Can or do any BLIND people collect coins?
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
Got to wondering the other day.
I have no idea how sensitive "feel" is to the blind. Yeh, I know about braille, but would any blind person be able to discern dates or design?
I'd make a pretty safe guess that overdates and varieties would be out.
Just curious.
Fer shur they would have to be "raw."
I have no idea how sensitive "feel" is to the blind. Yeh, I know about braille, but would any blind person be able to discern dates or design?
I'd make a pretty safe guess that overdates and varieties would be out.
Just curious.
Fer shur they would have to be "raw."
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Linky
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I always told myself if I lost my eye-sight, coins would be first on the list to go
jim
<< <i>if I were blind, there is no way I would enjoy collecting.
I always told myself if I lost my eye-sight, coins would be first on the list to go
jim >>
how could you know that without knowing what it's like to be blind?
<< <i>
<< <i>if I were blind, there is no way I would enjoy collecting.
I always told myself if I lost my eye-sight, coins would be first on the list to go
jim >>
how could you know that without knowing what it's like to be blind? >>
I don't think it would be to hard to imagine what it would be like to be blind in this sense of the word. I agree I could not see myself enjoying the hobby anymore.
I enjoy owning coins because I like looking at them. If I couldn't see them and somebody handed me a 16-d in say Ms-65 big deal, if I cant see it. What good is having it.
Paranoid enough that I wouldn't believe what they told me anyway.
I believe you can be a professional grader, so why not a collector?
Lance.
<< <i>I believe you can be a professional grader, so why not a collector? >>
OK, now I get it. I must be slow. The thread title was just a setup, right
pennies.
GrandAm
It seems like it would make no sense to collect high end mint state stuff, but I just closed my eyes and "looked" at a Peace dollar with my fingers...Pretty cool.
Do you suppose one could learn to read dates with your fingers ? On larger coins maybe...gold would have a pretty special feel to it as well, I would imagine
Menomonee Falls Wisconsin USA
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistr...dset.aspx?s=68269&ac=1">Musky 1861 Mint Set
That combination makes it hard to look at or enjoy my coins (long since moved off-site) for any appreciable amount of time, as the dates are too small for me, and the slightest glare reflecting off them (or a simple kitchen knife when eating) can really set my "good" eye off!
I never collected anything besides mostly-circulated coins in Whitman blue folders, but it used to be fun to grab a folder & open 'er up and just check them all out. But after my vision issues set in, that fun, along with other things I used to like to do (like scan flea markets or consignment store shelves) was drastically reduced.
So, from my somewhat limited and not 100%-related experience, I can tell you that I would think that the fun found in the visual aspect of collecting and APPRECIATING coins would likely be very low among the blind.
That's not to say that someone who appreciates a coin's intrinsic value or rarity or history might not still be interested in the hobby/business, or someone who collects/trades/sells coins might not be interested from a more BUSINESS perspective, but that's just my gut feeling.
I do wonder that, even if they were to deal in slabbed coins, do any/all of the professional grading services even mark their slabs/labels with Braille? And without sight or a trusted friend, how could one even be reasonably sure that the described item was even in the package, and he was not being scammed or taken advantage of? How could they grade any coin, or trust someone else's assessment?
Then again, I suppose that, while not tactile enough to differentiate between dates & mintmarks on coins, I might at least be able to train myself to identify denomination/type at least by size, edging, sound, thickness, and the portrait's relief.
But that brings up ANOTHER question - - maybe for Greeniejr or others.........for a hobby where coins are most often handled edge-only, with gloves, or slabbed, how many collectors/dealers would allow a blind person to even attempt to "feel-up" their un-holstered coin/investment to be able to identify it in the first place? And, if a blind person were to wear the required gloves before touching a coin, how sensitive could they still be to all its identifying features?
Very curious to hear what others think.
- - Dave
NASA is very disability-friendly, supplying the necessary specialized office equipment to allow a disabled employee to perform their jobs. If one were interfacing with my friend remotely -- by phone or eMail, for example -- one would never know that he was blind.
Even though he was good at using creative techniques to 'get the job done,' I was amazed when he would enthusiastically tell me about his latest coin purchases. As others have mentioned, I wondered how a sight-impaired person could enjoy coin collecting -- and evaluate potential purchases. I always thought that his story would have made an excellent Coin World article.
...if so I do believe they would only collect raw, slabs would be out!
When I was doing the ME/NH/MA show circuit a few years back I frequently had a gentleman visit my table who was visually impaired. He was assisted by his wife, who would ask me if I had items from his want list. I would hand the coins to her one at a time, then she would describe them to him. If he liked her description, he would take the coin and hold it up very close to his eye, as he had only very limited sight - and only in one eye. If it passed muster, he and I would talk price.
They were a wonderful pair, and he bought many coins from me over several years. I cannot imagine collecting this way, but it worked for him.
<< <i>Absolutely. We have a customer who comes in once or twice a month to "look" at our tokens and medals. Not to be stereotypical but he likes high relief medals but also buys all sorts of other coins. >>
That's excellent......and so is that blog by the blind collector and the thoughts about getting the little girl interested in a state quarter set.....
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
I am completely blind and I've been collecting for about 35 years now. I currently have over 5000 cataloged coins. Of course, I build and enjoy my collection differently than those who can see it. I can recognize about 500 coins by touch, but it is correct that variation and dates don't mean much to me. I have heard that some blind people can read dates by touch, I tried, and I cannot.
Slabbed coins are completely out for me, it just doesn't make much sense. I mostly have circulation coins, I don't buy anything that you touch and it immediately loses its value, I enjoy holding a coin in my hand but that leaves fingerprints.
It is correct, not too many dealers allow me to touch the coins, but that's part of the package, I would not ask to hold an expensive coin. But there are still many coins one can touch, and I have to say most coin dealers are very kind to find those for me. An example would be an ancient coin which was dug out from the ground. It doesn't hurt anybody if I touch it. The most expensive coin I handled was a Roman bronze coin at the ANS museum which costs about $40.000
If you will allow me the shameless promotion, I have been writing a blog about my experiences of being a blind coin collector, which you may find interesting:
https://BlindCoinCollector.com
Start on the "about me" page.
@tbabinszki .... Welcome aboard... Thank you for your input... Very interesting. I will check out your blog... Cheers, RickO
I'm a life member of Baltimore Coin Club and we had a blind member that would attend meetings back in the 1980's and 1990's. He would bring his seeing eye dog to club meetings.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Welcome aboard also.
So are you using a special computer or apps to read this message forum?
@tbabinszki Welcome to the forums!
I enjoyed reading your blog; and how challenging it is to handle coins and currency and your insight in how to overcome these obstacles. Thanks.
When I was a child, my grandparents raised me and they have some friends who had a blind son. He was about 10 years older than I was at the time, but he had learned to play chess. At that time, I was part of the chess club in my grade school and thought I was a pretty decent player. We would spend holidays with them over the years and when we would play, he would beat me about 90% of the time. Great to be reading this today. I just listened to your audio story and am glad to have you here on the forum Tom!!
Thank you all for checking my blog.
Let me try to answer everything here in one response.
I also have a guide dog, when he hears the sound of a handful of coins, he wags his tail and tries to take me there. Not a special trick, when he does something I like, I am happy. When I am happy, he gets a reward or a praise. Coins make me happy, and he figured this out as we attended coin shows and club meetings.
I use a regular computer and a regular phone. They all come with a built in screen reader, though for Windows it makes sense to download a different one. This screen reader can read everything that comes on the screen as long as it is text, though these days basic images can be described as well. I can also hear what I type. I've been working with talking computers since the 1980's, part of my work is to help developers to make their applications more usable for people with all disabilities.
I'm the worst chess player, I was always more interested in a new coin than a game won. But I do have a special chess board which I can feel, this is how I was teaching my kids, unfortunately they are not interested. But they both collect coins:-)
Thanks for the welcome.
Tom
@tbabinszki
Awesome!
Thanks for sharing the information about your guide dog. A true service dog.
Kids will be kids and good to know they have an interest in this hobby.
Welcome @tbabinszki. You bring an interesting aspect to coin collecting.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown