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What you need to know about posting coins for inquiry
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113 posts in this topic

On 2/24/2019 at 8:02 AM, JKK said:

Fortunately I've done nothing to deserve such board punishment.

See it from the other point of view. Someone posts a coin and wants to know something about it. This particular coin not only does not interest me in the slightest, I know zero about it. Anything I might say would speak from great ignorance and apathy. What on earth could I possibly say? "Hi, I know nothing about this and don't even collect those, but I'm such a Mary Worth that I have to have a post in every thread so this is yours. Good luck!" That's what it would come down to. How idiotic would that be on my part? Many boards have That Person. I believe we should not be That Person.

If people do not respond, it's because they don't know or don't care (which may sound cold but is not an unacceptable outlook provided it is not rudely voiced), and anyone posting a question has to make peace with that because it's the only realistic reaction to expect from anyone who can't help.

JKK, wow you're right on this one. I came into the board and seen multiple same posts. That's really rude and overboard doing that. People need to be more patient. Myself understands it takes a bit for you guy's to check in and also look coins up. Photos of coins are more and enough  appreciated in this form. I remember someone saying it can take a day or a week or two to get an answer. Don't go cold on please hahahaha. Just kidding. 😁

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46 minutes ago, Hinkle said:

JKK, wow you're right on this one. I came into the board and seen multiple same posts. That's really rude and overboard doing that. People need to be more patient. Myself understands it takes a bit for you guy's to check in and also look coins up. Photos of coins are more and enough  appreciated in this form. I remember someone saying it can take a day or a week or two to get an answer. Don't go cold on please hahahaha. Just kidding. 😁

Yeah, the multiple posts are very bad manners. They give an air of a spoiled child whining at the lack of instant gratification. If someone doesn't hear for about a week, mostly they should assume: a) no one knows the answer, b) no one is interested in the question, or c) they have somehow managed to get all the regulars to say "I don't feel like doing this."

The latter is probably something we aren't supposed to admit to. Maybe I'm the only one who experiences it.

In any case, if a week passes and someone has no answers, I don't think it's unreasonable to bump the thread with a second post. Of course, if that post is whiny or testy or entitled, it will probably get the sort of reply it merits.

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19 minutes ago, JKK said:

In any case, if a week passes and someone has no answers, I don't think it's unreasonable to bump the thread with a second post.

That is not a bad idea, at least in my case. Sometimes, I will read a post and not be near my reference books, or not have time to research an answer right then. I move on to the next post, fully intending to come back and try to find some information for the poster, but then a day or two goes by, and I will forget all about it. A gentle reminder would get me back on track.

Edited by Just Bob
typos
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1 hour ago, Just Bob said:

That is not a bad idea, at least in my case. Sometimes, I will read a post and not be near my reference books, or not have time to research an answer right then. I move on to the next post, fully intending to come back and try to find some information for the poster, but then a day or two goes by, and I will forget all about it. A gentle reminder would get me back on track.

Same here, with the same situations. I may see a coin posted that I could look up and identify given a little time, which I hope to have later, or think that someone else probably got to it. If no one did, it's reasonable to add a post meant to bump the topic. It's far better than making a second post of the same thing.

Those of us who have collected for a long time may seem almost oracular to those starting out, but rarely is it so. Most of us specialize, and there are areas about which we know nothing. And of course, none of us are going to post for the pointless reason of saying, "Hi, I just wanted you to know that I read your post and have no idea what the *spoon* the answer is."

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On 3/7/2019 at 5:31 PM, Mohawk said:

I have something to add here....can we please add no Photobucket links to this list?  I clicked one the other night trying to help a newbie and I got some pretty scary pop ups.....I ran a Malwarebytes scan and it did find some malware, but Malwarebytes was able to remove it successfully, thankfully.  I've noticed an increasing number of such links on here as of late.  I also want to warn the rest of you about these links as well.

Thought I would say, I was talking to someone about viruses on sites/links and was told anti virus on your computer should automatically alert you, when you're clicking on the site/link. A pop up letting you know if it's secured or unsecured. But was told sometimes that's not the case. Some anti virus you have to go in manually into settings and have it setup they way you want it to alert you. After doing that, then when you click on site/link it should always let you know secured or unsecured. You would also be surprised how many sites are unsecured once you get all that set up. That would help one's that don't want to clean up there computers all the time. It's a real pain doing that.

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On 2/22/2019 at 1:08 PM, JKK said:

I don't know whether or not this will ever be approved, stuck, placed in the WYNTK forum, or whatever, but it seems like we don't have one. Thus, here is my suggested  guidance for newbies about posting coins with questions:

When you post a question about a coin or coins, it's worth remembering that the people giving you answers--unless it is specifically about an NGC policy matter or submission--are volunteer hobbyists who do this for fun. They are not speaking for NGC; they speak only for themselves, and they want to help people. When you do a good job of posting your inquiry, you increase your chances of helpful replies, because you show respect for the volunteers' time.

Please do:

  • Ask a question, or multiple questions. We need to know what to focus on. Authenticity? Grade? Identification? Value? All of these?
  • Post clear photos of the entire obverse, reverse, and if necessary the edge. If need be, add zoomed photos of specific features, but always clear shots of both full sides.
  • Post all pictures of a given coin in the same thread.
  • If the picture files are too large in terms of data, learn to make them smaller without losing necessary information.
  • If there is any question of identification, include weight in grams and diameter in millimeters. If you don't know the metric system, use an online converter.
  • Tell us what you know, or what you believe to be the case, about the coin.
  • Come prepared to accept responsive answers.
  • Be patient. No one who doesn't know the answer is going to post "I don't know." It can take days to a week for someone to notice.
  • Remember that some inquiries may require research, for which volunteers are not being paid, and are doing as they have time.
  • Expect that opinions may vary, even among experienced numismatists.

Kindly do not:

  • Just post pictures without giving any indication of what you want to learn.
  • Post glare-obscured, blurry, or otherwise poor photos.
  • Post only partial pictures of errors or damage.
  • Post a new thread for every photo of the same coin.
  • Omit weight and diameter, unless they are completely irrelevant to your question.
  • Get annoyed if you don't like the answers. If you disagree with them, fine; act on your views.
  • Grouse about not getting any replies. No one knows everything; no one has unlimited time; sometimes no one knows the answer.
  • Use Photobucket links. If you do, don't anticipate that people will use them. Photobucket has been connected with numerous malware and virus infections.

If you take the time to do this correctly, you can learn a lot more here than if you skip important steps.

===

Opinions, comments, additions, suggestions?

This is worth going to the top again. 

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3 minutes ago, tejas1836 said:

This is worth going to the top again. 

Much obliged. I contacted the staff about sticking it, and did not get a response, but I like that it's helping people.

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7 minutes ago, tejas1836 said:

This is worth going to the top again. 

Yeah......we're starting to have some problems again, especially with those cryptic posts with just a picture....those are annoying!

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4 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Yeah......we're starting to have some problems again, especially with those cryptic posts with just a picture....those are annoying!

I was thinking about posting a bunch of blurry 2005 nickels and 1986 pennies upside down with no question as a spoof. You could make a funny meme with these recent penny posts, i am just not that talented to create one.

It could go as such -  

1st picture - blurry picture of PMD 1974 penny .    2nd picture -  1,000 times zoomed in on the mint mark.    3rd picture - random photo of a giraffe.  4th and last photo - Question asking "should i get this graded?!?" 

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1 minute ago, BipolarBaby said:

I was thinking about posting a bunch of blurry 2005 nickels and 1986 pennies upside down with no question as a spoof. You could make a funny meme with these recent penny posts, i am just not that talented to create one.

It could go as such -  

1st picture - blurry picture of PMD 1974 penny .    2nd picture -  1,000 times zoomed in on the mint mark.    3rd picture - random photo of a giraffe.  4th and last photo - Question asking "should i get this graded?!?" 

I think I could really blow up some brains if I took very poor photos of a couple of my Faustina the Younger denarii and entitled the post with just question marks.  That is unless you or Jonathan find the post before anyone else does :) 

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I think I have probably composed ten posts now, and deleted them without posting, pointing out to newbies that it's senseless to post two threads about the same coin; that it's senseless to post pictures without asking a question. I need to condition myself that it's not my job to try and fix the reality: that people do not think. I wrote the title post of this thread, asked if it was stick-worthy. Never heard back, so I infer that it is not, thus that no one is really going to benefit or learn from it.

Which is fine. St. Eliasberg, please guide my typing fingers to just ignore thoughtless posting rather than wade in and try to get people to think. They just won't, and one can only make one's peace with this truth.

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1 hour ago, JKK said:

I think I have probably composed ten posts now, and deleted them without posting, pointing out to newbies that it's senseless to post two threads about the same coin; that it's senseless to post pictures without asking a question. I need to condition myself that it's not my job to try and fix the reality: that people do not think. I wrote the title post of this thread, asked if it was stick-worthy. Never heard back, so I infer that it is not, thus that no one is really going to benefit or learn from it.

Which is fine. St. Eliasberg, please guide my typing fingers to just ignore thoughtless posting rather than wade in and try to get people to think. They just won't, and one can only make one's peace with this truth.

I hear you Jonathan.  I think I've reached the same point.....multiple threads and cryptic threads with only a photo are going on the ignore list now, right along with those that say "I've found a fill-in-the-blank.  Where can I sell it?".  If you can't help me to help you, why should I hold your hand?  Ask a good question, post good photos and show a desire to learn and I'll help.  If you can't do those things, I'm done wasting my time.  Life's too short.  You gave it a heroic effort Jonathan and we all appreciate that.  NGC should have stuck this post, I don't why they haven't.  But if they want their boards filled with garbage posts, then I guess that's their prerogative.  Thanks for giving it an attempt.  I know that I appreciate you efforts.

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On 4/18/2019 at 5:38 PM, JKK said:

Much obliged. I contacted the staff about sticking it, and did not get a response, but I like that it's helping people.

It should be stuck.  The first I thought was that it needs to be pinned to the forum.  Great post!

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1 hour ago, bwolper said:

It should be stuck.  The first I thought was that it needs to be pinned to the forum.  Great post!

Thank you. I appreciate that it makes a difference. Regulars here are here because they love to help other collectors, especially those new to the hobby. Some of the guidance is not intuitive, such as weight and diameter; most newcomers would not know that, nor that they need in most cases full images of both sides. But you would think that it would at least occur to them, on their own, that it's impossible to answer a question that is not asked.

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I suppose I will bump this, just on the off chance that the forum leadership will decide to stick it. It gets so painfully old watching people post just one portion of one side of a damaged coin and want an answer. They don't know, and I understand that they don't know, but I made an effort to make things better.

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When I was a newbie, John F. Kennedy was President. No Internet things to worry about. An "Internet" was two tangled pieces of fishing infrastructure.

Edited by VKurtB
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I read it! I read it! I read everything they said to read before making my first posting. So theeere. But this was the first forum I joined, I think. Not sure. It's been a minute or two ago.

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I'm a little late to this party, but I think you put up a very informative post JKK. It would probably not get found in the WYNTK section but if NGC could just keep it at the top of this forum, it would be very helpful. I don't post as much as I used to but I still enjoy being here. The newbie section usually throws me off a lot as someone will show a pic of a coin and never ask a question or vice versa. I think your post should help a lot given that it is noticed as soon as they open the newbie thread. If any newbies here have tried ATS for their questions, I'm sure they are happy they found this site. They can be very rude to people next door. It may take a while for an answer here but it is always respectful! We all were new at one time. 

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On 2/23/2019 at 10:47 AM, JKK said:

That occurred to me as I was thinking of writing it. On the logic about lighting a candle in preference to cursing the darkness, I decided to do it anyway on the grounds that it would give us a helpful checklist we could point them to. Or, perhaps, it might get stuck here with a link over there, as with moved threads. Not sure what's ideal, but now at least it exists in some form.

I am a first timer to this site and a newbie to coin collecting but I've always tried to do my own research on things before asking questions which lead me to this thread. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to write out the does and don'ts of inquiring about a coin I read this entire thread and have learned not just about that but a little about tokens as well lol. I just thought id let you know if nothing else you helped out at least one newbie by posting your thread! Thanks again and thanks to all the knowledgeable collectors out there taking time out to help new collectors.

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1 hour ago, Cierra2316 said:

I am a first timer to this site and a newbie to coin collecting but I've always tried to do my own research on things before asking questions which lead me to this thread. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to write out the does and don'ts of inquiring about a coin I read this entire thread and have learned not just about that but a little about tokens as well lol. I just thought id let you know if nothing else you helped out at least one newbie by posting your thread! Thanks again and thanks to all the knowledgeable collectors out there taking time out to help new collectors.

That matters a great deal to me. Thanks and you're welcome. I hope you find this site informative and helpful.

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1 hour ago, Cierra2316 said:

I am a first timer to this site and a newbie to coin collecting but I've always tried to do my own research on things before asking questions which lead me to this thread. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to write out the does and don'ts of inquiring about a coin I read this entire thread and have learned not just about that but a little about tokens as well lol. I just thought id let you know if nothing else you helped out at least one newbie by posting your thread! Thanks again and thanks to all the knowledgeable collectors out there taking time out to help new collectors.

Welcome to the forum. :)

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Since this is never going to be stuck, I feel free to editorialize and abandon my attempts at sounding all neutral and official.

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I'm pretty sure the reason why the Newbie section was even created was to get its questions off the main board, so the section could be ignored by management to become its own cesspool, and with a few precious exceptions, the strategy seems to have worked, jus' sayin'.

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4 hours ago, VKurtB said:

I'm pretty sure the reason why the Newbie section was even created was to get its questions off the main board, so the section could be ignored by management to become its own cesspool, and with a few precious exceptions, the strategy seems to have worked, jus' sayin'.

Makes sense. 

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On 2/23/2019 at 2:56 AM, Conder101 said:

The question is, how many newbies bother to read the WYNTK forum before they rush to post their questions/pictures?  My guess is almost none of them.

I did. THis is my first post. Found this thread searching for 1776 Continental Curency. I have what appears to be pewter 1776 piece. I've had it in my possession for 25 years. My grandfather had it since he was a kid, he was born in 1929. I am fully aware the likelihood it is a fake. If it is a fake, it is fairly convincing to this "newbie". I respect the real experts grow tired of answering the same questions over and over again. I will continue to research this piece and will not post about it until I have exhausted my own ability to tell if it is real or not. It weighs just over 15 grams. If it is real, it is getting auctioned so my wife and I can finally buy that large piece of property on the White River in Arkansas....wish me luck ya'll.

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9 minutes ago, RWC III said:

I did. THis is my first post. Found this thread searching for 1776 Continental Curency. I have what appears to be pewter 1776 piece. I've had it in my possession for 25 years. My grandfather had it since he was a kid, he was born in 1929. I am fully aware the likelihood it is a fake. If it is a fake, it is fairly convincing to this "newbie". I respect the real experts grow tired of answering the same questions over and over again. I will continue to research this piece and will not post about it until I have exhausted my own ability to tell if it is real or not. It weighs just over 15 grams. If it is real, it is getting auctioned so my wife and I can finally buy that large piece of property on the White River in Arkansas....wish me luck ya'll.

Welcome to the forum.

 

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Just now, Just Bob said:

Welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks Bob. I actually have quite a nice collection of coins. So, I will probably be posting fairly often. I promise to not wear you guys out. However, your expertise is the reason I am here. I will do my best to identify and answer as many of my own questions as possible. I downloaded the PCGS app on my phone, that is helpful. I can probably narrow down 2/3rds or greater of my collection on my own. However there are some early 1800's and a Spanish 1777 coin I have yet to identify properly. This is all inherited. My mother has more in a lock box, gold coins, silver coins, 1800's paper money, silver certificates all kinds of stuff. Papaw started collecting in the 1930's around age 7.

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1 hour ago, RWC III said:

Thanks Bob. I actually have quite a nice collection of coins. So, I will probably be posting fairly often. I promise to not wear you guys out. However, your expertise is the reason I am here. I will do my best to identify and answer as many of my own questions as possible. I downloaded the PCGS app on my phone, that is helpful. I can probably narrow down 2/3rds or greater of my collection on my own. However there are some early 1800's and a Spanish 1777 coin I have yet to identify properly. This is all inherited. My mother has more in a lock box, gold coins, silver coins, 1800's paper money, silver certificates all kinds of stuff. Papaw started collecting in the 1930's around age 7.

This could be really fun, then. Don't know about anyone here, but I'm sick to death of seeing threads (sometimes three about the same coin if instant reply is not forthcoming within minutes) about someone's modern, common, mechanical doubling coin where they post just a tiny portion of one side of the coin. Then they weep openly that the pic was too big to post the whole coin, let alone both sides. They evidently have never heard of image editors, many of which are free and will allow one to crop a photo and save it in much more data-economical form. Nope, that would be work, and the rule is "do the work for me--don't put me to any trouble."

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