Yes, I've been collecting for years and I probably should know this, but I don't so I'm going to go ahead and ask. What do people do with the Krause numbers? A lot of times I read a post on here and someone identifies a coin and then gives the number. I have no idea what to do with that info. If I had a digital Krause would I be able to look it up by that?
Giving the KM number allows the person to: 1. Look it up in their edition of KM. What, you collect world coinage and don't own a KM? Shame on you. Its the lingua franca of world coin collectors in English speaking countries at the very least. 2. Allows others to immediately know exactly what coin you own. Again, its the lingua franca of the hobby. If you know the KM number of any coin you own, I would always put it on the flip for future reference.
I do own a KM (print copy), I just don't know what to do with the number. I just use the book's alphabetic and denominational system to search. How would I use the number to find the coin in the book?
While I don't really use the Krause catalogs much, the Schön world catalog uses KM numbers (as a reference in addition to its own numbers) too. Using such numbers is quite helpful when it comes to swapping for example ... Christian
I thought the coins were listed in KM by their KM numbers. When I have a KM number, its easier to look up a coin than trying to find it through denomination/date/etc.
Not really, a lot of the time the KM numbers do not run in order in the book. So if all you had was the KM number, you could sometimes search for hours and still never find your coin. To me, in Krause, the easiest way to find a coin is by country and denomination. When you don't know those things it gets much more difficult.
But having a definitive number lets you know when you have found the right one, no? IDK about you guys, but sometimes when looking up a coin in a series I am unfamiliar with, there seems to be numerous examples of seemingly identical coinage. I love having the KM number to know I have found the right one. Yeah, sometimes the seller had it wrong, but I start with the number I am given.
I agree there are times, especially with coins that don't use Western style letters and numbers, when it can be hard to tell one coin apart from another based on the photos. Sometimes they look exactly the same and it's only the size that is different, or there's a minor variety. I'm not here to say the numbers aren't worth using; I just don't know how to use them.
It also makes it easier to search dealer price lists or go through stock boxes when the coins are identified by KM numbers and your want list lists the KM numbers you need.
ff-topic: HD, why are you still only a Junior Member? BTW: who changes those titles? I went from coin hoarder to coin collector over the past few days. As far as KM numbers are concerned, they only help to organize the coins within a specific country or issuing body. We're still on our own when it comes to IDing the coin at the beginning. That's why I joined CoinTalk; to ask questions, get informed, be one of the cool guys. Little did I know that I'd be drawn and quartered for assuming obvious assumptions. But I guess it's all part of the hazing ritual. :devil:
Guess the "default" titles refer to one's participation (number of posts). But you can also change your title: http://www.cointalk.com/profile.php?do=editprofile (see "Custom User Title"). Christian
I'm not saying having the number is a bad thing, it isn't. I'm just saying that sometimes trying to look a coin up by KM number alone is very difficult.
I was wondering that too actually. I was going to customize it but couldn't figure out how to change it. I'll have to look at that link that Chris posted.
I have the digital versions of Kraus, it is easy for me, just go to the country and search for the number .. you can use numista to search, it is faster than flipping through the book pages. http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pays.php most other online coin catalog sites have similar functionality.
For the print version, if you know the country and denomination just run your finger down the columns. Within a specific denomination the numbers are generally in date order sequence. I believe the digital versions are searchable so the number should lead you directly to the picture.
