Do you like MS-66 or MS66

rlawsha

When you are searching for a coin on the Internet (eBay for instance) do you usually search for "MS-66" or "MS66"? I guess this needs to be said: I don't literally mean a grade of 66, I just used the number "66" as an example. I am more concerend about the dash between the "S" and the "6". Do you use em?

Steve27

MSXX (i.e. no dash.)

misterR

MS66

ajia

I don't think it matters.
Do a google search using both, the results are the same.

rlawsha

<< <i>I don't think it matters.
Do a google search using both, the results are the same. >>



It does matter on eBay

nwcs

Hmmm, never really thought of a preference for this. I guess I prefer the dash.

anablep

It matters on Ebay. However it reads MS 66 the same as MS-66 but those are different from MS66.

I search both ways.

marmac

I dont care to much about the grade being posted so much as the grading service being posted.

Deadhorse

I prefer a dash between the mint mark as in 43-S or 16-D.

As far as the grade goes, I don't really care but I suppose a space looks cleaner.

MS 64 versus MS-64. For example; a 16-D in MS 65. That just looks more correct to me.

Each to his own, I doubt we'll ever have any standard on this issue. If you can't figure out what is being described, you shouldn't be gettig involved in the first place.

spy88

My own preference would read 1953-S MS66 6FS (Jeffy of course!).

relayer

MS66

ms70

MS66

Dennis88

ms-66

BAJJERFAN

"<<If you can't figure out what is being described, you shouldn't be gettig involved in the first place.>>"

I believe a point to be made is that if the search utility at eBay does NOT recognize MS 66 as being the same as MS-66 and you do not search both ways then your search will be incomplete and that you could very likely miss a listing that may be smoething you are interested in.

rlawsha

<< <i>"<<If you can't figure out what is being described, you shouldn't be gettig involved in the first place.>>"

I believe a point to be made is that if the search utility at eBay does NOT recognize MS 66 as being the same as MS-66 and you do not search both ways then your search will be incomplete and that you could very likely miss a listing that may smoething you are interested in. >>



Bingo!

joeyuk

I search by year and holder mostly. Alot more to sort thru but you miss nothing.
Another point I noticed a while back is 2004D or 2004-D. They are listed both
ways on e-bay also.

BAJJERFAN

Probly like most folks I don't always use one designation to the exclusivity of the other. Must be my dyslexic nature at work.

AgMe

1973-D MS66

I think it looks "cleaner".

-g

mrfred

Linguistically, hyphens indicate that a new word or abbreviation is being formed. For example, think of the term 'co-pay', as used often in doctor's offices to refer to insurance payments the patient must make: "We have you down for a fifteen dollar co-pay today." (itself a weird expression). I spell it 'co-pay' here, because I think that is how I recall seeing it on a recent insurance statement that arrived in the mail, not long ago. It should eventually become "copay". I think we are mid-stream on that. There are many examples of this phenomenon, where hyphens appear in wide use and then disappear. The same should happen with abbreviations, and that's what a coin grade is -- an abbreviation. So, eventually, it'll become 'MS66'. I suppose that mintmarks would eventually morph from, e.g., '1985-D' to '1985D', but I am with Deadhorse, I certainly prefer a hyphen when reading mintmarks. On my 2x2s, I tend to put a space, e.g. '1985 D'. 'MS66' seems OK to me -- more manageable. To me, the hyphen is needed on a date to help with reading.

Anyhow, all this trivial knowledge comes from my background in linguistics and applied linguistics. Those of us in this field go through a course or two where we study vocabulary (called 'lexical') studies. It either takes or it doesn't, and if it does that leads you into a wonderful career -- lexicography, for example, which is the assembly of dictionary entries. Some of the most interesting people I've met over the last two decades are lexicographers. They have a wonderful natural indexing view of the world, much like coin collectors. Hm...

A closing thought: my discussion that 'co-pay' should become 'copay' is not meant to be a linguistic rule. When going thru courses on linguistics, we have it drilled into us that matters such as these are descriptive, not prescriptive. Only after a linguistic change stabilizes and hangs around for a while, does it morph into a linguistic rule. And then rules start to change and go away themselves. What's correct: "Who did you send the coin to?" or "Whom did you send the coin to?". North American English is losing 'whom' in our lifetime.

Back to work.

XpipedreamR

I don't care for the dash...

Bear

dimples

Bears speechless again ah oh

flaminio

<< <i>I believe a point to be made is that if the search utility at eBay does NOT recognize MS 66 as being the same as MS-66 and you do not search both ways then your search will be incomplete and that you could very likely miss a listing that may be smoething you are interested in. >>

Exactly. Sellers who list with nonstandard headings, no matter how readable it is, are potentially missing out on a lot of searches.

On eBay, to search multiple terms, include them all separated by commas. So, someone searching for MS66 would want to search for at least:

MS66,MS-66,"MS 66"

(Although I think eBay collapses the hyphen, so one of the terms above is not needed.)

Searching on spelling mistakes is also recommended when trying to find stuff. To combine several search terms, enclose all the "or" terms in parentheses. So, if you were looking for 2004-D coins certified by PCGS as MS66, you'd probably want to construct a search like this:

(PCGS,PGCS,PCSG) (2004-D,2004D,"2004 D") (MS66,MS-66,"MS 66")

That should hit most everything, but there will certainly still be other things you miss. I'm always adding terms to my searches as I uncover new ways sellers can make their items hard to find.