Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 7589783, member: 44316&quot;]Language is used to communicate. Words are part of language. Along the way we learn to expect what certain words, like &quot;rare,&quot; mean. Then, as a thinking adult, you realize that some speakers and writers use words to <b>trigger a reaction</b> in you, but the writer is not using the word in a way that corresponds to reality. (Political commentary is often that way, but I won&#039;t go into that here.) </p><p><br /></p><p>It is not the word &quot;rare&quot; that is wrong. If we didn&#039;t use it, sellers would be equally happy to misuse &quot;seldom seen.&quot; Pay attention to what people say around you and you will notice that words and the reality they purport to describe often do not correspond closely. We collect coins, so words like &quot;rare&quot; are important to us.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 2001 I wrote about &quot;Rarity and the value of ancient Roman coins&quot;</p><p><a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/rarity.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/rarity.html" rel="nofollow">http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/rarity.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>That page shows how easy it is to misrepresent and mislead even when speaking the literal truth. If one is willing to deviate from the truth (and many are), then words like &quot;rare&quot; are used to provoke a reaction (maybe, willingness to pay a higher price). It might not communicate a fact. </p><p><br /></p><p>We are not going to be able to get people to stop lying. We can protect ourselves by learning how they provoke us. We need to learn trigger words and when they appear, slow down, think, and seek the real truth. That&#039;s well-known to be hard to do. That&#039;s why so many sellers call coins &quot;rare&quot;-- it works.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in