Has coin collecting made you a more skeptical person?

dib

I've never really thought about this before, but I've just come to realize how skeptical I am in most non-coin situations (normal situations in life). For me, I would definitely say that buying coins on eBay has made me more skeptical. Questioning the pictures/lighting of the pictures/angles of the pictures/the seller/seller's vibe/seller's expertise in specific coin area... etc.

I'm always skeptical, I'm never fully convinced until I quickly analyze the auction. That being said, when I get the coin in hand, I'm not skeptical anymore. If I bought more coins where I could see them first in person, I probably wouldn't be as skeptical.

Any thoughts or opinions on skepticism in coin collecting?

Boosibri

I am an analytical person rather than a skeptical one. I don't think coin collecting can cause one to change their nature view of the world. For me to consider approaching the world with an attitude of "it didn't work the last time so why should it work this time" feels like an unwelcomed lense in which to view the world.

leothelyon

I doubt it, coin collecting made me a more skeptical person.

Timbuk3

My hobby of coin collecting has not
made me a skeptical person but it
has made me skeptical of who I
do business with !!!

Bochiman

Has it made me a more skeptical person? I don't think so. I don't always believe everything, but I do often try to look at all the angles.

Now, if the question had been something like "has coin collecting put you around a lot more skeptical people?", then I would say "YES".
I find MANY on these forums, and other forums involved with coin collecting, to be skeptical to the point of paranoia as well. Not everyone, but definitely more than I normally come into contact with in my normal life...IN YEARS!

WTCG

Coins haven't made me more skeptical but being involved with coins has exposed me to lots and lots of skeptical people. Contrary to coin people, where I'm from people are largely optimistic about the future.

I don't know for sure if collecting coins makes people more skeptical or if skeptical people are drawn to collecting coins.

TwoSides2aCoin

Oh no. On the contrary it has made me more aware of certain attributes, design, values, market and market conditions, economics, history, art and simple pleasures.

There have been a trail of "players" in and around the coin world who've succeeded mightily in making me skeptical of THEM. That's a coin fact.

Broadstruck

I'm more skeptical buying a used car or dating then a buying a coin as the risks are minimal in comparison.

barberkeys

The BS our gov't has put out over the past 3 decades has done that.

MisterSmithGuesser

<< <i>The BS our gov't has put out over the past 3 decades has done that. >>


Only over the past three decades?

ambro51

Well, I Hate it now...if that counts.

Sonorandesertrat

It is difficult not to be both skeptical and cynical when looking at what goes on in the business end of the hobby. Failure to properly represent what is for sale is very common; at times, all I can think when seeing a coin description is 'lipstick on a pig.' And industry movers and shakers are constantly promoting items as good investments, searching for a greater fool.

BryceM

<< <i>I don't think coin collecting can cause one to change their nature view of the world. >>



+1

410a

"Has coin collecting made me more skeptical"? What? Cosa? I am skeptical to begin with and then I got to deal with a "coin dealer"? Phew I am practically paranoid.

ctf_error_coins

No, not at all.

Very positive experience coin collecting, coin dealing, and life.

TwoSides2aCoin

<< <i>"Has coin collecting made me more skeptical"? What? Cosa? I am skeptical to begin with and then I got to deal with a "coin dealer"? Phew I am practically paranoid. >>



You have an open invitation to my Skype, Facebook, Shop or online store anytime. Be afraid.

ricko

I have always harbored a healthy skepticism....likely due to my profession. Coin collecting did not make me more skeptical. Cheers, RickO

silverpop

always been careful in real life, coin collecting has not done anything to change that

DaveWcoins

<< <i>No, not at all.

Very positive experience coin collecting, coin dealing, and life. >>



+1

Baley

I am skeptical of outrageous claims and stilted or biased arguments, in coins and in the rest of life, I do not know that coin collecting has more or less of this than other areas or whether being a numismatist has made me more skeptical in general, although I prefer the words objective or rational to skeptical, as those terms have less negative and more neutral connotations. I agree with the poster who said that excessive skepticism can border on parania if applied too liberally.

JCMhouston

No, I tend to approach everything in life with the view that people suck. I'm rarely disappointed, coin collecting hasn't changed my view.

OPA

Not more skeptical, however, it has made me more cautious and more knowledgeable in the items that I collect.

LindeDad

Bought a few used cars before I ever bought a coin. So I was on the road to it a long time before I started collecting coins.

winky

Only when I buy from a stranger and some dealers. I like to buy from folks I know.

steveben

perhaps you are becoming more discerning, not skeptical.

what is an example where coin collecting made you more skeptical in non-coin pursuits?

Pokermandude

Absolutely. Mostly because I do a lot of buying from the public and buying/sales on Ebay.

For instance, today I drove across town for a small buy (~$125 on about $250 retail worth of material). The one banknote which made up 80% of that value was an obvious counterfeit. The person had sent me a crappy cellphone photo before hand, impossible for me to determine that it was a fake in that photo. Ended up with a couple ounces of silver coins that once I sell I'll recoup the cost of gas but not my time.

epcjimi1

I think I'm a lot more diligent, not more skeptical.

FullStrike

I've noticed that the louder a Dealer screams from the rooftops that they alone are honest, they are actually one of the
most darned slippery ones out there. The whole business of selling pennies, nickels and dimes for thousands and in
some cases millions of dollars doesn't exactly allow a person to be too straight.

Cougar1978

Dealing has made me more skeptical of buying - its easier to buy coins than sell them. Why?
1. It can be tough to find people who will pay the money. The old days of ebay were a retail bonanza, now forget it.
2. There is no guarantee the market will go up. As a matter of fact many market sectors have been declining as evidenced by lower bids in the CDN. So if I pay too much, I may not be able to recover that tomorrow.
3. Numismatic fads will eat your lunch: HOF coins, 1950-D nickel rolls (circa 1964 going at $1000), and many more.
4. Crossover People - They don't really care about the coin, all they care about is the deal and crossing it so they want to talk you down so their grading fees are covered.
5. Hard Times - We are in a recession as wages for ordinary working people have essentially remained flat or decreased.
6. The sticker game - Been getting all kind of sticker marketing material so I have to ask more for coins I can't sell to absorb the sticker cost - no thanks - especially the one about mods.

coindeuce

dib, I think your poll is fatally flawed. I believe you've erroneously used the term skeptical, when in fact you meant to use the term cynical.

Elcontador

I have never been one to take someone else's word for something, or agree to do something strictly based on whom was asking me to do it. Something has to make sense for me to do it, irrespective of what others tell me.

Given my profession, I've learned that if you want to know the truth about a matter, always follow the money,
that the person who screams the loudest has the least to say that is worth hearing
and that the person who think he's (it's always a man, for some reason) the smartest person in the room never is that individual.

In terms of coin collecting; it's very simple. Caveat emptor.

TwoSides2aCoin

Skepticism. Probably not one of the best attributes for the hobby, but it's the way it is because of a Latin word.

CAVEAT. Which is basically taking responsibility for self. by heeding a warning. And that suggests all of us to "beware" or to be wary of.
So the natural order of things is that we are analytical to the Nth degree. And that makes us "doubt" validity without verification.

Odd, but that's how I perceive the "whole" of the hobby. And that's why mentors are good for us, and why we should never kick a gift horse in the mouth.

roadrunner

It seemed in the 1970's that 90% of the dealers in my area were out to screw me if I wasn't careful what I was buying. It gave me a distorted view of the market. It wasn't always intentional as many of them had no clue when it came to clean or damaged coins, they just sold them as if they were like any other coin. Unfortunately, not much has changed in the following 40 years.

Walkerfan

I get more skeptical the older and wiser that I get and not just from coin collecting but from the world in general.

dib

I've really enjoyed reading all the great replies, and I embarrassingly forgot how to reply in my own thread... (i was looking for a button that said "post".)

Elcontador - I couldn't have said it any better myself, 100% spot on sir.

thisnamztaken

I think Ronald Reagan, speaking to Mikhail Gorbachev said it best: "Trust, but verify".

The Gipper

leothelyon

Is it like, yeah, it'a ok for my cats to get high on catnip but I.................you know how it ends.......wherever you are.

TwoSides2aCoin

It's made me an older kid with bushy eye brows and longer nose hairs. That's bad enough.

puffer

Many people graduate from college with idealistic notions of the way life works; probably those in the legal, law enforcement, business professions are less deluded. Numismatics is a tough field where value and economics are probably more honest than salaried professions, government employment, etc.. The learning curves on numismatics are steep and require lots of counsel by seasoned experts.