What is the difference between a Beginner and an Advanced Numismatist?

Do you not really collect much anymore Doug?

 

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I certainly understand what you are saying, but the expert definition doesn't mean you cannot still learn or that one is a "know it all".

 

Hmm, more of a student of the art these days. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I hope this doesn't fall into the category of something you've answered a thousand times before, but what brought about that decision to no longer own any coins?

 

Much like Doug's answer, I'd say I'm intermediate on some aspects and novice on some. With the criteria outlined in the op's post, I don't plan on going higher than I am now, so I guess I'm intermediate for life, which I can live with.
Guy~

 

To me, a novice is someone who might be interested in collecting, but doesn't really know anything about our hobby. (I copied and pasted this)****

I am a novice, yet I don't consider it someone else's hobby...it is my hobby too. Love it, and am learning a lot from everyone here. I will never learn all there is about coins...but I will try to.
Where do you rate yourself, Physics Fan?

 

Let me boil it down - buying and selling is not a requirement.

I agree, however, that most every advanced numismatist should buy a little - its important to have a tangible link to what you're working with. If you choose to de-accession it from your collection, then anything could happen to it. It could be donated to a museum. Given to a charity. Traded for another coin. Selling for a profit is at the bottom of that list!

 

I love how the term 'expert' is thrown around so loosely.

There is a show I watch called 'pawn stars' which deals with this supposedly real pawn shop in las vegas, who have everything from cufflinks to an airplane for sale. I mean come on, can they capitalize it any more?

What I find funny is when the owners of the shop don't know the value or if an item is real in antiques, and the owners of the store happen to have an 'expert' in every field imaginable come and appraise the item, as well as determine if it is real. There is an expert friends they have from everything from military items, to maps, to revolutionary war items. And although they sound knowledgeable, I doubt they are 'experts'. I mean come on how many pawn shops really have an expert in every field of a subject?

They come in nicely dressed, and say "I'm an expert in revolutionary items." Funny. Reminds me of "expert village" which are these guys who call them selves 'expert magicians' (I do magic too) on youtube and their skills are laughable at best. They are not experts, they aren't even intermediate, I think the term is thrown around way too losely, and not just with numismatic, but with sleight of hand skills (magic), and other fields.

Some people I would consider True experts are:
Doug here, Mark Feld, Conder101, David.Q.Bowers, and Doug Winter.

 

Doug, I think you know more than what you think...you may not be an expert in EVERY field, but no one is. But I know you study numismatic heavily and it shows. I think every one of those people would deny it, but they are all humble like you.

I wish I knew just as half as you do!:hammer:

 

I'd like to agree with this but at least half of the experts in ancient coins that I know are dealers. They were (and usually are) also collectors of something at least to a degree but found that being a dealer allows them to handle many times more coins than being a collector. There are a few ancient coin dealers that are somewhat proficient in many different areas of ancient coinage but most have specialties and avoid coins that are way outside their area of comfort. I know more than one dealer who owns not one coin except for his sales stock and a couple who consider it inappropriate for them to compete with their customers for 'special' coins. They gather knowledge while the coins are in their hands but try not to make that too long a time.

I suggest it is wise to be wary of anyone who considers themself 'expert' in anything. After studying a subject for a period of time any student should reach a point where they form more new questions than they do answers. You may know more but you are more painfully aware of the things that you don't know and start to question old 'truths' that need to be reworked to see if they are as true as previously believed.

There are two basic types of people who associate themselves with coins. There are those who are concerned with the price and resale value of their coins and those who are concerned with the coins themselves. Certainly many of us dip a bit in both pots but I consider the acid test to be whether we would buy more if prices fell to 1960 levels or whether we would swear off touching those worthless scraps of metal.

Intermediate and slipping toward novice in too many ways...

 

It is very true that no one can be advanced in every field - this scale is intended to be more of a rough placement of where you are. Different areas you will definitely be more advanced - for example, I have no idea really much of anything about gold. But I think the true advanced numismatist has the ability to easily learn about other areas, or give good guesses, based on the knowledge he has in his primary areas. Cleaning hairlines will appear similar on most coins, and AT will appear similarly on coins of similar metals. The advanced numismatist has a strong underlying framework into which his numismatic knowledge fits.

I would say that I am a very strong Intermediate numismatist, to answer your question MichaelDura, according to my scale. I have a broad range of knowledge covering many topics, and 12 years or so actively studying this hobby. I have a couple of areas that I am specializing in, and I know a great deal about those areas - Franklin half dollars being my main specialty. I enjoy posting in-depth discussions to chat boards, and I have presented my Franklin set on the NGC Registry - and won a Best Presented set award for it. I would like to think I'm advanced, but maybe I'm a borderline Intermediate/Advanced.

There are definitely a few experts I can think off the top of my head - David Lange and Roger Burdette to name a couple I know.

 

And I think that's really one of the keys to being an expert - you don't think you are! The expert is someone that everyone else recognizes to be at the top of their field. A self-proclaimed expert is practically worthless in my book. Even the advanced numismatists are recognized as advanced more by their peers and students than by themselves. The advanced and expert numismatist are the ones everyone else looks up to - they don't necessarily think of themselves as the experts.

 

All I can say is DITTO.

 

It's a real shop. I've been in there many, many times, and long before the show started. But I do agree with the expert part of it. I think History Channel finds the supposed experts, not the shop owners.
Guy~

 

LOL. That was a good one, Lehigh!

 

p.s. I consider myself an advanced collector within my area of specialty. However, I also recognize that there are many areas of numismatics that I am hardly even a novice.