What do you think Coin World can do to improve its newspaper?

Longacre

This is a pretty open ended question, but given that most people here read Coin World, I thought it would be a good opportunity to brainstorm and come up with suggestions for improvement. I really like Coin World and its content, although sometimes I think that the editor is from another planet when she writes those editorials. What would you suggest as improvements? The more specific the better. Perhaps there is a Coin World person or two who read these boards, and they can maybe act on some of the suggestions.

I will go first with a suggestion-- it would be great if they could have an article each week (or every other week) entitled "The Dealer's Perspective" or something like that, where a real coin dealer (one in the trenches) comments on a current event or just provides insight into the markets and things that are going on. I am sure the writing and angle will be different from the other current writers, and it might give a different viewpoint on things. Not only would these articles be insightful, but they would also provide the dealers the opportunity to get some exposure. Many dealers don't write as much as they should, even though they have a lot of great insights to share.

As I think of other suggestions, I will post them.

Barry

1. Stop the articles on currency. It's COIN World.

2. Don't accept advertising from dealers and "grading" services that are well-known scammers.

RYK

Add at least one weekly column or feature article on rare date gold.

Barndog

I'd like to receive my issue in a timely manner, that would be the best help.

Pentimento

Get rid of all letters to the editor that are just questions. "Dear Coin World, I found a dime with a 'W' mintmark, do any of your readers know about this coin?" What, we are supposed to wait 3 weeks for the thrilling answer to be printed??

ColonialCoinUnion

Get it to me on time.

Refuse advertising from the well-known offenders.

Limit letters to the editor complaining about the US mint to only 17 per issue.

cwazzy

My suggestion would be one that can be applied to all newspapers: stop splitting up the article. I hate starting an article on page 5, then having to flip to page 23 then to page 99 to finish it. I would like to be able to read it from beginning to end without changing the page. Maybe I'm alone in this but I find it to be inconvenient.

Chris

DennisH

I quit taking it for two reasons:

1. The thing is awash with ads from sellers who peddle overgraded/problem garbage that is represented as problem-free.
2. Letters to the editor in every issue is awash with people whining about poor service from the U.S. Mint.

1977topps

<< <i>Limit letters to the editor complaining about the US mint to only 17 per issue. >>



I second that!

kranky

I think Longacre's suggestion in the OP is a good one. And there definitely are CW staffers who read here.

Newspapers can only include as much editorial content (i.e. stories) as there is advertising to support it. It's counterproductive to ask for more content and refuse advertising at the same time. Mutually exclusive. Fewer ads would mean fewer stories.

AuldFartte

I think a book of matches would improve CW. Most of it is garbage advertising anyway ... which is why I don't take it anymore.

Cladiator

Dump a couple hundred of the advertisements. It'd still have 50% of the rag dedicated to ads.

Artist

Often I feel that Coin World just reprocesses press blurbs released by the Mint instead of investigating broader facts and reporting actual news.

Lets face: not every issue the Mint has come up with has been quite the artistic or socio-political masterpiece that the Mint's PR room would have us believe they are - Coin World is the one publication that best stands to serve as a watchdog over such banality and to set a precedent for how new issues are talked about in the broader press, yet instead they just always act as rubber stamp of approval.

There are deeper stories out there - if Coin World won't investigate them, who will?

TahoeDale

Coin world is a fine publication, as one starts to collect. The ads by reputable dealers let you know the current series that are being promoted, retail pricing, as well as Trends values.

BUT, I have found no reason to subscribe for the last 5 years. Dealer sites are a better place to update your knowledge of retail, and auction archives are now available for research.

An occasional article on early gold, or a new error does not make up for the number of pages attributable to marketers for over priced common generics.

Solution? none. Try and get your information elsewhere.

Michigan

When coin stories hit the mainstream media via the internet the coin papers (both CW and NN) are out of date by the time you get them.

The usefullness of them as far as reporting news has been diminished quite a bit. It is a fact of life that all kinds of newspapers are
facing. Circulation for most daily newspapers in the US has been trending downward in the past few years because of this.

It has been said that if you are not a regular reader of a daily newspaper by the age of 20 you never will be.

Longacre

<< <i>When coin stories hit the mainstream media via the internet the coin papers (both CW and NN) are out of date by the time you get them.

The usefullness of them as far as reporting news has been diminished quite a bit. It is a fact of life that all kinds of newspapers are
facing. Circulation for most daily newspapers in the US has been trending downward in the past few years because of this.

It has been said that if you are not a regular reader of a daily newspaper by the age of 20 you never will be. >>




CW should hire Michigan. He seems to know the scoop about what is going on with all things numismatic before anyone else in the world. Maybe the Boards can negotiate a BIG salary for you.

Michigan

<< <i>1. Stop the articles on currency. It's COIN World.

2. Don't accept advertising from dealers and "grading" services that are well-known scammers. >>




The currency market has been hot in the past few years and CW wants a piece of that action rather than let Bank Note Reporter
get all of that advertising and attention.
While currency is not "coins" it is numismatic related so they figure it still fits for them.

CW does publish a monthly currency magazine similiar to "Coin Values".

CW could change their name to "Numismatic World" but that would be too close to "Numismatic News" for comfort.

pb2y

Not allowed to complain- -quit CW over 20 years ago for some of the reasons mentioned here.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>CW could change their name to "Numismatic World" but that would be too close to "Numismatic News" for comfort. >>



Someone told me that the 'simpler' name (i.e. Coin vs Numismatics, Car vs Autombile or other similar alternatives in other fields) always outsells the more complicated one.

I don't know if this is true, but I suspect there is something to that.

Goober

<< <i>2. Don't accept advertising from dealers and "grading" services that are well-known scammers. >>



This would be my #1

RYK

You all have provided some compelling reasons for me to cancel my subscription. While I have even grown bored of (Longacre, stop reading now) QDB's column, I do find some of the whining letters to the editor to be quite entertaining. I would like to receive CoinValues, and, IIRC, it does not cost tht much more to receive CW with CoinValues, as it does to subscribe to CoinValues itself.

ziggy29

<< <i>Someone told me that the 'simpler' name (i.e. Coin vs Numismatics, Car vs Autombile or other similar alternatives in other fields) always outsells the more complicated one. >>

Since it only takes one counterexample to disprove an absolute, I think it's always a mistake to say "always."

TwoSides2aCoin

They should hire a lot of staffers from the PCGS boards for UP TO DATE happenings

COINB0Y

< Limit letters to the editor complaining about the US mint to only 17 per issue. >

LOL!

Getting it would be great.

HOW ABOUT NUSIMATIC NEWS?

Improving NN by stop paying for David and hiswife's 3-4 week World Vacation Cruises and then attempting to pass off this traveling with some vague coin connection.

He writes a great travelogue but this is not Conde' Nast we are reading. What BS!

Bochiman

<< <i>1. Stop the articles on currency. It's COIN World.

2. Don't accept advertising from dealers and "grading" services that are well-known scammers. >>




I REALLY agree with #1 above....I have stopped myself from sending that comment to them a few times, trying to be nice, but currency articles in a COIN WORLD magazine does bother me.

They could also do some items of interest on what to expect at different size coin shows, etc. Maybe go with a new person to a coin show and get their perspective? Things that many people wonder about but have no way of finding out other than jump right into it (which is fine for some but not for all).

I just think there are a lot of little, interesting, things that could be done in place of currency articles.

Bochiman

<< <i>I quit taking it for two reasons:

1. The thing is awash with ads from sellers who peddle overgraded/problem garbage that is represented as problem-free.
2. Letters to the editor in every issue is awash with people whining about poor service from the U.S. Mint. >>



Kind of like this forum at times

RYK

<< <i>

<< <i>I quit taking it for two reasons:

1. The thing is awash with ads from sellers who peddle overgraded/problem garbage that is represented as problem-free.
2. Letters to the editor in every issue is awash with people whining about poor service from the U.S. Mint. >>



Kind of like this forum at times >>



That's a good point, Bochi. Perhaps forumites do not care for CW because it is more of the same material that we get here.

kranky

I enjoy CW and have been a subscriber for many years - and a lot of those years I wasn't even actively collecting. It's obviously not for everyone, but it's not the worthless rag that some say it is. Some people don't care about new discoveries, QDB's column, etc. because it's not what they are interested in. That's fine - to each his own. There's Numismatist for a more scholarly approach, and the Graysheet for pricing and current market trends.

However, in my years here I have seen quite a few requests from people to repost articles from CW (something we're not permitted to do) so it clearly has some value.

These comments are more about CW and NN both than specifically CW... I'm sure I'm a bit biased since I greatly value newspapers and their ability to bring situations to light. The hobby needs that. Having a widely distributed weekly newspaper (or two) out there is a deterrent to those who would act in an even more unsavory way than some already do. Some members here don't seem to have any use for either paper but sure want to know the up-to-the-minute mintages of Mint products. Without the newspapers, that information wouldn't be available until the Mint put it in their annual report 18 months after the fact.

Could any one of us get our thoughts in front of so many people in any other venue? Both papers have guest editorials where that can be done.

Enough for now.

BigRed

More advanced articles.It seems like a lot of the articles are pretty elementary and its stuff I have read over and over, but for the money its a good paper.

DRUNNER

Previously mentioned . . .

There is something unsavory about a magazine (I take both . . and Numismatist) that accepts major advertising from sources known to be repetitive and chronic cancers in the hobby. I find the conspicuous 'lack of conscience' in accepting these ads to be no different than most of society, but I guess I always thought numismatics was a 'hobby of kings' regardless of whether we were paupers or not, and our flagship periodicals would represent the hobby in its best light.

Articles . . . articles . . . articles. I don't think we need to know what the correspondents had for dinner or how far they continued their morning constitutionals, but varied pieces on anything from Henning nickels to famous hoards to what makes good crust on gold (RYK?).

How about dropping the bad advertising and charging the "Mint Complainers" 25 cents per word and publishing anything they desire?

Drunner

Dave99B

Save some trees - dump the World Coin section!

Dave

seateddime

mail it so I get them timely

notlogical

How about an article writen by a YN about collecting from a YN's point of view.

BobGreene

I read several weeks ago that one of the new reporters at Coin World has a background as an investigative reporter. I would love to see some investigative reporting done as it relates to the coin hobby/business.

Bodie

1) I just want it delivered on time.

2) Ditch the currency BS

3) some reviews of small coin shows would be good. See what is trading in various parts of the US.

4) I don't want to see ads for trinkets, bottles, buttons, BB cards, stamps, watches, toys....on and on.

coindeuce

They obviously can't afford to stop accepting advertising fees from the full page scammers, so I see the need to post a permanent primer for even the most rudimentary collectors about how to go about researching the credibility of their advertisers.

dorancoins

CW needs to seriously improve articles relating to "darkside" coins (world coins). A long time ago CW had a world coin paper called "World Coins". But when Krause came up with World Coin News in the early 1970's, World Coins went downhill and eventually folded. While this is usually a US coin thread, I think the darksiders should have a shot at complaining!

mcgrover

CW needs to write reviews of its dealers/advertisers giving honest and accurate and educated articles about these entities, like some papers write restaurant reviews of its advertisers without considering the revenue effects. This requires having editorial integrity and independence, of which Coin World has none, except maybe regarding the Mint.

RYK

Latest delivery story:

I received two issues yesterday and a third today.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>Latest delivery story:

I received two issues yesterday and a third today. >>



But (and this is the key) was the issue which arrived the following day dated before or after the 2 that arrived the previous day?

kranky

<< <i>CW needs to seriously improve articles relating to "darkside" coins (world coins). A long time ago CW had a world coin paper called "World Coins". But when Krause came up with World Coin News in the early 1970's, World Coins went downhill and eventually folded. While this is usually a US coin thread, I think the darksiders should have a shot at complaining! >>



Geez, Michael, you get results! In the new CW I just received today, they said they are launching a new magazine called WorldWide Coins this fall. It will be 6x/year and the same size as Coin Values. In addition to editorial content, it will carry values for Canadian, British, Mexican and Euro coins on a rotation basis.

RYK

<< <i>

<< <i>Latest delivery story:

I received two issues yesterday and a third today. >>



But (and this is the key) was the issue which arrived the following day dated before or after the 2 that arrived the previous day? >>



No, this time, they were in the correct order. Last time, they were batting out of order.

INXS

Best thing they could do is cease publication its a waste of money unless you are into advertising tips.

bidask

More foreign coin info.

pocketpiececommems

I would like to get CW close to on time.

I would like to see more articles on different types of coins the way the commemorative series was written.

Put a limit on the number of words in the letters to the editors.

yellowjacket

I would like to see a regular "You Suck" column regarding recent rips in the field.

Garrow

Coinosaurus

Once in awhile they get a good feature story you just won't find anywhere else. They also make FOIA requests from time to time and get good stuff that way.

I pretty much skip the Letters to the Editor, the "whining factor" is considerable.

QDB's and JJK's columns are of course must reads.

I cut out a lot of articles and take notes for various projects, or paste them into associated reference books.

lathmach

The only time I paid for coins and didn't receive them was when I answered an ad from Coin World.
When I called Coin World to complain, they told me to wait longer. I went to the Post Office and filed a complaint with the district Postal Inspector.
The woman placing the ad also scammed 28 others, including an 11 year old boy.
She got 3 years in prison, but I only got about 5% of my money back.

Ray

RYK

Today, I received April 2 and April 16, but I have not yet received April 9. It will probably come tomorrow.

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>Today, I received April 2 and April 16, but I have not yet received April 9. It will probably come tomorrow. >>



It's not easy, but if you try really hard you get an entire month's worth of issues on 1 day.

PerryHall

Blame the US Postal Service. Notice that on the lower right side of the first page it states the day the CW was mailed? It's for a reason.