Collector vs Numismatist

"Hysterectomist"

Chris

 

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I am not going to repeat what others acclaimed as the correct definition, but as a collector of ancients, I very frequently come across wrongly attributed coins and idiotic comments about rarity from PROFESSIONAL 'numismatists'
I rest my case.

Frans

 

As long as folks don't see you as a schmuck.......

 

A coin collector is to a numismatist like a reader is to a scholar or a music lover to a musician. You can be one or both but neither is a requisite of the other.

 

Well, it is a good thing that I am all of the above then.

 

I consider myself a collector....a nerdy collector .. not any sort of numismatist.. my wife says she loves me for it .. she laughs at me a lot. I think that if there is laughter in your house you're on the right track. Those who are stuffy about the definition are probably not happy..

 

I have always been "stuffy" about definitions. It comes with my profession. I can also tell you that not only am I happy, so is my home. These are not incompatible at all in my experience. Maybe they are for some.

 

Orfew .. I respect you and admire your collection. That is a fact. I have also enjoyed being a spectator as your goals have evolved. I have enjoyed it all - thank you. I certainly have respect for you and all here. But my point is that I am a mere collector - not a numismatist - far from it. I also think that some here would gladly call themselves numismatist when really they are merely collectors - like me . So what is the difference? Sorry for being stuffy... but are you a numismatist?

 

A coin 'Collector' who studies coins is a 'Numismatist', but a 'Numismatist' who doesn't collect coins is not a 'Collector'. IMHO

 

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. There are times when I am a numismatist. This might involve tracking down a reference and then spending the next several days or weeks examining or re-examining coins that are online or in my own collection. This might involve a numismatic mystery. This could be the ordering of the coins within a particular issue or trying to figure out the iconography behind a coin. This may involve reading of hundreds of pages of material and thinking about the possibilities that emerge. I guess that being a numismatist is a behavior for me-it is something I do. A collector is what I am. Sorry if that sounds obtuse but it is the most succinct explanation I can think of at the moment. I think we all find our joy in this hobby in our own ways. Who am I to say that your definition of being a collector is better or worse than my own?

Sorry for the long winded answer. What I am trying to say is if calling yourself a collector instead of a numismatist makes you happy then why should you not do so? There are many paths to enjoyment in this hobby and we all find our own way. the mythologist Joseph once said "follow your bliss". I really do not think we can do any better than that.

 

I appreciate the reply. We all love the coins, the history, and spend countless hours finding out more about them - we all do it. But I am no closer to determining what a numismatist really is... "stuffy" as it may be... help me out...

 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."

Wm. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene II, 1-2

 

I see myself an Indiana Jones villian personally.

 

That's totally true, but sometimes we use titles to define something beyond what it means (equally some are underestimated). And I wanted to clear how community defines it

 

I think Wikipedia sums it up rather nicely - 'A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin numismatis, genitive of numisma). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers and scholars who use coins in object-based research.'

It goes without saying that not all collectors are numismatists and not all numismatists are collectors. I believe @Suarez has it right.

 

I collect, buy, sell, speculate, study, and enjoy numismatics. I consider myself to be an apprentice numismatist/collector and will never consider myself as a professional.

 

Well, I consider myself one or the other!!!!!!!

 

Pat Lawrence once has written me: "You are not a mere dilettante, except that you study for the delight of it (diletto) and as a lover (amateur) oft it". That has made me proud.

Jochen

 

Me too. It happens all the time. I guess I'm a numismatist.

 

Do eye rolls count? I get a lot of those.