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As there didn't appear to be anywhere else to post this (and the amount of space in the users Bio box very limited), if no one minds I will use this spot to introduce myself and hopefully give you an idea of why I'm here. So thank you all in advance . . . and greetings to all, as well as my apologies if my rhetoric appears too pointed at times:
I’m a novice in this area so I hope other members will be patient with me. I dabbled a bit in this area when, walking down the gravel road in front of our farm to go fishing, I found a large half cent from the 1700’s, and later was probably over half way through with a dime collection; mostly Mercurys as this was in the 50’s, before moving on to other pursuits. Always wondered what happened to them (probably cashed them in for a couple of packs of cigarettes
) A spinster Aunt gave me a large canvas coin bag weighing maybe 25lbs over 15 years ago. Did start to look at them when I got back from Iraq, but after being distracted by something else, I put them in a safety deposit box where they’ve been ever since (but won’t be for long after I get back to my home).
Though a novice, I’ve always said that by education, experience and the Grace of God, I’m a natural born “analyst”. Though my recognized area of expertise is in the analysis of the organization, administration and financing of public health systems, I have analyzed everything from: how you get a combat unit from point A to point B without walking them into an ambush (a task that I did very well at I might add, especially since I was a Battalion Scout in the Corps and I was well in front of those combat units!); to the concept that an aging population will reduce the future need for prison construction (posited in the latter half of the 80’s, poo-pooed by some in the legislature and, later proved correct as can be seen by the number of facilities moth-balled to date, at least in my State) as well as; within hours of her death, predicting who would sing what song at Princess Diana’s funeral (Sir Elton doing a version of his “Candle In The Wind”) and finally; what the structure of the civil service pay system should look like in post war Iraq. While certainly tooting my own horn, the real point of this exposition is to note that the mind-set of an “Analyst” is quite in-sync with that needed to rationally engage in this area of endeavor.
I should note why it is that my eyes have once again turned this direction. About two months ago I temporarily left my home and wife in Michigan to care for my rapidly failing mother at her home in Indiana. My mom just turned 96 (Nov 10, the Marine Corps Birthday nonetheless!) and as the only surviving off-spring it was me or nobody. In addition, I had always promised her that I would do everything in my power to see that she could spend her final days in her own home instead of a hospital or nursing home, and so it’s been. At any rate, because mom sleeps for most of the day I had to find something to keep my mind occupied. As it is, there was a suitcase in the basement that was left by my grandmother when she lived here, before passing away over 40 years ago, which contained 7 glass jars (my mom later added an eighth) of various sizes . . . filled with coins; many of the larger denominations individually wrapped in tissue. I have of course known about its existence for a long time (every couple of years my mom would have me “hide” it in a new location), but never really bothered exploring them as I figured that it would give me something to do in my “old age”. Well I decided that now was as good as any to say that time had arrived, and so I have been slowing going through the jars, coin by coin cataloguing each in turn: a couple of Silver Dollars; then Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy Halfs; Washington Quarters (some to the 30’s) and; Dimes, Nickels and Penneys! And given that many were from the last years of GMA's life; hand wrapped and undisturbed for all these years, a lot of them are pristine, or as they say in the vernacular AU and MS+.
To me a coin is not a coin, but a piece of history, and while like anyone I wouldn’t scoff at finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, nor holding the winning Mega Lottery ticket, in this case I’m much more interested in the “What” and “How” of things, which is the reason I have ended up at this site (and joined CONECA too) and have bookmarked and explored many additional ones. In closing, one of the purposes of this expansive missive is so that the reader will know that when I post a query, it is not being done as a crap shot, but rather to glean your collective insights. As a newbee, I probably won’t have much to add, at least initially to the discussion, but will insert a comment where and when it seems appropriate (hopefully). I should note however, that one of my pet peeves is the apparent current schism between the purist (read Die Doubled and Die States) and the more avant-garde, Machine Doubling. My problem is not with the merits of the former, as the ability to linearly follow the progression of an artifact is paramount to the full understanding of a notable occurrence. Rather I find that the discounting of the latter, in terms of its “meaning” and “value”, seems to strike at the very essence of “collectables”. An item does not have to be sought with financial considerations as a key variable . . . it is the uniqueness of the object to the individual which gives it “value”. I have spent countless hours poring over the literature and images trying to understand the difference; not in process, but in meaning. To some extent, an error IS an error, and while its process is intriguing and unarguably important . . . is it also not possible that it’s real “value” lies in what it produces? That is, I have seen many listed Doubled Dies that are frankly, boring as Hell, and while I have certainly seen many more Machine Doublings that can easily be categorized in the same fashion, I have also seen some of the latter that I would consider to be spectacular, but (and that is a BIG BUT) I have only been at this a very short time. It could very well be that additional study will show that particular piece of error output to be quite common place, and thus, while still interesting, carry less of a meaning/value to me or others. That’s where you all come in, with your extensive experience you may be able to help reduce the amount of “study” time needed. My only hope is that responses in this area will address the specific, and a generic broad-brush will not be used to discount the inquiry; after all, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
John S. Walker, MPH
USMC – Ret.
RVN 66/67 OIF 03/04
AKA: fallguy
PS: Almost forgot to mention that using 15 duplicates of the Franklin halfs I had, I was able to work with a local coin dealer to acquire the 18 missing coins I needed. With these, I’m also proud to announce that I now have my first complete set of history, finally!!!
I’m a novice in this area so I hope other members will be patient with me. I dabbled a bit in this area when, walking down the gravel road in front of our farm to go fishing, I found a large half cent from the 1700’s, and later was probably over half way through with a dime collection; mostly Mercurys as this was in the 50’s, before moving on to other pursuits. Always wondered what happened to them (probably cashed them in for a couple of packs of cigarettes
) A spinster Aunt gave me a large canvas coin bag weighing maybe 25lbs over 15 years ago. Did start to look at them when I got back from Iraq, but after being distracted by something else, I put them in a safety deposit box where they’ve been ever since (but won’t be for long after I get back to my home).Though a novice, I’ve always said that by education, experience and the Grace of God, I’m a natural born “analyst”. Though my recognized area of expertise is in the analysis of the organization, administration and financing of public health systems, I have analyzed everything from: how you get a combat unit from point A to point B without walking them into an ambush (a task that I did very well at I might add, especially since I was a Battalion Scout in the Corps and I was well in front of those combat units!); to the concept that an aging population will reduce the future need for prison construction (posited in the latter half of the 80’s, poo-pooed by some in the legislature and, later proved correct as can be seen by the number of facilities moth-balled to date, at least in my State) as well as; within hours of her death, predicting who would sing what song at Princess Diana’s funeral (Sir Elton doing a version of his “Candle In The Wind”) and finally; what the structure of the civil service pay system should look like in post war Iraq. While certainly tooting my own horn, the real point of this exposition is to note that the mind-set of an “Analyst” is quite in-sync with that needed to rationally engage in this area of endeavor.
I should note why it is that my eyes have once again turned this direction. About two months ago I temporarily left my home and wife in Michigan to care for my rapidly failing mother at her home in Indiana. My mom just turned 96 (Nov 10, the Marine Corps Birthday nonetheless!) and as the only surviving off-spring it was me or nobody. In addition, I had always promised her that I would do everything in my power to see that she could spend her final days in her own home instead of a hospital or nursing home, and so it’s been. At any rate, because mom sleeps for most of the day I had to find something to keep my mind occupied. As it is, there was a suitcase in the basement that was left by my grandmother when she lived here, before passing away over 40 years ago, which contained 7 glass jars (my mom later added an eighth) of various sizes . . . filled with coins; many of the larger denominations individually wrapped in tissue. I have of course known about its existence for a long time (every couple of years my mom would have me “hide” it in a new location), but never really bothered exploring them as I figured that it would give me something to do in my “old age”. Well I decided that now was as good as any to say that time had arrived, and so I have been slowing going through the jars, coin by coin cataloguing each in turn: a couple of Silver Dollars; then Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy Halfs; Washington Quarters (some to the 30’s) and; Dimes, Nickels and Penneys! And given that many were from the last years of GMA's life; hand wrapped and undisturbed for all these years, a lot of them are pristine, or as they say in the vernacular AU and MS+.
To me a coin is not a coin, but a piece of history, and while like anyone I wouldn’t scoff at finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, nor holding the winning Mega Lottery ticket, in this case I’m much more interested in the “What” and “How” of things, which is the reason I have ended up at this site (and joined CONECA too) and have bookmarked and explored many additional ones. In closing, one of the purposes of this expansive missive is so that the reader will know that when I post a query, it is not being done as a crap shot, but rather to glean your collective insights. As a newbee, I probably won’t have much to add, at least initially to the discussion, but will insert a comment where and when it seems appropriate (hopefully). I should note however, that one of my pet peeves is the apparent current schism between the purist (read Die Doubled and Die States) and the more avant-garde, Machine Doubling. My problem is not with the merits of the former, as the ability to linearly follow the progression of an artifact is paramount to the full understanding of a notable occurrence. Rather I find that the discounting of the latter, in terms of its “meaning” and “value”, seems to strike at the very essence of “collectables”. An item does not have to be sought with financial considerations as a key variable . . . it is the uniqueness of the object to the individual which gives it “value”. I have spent countless hours poring over the literature and images trying to understand the difference; not in process, but in meaning. To some extent, an error IS an error, and while its process is intriguing and unarguably important . . . is it also not possible that it’s real “value” lies in what it produces? That is, I have seen many listed Doubled Dies that are frankly, boring as Hell, and while I have certainly seen many more Machine Doublings that can easily be categorized in the same fashion, I have also seen some of the latter that I would consider to be spectacular, but (and that is a BIG BUT) I have only been at this a very short time. It could very well be that additional study will show that particular piece of error output to be quite common place, and thus, while still interesting, carry less of a meaning/value to me or others. That’s where you all come in, with your extensive experience you may be able to help reduce the amount of “study” time needed. My only hope is that responses in this area will address the specific, and a generic broad-brush will not be used to discount the inquiry; after all, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
John S. Walker, MPH
USMC – Ret.
RVN 66/67 OIF 03/04
AKA: fallguy
PS: Almost forgot to mention that using 15 duplicates of the Franklin halfs I had, I was able to work with a local coin dealer to acquire the 18 missing coins I needed. With these, I’m also proud to announce that I now have my first complete set of history, finally!!!
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