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 Replies: 17 / Views: 2,703 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
Well that is more or less the impression I got from the following message I receieved yesterday from an eBayer. I'll keep their username private, unless another fellow member and ebay seller has received the same message: " Hello
I was looking at your roman coins and see that you are very knowledgeable on the different emperors. I have 5 silver denarius that I found detecting about 15 years ago now but have no idea as to the emperors and dates etc. I wondered if you would be able to help me I'd them so I can put them on ebay otherwise described as a roman silver coin? Thanks very much. Regards. Suzie" So she cannot read the legends on the said Denarii? And so go to Google Search and then type in the legends from the said Denarii? And so find examples of the said Denarii? After 15 years? Really? I did an "advanced search" on this eBayer and found that they had previously sold a lot of Hornby Model Railway stuff. So they must have realised the pros and cons of selling bulky, fragile items versus light, generally tough, struck flans of metal.  Oh yes, have a  I've added that eBayer to my "favourite sellers" so if they ever deign to sell the 5 silver denarius (sic) I might well seek to buy them, if they are legible.  Edited by Masis
01/19/2014 6:04 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
I take it you didn't reply? It would be interesting to see these coins.
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
946 Posts |
Oh yes, I really hate the ending "Regards" it is so prevalent now in the last 5 years.  "Kind Regards", "Warm Regards", "Best Regards", "Sincere Regards", "Fluffy Regards". I made the last one up, but ending a formal message, which is essentially what we used to call "a Letter" to someone you do not know with "Regards" is utterly wrong. Who are they, I never met them.  The way to end a Letter to someone you do not know is "Yours Faithfully". If you know the person, or have written to them before, then end the Letter with "Yours Sincerely". I know this is not the "Art Of Letter Writing Forum"  but it just shows the cheek and vacuousness of that eBayer. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Dear Sir/Madam = Yours Faithfully
Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss Smith = Yours Sincerely
Now they just say "Hi"
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4596 Posts |
Off topic, but don't forget "Your Most Obedient Servant"
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2480 Posts |
When I read the title I thought you were going trash CCFers who have too many "What is this/is it fake" posts.  Regarding letter closings, I agree that a mere "Regards" is terse but find "Yours ________" equally or perhaps more unpalatable. I am not theirs. I'm not theirs truly, theirs faithfully, or theirs fluffily. I am not their property. Unless I'm writing to the government, because of course they own us all  For a formal closure I find a simple "Sincerely," most appropriate. Edited by ThisIsFun
01/19/2014 7:15 pm
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
OK folks, this might be a good topic for the General section but it's off topic for here.
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Moderator
Australia
16868 Posts |
I see these kinds of messages all the time, both here on the forum and in my capacity as Secretary for a coin club. As such, I usually reply, helping them out as best as I can. I even occasionally help out identifying coins for a couple of local coin dealers. But I'm not a coin dealer or seller myself; I think "Suzie" has more than a bit of cheek, asking one of her own potential competitors for free help. I fully understand someone in your position being unwilling to similarly respond; your time is your own and you are free to value it as you wish. (You could, of course, always answer "Certainly I'll help you, madam, but as a coin expert I'm afraid I'm going to have to charge you an hourly rate". Becoming a coin-expert-for-hire might be a nice little money earner in itself.)
If it's an inquiry that I don't think I personally can help much with, I'll try to direct them towards someone who can. Websites, books, Internet forums, the British Museum, whichever seems most relevant.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
Quote:
(You could, of course, always answer "Certainly I'll help you, madam, but as a coin expert I'm afraid I'm going to have to charge you an hourly rate". Becoming a coin-expert-for-hire might be a nice little money earner in itself.) I speak from experience, and can say nope, not really... Although you do get to handle some really nice coins on occasion (for instance, at this very moment I am cataloguing the Goldberg CICF ancients - 250ish Roman denarii worth (reportedly) $3.5 million - which includes a great Eid Mar, a spectacular Labienus, a very nice Clodius Macer, and of course many lesser rarities like Domitia, Marciana, Matidia, Marcus Aurelius/Commodus as Caesar dual portrait, etc etc). Yours Fluffily, John |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2480 Posts |
John... Nice riposte (err, re-post? ) Your current cataloging work sounds pretty dang cool. I'll be watching that EID MAR with interest. Not with personal bidding interest, unfortunately... |
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
TIF, funny story. Last week at NYINC I was talking to Richard Beale (Roma Numismatics) about possibly doing some cataloguing work for him. He wanted to test my knowledge and shows me this spectacular Vindex denarius. I failed the test first go around - I knew it was Civil War, but it's not like I've handled a couple dozen of these, so I wasn't sure which usurper it was attributed to. Anyhow, while I appreciate great coins and enjoy researching them, I don't get too excited about them anymore. This of course caught Richard totally off-guard. Since I wasn't ohhing and ahhing over his coin, which I am positive will be the star piece of the next Roma sale, he was bellowing at me "Where's the fire? Where's that spark of excitement?" (Richard is a former military officer, so he has a commanding presence and booming voice). My response was consistently deadpan - it's just a coin. I thought he was going to have a stroke. He even called me a coin psychopath, said I was icily cold inside. :)
I wonder if I'll be doing any cataloguing for him after that...
Cheers!
John
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2480 Posts |
LOL! Nope, sounds like you might not get a call back on that one.
Fluffy cheers, and I mean that most sincerely,
Regards,
TIF
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Valued Member
Canada
129 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
On topic and with results: So I decided to check, a few days later, that eBayer who contacted me asking to ID her Denarii so she could sell them for "Loadsa Money". They were up for auction. So I bid, and bid some more, and won. Below are photos of the obverses and reverses. From top left: Domitian RIC II 733, Nerva RIC II 1 Middle: Hadrian RIC II 90 Bottom left: Trajan RIC II 116, Faustina Senior RIC III 384 I must admit, they are fine Denarii, better than any examples I have owned so far. I wonder if they came from a hoard, since the seller who stated they found them metal detecting 14/15 years ago. Denarii tended to be hoarded in small amounts in small pots. Something like that would be smashed up by the Farmer's Plough and the coins gradually scattered across the field.   Edited by Masis
02/04/2014 12:27 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
579 Posts |
That is a fantastic set. I hope you got it for a little bit less than 'loadsa money'
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Pillar of the Community
United States
582 Posts |
Great obverse for the Nerva, nice pick up  |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,703 |
Posted 01/19/2014 6:12 pm
