Newbies and their pocket change...
Stooge
Posts: 4,673 ✭✭✭✭✭
What in the heck is going on???
I"m a little confused as to the sudden rash of new members asking everyone to evaluate their worthless pocket change. Is this suppose to be a funny ruse the someone is playing? I know that some that have been kicked off from here in the past have come up with "Alts" to get back at others. Very strange...
Sorry, I had to ask.
Later, Paul.
0
Comments
Mods probably just approved a bunch of new accounts. Seems like it happens in waves.
Collector, occasional seller
I don't have an answer....but I mentally asked the very same question. Some of the posts are so similar to seemingly unrelated people from last week/month, that you have to wonder. No introductory text or discussion....just "what is this worth", or "I found this".
But, maybe...just maybe...there is a rash of new collectors being born out of something we aren't aware of? (Being optimistic).
Someone flagged a bunch of them. We all started at that level at one time. When I was a YN or if someone left me a jar of coins, what an easy way to find out what I had w/o going to a dealer. Best to ignore them. I've been posting some info for them when no one answered.
Be glad you don't deal in error coins.
You wouldn't believe the number, and kinds of emails
I get every day from people who take photos of their
pocket change with their iPhones, and send me the
images with no info, no description, no questions, no
anything in the email but the pics, and expect me to
tell them what's wrong with their coins.
Agreed
You have to remember that when they find a 1945 cent that that coin is now 72 years old. In 1960, when I started looking coins beyond my two Whitman Lincoln Cent folders, that an 1888 Indian Cent was also 72 years old. My first "really old" coins were an 1838 half dime and an 1846 large cent. The large Cent was 114 years old. Today a 1903 dated coin is the same age. You should be getting my drift. Everything is relative.
Don't be too hard on these guys until it becomes obvious that they are playing us for fools.
And they all use that kiddie avatar ...........
Bill, I reply to EVERY email I get from anyone
(regarding coins, that is).
In fact, my policy is to reply up to three times -
my initial reply with info on their coin(s), and
two replies if the the coins are damaged/altered,
but they still have questions.
After three replies, all telling them what happened to
their coin, if I feel like it, I won't reply again.
I do have a lot of patience with new collectors, and folks
who are finding 'different looking' coins in the pocket
change or rolls, but it is still surprising to me how many
people, even non-collectors, can't tell that their cent or
nickel is badly damaged, and not 'as issued'.
It's understood that some damaged coins could easily
be taken for errors by the general public or novices,
but not -some- of the pieces that are emailed to me......
I get the jest the poster in question is not from the US. I only read a couple of posts so I don't know.
I'm not sure who they are but I give them the benefit of doubt until they prove otherwise
JMO
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Brings back memories. When I was a new (and young) collector in the very early 1970s I desperately wanted a coin from the 1700s. I saved and saved and finally went to the coin shop and bought a decent circulated 1798 cent, for $8 as I recall. I still have it, of course. I remember the coin lady had a tube of them and looked for a good one for me - the first one she pulled out she wouldn't sell me because it was "going", as she said - it had a deep spot of verdigris or "bronze disease" as some call it, and she expected it to get worse.
If it is someone playing games then not cool. Until that is figured out then remember everyone here started out knowing nothing about the subject.
I did a Google News search for the last month, and this popped up:
http://www.krgv.com/story/36245311/rgv-coin-collecting-becoming-a-popular-hobby
A local TV station reporting on the "booming" coin collecting hobby in the area. Just the type of thing that could (temporarily?) boost the hobby. What are the chances that our new posters are from South Texas?
Not real good with 5 Cent Pieces. Is this worth more than 5 Cents?
Tee Hee.
Ken
Ken: Yes, it is DEFINITELY worth a LOT more than 5 cents! That is one of the uber-rare 1988 "inverted-lower-case-Denver-mint-mark" nickels from the Lost Sierra Nevada collection! Just 100 or 200 test coins minted, where they were trying out lower-case mint-marks (d instead of D and p instead of P). Somehow, the lowercase mintmark became inverted on the hub & came out looking like a capital "P". Everybody should be checking their change for these rarities!!
There is nothing wrong with these guys coming on here asking for advice. And members helping out. That's fine. Its what we do.
I do have a problem with the occasional poster that starts posting in broken English, (when it's obvious) then starts multiple posts that makes absolutely no sense, and then all of a sudden has a perfectly constructed sentence and just as fast reverts back to gibberish, but sometimes I think they are just messing with us, And as far as this particular poster goes, he's not even asking a questions.
Listen, we all want to error on the side of caution and don't want to offend anybody, but some post are just obvious. I don't care how illiterate you are, or if English isn't your first language if you were smart enough to sign up for a chat board, you can spend five minutes searching online to figure out how much 5 nickels are worth.
That's just my take on it.
eBay ID-bruceshort978
Successful BST:here and ATS, bumanchu, wdrob, hashtag, KeeNoooo, mikej61, Yonico, Meltdown, BAJJERFAN, Excaliber, lordmarcovan, cucamongacoin, robkool, bradyc, tonedcointrader, mumu, Windycity, astrotrain, tizofthe, overdate, rwyarmch, mkman123, Timbuk3,GBurger717, airplanenut, coinkid855 ,illini420, michaeldixon, Weiss, Morpheus, Deepcoin, Collectorcoins, AUandAG, D.Schwager.
What? You mean this isn't a rare error coin after all?
I don't mind all the posts if the member's enthusiasm is sincere, and we don't have to click on every thread.
It would probably be better if the person with endless questions confines them to just one post for the time being.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I have been answering these posts with a simple reply... I think they will slow down shortly... Cheers, RickO
I hear ya.
I agree with Bill that when I was a kid a 1939 nickel seemed ancient (I use think, heck Chris Columbus may have had this in his pocket when he discovered the Americas)
anyhow I told the newbie to get a blue Whitman for his old treasures, I think we should give em a break for now, Heck his profile shows he has -25 points, C'mon MINUS WTH, lets encourage and nurture.
Steve
I "deal" in coins that would be considered starter coins and can definitely say I ship more to Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Texas than anywhere else.
One wonders if many of the new posters are budding collectors or just looking to see if they're rich off of some pile of coins they found in a dead relative's drawer. I would think a budding collector would do just a modicum of research before jumping in.
The newbies don't bother me.................if they are genuinely interested in coin collecting and not screwing around.
Pete
Wonder how these NEW persons found this forum? I thougt cointalk forum with the "Whats it Worth Section" and discussions of "Mint Error" was the go to place for beginners.
Guess it show how popular the PCGS brand name is.
Even NGC site which is slow only had a couple of new people ?
Surprised we have not got the question yet " I have a 2017 P cent what is it worth."
It's covered.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987513/why-hasnt-the-rarest-lincoln-cent-ever-produced-caught-anyones-attention#latest
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."