This is a site for coin collectors...

It’s not a 911 site for coin accidents and maybe it’s high time we started telling some people that lest we turn into one. Capisce, paisans?

 

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I don't understand what your trying to say..

I thought this forum was for anyone interested in coins.

Didn't you start somewhere at some point in your life?

 

Censorship is bad. If you don't like the thread, don't go into it, like the television programs you don't watch.

 

Is this a site for experienced knowledgeable coin collectors and dealers only, or are new folks who don't know much welcome? Stupid questions are a part of inviting new folks in, as one who has asked his share of stupid questions and who only joined last year, after lurking for some years before that, I note an interesting dichotomy between folks who are dismissive of newbie questions and concerns (sometimes very harshly so), and those who are not. Personally I wish that people who find newbie questions distasteful would just ignore them. This place is a great source of information, wisdom and coin knowledge - and in order to spread that knowledge it needs to be shared with folks who are ignorant, like me. Anyway, I appreciate you all, and thanks for posting this Eddie - good discussion!

 

WHy would you do anything other than that?

 

So this doesn't turn into what you're obviously clueless it could turn into?

 

It is on all of us to ensure that this site doesn't degenerate. New collectors should be welcome, after all it is the future of the hobby. People overlook the fact that established members are not only posting their own stuff, they are giving their time, free, answering hundreds of questions a week, with their knowledge/experience base.
What has the detrimental effect is when a new member, new to collecting, posts what they think is something different to the norm and the response is
Damaged, spend it, or similar.
A brief sentence saying what, from experience, is visible on the coin, radial flow lines of a deteriorated die for example, split plating, roller marks, coin rolling/wrapping machine damage etc. would go a long way to helping said new member understand a little more.
Throwaway answers do not give a clue and so they post another one with similar characteristics and so on ad nauseum.
My opinion only on how I see this subject

 

I agree with your comments. I try to add one a or 2 lines with a simple explanation along with the answer to a newbie question, especially if it’s one of the first few posts. While active members may know the credibility of members based on their previous contributions, a new collector doesn’t know whether @paddyman98 is an experienced collector, or just some guy at the end of the bar offering and opinion. IMO, once a decent explanation has been posted, the short responses are OK and show that there is a consensus among the members.

Also, if you’re not sure of the correct answer but still want to respond, adding a qualifier like “I think it might be…” or “Maybe it could be…” is useful. Worst response, IMO, is posting an incorrect guess as a definitive statement “It’s xxxx”, with no explanation. One thing I try to do when I'm not completely sure is add a reason(s) why I came to that conclusion ("I think it may be...because I see xxx and that is also found on this type of error"). At least I've given the reasoning behind my guess and somebody with more knowledge can specifically point out my error.

Having said that, I have no sympathy for new members who insist they have something in spite of multiple, accurate responses. (“But didn’t you see …… in the picture”, “But it still looks like…..”, or “I don’t understand how that damage could happen”). If you come on here asking for help, then keep questioning responses from knowledgeable members who are freely giving their time to help, I run out of patience very quickly.

Just my opinion

 

or both...

 

how does one learn if nobody is willing to teach them?, as collectors we must teach these new collectors the best we can, yes it can become a very frustrating time with some but most want to learn

we need to share what we know with them and tell them what they have, what not to do and such

but this is IMHO

 

Then let's discuss. "I found this stone in my backyard, it has a marking on it, here it is zoomed in ten different angles, is it a fossil, it has all the signs, and if so, how much is it worth? And oh BTW, here's another one I found in the street, and a third one I just stepped on in my driveway after dropping my little brat off at the day care center." Go to www.thefossilforum.com/ and pull that crap, then come back here and tell us how "welcomed" they made you feel. Tell us, after you've been enlightened repeatedly by one member after another, they're nothing to get excited about, and you reacted by accusing them of being arrogant and rude for it, and played the victim, how many of them fell for it and pathetically sucked up to you like you're some wet dog that got kicked out of the house for chewing on a shoe, as we're accustomed to doing, here, virtually week-in and week-out, now. And if you're unfamiliar with those threads, just say, and I'll put your nose in them.

To equate that with newcomers joining here because they're interested in learning the hobby is a stretch from here to China and back. Try to differentiate those, if you think you can. How do you imagine this website grew before you stumbled in a year ago? It attracted coin collectors and newcomers interested in learning the hobby, that's how. It didn't attract this type, far from it. This type thinks collecting coins is looking for errors they can make a buck on selling, tell me they don't. But the other coin forums don't have this type, do they? Gee, I wonder why...

 

I agree with Eddie. There is a fine line between educating newbies, who sincerely want to become collectors, and the “I found this 1999 Penny in my driveway, after I ran over it with my car. Is it worth $100,000, and can I retire from the proceeds” posts. Sincere collectors, who ask genuinely motivated questions, and desire gaining expertise should, by all means, to be encouraged. That is the heart and soul of the hobby. However, the multiple spam posts that have been occurring recently are annoying as heck. We had that woman post 10 new threads a few weeks ago, and each one ended up as a massive argument, when she did not like the advice of multiple experts. So, let us use good judgment—encourage the sincere new collectors who legitimately want to enjoy, and join the hobby. We were all there once. However, the “hit and run” garbage posters should not be encouraged, as they waste our time, that could be better used, building our community stronger, and more as a family.

 

We grew up in a different generation. If we needed knowledge, we collected up enough change for bus fare, rode to the library and checked out the book that we hoped contained the knowledge we seek. And along the way, if we saw a dime that had been run over, we picked it up and hoped the pay phone would still accept it... Learning took effort.

Fast forward fifty years and we have replaced the encyclopedia with Google. We have replaced walking to the bus stop with vegitating behind a computer screen. We have come to expect instant information. When our Google search doesn't bring up dimes that have been run over in the road, in desperation we do another search and come up with CT.... Now, give me my instant information.

I paint this picture because I believe this is the mindset we have with many of these new folks. We can hope that there is a spark inside them that makes them want to gravitate toward the hobby, but in most cases they just want to know that they have a valuable coin so they can go buy the latest video game. So it then becomes incumbent on us to either attempt to spark some numismatic interest while we have them as a captive audience. If not, then so be it.

 

i'll say this again

some who come here are looking for big money in their change finds and others are here to learn about what they have found, we got to take the good with bad and try and help the best we can

there is no fine line it's either "i'm after big bucks with this change find or i'm here to learn

 

Interesting thread here! I want to start off by saying I agree with @cplradar and @MIGuy - if you don't like the thread, ignore it. (Don't feed the trolls!) Here's how I experience some of the dialogues on this site:

noob: "Is this abnormal 'penny' going to make me obscenely rich?"
oldtimer: "No, noob. You're experience pareidolia - seeing what you want to see."
noob: "Why are you crushing my dreams, you horrid beast? I smite you!"
oldtimer: "Nay, it is I who smite you, and my friends will quickly join ranks with me to double-smite you!"
friends-of-oldtimer: "Smite! Smite!"

I don't typically join these threads because:
1. I never argue with a person who is immune to facts (this helps avoid arguments about politics too).
2. I'm not a trained psychologist, able to diagnose instances of pareidolia from a web forum. (I do however know that it is more about seeing familiar objects where they aren't, like faces in clouds, than it is about wishful thinking.)
3. I don't want to smite anyone.

I used the Ignore function here to silence a few particularly noisy folks, but I found that just creates these weird gaps in a thread that make it hard to understand so I'm rethinking that approach.

Happy Friday, y'all! (Hope I didn't accidentally smite you!)

 

I disagree. We can learn to be selective.

 

No. Just no.

 

Eddie, good question.

Let me offer this opinion. First let me state, I'm not an expert, nor a novice. I'm interested in learning more about our hobby and my coins and honored to be a member of CT. I too find it frustrating when a new member posts and offers questionable photos of a coin that most here would quickly recognize as "common", nothing special, or clearly "a bad case of road rash" and everything in between. I become further frustrated when the OP then goes on to argue with the opinions offered, when that's what they had asked for. I find it just takes a bit of patience. Sometimes a few bits.

I think I would rather they ask the question here, where hundreds of years of experience can be found and is available for the low price of the time to post a question. Otherwise they will seek advice from folks who hide behind a "tweet" or other instant post resulting in poor info to outright intentionally false info.

I think the overwhelming majority of the collectors here would fall into two buckets, likely both. (1) Those who wish to own a piece or pieces of history to enjoy and, (2) those who desire to own a piece or pieces of history that will increase in value over time and plan to sell at some point to recoup the initial investment with a profit, or to pass on to family for the same reasons. In either case, it takes collectors to keep the wheels of the hobby turning. Both are an investment in time and money. I would venture that most here don't have cash, just laying around, to buy buy buy so I would guess they hope for appreciation in value. Without knowledge both, the hobby and value would come crashing down.

To keep our hobby strong, solid knowledge and experience is required and necessary. Honest collectors need to have a place to go for solid answers from experienced collectors, lest we become a hobby or worse yet a society filled with idiots leading idiots. I believe CT is one of the best places to go. MHO and thanks for letting me share.

 

You hit today’s generation on the head. Your story about going to the library brings back memories. At the same time my brother and I were CRH wheaties and collecting newspaper and nonferrous metals to sell for scrap. With the money earned we bought MS Morgan’s for $7-$15, MS half eagles for $100-300. Those were the days...

 

Hello eddiespin, does "In my opinion" ring a bell?