies.
That being said, if someone is kind enough to share their time with a newbie that may or may not be here tomorrow, they could help that person get up to speed very quickly. Some stuff you're better off doing your own research on your own time. A forum search here can be very valuable.

If you share pics and people are rude about it, well.... not everybody in life is gonna be nice or wants to be your friend. Not even here. Some people may be having a bad day and take it out on a poster. Also, many times typed words come across harsher without having any vocal inflection. It seems like sarcasm is missed over half the time on forums often leading to unnecessary confrontation and unintended feelings.
To add to this, as others have stated, its likely in the nature of people that post here. Re-read the name of this place and think about who likely comes here. Let it truly sink in. lol It's rare people that I dig but there's side effects. This forum is probably not the largest collection of socialites on the net. There's going to be the occasional awkward moment and off handed comment. Other than that, I'd say there's a reasonable expectation for both sides to be grown ups about things. This includes the person who feels offended. Usually not that big of a deal but anybody can turn it into one.

 

Advice and coins are somewhat alike. The value is what you place on them.

 

Could be the nephew was trying to make up for a bad buy he had previously made or was just trying to low ball you to to make himself look good to his uncle. You never can tell what was going on in family dynamics sometime. Just saying there is always 2 sides to a coin.