Could a newbie become a expert by reading every topic and reply?
BigRed
Posts: 716
I have been collecting on and off for a few decades and the first year I found the CU forum I really got hooked for a while. I have a seasonal business and don't have to do much of anything in the winter and so I almost read every topic and every reply for about 4 months a couple of years ago before I joined. I will have to say that I really have seen the things from a different perspective since then.I am much more in tune to things now.It's not only learning about coins but the ins and outs of the coin market. It has fast fowarded me in learning. I would like to know what other members thoughts are?
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Comments
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>and if you read them all ....your I.Q. would drop thru the floor. >>
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
There is also a high percentage of complaint threads either about a dealer who didn't do this, or a collector that asked for that. These threads usually have little educational value and tend to be mostly a waste of time, though often entertaining. Once in a while one of the barn burners turns up an acorn.
The guess the grade threads will give a new person an idea about grading, but images are a poor second to handling real coins. A person that never buys or sells a coin will learn some things, but real world experience will teach far better than reading about coins.
One analogy I use often is learning to play tennis. A person can read all the books, watch all the videos, get expert advice, but they still have to go out on the court and actually play tennis. Same with learning to play a musical instrument. No amount of book knowledge can substitute for practice time on a real instrument. For coins, looking at coins, buying and selling coins all speed the learning process.
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
read, learn, handle........................................................BE CAREFUL!
<< <i>One problem is that there is almost as much bad information as there is accurate information. Some of it is scary bad. Some of it is opinion posing as facts. Some of it is from folks with a large ax to grind (eg: buy half cents they are sure to go up in value. Oh by the way, I also sell half cents, want some. For you a special price.). Some of it is good information from some of the top people in the industry. >>
What redtiger said, except change "scary bad" to "scary bad".
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
4/123
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Invested $216.76
Return on Investment $0.68
Found but keeping $.15
<< <i>One analogy I use often is learning to play tennis. A person can read all the books, watch all the videos, get expert advice, but they still have to go out on the court and actually play tennis. >>
If someone spent years reading everything they could find about tennis, watching thousands of matches, memorizing stats and players, etc. don't you think they could be a useful "expert" at a tennis magazine?
You can't learn much at all about the markets or coin values except
by buying and selling unless you have many years in a relatively small
niche. To learn the overall market you need to get out in the trenches
and on the bourse.
You can't really make very many good contacts without actually buying
and selling either. In the industry it's a good check that unlocks doors
and gets attention. You may know a lot of people by reading threads
but all you have is their ear, not their business.
You can become quite knowledgeable about various coins and series
and get some insights into grading, pricing, and availability.
<< <i>
<< <i>One analogy I use often is learning to play tennis. A person can read all the books, watch all the videos, get expert advice, but they still have to go out on the court and actually play tennis. >>
If someone spent years reading everything they could find about tennis, watching thousands of matches, memorizing stats and players, etc. don't you think they could be a useful "expert" at a tennis magazine? >>
I'm thinking in terms of becoming a tennis player instead of a tennis watcher or commentator. A more accurate analogy might be, if all a person read was Internet discussion groups about tennis, never watching real tennis matches, they would learn a lot about what folks talk about, but not that much about tennis. Similar a reader of the forum can learn a lot about coin "watching" or being a commentator and offering opinions on stuff they know little about (like some do anyway), but not too much about being a collector, not that much about grading, not make many contacts, not learn that much about pricing and quality. All of that takes looking at real coins, not images, buying and selling real coins for real money, not studying price guides.
Even for the coin commentating, there is so much bad information on these boards and the Internet in general, a person without any real world experience will have little basis for separating the wheat from the chaff. That person could be quite proficient in conversing on the forums, but that is far removed from being an expert coin collector, dealer, or grader.
Heck, everytime I think I have grading figured out, PCGS points out I know nothing :x but then again, according to them I probally need new glasses, becuase I sure don't always see what they see when they count to five
"I am sorry you are unhappy with the care you recieved, is their anything I can do for you right now, how about some high speed lead therapy?" - A qoute from my wife's nursing forum
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." – Thomas Jefferson
So, again, What Russ said.
<< <i>Nope. Just like how law school didn't teach me how to be a lawyer. IMO, you need hands on experience before you can become an expert. >>
I agree. Looking back, I don't know what I learned in law school, and to hear that first year associates at Manhattan firms are making $200,000+ per year is insane. Now to the coin question-- you can learn a lot from these boards (broad knowledge), but there is no substitute for good old fashioned study in a well-authored book, as well as speaking with other collectors, going to shows, looking at coins, and having meaningful discussions with dealers (both your dealer of choice and some other dealers).
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Yes. But, of course, the expertise would be in numismatic sociology.
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Reading is very important, BUT touching and cataloging MANY
thousands of coins is wholly necessary to become an "expert."
Buying top quality Seated Dimes in Gem BU and Proof.
Buying great coins - monster eye appeal only.
roadrunner
<< <i>I think some of the "experts" that write the articles for the trade magazines would have a difficult time making money on the bourse floor or at auction. >>
I agree.