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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 3172957, member: 112&quot;]Those are the traditional definitions.</p><p><br /></p><p>This problem arises for a couple of different reasons. One is common misuse of the terms in everyday conversation. A given person misuses the term, others hear it, or see it written, and not knowing any better they copy him when they use the term. This is a pervasive issue, one that has always existed in all aspects of life, not just numismatics.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then there is the more serious reason, misuse of the terms in publications - articles and books. When people see things in articles and books they tend to take for granted that what they are reading is true and accurate. But all to often it isn&#039;t. This happens because readers trust the author because they are supposed to know what they are talking about. The thing is, authors are just as susceptible to the first reason as the next guy. If early in their life or career they learned something incorrectly because of misuse of terminology it tends to stick with them. And once they start writing then they misuse the term thus compounding the problem because everyone who reads that book or article and accepts it as fact will then do the same thing the author did. But it&#039;s even worse than that because future authors will copy the original author&#039;s errors. And not just in misuse of terminology but also in incorrect, inaccurate, or downright false facts. I&#039;ve seen examples of the same mistake copied and repeated in books, articles and catalogs for 150 years ! </p><p><br /></p><p>And of course the only way anyone ever identifies these mistakes is when somebody comes along who actually knows enough to even recognize that there is/was a mistake ! And once they do, getting others to acknowledge it - that is an uphill battle - but it can be won.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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