Update to "Confessions of a Numismatics Sinner"

Ya really! How thoughtless!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Well, it pays to use the right tools for the job. I only have 8 fountain pens, and only two of them have nibs capable of producing lines thin enough for the task at hand, my German-made Lamy 2000 with it's tiny XF-14K gold nib, and my Japanese-made Pilot Custom 823 with a F-18K gold nib.

Here is a picture I just took of my Pilot Custom 823 resting on one of my favorite books (the Bible for Florida lawyers).




I've been writing exclusively with fountain pens now for 15 years. I even still have and use my first fountain pen, a pre-1997 Pelikan M200 that was gifted to me by a friend. Fountain pens are just awesome to use. Doesn't everybody use fountain pens?

 

Looks great. Im still more of a fan of the flips in an album, but I like this too.

 

looks good sallent! i'm reorganizing/reshooting/cataloging my stuff currently. it looks like a coin bomb went off on two different desks right now. i'm still using 2x2 clear pvc flips, and putting the coins in boxes similar to yours.

i have a question: does it matter what type of box i put my coin boxes in? i know wood can cause toning. what about plastic? is there any danger of plastics causing damage to coins that they aren't even in direct contact with?

so @Sallent , what do you put your coin boxes in?

 

I don't consider toning to be damage. Considering probably most if not all ancient silver coins have crystallization to some degree and/or corrosion to some extent (sometimes visible and sometimes not), yet they've survived the ravages of time, I doubt a paper envelope and a cardboard box will defeat them.

When at home the cardboard box will be in a wooden cabinet/drawer with some desiccant, and when at the bank, a steel box with some desiccant.

 

Interesting thread. I'm changing my storage system from clear flips to Lighthouse coin trays, aka "Lightboxes." I'm having to overhaul my cataloguing system, so reading about yours has been timely and helpful.

The only thing I would do differently is to record the cataloguing information in a digital file of labels and tape the label to the envelope so that there is always a backup digital copy of the information I've collected, which might come in handy in case I need to change cataloging methods again.

But I will concede that printed labels don't quite have the charm of handwritten envelopes, esp. when elegant fountain pens are involved!

 

I would not trust myself with a fountain pen. Talk about a mess!

 

I traveled extensively throughout my career. Fountain pens and airplanes did not mix, so I never grew an affinity for them. Besides, I always lost pens and/or every hotel had pens in your room. I appreciate the quality and the coolness, just never got into them.

 

I've thought about switching to paper envelopes too. But I've spent so much time and money on the Saflips and page method that I doubt I want to switch to another method. If I do it may be trays, I do like to touch them sometimes... the coins I mean.

 

Thankfully modern science has addressed that problem. Both the Pilot Custom 823 and my Conid Bulkfiller have a double chamber and an internal seal that can cut off the ink in the main chamber so that there is no ink to spill in a presurized environment. One does it via a modified internal piston system, and the other is a vacuum filler system.

However, science doesn't come cheap. I'm too embarrassed to even mention the combined price of those two pen. Needless to say, it could buy you a few RR denarii.

 

Tell me about it. I am, as you know, another FP user. However, I only own and use Montblanc pens. (I have more than 20) I could buy a serious number of very cool denarii for what they cost.

 

I'll take the denarii!

 

I write a lot. Sometimes for hours a day. I need instruments that will not cause fatigue. Using these fine, well balanced, instruments allows me to complete my work with a minimum of pain. That is worth a few denarii to me.

 

As much as I like fountain pens I can't bring myself to buying them. I do like to write but its a lost art now with computers, tablets, and whatever else there is. Not too many people handwrite things anymore, its a bit of a shame. I don't know though, if I see one I really like and the price is somewhat reasonable I may get one.

 

Same here in regards to the writing qualities. Also, I've had a few Montblanc pens before. They are not bad at all, a little too overpriced in my opinion though, but definitely nice pens.

I would still have Montblancs if it wasn't for the fact that their nibs are a little too stubby for my liking, which is why these days I'm mostly using Japanese fountain pens. A Fine Japanese nib writes like a western XF, and an XF Japanese nib is like nothing you'll ever see from a western fountain pen.

What few Western fountain pens I do still have, a Pelikan M200, a Pelikan M800, a Conid Bulkfiller, the Lamy 2000, and a Conklin Word Gauge Limited Edition, I've had their nibs ground to a finer finish by a nib expert.

Also, I don't do cartridges and have a large supply of bottled inks, so all my pens are either piston fillers or vacuum fillers, which leaves out a lot of nice pens out there as they don't meet this requirement for me.

 

... engineer ...

Yah, I need to erase my initial ideas every now and then

 

I had to set up to one with a larger eraser...too many mistakes!

 

LOL, you guys have no CONFIDENCE in yourselves! I only use a PEN! Yeah, it might be a cheap hotel confiscation with only a 1/4 amount of ink in the tube, but I use a PEN!

 

Ahahaha => bridge fails, hundreds killed because the dude was too proud to erase the decimal-error

Gandalf, Lawyer ... buy yourselves a pencil and man-up

I can't afford to waste my time writing in big frilly-font (my life is a constant battle of proposing "sound" ideas and then morphing them into the next generation of "great ideas")

Mining engineering ... ummm, it's a constant fight ... deeper, cheaper and "safer"? (very stressful career)

... oops sorry ... I got a bit too into my job (my bad)

 

This is what you mechanical pencil lovers need. The last mechanical pencil you'll ever need to buy...It will last a whole lifetime. I've had one for 10 years. Best mechanical pencil I've ever used. All metal, well designed, and bullet proof. Get a Rotring 600.