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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 3196724, member: 112&quot;]Defining a numismatist is kind of a matter of degree thing. But depending on whom you ask that degree will be found in various places. For instance, if you drew a linear scale and placed a line on it, and said those to the right of the line are numismatist and those to the left are not - different people would place that line in different places. </p><p><br /></p><p>The classic definition of a numismatist is quite simple - one who studies money. And that right there creates a very broad spectrum because the term money covers a whole lot of things. And a numismatist can study all of them, or even only one and maybe two of them. And of course when you use a definition like that well then you also have to define the word study - and that covers a broad spectrum as well. </p><p><br /></p><p>This is the issue with definitions, pretty much all definitions, because most people have and use their own interpretations of those definitions. Few follow the actual dictionary definitions because they simply choose not to. Take any group of people and the very same word will have a lot of different meanings, beyond those various definitions listed in the dictionary.</p><p><br /></p><p>Defining a numismatist is kind of like trying to define a coin collector. How exactly do you do that ? Is the person who picks State quarters out if his pocket change and places them in a folder he bought on TV or at Walmart, and yet does nothing else, a coin collector ? Some will say yes others will say no. Is a person who collects State quarters, but limits it to only the finest examples he can buy or find and then places each one in its own protective holder, or buys only slabbed examples - but does nothing else - a collector ? Some will say yes others will say no. Is a person who buys only the finest examples, or any given grade range, slabbed or raw, and also buys books on coins and subscribes to coin magazines, and reads online articles - a collector ? Most will say yes. </p><p><br /></p><p>But is he also a numismatist ? Some will say yes and some will say no. </p><p><br /></p><p>And then you have the question of does one even need to collect in order to be a numismatist ? The only answer there can be is no. I&#039;m an example of that, I haven&#039;t collected coins in twelve years, sold my entire collection in 2006. But I&#039;m a numismatist in every sense of the word. But there are probably those who would think I can&#039;t be.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ya see, it&#039;s like I said, it&#039;a all a matter of where you draw that line.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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