Are we all nuts?

I saw a documentary years ago on the Treasury Department. People send in severely damaged currency... bills that were buried for years, in fires, eaten by pets, chemical damage, eaten by termites, money encased in concrete, etc.. You name it, it's happened. Treasury Dept. employees meticulously go through and recover (put back together) as much as they can (51%?) and sent the owner a check for the amount. Pretty cool!

 

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No different than Trekkies at their conventions or all the superhero wannabes at Comic Con every year - the numismatists have a bit more dignity and self respect, though...

 

Coin collectors? No, pro horseplayers - same demographic (95% grumpy old men knowledgeable about their specific 'investment hobby')

 

Uh, please note the name I chose here on CT...

 

Roses are red,

Violets are blue. I'm a collector,

and so are you.........

 

I really enjoyed reading your OP and all the funny comments. I'd like to contribute but I'm no coin expert, so I can't. But I can give you the Rant Off Switch that you were looking for cause I'm good with Photoshop!



But I think you should use this setting for next time. Much easier and free license.

 

Don't worry about it, neither am I!

I'm saving those images for next time......Outstanding!

You're now an official member of this club!

 

I introduce the topic by telling people I'm a numismatist. That is usually followed by the question: "what is that?" which I use as my invitation to introduce them to the wonderful world of coin collecting.

I also mention that my husband is a philatelist but that usually evokes a strange look, like he's weird or something.

 

I would really appreciate and like it if you would post photos of what you feel is your 10 rarest error coins. From what I've seen laid out on a counter top you'd probably have a difficult time choosing but it would be a treat for most, if not all, of us on Coin Talk. Thank you.
edit. Yes, we're nuts, in the best way to be so.

 

Yeah, contrary to numismatists, those philatelists are nuts ... But at least he is not a scripophile.

 

You guys are making me nuts with these big fancy words that I have to keep looking up!

 

No doubt in my mind, those names hurt the hobby's. I don't know which is worse, I'm a coin collector or I'm a numismatist!

 

Hey if I didn't have hobbies I'd out in bars chasing wild women.

 

LOL!

One may not be worse than the other but I can't count the number of times the conversation ended right after the words "coin collector." At least with numismatist, you get a few more sentences in; and then watch them try to say "nü-ˈmiz-mə-tist."

 

It's not weird! It's not like he collects stamps or something...

 

I have yet to personally meet a single person in my everyday life who has an interest in coins, collecting, numismatics or anything. I have of course met some at coin shows or coin clubs, but not a single one through my various jobs or social circles or anywhere in the wild.

I thought I had come close once when a now former co-worker started talking (over Instant Messaging) about coins that he had inherited from his family and he actually referred to "Walking Liberty Halves" and other types. But then he started talking about how he doesn't understand why someone would leave a bunch of stuff to someone else that just sits in a safe, then their children get it and it sits in a safe, etc., etc. I actually understood his point, but it became obvious that he had just inherited things that he was told have value, so he just let it all sit in a safe - he didn't research, collect further or have any broader interest in the hobby. That was the closest I have ever come to a personal random serendipitous coin experience. Of course Instant Messaging may not exactly qualify as "personal."

As for the term "numismatics," it just sounds too pretentious to me for mixed company. The only time the word has ever come up in conversation is when others were making fun of it. The conversations went something along the lines of "do you know there are these fancy terms for coin and stamp collecting? I guess they exist to make dorks feel smarter about their pathetic hobbies." I decided to stay out of those conversations.

Plus, anyone who has studied for the GRE will immediately come across these terms in the vocabulary list. This does give them a little pseudo-intellectual vibe for those who haven't run across the terms before. I personally don't mind the terms numismatics or philatelics, but I've met others who find them extremely highfalutin.

I have only taken part in serious coin conversations online, mostly at this forum (coin shows and clubs don't really produce any either). I have yet to have a serious coin discussion in person with anyone. It sometimes feels like a secret life.

 

No one at our local watering hole or social events has studied for, let alone taken, the GRE. You clearly move among a different caliber of people at your social events. haha. As far as highfalutin, could be but it's all in the delivery.

 

I would too.... Except that means I would have to be able to stay away past 8:30.

 

Wait just one second..... Do you mean to say you spent three one ounce gold eagles as though they were random pocket change??? Three $1400.00 random pocket change mistakes???