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 Replies: 19 / Views: 3,118 |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
expert = someone 500 miles from home.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Tuff question since Average is normally considered, in everyday types of usage, something or someone in the middle. This means you would have to find the smallest types of coin collectors and then the biggest ones and average them out. Now this would only be an average of coin collectors by size. OR you could take all the coin collectors that are old and all the ones that are young and total them all up, divide by the number of collectors and POOF, you have an average aged coin collector. Next you have to do this by height, hair quantiies, bank accounts, amount of wives or husbands, quantities of toes and many other important featuers. Finally and eventually you would have the average coin collector. Now all you need is an example and explanation of an expert. Me for example, just not in coinage. In summation to your question, I really have no idea.  Edited by just carl
02/01/2012 09:00 am
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
I am the best collector at my house.  I just happen to be the only collector at my house.  Overall, I guess I am an average collector. I generally collect circulated coins, with some commemorative and proof coins. I don't collect varieties. |
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
My father was an expert...he would spend hours and hours and hours, reading, looking and pricing his coins....he didn't talk much , but you could tell he had a passion for what he did and he knew what he was doing...
He knew how to negotiate also...he got some killer deals from dealers who didn't really know what they had...
Add all those things up, and of course the 60+ years he spent collecting coins, I think that qualifies him.
Me? I am barely a beginner! But I DID pick up a LITTLE knowlege...and some of the passion!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3283 Posts |
I think it depends largely on the sample group.
At work I'm the coin expert.
Here I'm not even average.
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
I think I'm an "Intermediate" => I'm beyond "Beginner", but not yet an "Expert"  Edited by stevex6
02/01/2012 8:38 pm
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
There are lots of things I would call you, Stevex6.......... but "intermediate" is not one of them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
595 Posts |
They used to say that an expert was somebody who learned more and more about less and less until he knew everything about nothing.
Jan
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
I am not an average collector, I'a a mean one!
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
Svslav....... you are just a sweet "mean" collector. I know from experience. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I think it would be better to say I specialize in a certain type of coin and in that coin type, I am probably above average in both knowledge of that series and probably have an advanced collection when it comes to the condition of the coins in my specialty than the next guy. Somebody else can call me an expert and I would be flattered but I think there is a lot more I don't know that I do. I don't think I am an expert at anything. I'm better with some things than I am with others, simply because those things appeal to me and I find them more interesting. As far as all the other types of coins I collect, I would guess that I am probably your average obsessive compulsive collector. When I hear that saying ... "He was a legend in his own mind." I confess, I can relate to that. So I guess if I am novice, average or expert, it was on my own bell curve I placed myself. I'd prefer to hope that all my work and studies have placed me above average as it is not egotistic to aspire to be really good at something you enjoy. I can't believe I posted this ...  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
think it depends largely on the sample group.
At work I'm the coin expert.
Here I'm not even average. I get a kick about how people consider you a computer "expert" just because you know how to surf the web. Then they want you to help with a "little problem" that would take a pro several hours to figure out. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
They used to say that an expert was somebody who learned more and more about less and less until he knew everything about nothing. Generalist = somebody who learned less and less about more and more until he knew nothing about everything. Specialist = somebody who learned more and more about less and less until he knew everything about nothing. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
What is an "Average Collector"
What is an "Expert Collector" and how does one know when they are an "Expert?"
What is YOUR opinion?
Back to the original question though, it really is rather an impossible question or rather the answer is. This I think is due to just to many varieties of collectors to say who or what is average. With Coins alone, some collect all types, some only US coins, some only foreign, some only Cents and on and on and on with just to many variables. There are coin collectors that specialize in only error coins so they could be considered an experte in error coins but only if they know what they are doing and not just collecting. If you go to that Realcent web site, there are many people there that collect bulk coinage. Are they experts in bulk metal? If average, average what? If you go to any coin show you would notice even most dealers specialize to some degree on a certain type of coin. However, even then they may know little about that coin so are they average or still experts? Even on this forum there are some that pretend to be experts by anwering questions as complicated as possible to impress others as to their expertise. Could be experts but will never know. I really think we are all just average coin collectors. It's just that some average people know more than others. |
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
An expert is someone whose opinion is valued, whose opinion is shared by others who have spent considerable time studying and working in a craft, or if their opinion differs, they are able to provide rational arguments and plausible evidence why they are correct.
An expert can't be easily "tricked". Certainly a well-orchestrated and well-funded deceit could fool an expert. But in the case of a coin expert, she should be able to correctly identify and grade a coin, then some time later be presented with the same coin again but in a completely different context then identify and grade it the same.
Something like "hey I found this coin in my pocket, is it worth anything?" and properly id'ing and grading said coin. Then six months later be at a Sotheby's auction across the country and hired by a potential bidder to independently verify the same coin, without knowing it was the same coin, and arrive at the same conclusion as before.
Average is somebody with a loupe and a book, and doesn't get terribly ripped off at a coin show. I'm not even anywhere close to that good.
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Posted 02/01/2012 08:58 am
