Ever been shocked by what a "Knowledgeable" person didn't know?

TommyType

Was flipping through my database tonight, and one entry brought back a memory:

I brought a handfull of Morgans to the Long Beach show to sell to a fairly well known dealer, (who shall remain anonymous). One of them was an 1880CC Morgan in about VG. He looked in his CDN, and saw two types listed, one being Rev '78.

"I don't know what the difference is," was his comment.

I was momentarily shocked! He always has a case or more full of Morgans and seemed like an incredible source of information!

Anyway, I and the fellow who happened to be standing next to me filled him in, and he seemed genuinely surprised to hear the story.

Thought it was funny....

Any similar stories of unknown common knowledge?

Murphy

Two of the biggest dealers in this area didn't know what a Wide AM cent was until I explained. They don't look inside the Redbook and the greyshheets don't list them, so either they were playing dumb or really didn't know what they were.

coppercoins

<< <i>Two of the biggest dealers in this area didn't know what a Wide AM cent was until I explained. They don't look inside the Redbook and the greyshheets don't list them, so either they were playing dumb or really didn't know what they were. >>



That's really not hard to believe, unfortunately.

Actually there are a number of dealers who spend so much time with their noses buried in new material and the CDN it's a wonder they have any time to study up on anything particular about one series. It's not a knock against the dealers, they have to make a living.

nwcs

It doesn't surprise me too much. There is simply so much to know that's esoteric in our beloved hobby.

MadMarty

Mont dealers don't know what an Accent Hair Kennedy is, and I would like to keep it that way!

dorkkarl

i can see many times where a specialist knows next to nothing outside his realm. for example, i wouldn't expect many prominent eac members to have a clue about vam's.

K S

Murphy

There are coins that I wish I knew nothing at all about - like Marty's pee pee dollar! lol

Noce to hear from you again Chuck!

JadeRareCoin

If you are a full time dealer with a store to operate, you need to have a lot of knowledge in a lot of different areas, so some of the obvious details slip through the cracks. Full time dealers should have a knowledge of ancient, foreign, medals, tokens, bullion, currency, colonial, early type, 20th century, moderns and even the "S" word (stamps). It's impossible to be an expert in all areas.

BTW, what's a wide AM cent??

foodude

No it does not surprise me- there is a lot to know

RYK

A specialist collector will often know more about his/her specialty than a general dealer (or one with a different specialty) and IMO will be usually better served by a specialist dealer.

Pistareen

<< <i>i can see many times where a specialist knows next to nothing outside his realm. for example, i wouldn't expect many prominent eac members to have a clue about vam's. >>



Sort of ironic, considering that flag-bearer Howard R. Newcomb wrote the book on late dates and discovered the 1900-0/CC variety. He loved both his large cents and his silver dollars.

I'm always amazed at what specialists know about other fields. Who would expect John Wright, of EAC fame, to be a walking encyclopedia on Roman sestertii or RW Julian to have written a book on Russian coins?

itsnotjustme

I was at a small show, and a young man (low 20's) was all excited... He had an AH Kennedy in a third tier holder in his hand. It was overgraded like 68DCAM or such. He thought he had a several thousand dollar score! The sad part is he was behind the table.

foodude

specialist collector will often know more about his/her specialty than a general dealer (or one with a different specialty) and IMO will be usually better served by a specialist dealer

Yes