PMD Or PMDon't?

Absolutely, I think emotion is a strange thing to mix with something so analytical as coins. Everyone is definitely entitled to their opinion, but saying that EVERYONE is an expert on some level is like a kindergarten teacher telling each of her students that they're special. And I do think that everyone here is special....

with "opinion" versus "fact"...it is my view that every "opinion" includes someone's "guess" and "feelings" to a certain degree. An "opinion" is someone's correct direction in life based on their feelings.

"Fact" is hard, tangeable, and just..there. There's no room for argument. It is what it is. Either wrong or right. ALL situations with die variety identification or error identification are based on fact, not opinion.

I have no opinion about identifying a doubled die. It is what it is. It's either #21 or #35...and something on the coin is a tell that it's one or the other, but it CANNOT be both. Get it? All fact - NO opinion. All thinking - No feeling.

I do have an opinion about Eisenhower dollars - they're ugly and I don't like them. I think the government should stop making dollar bills. I prefer bluish toned silver over yellowish toned silver. These are all opinions - they are all based on feelings, not facts!

See the difference?

I'm not going to go into political discussion here, but our society has been taught to LOSE the difference between the two by using the word 'feel' where the word 'think' should be used. There has been a complete redefinition of the meaning of 'think' and 'feel' to make them synonymous - and they ARE NOT!

I have felt excluded a few times because of my lack of experience in dealing with error coins when I would post one asking for advice. I didnt come to this site to be made to look or feel like an idiot. I just want to learn as much as possible so I dont make mistakes before sending a coin in to be slabbed. I agree with what you said and thanks for speaking out for us rookies!

Funny, I just mentioned in an e-mail just the other day about how fortunate we are to have lifetimes of experience at our fingertips.

Where else can you go and "experience" a Cud, off-center, broadstrike, MD, and a doubled die all in the same day?

I've only been collecting "seriously" for a little less than 2 years now, but feel like I have more experience than that thanks to this forum and shared knowledge.

I haven't searched through the gazillion coins that some of you have, but I have been through a lot. I can honestly say I've never found a Cud in the wild but I would certainly know what I was looking at when I do.

My point is that I try to "experience" every post I read and try to gain knowledge from it. I try to learn something new everyday, and thanks to this forum and the experience of some of our members, that's not hard to do.

Ok fellas. I'm wondering about something after reading all of the responses to this topic. Most of the "Opinions" or "facts" are based on photos. Is it, or is it not true, that some photos can be deceptive? Should a person that "feels" he has something of significance, refer to an expert in person?

Here's what I'm getting at. I see a lot of photos that are posted with what appear to be real "errors" or "varieties", but then right off the bat it is blamed on the photo. I don't know for sure, but it seems to me that if a person is going to go through the trouble of taking a photo and posting it, maybe they see something that is really there? So, if that is the case, what do you do? Take it to someone in person I would think.

I have been going through boxes and boxes of nickels lately. I have only found two nickels out of thousands that I think may be something. One was the extreme MM location that I posted. The other I didn't bother posting a picture of because I couldn't get a clear enough one to post. I plan on letting someone see it in person to avoid the dreaded "It's just junk" answer that I know I'd get.

So with that, let's maybe add "it's my opinion" if it's not a perfect photo. Unless you see it in person, how can you really be sure? Just my opinion guys.

jaymon74 - Because we are working all of this through an internet message board, you are correct that most of the posts here center around images of coins. Because it takes more than a scanner or a simple cell phone camera to get close enough to a coin to show the extreme detail necessary to properly attribute many of the die varieties and errors people post on these boards, those with only simple equipment USUALLY cannot get the detail in an image required for even the most knowledgable collectors to give an informed answer - which is why MANY times I tell people that better images would be required to give a difinitive answer to their question and leave it at that. If there is any guess work involved in telling someone what they have based on an image, then it is indeed an opinion. You've got a hunch that what they have is something you've seen and know what it is...but you cannot KNOW 100% that's what they have because the images are not completely conclusive.

As for me it's really simple. If I have no clue, I don't respond. In other words, if I have to GUESS, I say nothing. If I know the subject but cannot give an answer because of a lack of information provided (like a bad photo) then I say so - "I might be able to tell what you have if I had the coin in my hand or had a better image." If I do know what it is and can tell without a doubt, I give the answer in statement form without adding words like "I feel" or "I guess" or "it may be." If I know it's junk I say so. If I know it's collectible I say so. Like I said before, it has nothing to do with feelings.

Given the exact same coin and exact same images I would respond in exactly the same manner to anyone who posts here, bar none. I don't have favorites, I don't respond differently to anyone for any reason.

With regard to correct or incorrect statements - EVERYBODY makes mistakes. Heck, I sure do. I did last week when I suggested an error was something it was not and I was corrected. Everyone does that once in a while...but for people to come here and post outright guesses with no background knowledge as if they are stating a fact is completely unfair to the people who come here asking questions. Because this IS a situation where everyone here is an equal (we are all just 'members' of a board), people who waltz in here with a coin and questions cannot tell who does - and who does NOT know what they are talking about. They cannot make an informed decision of whose answer is correct when three people answer with completely conflicting responses and NONE of them announce they are only making a guess to be participating.

So...going back to the FIRST post here in this thread - if it's PMD and I KNOW it - I say so. If it might be but I'm not sure for one reason or another, I either keep on clicking because I know I'm not adding anything of value by responding, or I do respond and add that I'm not sure because of whatever. But posting a response as fact when I don't really have a clue is completely unfair to those who do know and post, and it's completely unfair to the person who asked in the first place.

Coppercoins Thanks!