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 Replies: 50 / Views: 7,007 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1261 Posts |
I haven't been on this forum as much lately because I've been a little disappointed with folk's responses to posts. I know that many on this forum are interested in teaching and education but some of the responses are short and simply rude. For example, I've seen people post a recent purchase and they are obviously happy and excited about their new coin and they get responses like "pass", "not for me", "scratch on face", "possibly ED", etc. etc. It just seems like people's first reaction is to post the negatives about every coin and not the positives. The negative responses turn people off of this forum and coin collecting in general. I know this isn't everyone's response but it seems to be more common than not lately.   It's true that some are trying to dissuade collectors from making mistakes but there aren't many teaching moments in the process. It seems like it's mostly ragging and picking the coin apart to make every coin look like a mistake. My last comment is that it's really hard to get a good impression of a coin's luster, originality, grade and overall eye appeal based on the pics by themselves. However, everyone's post make it sound so convincing and based on an expert opinion that a newbie would not know better. I've seen people post coins and then there are 10 negative comments only for the OP to post that the coin is CAC. It's a disappointing response from the folks posting their replies to the original post. I know I'm not perfect and have probably been victim of the same reactions but if your not an expert in the series and haven't seen the coin in hand (which is obviously not possible) then maybe think twice about making a negative comment. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
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For example, I've seen people post a recent purchase and they are obviously happy and excited about their new coin and they get responses like "pass", "not for me", "scratch on face", "possibly ED", etc. When I'm posting in the US Coin Grading (classic and modern coins) forum, I usually just post the grade. If there is a small scratch or a small amount of corrosion, for example, that won't give the coin a details grade, I won't include it in my reply. If there is something really bad about the coin, however, I will mention it in my response. For example, if I see a coin with severe environmental damage and scratches that is about VG, I will say "VG Details, environmental damage/scratches. I wouldn't buy this coin." I don't say "Nice coin!" just to make the OP feel better. I give them my honest opinion about it. If you want to just make the OP feel good, that's okay too. I prefer to give them my honest opinion. Quote:
It seems like it's mostly ragging and picking the coin apart to make every coin look like a mistake. Show me an example of this. There are some times where I'll admit I was a little rude or negative. But I don't see this often. Quote:
My last comment is that it's really hard to get a good impression of a coin's luster, originality, grade and overall eye appeal based on the pics by themselves. However, everyone's post make it sound so convincing and based on an expert opinion that a newbie would not know better. I've seen people post coins and then there are 10 negative comments only for the OP to post that the coin is CAC. It's a disappointing response from the folks posting their replies to the original post. How do you think that people purchase coins online at places like ebay? By looking at the pictures. Looking at a set of good photos should give you a pretty good idea of what the coin looks like. I understand that photos can magnify small imperfections on a coin, but if the photos are good, then they should give a good idea of what the coin looks like. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
I have seen this sometimes and think are we trying to make this person never want to come back? In general this is a friendly forum with good and kind posters. I will say that a single candle can drive away darkness. So, if you see these kind of posts, post an encouraging one in response. Sometimes just one kind post can offset all the others and encourage a new poster.
Edited by KenKat
04/21/2018 2:17 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I hope I am not guilty of this. I do see it happen as well, but I can always try to either say nothing or try to improve the thread in my response. I can't do anything but throw gas on the fire by chewing somebody out.
I do "Report a post" on occasion and the mods clean it up sometimes.
Your post is well taken and I see this come up from time to time. We need a reminder to be welcoming and helpful.
I remember when I started in coins and was excited about coins I was finding, I wouldn't be so excited today about many of them which are mostly long gone.
But this forum probably should be about collecting coins and education first and about coins second in my opinion.
We don't want to push away people who are excited about the coins they find. We all started out there.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
If the OP is asking a question/comments question, he better be prepared for the response. I'm a straight shooter, you ask for my opinion and grade, I will give it and the reason why I grade as I do, up or down, good or bad. Now if it is to "share" in the excitement of a new find or score, that is a different matter...the old adage if you don't have anything good to say, say nothing at all" is appropriate.
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Rest in Peace
United States
1559 Posts |
 In that if the op is asking for an honest opinion in grade or overall appearance then he/she should be prepared for the coin in question to be picked apart! Many of us are guilty of this and many of us have been the victim of this as well!  also agree that if the op is posting a coin in excitement and is obviously proud then praise him/her and if he/she is unknowable about a coin that has no value, the the person needs to be sensitive when replying. No one has to be rude, just try to be diligent and remember that you too were there at some point.  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
It seems pretty rare for me to see that kind of coin bashing on this forum. If someone asks for a grade they get honest opinions. I don't see anyone getting beat unless they are buying a truly poor example.
It doesn't take long to figure out who is nuts for under-grading. There are only a couple who constantly and consistently belittle otherwise beautiful coins. They are ALWAYS several grades below everyone else. Apparently they believe being wrong to the low end somehow makes them "tough graders". In fact, it just means they are wrong.
If you see MikeF, IndianGoldEagle, and Coin Frog all agreeing on a grade, or close, then you know that based on the photos provided, they are very likely right.
There are many others who also do excellent reviews of the niches they are confident in. So it's really more about learning the players and those who are dependable for their opinions on grade or condition.
I've not noticed much coin bashing unless we can't give info based on poor photos, or when the coin is not a good selection.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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In that if the op is asking for an honest opinion in grade or overall appearance then he/she should be prepared for the coin in question to be picked apart! I may have misinterpreted his thread but I believe is point is not that coins should never be criticized, rather that just some who are so quick to tear apart every coin are wrong so often. Sometimes it can be as simple as not understanding the pictures such as photo vs scan, natural vs controlled light, overlit vs underlit ect, but there certainly are some that seem to just want to try and make every coin look wrong. I think ultimately his point is that there's a difference between being wrong and then doubling down on being wrong in a negative way. The default opinion shouldn't always be that the TPGs and CAC got it wrong |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
I'm also a straight shooter .I do not sugar coat any coin unless it deserves it in MHO . I'm sorry if OP doesn't agree but if a member asks for honest opinions and grades and I feel the coin is cleaned, scratched, badly hit, worn or weak strike , I will certainly let him know . On the other hand if you have a Gorgeous Full Strike Raving Beauty you will get my thumbs up and dancing fruits .  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
233 Posts |
I understand & sympathize with the OP's point and, not being particularly interested in grading per se, I either skip those threads altogether, or just look at the OP's coin and move on.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
Thanks for he honorable mention, Mox. I also haven't seen much of that on this forum. Unless it's just a horrible coin and we are trying to save the guy from making a mistake. I have experienced it on occasion with coins I've posted but I think its an issue of inexperienced collectors who have poor taste offering opinions on series they have no knowledge of.
If you think this is bad, try out a specialty forum. Those guys can be brutal.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
I now spend about 20% of the time I used to on this site for the exact reason the OP mentions, and I've almost never posted pictures of any of my collection. There are many wonderful people here, but we're not batting 1.000 on polite responses. If this causes even a couple of members to reconsider their delivery, then I applaud this thread. It's really not that difficult to be both nice and informative and remember, behind those user names are people.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
Can anyone specify which sections this is happening in? I rarely see it the this section. I see it in the classic coin grading section on occasion but I would say it's rare. That is unless it's happening on series that I don't follow and don't click on to offer a grading opinion. I don't see it in the general/main discussion forum. Those are the three I'm confined to. Is it more prevalent in the modern forums or world sections?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
All should try to remember that the more people are in a forum, club, etc. the more different replies and viewpoints will be presented. Some good, some bad and some just dumb. I too have noticed over the years that when someone requests info on a coin, so many replies are really negative. However, if the coin is not to good, that type of reply would have to be expected. Or should be anyway. My biggest complaint about the type of responses to a post is that so many just have to bring up cost or value. Examples are only worth melt, what did you pay for that, How much are you selling it for, try selling it on ebay, etc. Someone says here is my latest purchase and so many just have to bring up values or costs instead of their idea of is it liked. chesterb's statements are basically true. So many just have to say something negative. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
We should always be respectful and polite when dealing with other community members. That doesn't mean we should ignore problems with a coin being offered up for comment just because we risk hurting the poster's feelings.
If it's posted in the grading forum, I call it like I see it. To do otherwise is a disservice to the numismatic hobby, the CCF community, and ultimately, the buyer. If I like something about a coin, I'll tell you what I like about it, and if I see an issue, I'll tell you why I think it's an issue. That's not rudeness, it's just honesty.
The point of posting in the Grading Forum is because you are soliciting opinions on a coin; with that in mind, remember that opinions are just that and should be taken at face value and not as "set in stone" expert valuations. We do this for fun, not because we're all professional graders or auction appraisers. When you post a coin, the people commenting on a grade can range from "never seen one of those before" to "been collecting that series for 40 years."
I grade EAC style when I can: strict technical sharpness grades, with a net grade assigned based on observed positives and negatives about the coin in question, described in detail. Some people aren't used to that, and only know whatever the slab says on it. But it also helps them understand that there is not just "one correct way to grade."
I do agree 100% though that opinions should always be presented in a friendly and non-confrontational way. If someone asks for an opinion on a coin, there's a big difference between "Overall, it's a pretty nice midgrade AU, but the scratch left of the bust is a bit distracting" vs. "Wow, that coin is totally ugly and damaged, why would you waste your money on that garbage, are you stupid?" How you respond to posts reflects upon your character and how you carry yourself within the hobby.
I like to think CCF is mostly the first kind of poster and not the second.
On topics in forums other than the grading forums --
It helps to remember that we all have different collecting goals. I remember finding a dateless SLQ, beat-up, when I was 8 or 9 years old, and feeling like I had just won the coin lottery. If a bunch of people had rained on my kid parade by telling me that it was ugly and not worth more than a quarter and why would I even keep it, I'd probably have never collected another coin in my life. In other words, don't look down your noses at someone who posts a coin that's beneath your "standards." It might be the greatest thing they've ever had. Let them be excited about it!
Another thing that I see that bugs me on both grading and non-grading forums is "you have so many nice coins, why would you waste your money on X?" or "you can afford a much better coin, why would you buy that one?" The answer is that it's none of your business how and where they spend their money. That's the kind of topic reply that has no business being posted IMO.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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But it also helps them understand that there is not just "one correct way to grade." Yes and no. If you're talking about early copper sure there is another completely acceptable way to try and do it. That said people should also understand that EAC has no official grades and that even their top experts will often disagree on the grade of a coin which is usually why the name of the grader gets attached in auction descriptions. Technically any series can be graded however someone wants to. The problem with that approach though is that they have to be fully aware and understand how the actual market grades something and how and where their grading differs. Sounds simple enough but the longer someone does it their own way generally the more out of touch they end up with the acceptable standard. |
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Replies: 50 / Views: 7,007 |
Posted 04/21/2018 1:27 pm
