ANA eLearning Course
chesterb
Posts: 961 ✭✭✭✭✭
I got an email that the eLearning course I signed up for a few months back is starting tomorrow. I think it's cool for the ANA to do this. I'm not sure how an online grading seminar will be taught but I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully it goes well and can be a new way to educate more folks about the hobby. I'll update everyone on my thoughts.
In the meantime, maybe it's not to late for others to sign up for these courses if interested. There are several topics and courses available.
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Hint: if you do not have access to sample grading coins IN HAND, you will not learn that much. One cannot become reasonably good at grading by just looking at pictures.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Yes, totally agree so it will be interesting how they set up the course.
Ken Bressett has said (and I will botch this quote), "Learning how to grade coins is easy. All you need is a little time and a couple hundred thousand coins."
If you are taking the grading course, or any other course that touches on grading (e.g., mine), it would behoove you to have a few coins handy so you can look at them and see what the instructors might be trying to explain to you. The online class forum, just like reading GTG threads, is no substitute for going through boxes of coins in proper viewing conditions, and doesn't pretend to be. It can be insightful, however.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
I just attended the course about YN's today, it was very well done. @KellenCoin was one of the presenters too.
The young folks are out there collecting, you can't go by just what is going on in this forum.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
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End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All Of Us
That sounds close, too. I think between our botched quotes, the point has been made, though.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
You might want to try to pick up copies of books that were used at one time for the grading courses:
Bonser, Don/Grading Coins Today [ANA correspondence course book]
Martin, J. P./Detecting Counterfeit and Altered U.S. Coins [ANA correspondence course book]
Martin, J. P./Grading Mint State Coins Today [ANA correspondence course book]
Another useful book for introductory grading concepts:
Poe, Jason/The Art and Science of Grading Coins
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
What if they took videos of coins being tilted and from different angles, with a zoom?
Is that 10,000 hours of experience
I’ll be there tomorrow as well!
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
Well, if you grade coins for an hour solid every day for a normal working year (250 days), then 40 years would be 10,000 hours. If you're doing it for a TPG 40 hours a week, it'll take you 5 unless you go crazy first.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
Well, for those who cannot attend live training, it certainly will provide a good foundation. Having your own coins to handle during the teaching can help a bit - although often they are unlikely to have the specifics being discussed. This is far better than just looking at pictures, you have an expert describing the issues as you view pictures. Yes, actually in hand would be best - but this is a learning medium and provides value. Cheers, RickO
Thanks everyone for your replies. I understand the limitations of the course but thought I'll learn something new. I guess the point of my post was missed because I mentioned the grading seminar. They have other courses (which I'll be taking too) which may be of interest to people and I appreciate the ANA for doing this and making them available right now.
I agree that this is a good move on the part of the ANA at this time. Online courses for some topics should be fine. Others, involving grading, authentication, or anything else where hands-on inspection of coins (or other objects) is essential to developing a good understanding of the subject matter, will be of much more limited value.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]