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Have you ever wondered what luster looks like?
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<p>[QUOTE="physics-fan3.14, post: 3333825, member: 19165"]Insider, the answer to your question is C: all of the above and none of the above.</p><p><br /></p><p>You're making a big deal out of the word "luster" - but you of all people should know that when numismatists use the word luster, there is a very specific meaning attached to it. Sure, there might be 8 different definitions in your massive dictionary, but there is a 9th for coins that your dictionary likely doesn't have.</p><p><br /></p><p>In that there is light reflected from the surface of the coin, you could say that the coin is exhibiting a type of luster. This is most closely associated with the mineralogical use of the term:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>However, the term has traditionally been applied differently in numismatics. I'm not sure why you are making a big deal out of this, or what point you are even trying to make. Different words have specific meaning in different fields - luster in numismatics means that mint bloom you see on Uncirculated coins, and which slowly gets worn away during circulation. In the traditional numismatic use of the term, then, the coin you posted exhibits no luster. If you are trying to use another definition of the term, then you could argue that it does have luster.</p><p><br /></p><p>But we're talking about coins here, and we must use the recognized numismatic definitions of the words. It seems like the second or third time in the past couple of months I've had to make this same point. Different words mean different things in different contexts.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="physics-fan3.14, post: 3333825, member: 19165"]Insider, the answer to your question is C: all of the above and none of the above. You're making a big deal out of the word "luster" - but you of all people should know that when numismatists use the word luster, there is a very specific meaning attached to it. Sure, there might be 8 different definitions in your massive dictionary, but there is a 9th for coins that your dictionary likely doesn't have. In that there is light reflected from the surface of the coin, you could say that the coin is exhibiting a type of luster. This is most closely associated with the mineralogical use of the term: However, the term has traditionally been applied differently in numismatics. I'm not sure why you are making a big deal out of this, or what point you are even trying to make. Different words have specific meaning in different fields - luster in numismatics means that mint bloom you see on Uncirculated coins, and which slowly gets worn away during circulation. In the traditional numismatic use of the term, then, the coin you posted exhibits no luster. If you are trying to use another definition of the term, then you could argue that it does have luster. But we're talking about coins here, and we must use the recognized numismatic definitions of the words. It seems like the second or third time in the past couple of months I've had to make this same point. Different words mean different things in different contexts.[/QUOTE]
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Have you ever wondered what luster looks like?
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