Misuse of PEDIGREE and LOWBALL
Frankcoins
Posts: 4,571 ✭✭✭
As an auctioneer of many types of items, I find it odd that coin collectors misuse two terms in a way that non-coin people find confusing or laughable.
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LOWBALL
Definition of lowball
: to trick or deceive (someone) by saying that the price or cost of something is lower than it really is
: to give a very low or unfairly low offer to (someone)
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And use of PEDIGREE (the bloodline of a purebred animal) to mean PROVENANCE (the ownership trail of an antique, collectible or art item)
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LOWBALL
Definition of lowball
: to trick or deceive (someone) by saying that the price or cost of something is lower than it really is
: to give a very low or unfairly low offer to (someone)
.
.
And use of PEDIGREE (the bloodline of a purebred animal) to mean PROVENANCE (the ownership trail of an antique, collectible or art item)
Frank Provasek - PCGS Authorized Dealer, Life Member ANA, Member TNA. www.frankcoins.com
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Comments
Lance.
Latin American Collection
I think of provenance as where it came from (mint collection, shipwreck, buried treasure, museum, etc) and pedigree as who owned it before, particularly if a long and famous list.
Agree that pedigree is misused.
Agree but the usage has become so common that I just accept it and don't give it a second thought---sort of like calling a "cent" a "penny" which is also wrong but everyone does it.
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
After awhile, mistakes within the English language become the vernacular and thus the newly accepted.
peacockcoins
Something can't be, "very unique"- yet people state so all the time.
After awhile, mistakes within the English language become the vernacular and thus the newly accepted.
Guilty as charged. I used to say Susan B Anthony dollars are pretty ugly.
....
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Agree that pedigree is misused.
The pedigree / former owner thing is WAY over blown. For coins that are the finest known, or among the finest known, for their date and mint combination OR for a given rare die variety, the list of former owners does matter, especially if the former owner had a big name collection. In those cases, there is some numismatic history involved. It also establishes the status for a given coin in the condition census. It avoids the mistake of stating that a certain coin is a recently discovered example.
The "Joe Blow" former owner thing is a gimmick in my opinion. Why does it matter that a run of mill collector, who happened to have a registry set, was former owner? Ditto for run of the mill coins that used to be in a "name" collection like Eliasberg. Those coins are not worth a premium so far as I'm concerned. I know some people get turned on by the fact that coin X once was part of a great collection, but it does not do much for me.
Something can't be, "very unique"- yet people state so all the time.
After awhile, mistakes within the English language become the vernacular and thus the newly accepted.
It used to bug me when folks said "at this point in time" instead of "at this point" or "at this time". The redundant term was coined during the Watergate hearings and now it's everywhere.
Lance.
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
I actually don't like buying coins with other people's names on the label, but I do have a Binion Morgan and an Eliasberg No Cents nickel - because it is a coin that has two stories with it.
He probably had hundreds of these, but I think every collection should have one, as well as a Binion
Agree that pedigree is misused.
+17
BUT....a bigger problem is the misuse of:
There, Their, They're
To, Too, Two
and a long list of other homonyms/homophones.
I just chalk it up to the poor education and upbringing of so many Americans. It's sad.
I can happily report that my kids will not be part of this terrible trend!
For a PDF list of popular homonyms, click here.
HOMONYMS are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Homophones are a type
of homonym that also sound alike and have different meanings, but have different spellings.
HOMOGRAPHS are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Lafayette Grading Set
And this begs the question: How long does it take before a misused phrase in English becomes the new correct use?
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When I was growing up, ain't was not in the dictionary. If I ever used it, I would get in trouble.
I never used it. Maybe it was private school that helped or that combined with the educated
people that were always around me? I heard a report a few years back that ain't was added
to the dictionary. It is sad that society bends to the ignorant. Spell check does not even
freak out when I type it.
When I was a kid, we would say "Ain't ain't a word."
So to answer your question, it depends. In that case, it was a few decades.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
To. Too. Two
There, their, they're
along with "go ahead and back up" or "take a left right here". I once worked with a man who was directing some heavy lifting who said, "raise it down".
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
"It is sad that society bends to the ignorant." Languages evolve. If society hadn't bent to the 'ignorant' or to an incoming ruling class, most (if not all) European languages would not have made it past medieval forms. And I would be writing this in a form of Old English.
Sounds like good old english to me
I don't think it takes very long, perhaps 1-2 decades. one that drives me crazy is the insistence by so many(especially the media) on using the word "impact" in the place of the word effect which I just don't understand.
I think the weather has an effect on the traffic when I'm driving home, I don't think it impacts it.
Something can't be, "very unique"- yet people state so all the time.
After awhile, mistakes within the English language become the vernacular and thus the newly accepted.
Guilty as charged.
I used to say Susan B Anthony dollars are pretty ugly.
Well ain't that a oxymoron ?
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
As an auctioneer of many types of items, I find it odd that coin collectors misuse two terms in a way that non-coin people find confusing or laughable.
.
.
LOWBALL
Definition of lowball
: to trick or deceive (someone) by saying that the price or cost of something is lower than it really is
: to give a very low or unfairly low offer to (someone)
.
.
And use of PEDIGREE (the bloodline of a purebred animal) to mean PROVENANCE (the ownership trail of an antique, collectible or art item)
And so it continues since these two are not the first example of the misuse and ultimate acceptance of some terms within numismatics.
The name is LEE!
pedigree
[ped-i-gree]
Synonyms
Examples
Word Origin
noun
1.
an ancestral line; line of descent; lineage; ancestry.
2.
a genealogical table, chart, list, or record, especially of a purebred animal.
3.
distinguished, excellent, or pure ancestry.
4.
derivation, origin, or history:
the pedigree of a word.
Contemporary Examples
Name: Sam Zell Age: 71 pedigree : Legendary real estate investor, known for jumping into distressed situations.
"Pedigree, genealogy refer to an account of ancestry. A pedigree is a table or chart recording a line of ancestors, either of persons or (more especially) of animals,..."
Link
And similar results when I look up low ball....something my local dealers have been doing to me for 40 years. The definitions as commonly used by us collectors seem to be well within the accepted definitions. Now how about the words "cross" or "crossover?"
I like my vintage lowball pennies too have a pedigree on there slabs cause thier pretty ugly bye thereselves. If that causes two many to get they're knickers in a not, well at this point in time that ain't my problem.
The tension over miss use of grammer, spellin and word usury can get 2 b 2 much at times. Wheel just hafta raise it down a bit.
Im' gone back to reeding my Cent Whimsey. Now thatsa book that made a reel impact on the industry.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin