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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2375606, member: 112&quot;]I have always thought that a large part of the misunderstanding or confusion when discussing numismatics is due to the many different words we use and the definitions of those words. </p><p><br /></p><p>Take the word abrasion for example, use that word and let 5 different people read it, and I&#039;ll bet that you have at least 3 different things pop into their minds as to what it means exactly. In other words, 3 of those people would have different definitions as to what exactly an abrasion was. And the other two might each agree with any of the three. Or to say it another way, what I call an abrasion may not be what you call an abrasion.</p><p><br /></p><p>This phenomena occurs with everything in life, not just numismatics, use almost any word and somebody somewhere has a different definition for that word than you do. Look up almost any word in a dictionary and you&#039;ll find from 3 to 8 different definitions, so it is to be expected that different people have different definitions for words in theirs heads. Hear or read the word and different people visualize different things.</p><p><br /></p><p>So how do we all know what each other means ? Context I guess. Numismatics has its own, sometimes unique, set of definitions for many, many different words. And even then some of them are different for different people. Myself I try to be very careful, very specific with the words I use when I write and when I speak. Take the word &quot;cleaned&quot; for example. If were to use the word &quot;cleaned&quot; when talking about coins 9 out of 10 people would be sure they knew exactly what I meant. Well guess what - all 9 of them would be wrong. If I were to say &quot;cleaned&quot; what those 9 people thought I meant would actually be harshly cleaned. I never, ever, say cleaned when what I really mean is harshly cleaned.</p><p><br /></p><p>For me, cleaned means a coin that has been properly cleaned. Harshly cleaned is a coin that has been improperly cleaned.</p><p><br /></p><p>The same thing happens with words like abrasion, scrape, scratch, luster, hairline, wear, hit, ding, contact mark, rub, devices, even rim and edge get mixed up for some. Use any of those words and different people will see different images in their heads.</p><p><br /></p><p>So how do we avoid that ? For the most part we don&#039;t. About all we can do is explain, go into detail as to what exactly we mean when we say or write something. This very issue is what has brought about this thread, or at least the extent of this thread. Form the very title on - One more time - and the comments and questions of the OP - this issue is what we are talking about.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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