Looking At Coins Vs Seeing Them? - Coin Community Forum

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,124
Eagle_Eye Valued Member United States 55 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 09:09 am Hi, When it comes to looking at coins, especially hunting errors and varieties, do you have to look for differences or do you see them automatically ? I don't quite understand it, but I don't have to "look" for differences, I see them without looking for them. Everything in physical life, I see things that are out of place without trying to notice them. Now, the only thing I can think of that may have contributed to my mind developing that skill, is some magazines from my childhood. I can't quite remember, but there was always a "spot the differences" Set of two pictures. It was during Elementary school in the 70's. Do you have to look or do you just see ? EE Report this Post to the Staff

halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1484 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 09:37 am The human brain is definitely designed to notice changes or differences, even if we don't immediately know what they are. It's probably why coin varieties & errors are appealing to many. Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7935 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 12:59 pm For a lot of us who just collect by type, or by type and date, it's not much of an issue. However, when I get involved in some discussions out here on authenticity, then seeing becomes important. I think that pattern recognition is definitely a skill where the more you practice, the better you get. But most of the time, I still have to look. (And, Boys Life was one of the magazines that had that game) Edited by tdziemia 08/01/2021 1:02 pm Report this Post to the Staff
nfine Pillar of the Community United States 3468 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 1:08 pm The magazine you're trying to remember might be Highlights. Hidden pictures was a favorite feature of mine in the 60's Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 1:29 pm I just look to see if I need or want it. I never look for slight differences. Report this Post to the Staff
Oldfordman Pillar of the Community United States 2869 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 2:18 pm I don't usually look for very minor stuff but I usually notice stuff before I know what it is. Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7935 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 3:31 pm Quote: The magazine you're trying to remember might be Highlights. That's the one! Report this Post to the Staff
Eagle_Eye Valued Member United States 55 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 4:01 pm Thank you all for the replies. It was indeed Highlights magazine! Thank you for jarring my memory. Boys life, I remember that one too. Pattern recognition for me is becoming a problem as I primarily CRH Cents. If I pointed out all of the extremely subtle design changes that I noticed change from year to year it seems. A haircurl slightly changed in position from the previous year. Things like that stand out to me and its quite maddening! Add die wear and circulation wear into the mix and it can make me spend an hour or two studying the coin die pair that I am looking at. I wish I found this world of errors and varieties decades ago! I didn't start really looking at coins until I inherited my Grandpa's and his and my father's collection. I wish I knew the coin dealers name who turned me onto this world. I've since moved out of that area. I just really love staring at coins! EE Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16809 Posts	Posted 08/01/2021 11:53 pm You've all probably heard the story of how the Secret Service trains its agents to spot counterfeit banknotes. They don't spend hours studying counterfeit notes, they spend hours studying genuine notes, so that when a counterfeit comes their way, the differences jump out at them immediately. Error/variety hunting is much the same. If you spend hours looking at regular, non-variety coins, when a variety comes your way, it just jumps out at you - without you even consciously knowing why, at first. Of course, the trick then is telling the difference between a "genuine variety" or "genuine mint error", and post-mint damage. 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 Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,124

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: General Numismatic Forums Forum: Main Coin Forum

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.31 seconds to rattle this change.