Featured Progress in the pursuit of a smarter way to attribute

The first thing I'll admit is that this is not a topic for someone that is adversed to technology. I fully understand that I am solving problems that I face as a collector using tools in my toolshed and am aware this isn't for everyone. With that said, the technologies I'm experimenting with *can* solve some real problems and for anyone that isn't afraid of a little tech - I welcome your insight, ideas, and feedback!

This is a continuation of a previous post that I made about using the Reddit and PixelStix as a smarter way to attribute coins. You can read that here I wanted to make another post with updates and pictures.

I'm happy to report that I've been successfully using Reddit and PixelStix to acheive a much smarter attribution process for my personal collection and I'm very happy with the results so far.

A couple of highlights since my last update:

1. I created a PixelStix that can be written on for the purpose of making the standard high-level attribution info available. As always the bulk of the attribution is stored onto the coin's PixelStix in the same way.

2. The intermediary script that I assign to each coin has been modified to apply CPI-U (Consumer Price Index - Urban areas) data in such a way that when I have the initial investment amount for a coin as apart of my digital attribution, that amount is adjusted to factor in inflation and then displays as a 'Purchase price' on my coins attribution. Basically every time I access the attribution for my coin, the value is dynamically calculated based on the original purchase price and inflation. For me, this solves the problem of equipping my loved ones with the knowledge of what these things are worth in case something happens to me.

3. The use of the intermediary script (aka comment_tart) is still required. The process is still to grab the entire URL of the Reddit comment that holds your attribtution and append it to the end of the https://api.pixelstix.com/util/comment_tart.php?permalink=
e.g. https://api.pixelstix.com/util/comm...hhgub/pitane_mysia_350_bc_zeus_ammon/fcjbr2p/

I'll likely make this somewhat easier by building a small form that accepts the URL of the Redditi comment and spits back the fully concatenated comment_tart URL

Thanks for reading!


[image of the flip with coin and new PixelStix design]


[image of the PixelStix design outside of the flip]


[a few coins in a tray that have been attributed with this technology]


[scan showing the attribution pulled from Reddit when I hover over the coin]

 

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That is pretty interesting! I went back and read the previous thread too.
The one thing I worry about is, what happens to all that data if those websites (eventually) go down?

 

The question becomes, will Reddit ever go away? Will the internet ever go away? For me, it felt safer to rely on Reddit than niche-specific sites but there is a threshold one has to pass over where one has to accept 'my information and thus the internet are always going to be online' for this to be a viable solution.

My assumption is that the younger generation of coin collectors will accept this concept more-so than the collectors who recall a time before the existence of the internet.

 

While I had heard the word I really had no idea what Reddit was so I read over (not intently) the Wikipedia article and failed to see why I should care. Are you saying that this is a better way for me to enjoy coins than asking for help from FFIVN? The time will come that I will need more help with such things and my old go-to helpers will be getting old (that is you, TIF, Valentinian etc.). Obviously the idea is aimed at 'younger'. The only activities that are aimed at the 'less-younger' are telemarketers and scams. The Internet will not 'go away' but it will morph into something that its early adopters may have trouble recognizing as their child. For now my only question is why should I care and will it make my life better in any way.

 

I think you will have to still wait quite awhile before you need any help from FFIVN haha. Though I will be the first to admit, he is getting better and better and is sharp tack.

 

I'm in no hurry. We each must come to a special day when we learn something from our children and have to seek their help in some way. You may not be there yet but the time will come when you need something explained and FFIVN will be there to help.

 

He does that every day

 

I got curious to see how much textual data could be embedded directly within a QR code without the need for the internet for translating or redirecting or any online access at all (most newer phones come with a QR code reader installed as part of their OS). It appears that the site that I used to generate the QR code (yes, I used the internet to generate the code initially) mentions a 800 character limit (Edit: it appears that larger QR codes can store more data, such as Version 40, which is 177x177, can hold 1264 ASCII characters, and other sites claim even more). I thought I'd try it with a coin attribution that I had up already in my browser, so I copy and pasted the attribution text into the form field in the generator and our popped a (pretty robust) QR code. I didn't count how many characters I had in my attribution, but it accepted it and it appears to be working in its entirety (including the link at the bottom of the attribution to where I posted it on my site, though that is not necessary and won't work without internet access).

I was curious to see if the text was actually embedded within the QR code and wasn't pulling it from some database it was storing the info in online, so I went into airplane mode scanned it and it pulled all the text up with no problem (including the URL text, but no appropriately no preview of the link like when I have online access).

My coin:

Philip I (The Arab), Ruled 244-249 AD
AE29, Syria, Antioch Mint, Struck 247-249 AD
Obverse: AYTOK K M IOYΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CEB, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust left, aegis on far shoulder.
Reverse: ANTIOXEΩN MHTΡO KOΛΩN, veiled, turreted, draped bust of city goddess right, between Δ-E / S-C, ram jumping right above, head turned back, star beneath bust.
References: Butcher 498, SNG Cop 271
Size: 29mm, 15.6g

My QR code:


What makes the pixelstix and reddit approach better than this "brute force" approach of simply embedding the actual content right there in the image/code? I guess, without the abstraction layer of linking to an updatable online URL or landing page for the coin, you are stuck with whatever text you embed initially and print on an insert and cannot update it after-the-fact if you made an error (like instead being able to update the page that it is linking to at any point in the future). Anyways... an interesting topic and interesting experiments and results.

 

This is awesome! I love the experiment. I was able to scan it from my computer display and it brought up the info just fine as well. I suppose one of the differences despite the space limitations you mentioned would be the fact that this QR Code must be visible and thus obstructs the coin when they are displayed together. The NFC tech that PixelStix is based on will happily live under the coin or even in a secret compartment that is invisible.

Either way, I think this is cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

It may or may not be something I'd use but I applaud your drive to innovate .

 

Ah-ha... I didn't know what NFC was so I was obviously confused about what was actually going on in your OP. That tech is pretty cool! Curious... with the multiple coins side-by-side, does it get confused as to which one you want to view?

 

@TIF, you could add a little 2x2 insert to your Melita coins with a QR code to your awesome video you made:

 

Seems pretty well suited. The range for reading is 10 to 20mm so you have to be fairly close to the coin to xfer data.

 

Yeah, not really sure there *is* a benefit to others. I'm really just using tools available to me to solve problems that plaque me as a collector. If I had different resources, those solutions may look different. Anyway, just wanting to document my journey in hopes that it fosters ideas and/or is helpful to anyone with similar issues/thoughts.

 

Again I am missing the point. I see how QR codes could be useful linking to more information but how do you bring up ID from shooting a coin? I though the idea was to ID coins not to shortcut URLs?

 

For me, attributing a coin is where all the fun is! I love spending time getting to know my coin and learning about cultures and people.

For me that research reveils information that I can't put on a simple piece of paper. Not only due to volume but some of the info is online, e.g. digital maps of Pitane. Adding all my info to the internet allows me to upload all of the digital info. What you are seeing me do is access that digital info by placing my phone near the phone with the info associated to it.

So it's not taking away the fun of ID'ing the coin but allowing me to assign more information.

 

I think the title of the thread is inaccurate - the poster isn't describing attribution, but attaching the attribution information to the coin.

Coins I've been getting from Deamoneta auctions (certainly from Tintinna and I think others) have included a QR code on the flip which links to the auction description. The 800 characters in a QR code mentioned above by Justin looks good - I scanned the QR code in his post and see the description - I may try printing these.

 

This technology will be important soon.

I bought a coin at NYINC, said to be ex Lord Grantley collection and ex Lockett collection 1537. I asked for the original ticket, but the dealer said it was in bad shape so he threw it away! I checked the Lockett auction catalog, but what I had purchased was in a group lot and unpictured.

A friend bought a coin from the same dealer, also with Lockett provenance. This one came with the ticket. Unfortunately, verifying with the Lockett catalog showed the ticket was for a different coin! Tickets got crossed, somehow. Now my friend has someone else's ticket. Ridiculous.

Most of my collection will sell for less than $20 per coin. I have lots of photographs, scans of Customs declarations, my own description and research, and links to CoinTalk. No auction catalog will waste the space to print my hard work. I need some mechanism to attach a paper trail to my coins.

Putting all my notes, pictures, etc into an RFID tag would be a good choice, but an RFID tag doesn't have space to hold pictures. Also, if the coin is lost or stolen I have no records.

Putting all my notes, pictures etc onto the cloud means I have space to hold photos. I can copy the data around the cloud. I can store a link to the big data on the RFID or NFC tag. This means anyone with the coin tag can get the data I uploaded to the cloud -- but only if I have chosen a provider that is still present in 10 or 100 years.

Until I can figure out a workflow for electronic documentation links and backups I have a lazy man's approach. I print out my collection inventory documentation with a nice paperback cover every year. I use lulu.com. They charge about $15. I keep last year's copy off-site. Perhaps my heirs can donate one of my collection inventories to the ANS library in a few decades.

 

I most certainly misunderstood the purpose of this thread. I doubt I will live to see computer assisted attribution to a level I would find useful but adding QR links in the lower right hand corner of each of my photos is something that I could really support. I might want to get carried away an place a row of multiple codes at the bottom of each photo which could lead to different places (ID, You Tube video, similar examples online, whatever seems appropriate). I have no idea how to generate QR codes but I do have ideas of how they might benefit the hobby.

 

This is the site that I used above: https://qr-creator.com/plain-text.php