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 02/02/2012 05:29 am
