• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
0
  • entries
    16
  • comments
    94
  • views
    1,962

Call me a geek....

2 2
ChrisInJesup

Entry posted by ChrisInJesup ·

681 views

So I had an email asking me HOW to program a search engine to find a coin, even a rare one. Let me start by saying... you can search for a coin with current search engines. My programming uses these current search engines to find what I want. HOWEVER..... because I'm lazy.... I use a Linux Server to do the job.... and it's a small system on my wireless network that does the searching for me.

Without getting into details..... my little server uses a --script to inject what I want and the results are emailed to me what it finds. I go to the server and redefine what I want to reduce the number of emails. It looks every hour on many sites, compares the search to a checklist from previous searches, sends an email of what it found new in the search, then adds the new item(s) to the checklist. Been doing this since 1990s (coins came later) and it works well. My -script has changed over the years as many of the search engines have "come and gone" or changed in the process. 

The current system has worked well, especially as I learn more and found coins that are hidden in web crevices. Internet search engines are great tools.... if you know how to "abuse" them for a purpose :)

 

2 2

7 Comments

Recommended Comments

coin928

I'm impressed, that's very clever.

Just out of curiosity, when you say --script, are you referring to a shell --script like bash or something similar?  Also, are you using curl, or something like it to batch execute your searches?

Edited by coin928
Link to comment
ChrisInJesup
On 3/15/2021 at 12:31 PM, coin928 said:

I'm impressed, that's very clever.

Just out of curiosity, when you say -----script, are you referring to a shell -----script like bash or something similar?  Also, are you using curl, or something like it to batch execute your searches?

It's bash file I found online.... It's a heavily modified now since then as things have changed on search engines over the past 10 years. It's a learning curb for me and it uses Lynx. I'm an old DOS guy (TSRs were my thing in the '90s) and C++ programmer (Win95 Beta Tester... sorry for the crappy software)..... scripts, bash, batch.... all tomatoes TomAHtoes. Retirement is around the corner and look forward to spending quality time with my LINUX box.

Edited by ChrisInJesup
Link to comment
ChrisInJesup
2 hours ago, The Neophyte Numismatist said:

The coin bounty hunter.  I smell finders fees in your future.  Geek on, sir.  Geek on.

Let me know when you are accepting "coin find" challenges. (thumbsu

Funny you should say that.... I was going to make a search portal as a "1 stop search" spot for anything and everything on the web. Just trying to make it work for me alone has been the biggest challenge. But I got the basics, but still learning the nuances. Retirement will give me more time to spend on refining this process to make it work. Not my first rodeo with web interfacing.... but so much has changed when I used Java -script or PERL in the early days.

Link to comment
coin928

Thank you for the information.

On 3/16/2021 at 5:15 PM, ChrisInJesup said:

It's bash file I found online.... It's a heavily modified now since then as things have changed on search engines over the past 10 years. It's a learning curb for me and it uses Lynx. I'm an old DOS guy (TSRs were my thing in the '90s) and C++ programmer (Win95 Beta Tester... sorry for the crappy software)..... scripts, bash, batch.... all tomatoes TomAHtoes. Retirement is around the corner and look forward to spending quality time with my LINUX box.

If it's not already in your list of search sites, you might want to look at.  https://www.numisbids.com/

They specialize in searching for world coins and ancients on an impressive number of auction sites world wide.  You can save your search criteria too and you will receive an email when something matches. Like eBay, you can set up watch lists on their site.  Interestingly, you can also find U.S. coins that are being sold in foreign auctions.

They have a Facebook page too: https://www.facebook.com/numisbids/

Link to comment
ChrisInJesup
On 3/18/2021 at 10:20 AM, coin928 said:

Thank you for the information.

If it's not already in your list of search sites, you might want to look at.  https://www.numisbids.com/

They specialize in searching for world coins and ancients on an impressive number of auction sites world wide.  You can save your search criteria too and you will receive an email when something matches. Like eBay, you can set up watch lists on their site.  Interestingly, you can also find U.S. coins that are being sold in foreign auctions.

They have a Facebook page too: https://www.facebook.com/numisbids/

I'll have to take a look! Thanks.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now