Featured [Ancients] Announcing 2019 CoinTalk Scholar Award

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Curtisimo, Jan 2, 2019.

  1. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I would love to see a best of 2018 thread but have no use for the contest idea. For that matter, I'd rather the whole list were less award driven and more aimed at helping the new folks (and ignoring the trolls). I do hope that we get a lot of lean and meaty posts in 2019 as a result of the contest but we really do not need wholesale cut and paste threads that use the theory everyone else does not know how to find Wikipedia.

    Another helpful post category would be to post educational questions rather than just 'Is it Real?' or 'Should I buy?' If one who really does not know and is curious about something, a simple question could bring out good answers on that point which would add up to something of real value to us all. I retain my long standing opinion that the definition of 'good' questions changed with the invention of search engines. When I was in school, we could not type in two words and find the answers to so many questions. Now, educators no longer need to answer who was the Roman emperor in 30 AD. Anyone who wants to know can find out with a click or two. Asking questions that Google has not covered yet is getting harder but it is all that keeps us ahead of being robots.
     
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  3. CoinBlazer

    CoinBlazer Numismatic Enthusiast

    @Curtisimo Your a genius!
    I for sure don't and will not have any ancient coinage threads under consideration, but as a beginner in ancients, reading these threads will be super useful!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    LaCointessa and Curtisimo like this.
  4. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    I understand that there are certain members that tend to shy away from "contests" and I can understand why... truly I can. However I think we need to abandon the notion that just because there is a "winner" that means everyone else lost. In a game among friends everyone wins, especially when everyone learns something. I will not ask anyone to participate in that aspect who doesn't want to do so (I will PM those folks in late November).

    Contests or games can add a level of interest to initiatives that might fall off the radar otherwise. When you ask a reader to actively participate in a game they are more likely to read than skim. The CIT showed this I believe. In the past we have had threads where we have tried to compile a lot of data on beginner topics (attribution, authenticity, good vendors etc.). How often do those posts get referenced to questions or updated? How often do good threads get buried on the second page before most people see them? I hope to help with that on this thread and to provide some fun and recognition to boot!

    This is a fantastic observation and I completely agree. In fact I think that interesting questions such as you mention happen in the body of a thread as often as the OP. That is why I also encourage members to link to specific posts that spark this kind of value.

    Really there are few set guidelines on what can be nominated as educational here. If you think it has great value let's capture it on the OP list!

    ..........................​

    I am also open to suggestions on how you all wish to see the threads indexed? Right now I am thinking by category (Medieval Europe, Roman, Greek, Far East, India etc.) and put the newest threads at the top with a note about who posted it and on what date. See OP
     
  5. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    What a wonderful idea!
     
    Curtisimo likes this.
  6. LaCointessa

    LaCointessa Well-Known Member

    @Curtisimo is a knowledge and fun idea factory!!!! (and I feel like Ethel or Lucy trying to keep up with what's coming off the assembly line).
     
    Parthicus, Ryro, Justin Lee and 3 others like this.
  7. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I agree. I do writeups because I excited about the coin and want to share what I learned, not because I might be rewarded in some way.
     
  8. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    My sincere apologies @David@PCC I only just now realized this was a question pertaining to there not being a Post# in your screenshot.

    I assume you are using a cell phone? If so my iPhone doesn't show the Post# either when in portrait mode. If I turn it sideways into landscape mode I can see the Post#. See below screenshots.

    In portrait
    IMG_7368.JPG

    In landscape mode (simply turned to side for my iPhone)
    IMG_7369.JPG
    Your post #5 is shown now! Hope that helps.
     
    David@PCC likes this.
  9. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Yet another reason that such content deserves recognition and... yes... an occasional sign of appreciation ;)
     
  10. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Curtis, I realize you are a competition-loving kind of guy but honestly I'm already dreading the added sense of pressure this brings.

    I'm a recovering overachiever and don't want to backslide into "prove yourself" mode :sorry:.
     
  11. Justin Lee

    Justin Lee I learn by doing

    I see it more as recognition... Showing value and a way to say, "hey *member*, we know it takes time and effort to put together that great post, and we're excited that you're excited about the topic, and that excitement is contagious and adds to the community... Thank you, *member*!"

    And a way to capture and track these special nuggets over a 12-month period is a great by-product ta boot!

    I say everyone should just keep on keepin' on... Let everything happen naturally. It's a year long celebration and many people share such great things, game or no game. BUT if you read something and learned something from it... Consider posting it back here? Focus is less on having to create great posts, but identifying great posts by others. :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2019
    Cucumbor, Bayern, Alegandron and 2 others like this.
  12. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    To be honest, I’ll probably forget that this competition is a thing until December
     
    Bing and TIF like this.
  13. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    There is no pressure @TIF and I'm sorry that it has stressed you. It's meaning is fun among friends. Having your thread indexed here is no different than having it featured.

    You are under no obligation to participate in the competition portion if you do not wish to and no one would even know if you opt out. I will index all nominated threads here and pick a few to feature in the competition portion.

    I will ask permission via PM to use a thread in the competition and you can pass on it then. No pressure.

    My guess is more than a few members like games / competitions. They bring out so much good and showcase things that are usually overlooked.

    Take the Eastern / Medieval / Byzantine entries in the the CIT. Those types of threads often get less than 10 replies even when they are fantastically researched and written. In the CIT tournament those coins got more readers and comments because people took the time to take an interest in an area outside thier collection due to the game. I can honestly see only good here??
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2019
  14. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    I do love it when attention is drawn to something I don't collect! :D

    Having it indexed will hopefully be more valuable than having it Featured (wish there was an index of Featured threads!).
     
    Curtisimo likes this.
  15. David@PCC

    David@PCC allcoinage.com

    Yes that's all it was. Thanks!
     
    Curtisimo likes this.
  16. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Leaving out worthy posts for any reason will lessen the value of the final list of threads. You can let people choose only from competitors but you need to list the worthy non-entries from anyone who wishes to opt out.
     
    Curtisimo and Justin Lee like this.
  17. LaCointessa

    LaCointessa Well-Known Member

    With all due respect...I think that if a person is not wanting to be in a competition of any sort and wishes not to have their article which was already read and enjoyed by us included in the group upon which we may vote to receive an award, compelling that article to be included may cause the author to not write an article or to write an article and not share it with us. For that reason, I like Curtisimo's idea to allow CTers to register their preference not to be included in the competition part. Thank you.
     
    Bayern, Curtisimo and Clavdivs like this.
  18. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    I hope there will be room for a new collector somehow ... Perhaps a secondary award (and equally prestigious) for a new voice within the forum. Otherwise it's a closed group and that is not growing the hobby at all.. for instance this year I would say that @Pavlos has been awesome ..@LaCointessa is also pretty cool - amongst others!

    I hope we move beyond the circle we know...
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2019
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  19. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Man, you would think I was handing out poison candy on Halloween :mask: instead of trying pat my friends on the back and give away free stuff :banghead::eek::D

    While I don't have all the details of exactly how the recognition / competition will play out I can tell you all that you have my word that I will do all in my power to ensure that:
    1. The proceedings will be handled with care to ensure that it does not cause any undue stress on any of our valued members.
    2. All those who take their time to enrich the rest of us with thier numismatic knowledge will be appropriately honored for thier contributions according to thier preferences.
    3. Education, fun and a desire to enhance participation on the forum will be at the forefront of the efforts here.
    What I will likely do is post a separate recognition thread at the end of the year for several of the threads I think are stand outs in each of the categories (Roman, Greek, Medieval, Chinese etc.) and thank the posters for thier exceptional efforts on behalf of myself and the forum. The compition will then be held only with authors who agree via PM to have their threads entered.

    Hopefully all of you know me well enough by now to trust me that I will do this thing right... or at least as well as I can, for the betterment of the board.

    Not a bad suggestion @Clavdivs . Perhaps a special award or shout out for the new member (say less than 2 years) whose post/thread is of high quality. Interesting... I will give this some additional thought. :)

    Also remember the value / grade / popularity of the coins discussed will be largely irrelevant for which threads to index. It's all about educational value and driving interesting discussion. Even good questions that drive a valuable discussion as Doug pointed out are fair game. So in that way the newer collectors are driving the high quality content just as much as the seasoned collectors.

    Okay, maybe we just need a coin to help us get distressed and on a positive track? Here is a coin of Divius Claudius Gothicus I got in a big bag of unattributed LRBs for Christmas.
    Coin3.jpg
    Beautifully ugly isn't she. It's been a while since I have had unattributed coins so these have been fun :)
     
    Parthicus, Bayern, randygeki and 7 others like this.
  20. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I'm offended by your snobbish eagle holding her head straight up in the air. Everyone knows eagles are regal but they should limit ostentatious displays of ego to raising their beak just a little like the one below.
    rq2177bb2932.jpg
    I hope this is not my most worthy post of the year. No promises.:angelic:
     
    Parthicus, Curtisimo, Bayern and 7 others like this.
  21. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    I thinks its a great idea
     
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