GTG - 1859-O - Seated Liberty Half - NGC

I figured you would go the route of the circumlocuted definition rather than the explicit one.

 

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Stop overreacting, my comment means that in current numismatic nomenclature, a straight graded coin is said to be in a problem free holder.

 

I was always talking about that, remember I said to 1916, you don’t get to change numismatic nomenclature.

 

I'm not overreacting. Your making a broad, sweeping statement that all straight graded coins are problem free and this is simply not the case.

 

That’s just silly. If you think that going to coin shows and gazing at coins you can’t afford gives you the same experience as buying & selling coins, you are wrong.

What’s next, you’ve been playing play money online poker so you have the same experience as a cash player?

 

It absolutely is correct, hence the term problem free holder.

 

Talk about arrogance...

I can talk with dealers. I can learn from numismatic educators. I can go to shows and look at slabbed $$$$$ coins. I can learn from well-versed collectors online. All without having to be a deep-pocketed “serious collector.” And that is what I did, because that was the only way I could afford to learn about coins.

Just as ludicrous as someone having 18 years of experience with the piano at 21, or 15 years of experience ice skating at 21, etc. My dad got me started at an early age. Is there a problem with that? Are coin collectors only considered to accrue experience when they can afford to spend $$$$ on coins?

Not really. I didn’t really start aggressively learning until about 5 years ago when I joined online forums and realized just how much I didn’t know (and there is still a lot to learn; numismatics is a never-ending subject). But I learn very quickly.

 

I can agree- buying and selling gives one experience but again, here we go with your broad, sweeping statements LeHigh. What about all the young people working at coin shops and on the bourse- are they inexperienced because they don't have deep pockets?

 

Then when asked, say you have been a serious collector for 5 years. It’s believable. The 14 years sounds ridiculous.

 

Lol, did you work at a coin shop?

How much more have you learned since you started buying and selling coins?

 

Never, but I've known a lot of YN's that have, and can hold their own with the best of us in regards to knowledge.

I can say I've learned a lot and gained a lot of experience through buying and selling over the past 10 years .

 

I was a small dealer for 2 years, and it was an utmost educational experience.

Believe it or not, one of the major things I learned was how to predict what a coin would look like in hand from a picture, how the photography setup affects the appearance of the coin, what kinds of damage are noticeable in hand, and what kinds of damage are really only noticeable in pictures. I predicted exactly how a coin would look 9 times out of 10 when buying off of eBay. It is from this why I am so confident in grading coins from pictures.

I loved temporarily owning pieces of history that I could not afford to keep, but I hated having to constantly think of them as a commodity.

 

That skill of predicting what a coin would look like based on photos was much more valuable back when Heritage photos sucked. I actually wrote a thread about it years ago, maybe I will try to dig up a link.

That said, the curveball is luster. Maybe it’s easier determining remaining luster on circulated coins by examining the recesses of lettering but trying to determine the quality of luster on gem/premium gem coins is extremely difficult.

Hey, don’t look now, but we have found some common ground.

 

There is much to learn in this hobby. Those that think they know it all in a short time will learn the truth as the years go by. You guys have a good evening.

 

As long as it is not completely overlit (drowns out luster) or completely underlit (no light to reflect the luster), there are enough clues which can be used to predict luster on even BU coins (works very well with raw standing Liberty Quarters).

 

Hey i think your a good person. I've been told to behave. These are my friends. When they let me know I've over stepped. It's easier to behave. Not a time to be badder

 

Good fight guys. I love when everyone makes some sense

 

Late to the party but I have no problem with the surfaces. I do think it’s overgraded personally. I’d call 35 40 on the best of days. But I’m with pcgs super conservative standards lately. As to the age thing I was a super serious collector from 7-12 and again from 15-19 I had no money but studied every book or old auction catalog I could find. I probably knew more facts and statistics then than I do now 30+ years later. Can I say I’ve collected coins for 35 years. Yes have I been serious for all of that no not at all. It’s been off and on. I’ll give the young and over enthusiastic a break as I been there myself. But there’s a time to listen to experienced voices too