Pronunciation Guide

BryceM · June 2, 2015 7:09AM

I was talking to a coin friend a couple of days ago and heard a few things that one of us is clearly pronouncing incorrectly. We each, of course, believe we are correct.

I have my ideas, but feel free to add your own:

disme
St. Gaudens
Dahlonega
Fugio
Feuchtwanger
avoirdupois
Castaing machine
brokage
exergue
Brasher
Gobrecht
Reales
Janvier
Sacagawea

guitarwes · June 2, 2015 7:16AM

<< I was talking to a coin friend a couple of days ago and heard a few things that one of us is clearly pronouncing incorrectly. We each, of course, believe we are correct.

I have my ideas, but feel free to add your own: >>

disme- Diz-Me
St. Gaudens- saint Gaw-denz
Dahlonega- Da-lon-ah-ga
Fugio- few-gee-oh
Feuchtwanger- still have no idea
avoirdupois- Ar-vwoo-pwa
Castaing machine- don't know
brokage- brok-age
exergue- don't know
Brasher- Brash-her
Gobrecht- go-brect
Reales- re al
Janvier- Zan-ve-er
Sacagawea- sack-uh-ga-we-ah

illini420 · June 2, 2015 7:20AM

I don't care how the other coin nerds say it... for me it'll always be:

disme = dime

TopographicOceans · June 2, 2015 7:21AM

Feuchtwanger = FOYKT-vahng-ur

lkeigwin · June 2, 2015 7:27AM

<< I don't care how the other coin nerds say it... for me it'll always be:

disme = dime >>

I agree.
Lance.

MrHalfDime · June 2, 2015 7:31AM

disme = deem

exergue = ex-urj

gonzer · June 2, 2015 7:39AM

brockage (notice the 'C')

cmerlo1 · June 2, 2015 7:45AM

I seem to remember reading that Brasher was pronounced Bray-sher.

LanceNewmanOCC · June 2, 2015 8:50AM

<< disme- Diz-Me
avoirdupois- Ar-vwoo-pwa
Castaing machine- don't know
Reales- re al
Janvier- Zan-ve-er >>

my 2c

avoirdupois- ah-vwah-doo-pwah
Castaing - ca-staying - ca as in cat
reales - real/realz - no accent - this is how ive heard hispanic peeps say it fwiw
Janvier - yawn-vee-aee - reminds me of "nodes of ranvier" - i could be wrong on this one.

depends on usage as do a few others

<< I seem to remember reading that Brasher was pronounced Bray-sher. >>

- ive read this as well.
.

LindeDad · June 2, 2015 9:02AM

All my coin nerd talk is silent as it's only online.

Don't visit the local shops anymore.

LanceNewmanOCC · June 2, 2015 9:16AM

<< All my coin nerd talk is silent as it's only online.

Don't visit the local shops anymore.

>>

showz?
.

TwoSides2aCoin · June 2, 2015 9:22AM

Find me on Skype. I'll talk dirty to you

Weiss · June 2, 2015 9:26AM

Dictionary dot Com offers audio recordings of pronunciations of many words. There is a speaker symbol immediately to the right of the word. Just click on it

Disme on Dictionary.com

BustHalfBrian · June 2, 2015 9:29AM

<< disme = deem
>>

This is how I've always pronounced it

also add 'repousse' (pop-out coins) to the list. I think it's pronounced reh-poo-SAY (accent on last 'e'). It's French.

ColonelJessup · June 2, 2015 9:58AM

<< 

<< disme = deem
>>

This is how I've always pronounced it

also add 'repousse' (pop-out coins) to the list. I think it's pronounced reh-poo-SAY (accent on last 'e'). It's French. >>

+1

Py-fort or pee-ay-fort. English is so declasse. The missing accent marks make it tricky.

Though the pronunciation is etymologically linked by some with a phonetically matching colloquial Dutch trading term, I have always favored the idea that "dime", a term derived from the clumsy "disme" (which I don't believe is actually a word in any language), actually is a phonetic corrupted by transliteration of the French one-tenth dixieme. I wonder how Jefferson spelled it...... Dizz-ME is soooo wrong.

The Brasher family has been pronouncing it bray-zher for centuries. Shouldn't we?

Exergue - "in exergue". Heraldic term for something I've heard referred to on a family crest. Maybe a ribbon or banner upon which some motto is written? Or maybe some form of relief? Some here will know better on this....

valente151 · June 2, 2015 10:47AM

I remember a conversation with Stealer one day when he told me a coin was "poo-deed" I didn't know what he was talking about, turns out he was saying the coin was Puttied

I think one of the problems is, at least I know this is the case for me, a lot of my vocabulary has been acquired thru reading, which isn't really convenient when the English language has so many bizarre pronounciation rules that change for every word. It leads to people coming up with their own pronounciation a for words.

stealer · June 2, 2015 10:54AM

<< I remember a conversation with Stealer one day when he told me a coin was "poo-deed" I didn't know what he was talking about, turns out he was saying the coin was Puttied

I think one of the problems is, at least I know this is the case for me, a lot of my vocabulary has been acquired thru reading, which isn't really convenient when the English language has so many bizarre pronounciation rules that change for every word. It leads to people coming up with their own pronounciation a for words. >>

If only there was a picture of Rusevelt giving you the middle finger I'd post it.

BryceM · June 2, 2015 11:03AM

The word dîme in French means tenth (as in one tenth), and is used to signify (among other things) tithing, in a religious sense. The little hat over the "i" signifies that an "s" used to be there in old French. In French, the word is most certainly pronounced "deem" (with a silent "s"). How it was pronounced in the American colonies is anyone's guess, but there was a strong French presence and my guess is that its use at least started on this side of the pond as a "deem".

Dixième also means tenth, but in a slightly different sense. It comes after neuvième, which means ninth.

ColonelJessup · June 2, 2015 11:25AM

How did you get French accent marks from your keyboard? Acute? Circonflex?

What's up with the Umlaut? . . . And the upside-down Spanish question marK? . . .

Also: zhan-vee-AY. . . .

I hate not getting the accent mark on piefort.

Can anyone post an image of the most famous American piefort coin?

savoyspecial · June 2, 2015 12:48PM

I want some help with 'Jules Reiver'

savoyspecial · June 2, 2015 12:49PM

and maybe 'Montroville Dickeson'

BryceM · June 2, 2015 1:56PM

On an Apple device, hold down the letter and you'll be given äłł śörtš òf çōõł öptïôñś. On a computer keyboard hold down the alt button & type the 3-digit character code. You can google these - don't have access where I'm at right now.

Übēr čöól n'est-ce pas?

ambro51 · June 2, 2015 8:36PM

PCGS. PUH-cigh-sus NGC. nuh-GHI-cis

Boosibri · June 2, 2015 8:58PM

DUH-lahn-eh-ga

ricko · June 2, 2015 9:30PM

You say potayto, I say potahto...

Cheers, RickO

brg5658 · June 2, 2015 11:07PM

<< I hate not getting the accent mark on piefort. >>

The correct spelling is piedfort (pronounced pee-ay-FOR; the "t" is silent), which does not have an accent in French.

The word was introduced into English, and incessantly misspelled as piefort. After this misspelling became so prevalent, English dictionaries added piefort as an alternate spelling. The word was re-adopted back into French with a new spelling, but this time with the accent as piéfort.

The correct spelling of the word is still piedfort (no accent), but apparently if you spell a word incorrectly for long enough in English, they just lazily add it to the dictionary as an "alternate spelling" -- e.g., see the word "thru" which was added to the dictionary back in the 1800s because people were too stupid/lazy to spell it properly as through.

And, that's the "rest of the story"...

ColonelJessup · June 3, 2015 3:02AM

<< 

<< I hate not getting the accent mark on piefort. >>

The correct spelling is piedfort (pronounced pee-ay-FOR; the "t" is silent), which does not have an accent in French.

The word was introduced into English, and incessantly misspelled as piefort. After this misspelling became so prevalent, English dictionaries added piefort as an alternate spelling. The word was re-adopted back into French with a new spelling, but this time with the accent as piéfort.

The correct spelling of the word is still piedfort (no accent), but apparently if you spell a word incorrectly for long enough in English, they just lazily add it to the dictionary as an "alternate spelling" -- e.g., see the word "thru" which was added to the dictionary back in the 1800s because people were too stupid/lazy to spell it properly as through.

And, that's the "rest of the story"... >>

Excellent information and analysis . . . .

I cringe each time I use the word "normalcy" when I mean normality. Math and dictionary dweeb; sometimes more precise than is appreciated by others who speak in a degraded patois. The vulgate is still more broadly received as intelligible than either Esperanto or ASL. "Return to Normalcy" was Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan. That administration was surely part of the Golden Age of American culture . .

The dictionary notes that, while this word is an acceptable substitute, the cognoscenti "view it with derision."

Yet none of this informs me about keyboard-available accent marks.

Even if used incorrectly . . . .

BryceM · June 3, 2015 3:52AM

Dear Colonel (pronounced kernel, for unknown reasons),

While neither part of the cognoscenti nor the Illuminati, I do posses the secret knowledge of keyboard-accessible accented characters, at least for a PC:

hold down the ALT button and type 130, then release the ALT key. You'll get this: é

131 - â
132 - ä
133 - à
134 - å
135- ç

and so forth.....

Starting about 128 and ending somewhere around 168 you'll find a beautiful variety of characters, enough to keep you happy to ∞.

That's my 2¢ worth.

pied = foot
fort = strong

Go figure.

LanceNewmanOCC · June 3, 2015 6:38AM

<< How did you get French accent marks from your keyboard? Acute? Circonflex?

I hate not getting the accent mark on piefort. >>

i copied and pasted a ton of alt+ characters to this thread. i deleted the ones that didnt work.
.

BAJJERFAN · June 3, 2015 6:48AM

<< PCGS. PUH-cigh-sus NGC. nuh-GHI-cis >>

RCBS erks bus! or irks bus!

TPRC · June 3, 2015 7:46AM

<< Dictionary dot Com offers audio recordings of pronunciations of many words. There is a speaker symbol immediately to the right of the word. Just click on it

Disme on Dictionary.com >>

Very cool!

thisnamztaken · June 3, 2015 8:59AM

So far, I believe most of the pronunciations posted are apropos to this thread's theme.
apropos: ap-ruh-poh

ColonelJessup · June 4, 2015 2:17AM

<< ....

Starting about 128 and ending somewhere around 168 you'll find a beautiful variety of characters, enough to keep you happy to ‡..... >>

beautiful indeed. Life is so much richer for me now. Entire new vistas of incoherent unintelligible incomprehensibility have opened.

Many of Life's deeper truths can only be expressed clearly in hexadecimal notation. So every little bit helps . . . .

Life is so much easier once people agree that 1+1-10 . . . . . .

Edited to add: On a PC. I just tried (alt held)130(alt released) and got nada.

BryceM · June 4, 2015 3:01AM

I started using this trick in Belgium in 1990. It's worked on every PC I've used since, from university computers to library computers to hospital systems......

'course, that has always been in a Wïñdôwš environment. You using something odd?

brg5658 · June 4, 2015 3:27AM

<< I started using this trick in Belgium in 1990. It's worked on every PC I've used since, from university computers to library computers to hospital systems......

'course, that has always been in a Wïñdôwš environment. You using something odd? >>

As far as I know, you have to use the Number key pad...it won't work with the numbers at the top of the keyboard. That may be your problem.

ColonelJessup · June 4, 2015 4:14AM

<< 

<< I started using this trick in Belgium in 1990. It's worked on every PC I've used since, from university computers to library computers to hospital systems......

'course, that has always been in a Wïñdôwš environment. You using something odd? >>

As far as I know, you have to use the Number key pad...it won't work with the numbers at the top of the keyboard. That may be your problem. >>

It was.. MOO-chahs grah-SEE-ahs. . .

denga · June 4, 2015 9:27AM

<< I don't care how the other coin nerds say it... for me it'll always be:

disme = dime >>

Correct. The pronunciation has been “dime” in this country since at least 1802.

Coinosaurus · June 4, 2015 9:39AM

<< 

<< I don't care how the other coin nerds say it... for me it'll always be:

disme = dime >>

Correct. The pronunciation has been “dime” in this country since at least 1802. >>

You are right, but when Bob Merrill (who I otherwise love) calls it a "dizmee" at a public auction, it attracts more attention than we do

LanceNewmanOCC · May 7, 2016 8:37AM

.

LanceNewmanOCC · May 7, 2016 8:37AM

dbl

AUandAG · May 7, 2016 9:45AM

code 113......not going to do it again.

bob

MrHalfDime · May 7, 2016 10:01AM

"I want some help with 'Jules Reiver' "

jools (or jewels) ryver

Although his given name was 'Julius'.

EagleEye · May 7, 2016 10:19AM

The Brasher family has been pronouncing it bray-zher for centuries. Shouldn't we?

A Brasher family member was at the 1979 Garrett sale an they clarified this pronunciation from the podium, or at least auctioneer George Bennett or Q. David Bowers did.

Gazes · May 7, 2016 10:59AM

Da-lawn-ah-ga

bamaeric81 · May 7, 2016 2:03PM

Lol, I'm embarrassed to say this.

Numismatists - I Can't, never have been able to. I've been collecting since 1989 and I gave up years ago. On paper I say Numismatist, in person I say Coin Collector.

Please tell me I'm not the only one?

Now Dahlonega is easy (I'm originally from Georgia)

and Sacagawea I'm pretty sure I've nailed down.

astrorat · May 7, 2016 9:48PM

St. Gaudens is not the last name of the engraver, it's Saint-Gaudens.

MrHalfDime · May 7, 2016 9:54PM

Originally posted by: astrorat
St. Gaudens is not the last name of the engraver, it's Saint-Gaudens.

?? This. Thank you.

keets · May 7, 2016 10:44PM

in Numismatics, many word pronunciations are viewed the same as many assigned grades --- some refuse acceptance. those that refuse to accept a coin is an AU58 often refuse to accept dime and hold onto deem.

it may be the most stubbornly adhered to mis-pronunciation in the Hobby.

ricko · May 7, 2016 11:54PM

I deem it to be dime.....

Cheers, RickO

JJSingleton · May 8, 2016 4:50AM

mannie gray · May 8, 2016 2:57PM

Here in the midwest I hear "Da-gong-ga" quite a bit, even from seasoned dealers/collectors.

Pronunciation Guide

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