How do YOU define "Dreck"?

GritsMan · June 13, 2009 11:51AM

Just finished reading Laura Sperber's report on the Long Beach show, and she uses the term "dreck" repeatedly. In the last sentence, she seems to define it as anything "over-graded, messed with, or low end," but I get the feeling there's more to it than that. Your definition?

BTW, she says dreck has fallen through the floor and perhaps is below the readings of even sensitive seismic monitoring instruments.

Bayard1908 · June 13, 2009 11:56AM

I believe the literal Yiddish translation is vulgar slang for feces.

In the way she uses the the term, I think of ugly dark toning or spots.

Bear · June 13, 2009 11:57AM

The term really describes a number of the dregs in the barrel.

1. Over graded coins

2. Coins that have been auctioned over and over
in a short period of time. No one seems to want to
keep these coins in a collection.

3. Just made it for the grade coins that in addition are
somewhat fugly.

4. Stale coins that have been sitting for a very long time
in a dealers inventory. These are coins that all dealers
recognize on sight and do not want.

In a down market, marginal coins are extremely difficult to sell
at almost any price. In this period, collectors smarten up and
demand more coin for their money.

stinkinlincoln · June 13, 2009 11:58AM

Ive never heard that word used in coin talk once in my life. Nor anywhere else that I can recall.

Bear · June 13, 2009 12:05PM

Well, now you can not make that statement

any more. Now you have heard the term.

rld14 · June 13, 2009 12:09PM

<< I believe the literal Yiddish translation is vulgar slang for feces.

In the way she uses the the term, I think of ugly dark toning or spots. >>

You are correct. It's a vulgarity, an amusing one however.

Edscoin · June 13, 2009 12:28PM

I just Love it when Laura learns a New Word.

Shortie · June 13, 2009 12:29PM

Coins not worth buying or owning at any price

Zoins · June 13, 2009 12:29PM

What if a coin doesn't get a sticker?

RedTiger · June 13, 2009 12:37PM

How about any coins that most newbies think are terrific but most veteran collectors won't touch with a ten-foot pole? Coins that might fit include those coins that are overdipped, overgraded, coins with questionable toning, all of which look great to the newbie, but the veteran collectors know better. High priced, top tier "dreck" certainly has fallen through the floor because the supply of newbies with big fat wallets willing to buy has mostly fallen with the economy. Those newbies that used to buy that stuff mostly either got smarter or got out, or went broke.

Barndog · June 13, 2009 12:43PM

at every local show and some national shows I have seen dreck half dimes: the same exact coin in the same exact dealer's case for more than a year, and in many cases, two or three years

cladking · June 13, 2009 12:47PM

To me dreck is the unlovable. It's what's left over from a massive
collection after all the good coins have been pulled out and dozens
of knowledgeable collectors have pawed through it looking for any-
thing unusual.

Of course one man's junk is another man's treasure and an oxid-
ized Missouri tax token could be an unknown variety. A lot of that
junk foreign stuff can be quite unusual since some coins rarely
show up. But dreck can also be perfectly collectible material that
others ignore because it's not their cup of tea or it has fallen far
out of favor. From time to time nice attractive better date mercurys
to gem unc common date morgans have been considered dreck or
junk; real collectors will buy them but won't make an offer because
it's so low it might insult the seller.

I think a lot of the best deals in the hobby have always been on
the least loved coins. The same rules apply here as they do for the
coins that bring high prices; buy rarity and quality. Look at the dreck
Pittman picked up for a song. Sure, today this is stuff is in huge de-
mand but that's because he kept it long enough for its desirability
and scarcity to be recognized. He bought quality and rarity that no
one else loved.

It sounds like it might be a good time to go loking for dreck. Just be
sure you aren't buying the junk and you're getting nice low for the
grade coins. Be sure to offer enough that you don't insult the sel-
ler though.

Most ugly AU's will make very pretty XF's, and an overgraded AU is
still AU and a steal if you can get it for an XF price.

Of course the better bet is to collect something and learn what you
can about it. Maybe even go out and find some underpriced dreck.

Bear · June 13, 2009 1:31PM

This type of material you buy for X

and you end up selling for 1/4 X if

at all.

pennyannie · June 13, 2009 2:47PM

Bear you are right. You get 1/4 what you paid when you sell it. So dreck is about 99.87 of all coins out there? Most collectors recieve 25 cents on the dollar when it comes time to sell. I do not include the collectors of this forum in the above statement. We usually get 50 cents on the dollar. LOL

Bear · June 13, 2009 2:53PM

I always thought that the mark of a true

collector, was to buy high and sell low.

The real money was always made on

collections of carefully purchased quality

coins held for 20 -40 years. However at 71

years of age, I really do not think that I have

40 more years left in me.

FullStrike · June 13, 2009 2:59PM

Yo, dreck is that affordable crap that the ultra big mouth Dealers sell to poor commoners like me. Look at it too closely and you can see all the evils of the Numismatic World.

This be the same dreck crap that the big mouf dealahs be poor moufin from de rouftops.

Bear · June 13, 2009 3:01PM

It take most of us a good while, but eventually,

most of us do learn. We do indeed learn.

PerryHall · June 13, 2009 9:02PM

<< I just Love it when Laura learns a New Word.

>>

I remember a few years ago when everything was "widgets" and the dealers that sold them were "wannabes".

PerryHall · June 13, 2009 9:03PM

<< What if a coin doesn't get a sticker? >>

Then it must be dreck according to Laura.

Cameonut · June 13, 2009 9:50PM

At least dreck is easy to spell.

TwoSides2aCoin · June 13, 2009 9:57PM

Dreck is something perused. Dregs and schlock are basically the camoflage at a coin show. Somewhere hidden among them are collectible coins.

...anyway, that's how I define them, or "it".

ibzman350 · June 13, 2009 11:52PM

Dreck=Schmutz

Herb

BAJJERFAN · June 13, 2009 11:58PM

Ugly coins, stained or spotted stuff. Low grade common dates. But no coin is worthless; it can always be used as a horrible example.

bushmaster8 · June 14, 2009 12:00AM

Dreck: the stuff that settles below scum

Boom · June 14, 2009 12:08AM

Dreck = over-rated/overgraded, problematic & hence undesirable POS.

A coin that for whatever reason has flown under the radar,
(made it past the graders) and later manifests "issues".

MORGANHUNTER2 · June 14, 2009 12:32AM

Definitions of dreck on the Web:

* schlock: merchandise that is shoddy or inferior
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* This is a list of English language words of Yiddish language origin, many of which have entered the language by way of American English or C***ney. Spelling of some of these words may be variable (for example, schlep is also seen as shlep, schnoz as shnozz, and so on). ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreck

* trash, junk; worthless merchandise, crap
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dreck

WinPitcher · June 14, 2009 12:40AM

My collection?

Steve

advalorem · June 14, 2009 1:09AM

You know it when you see it. I realized I had just bought 2-pieces of dreck from HA this past week. Within 12-minutes, I had opened the package and sent it back Express mail for a refund.

It's like pornography. You know it when you see it.

GritsMan · June 14, 2009 1:46AM

Hey, lots of great replies here, but it all seems to boil down to a gestalt, "You know it when you see it" kind of thing. For instance, most of my coins would fall into the dreck category. They aren't overgraded, ugly, or anything else, but no experienced collector would want them. Of course, I got most of these when I was a kid. I have tried to stick with higher quality since I resumed collecting, but since I collect mostly Moderns, many here would call that dreck, too! Maybe I just need to accept my fate that I am a "Dreckophile"!

MrSpud · June 14, 2009 2:01AM

I don't really know for sure, but the term might apply to any coin that goes down so much in value that a seller either has to just sit on it for an extended period waiting for the price to go back up or sell at a significant loss. As in "Even when a great coin pops up, its still going to be much LESS than it would have cost you a year ago". Meaning that what was considered to be a great coin a year ago was actually just a dreck in disguise.

RBinTex · June 14, 2009 2:25AM

In the context in which she meant it:

Trash, especially inferior merchandise.

slumlord98 · June 14, 2009 2:37AM

This coin is the epitome of dreck-

dreck

GritsMan · June 14, 2009 2:49AM

Please explain. Is it because it's not nice enough for top collectors to seek? Or is it just unattractive for its grade level? BTW, thanks for posting a specific example. I was hoping some people would!

Gemineye · June 14, 2009 2:57AM

Well ..I can tell you that pronunciation tells it all....you have to let it roll off the tongue to say it correctly....D r r e k k .....!!!

lcoopie · June 14, 2009 3:38AM

it's Yiddish

stman · June 14, 2009 3:56AM

dizzyfoxx · June 14, 2009 4:10AM

I'll just define it as a coin that I don't want.

GritsMan · June 14, 2009 4:22AM

Are you saying the coin below is dreck? Why? And with a CAC sticker (gasp)???

<<

>>

slumlord98 · June 14, 2009 4:27AM

<< Please explain. Is it because it's not nice enough for top collectors to seek? Or is it just unattractive for its grade level? BTW, thanks for posting a specific example. I was hoping some people would! >>

Dreck has nothing to do with any particular grade level. There is dreck in AG and Unc. The example cited has been harshly cleaned, is heavily abraded for the assigned grade, and rates 0 in the eye appeal dept. vs. an ideal AU58. The issue is how does the coin rate vs. the ideal for the assigned grade.

jmski52 · June 14, 2009 6:10AM

Are you saying the coin below is dreck? Why? And with a CAC sticker (gasp)???

Very interesting indeed.

thisnamztaken · June 14, 2009 9:28AM

<< How do YOU define "Dreck"? >>

Answ: A coin that only a metal detector user might get excited about, upon digging it out of the earth?

CoinJunkie · June 14, 2009 9:38AM

Any coin that's worth at least 5% less than it was last month...

BAJJERFAN · June 14, 2009 9:47AM

This thread is useless without pics.

Think this might qualify.

Or, I'll be along dreckly Matthew.

stman · June 14, 2009 10:03AM

<< Are you saying the coin below is dreck? Why? And with a CAC sticker (gasp)???

You asked.....

<< How do YOU define "Dreck"? >>

I posted an image of yes, what IMO is an answer to your question.

BAJJERFAN · June 14, 2009 10:12AM

One man's dreck is another man's treasure.

DieClash · June 14, 2009 10:29AM

Oy! All this Yiddish is making me verklempt! Anyway, Boom posted it first, but I agree that dreck is POS. And I defer to Russ to identify POS coins. I will certainly stay away from these!

GritsMan · June 14, 2009 12:24PM

<< Oy! All this Yiddish is making me verklempt! Anyway, Boom posted it first, but I agree that dreck is POS. And I defer to Russ to identify POS coins. I will certainly stay away from these!

>>

BTW, I think Laura is lurking. I noticed her new post specifically defines the term! Hi Laura!

rld14 · June 14, 2009 1:33PM

<< This coin is the epitome of dreck-

dreck >>

Hmmm... I don't like pinstripes on cars, let alone.....

PerryHall · June 14, 2009 10:56PM

Dreck sounds like a term used by a high end coin dealer to denigrate the coins being sold by more average coin dealers.

dorkkarl · June 15, 2009 1:15AM

if your a dealer, "dreck" = "other dealers coins"

K S

crypto79 · June 15, 2009 1:26AM

<< if your a dealer, "dreck" = "other dealers coins"

K S >>

No

Dreck= coins in collectors innovatory
PQ= coins in dealers innovatory

How do YOU define "Dreck"?

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How do YOU define &quot;Dreck&quot;?

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How do YOU define "Dreck"?