Hope springs eternal.
291fifth
Posts: 24,454 ✭✭✭✭✭
In recent days there have been a host of new posters with their "error" finds. Most aren't errors at all ... just more damaged or plated stuff that should be very obvious to anyone. Anyone, that is, except the current owner who is convinced he or she has the next great "error" rarity they can sell for big money.
It always distresses me when these new posters receive very accurate comments on their coins but refuse to believe that they don't really have a coin that is worth a fortune. As I have said in earlier posts, this type of delusional thinking seems to be something new. When I started collecting back in the early 1960's coins such as these would have been quickly rejected by myself and the other teenage collectors in my circle. At the time we participated in our local, in person, coin club and learned a lot very quickly. Today it seems most of the "learning" comes from hyped online videos. Times change.
Comments
We also don’t know which ones are just trolls trying to poke the bear, either.
I’ve gotten jaded to the point where I rarely even click a thread unless it’s from a poster/member that I’m familiar with. In the past I’ve been more welcoming, providing advice and even free coins and stuff to new members and beginning collectors. And many of them are gone within a few months, if not sooner.
Kudos to those of you who keep trying, though.
i dont like the trolls either espesialy got a link to something. i cant get out quick enough, just saying
Thornton Wilder had this to say about ...hope:
" So defenseless is hope before the court of reason that it stands in constant need of fashioning its own confirmations."
Maybe I'm a sucker, but I still try to give newbies the benefit of a doubt and try to provide a good explanation. Yeah, trolls are annoying and the ones that argue are sometimes amusing, but I figure at best, I've helped somebody, and at worst, I just wasted a little time.
When I was a kid, I had some very helpful mentors, so I try to give back to the hobby whenever I can.
A waste of everybody's time, but inevitable.
Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins
Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't no optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.
My mind reader refuses to charge me....
I know that new members are not able to post photos for a period of time. I think it should be extended to they can't post at all for let's say 2 weeks after signup. They should be encouraged to search the forums for the answer they seek instead of simply asking a question that has probably been answered 13 times over the years. 2 weeks would likely cause the trolls to lose interest, where as someone truly interested in numismatics would stick around for the 2 week probation period.
Even 2 days would probably suffice. "Welcome, new member! Have a look around. You will be allowed to start new topics, and upload pictures, in 2 days. For now, have a look around, and make use of our (hard to use?) search feature to find useful information on a variety of topics..."
"except the current owner who is convinced he or she has the next great "error"
"new posters receive very accurate comments on their coins but refuse to believe that they don't really have a coin that is worth a fortune.
It's not just new members, there is a post here on the front page from a long term member doing the same thing.
I try to help, and I hope that never changes. I would like to believe my enjoyment of the hobby over the years could lead to others picking up the hobby and taking it forward long after I am gone.
The influx of new members may be due - in part - to the reduction in interests outside the home due to the pandemic. Also, some social media forums encourage these 'odd coin' interests without informed direction. I try to initiate a welcome and gentle assessment of their situation. Certainly when informed assessments are offered but rejected, then we have someone who is entrenched in misinformation and belief in their own opinions. I bow out at that point - having encountered it directly, often in my life. Cheers, RickO
No Internet in the 60s. The noob‘s visited two or three places and we’re already convinced about their finds before finding this place.
So, who the hell are you to tell me about what I have because I’ve already seen it on the Internet
I just want your confirmation not your GD BS!
For whatever reason it does seem to come in waves.
As mentioned it can be annoying when they just want to argue, no doubt some are trolls.
There are quite a few that join and ask a question and then never return once they have their answer.
This is really not that strange, they found something they didn't understand and reached out for help.
This happens on other forums too.
I am a member of an automotive forum and there are some crazy or stupid questions.
Very few of them turn out to be trolls, they are just people looking for help with something they don't understand.
Many members here could appear as a troll if they asked a question on an automotive forum.
Many get the answer to their question and never return.
We do appear to get more trolls here than they get on the auto forum I am on.
For the most part I try to help new members with productive answers or just not respond at all.
I must admit I am not always productive with my responses, sometimes my inner child takes over my keyboard.
Back in the day Spadone's book fueled a lot of hope only to have those hopes dashed by analysis.
.
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"I found this old muffler in a parking lot, is this an error muffler and worth a lot of money?"
Yes, because if you knew anything about cars you would know that is a catalytic converter not a muffler.
You know they are worth a lot of money that's why they steal them off your car while you are asleep.
Then you go to the automotive forum and ask why my car is making soo much noise because it wasn't that loud when I parked it last night.