JKK

No problem; just trying to help you help us help you. While we hope to help people understand numismatic terminology, none is really necessary for the basics. Most people want to know three things: what is this, what condition is it in, and therefore what might it be worth. You will probably get some numismatic esoterica in responses, and it's okay to ask what it means. We have a lot of people who know a great deal about coins, and have known it for so long they have forgotten what it might ever have been like not to know the meaning of VF-30 or DDR, etc.
If you'd like a term explained, asking is totally fine. Of course, someone is likely to post a link to this or that article, implying that you should go look it up, again for the same basic reason: They have so long ago forgotten what non-knowing is like, and are thus too far removed from the new poster's perspective, to imagine themselves asking a question and getting a terse link rather than an answer. (A link along with an answer, however, is very helpful. It helps you out and shows you where you can learn more. Sometimes you will get that.)
It may also surprise you to know that not everyone takes a response like mine as helpful or valuable. Those are usually the people who think they have Great Mint Error Rarities and will be able to retire off the coins. Or that they have a genuine [insert name of commonly counterfeited coin] and that we can't possibly be right that it's a fake, mainly because we told them what they didn't want to hear. Just the fact that you aren't starting an argument puts you in the most welcome quarter of new posters, so take heart; you're doing it right. So by all means keep asking the things you seek to know.

No problem; just trying to help you help us help you. While we hope to help people understand numismatic terminology, none is really necessary for the basics. Most people want to know three things: what is this, what condition is it in, and therefore what might it be worth. You will probably get some numismatic esoterica in responses, and it's okay to ask what it means. We have a lot of people who know a great deal about coins, and have known it for so long they have forgotten what it might ever have been like not to know the meaning of VF-30 or DDR, etc.
If you'd like a term explained, asking is totally fine. Of course, someone is likely to post a link to this or that article, implying that you should go look it up, again for the same basic reason: They have so long ago forgotten what non-knowing is like, and are thus too far removed from the new poster's perspective, to imagine themselves asking a question and getting a terse link rather than an answer. (A link along with an answer, however, is very helpful. It helps you out and shows you where you can learn more. Sometimes you will get that.)
It may also surprise you to know that not everyone takes a response like mine as helpful or valuable. Those are usually the people who think they have Great Mint Error Rarities and will be able to retire off the coins. Or that they have a genuine [insert name of commonly counterfeited coin] and that we can't possibly be right that it's a fake, mainly because we told them what they didn't want to hear. Just the fact that you aren't starting an argument puts you in the most welcome quarter of new posters, so take heart; you're doing it right. So by all means keep asking the things you seek to know.

Also: you should know that you almost didn't get an answer from me, because you neither described the coin in your title nor asked any clear question. Without a question, we don't know what you want to learn.
However, you did put a brief question in the header matter. I normally ignore the header matter, but this time I saw it, so I figured what you wanted to know is whether you had made a positive ID. Which may have been all you wanted--but imagine how much easier you could have made this process by including a sentence of this sort in your post: "Is my identification correct? What do you think of its grade and value?" This is how you can help us to help you. We want to be relevant. We love to answer questions. Without them, we hardly know what to say.

No grade. Damaged and probably bent, and of no value above bullion.

I think what happens is that somehow the system doesn't make obvious to new posters that the post went through. This happens fairly often but only with people brand new.

I might add that, given that this place has been nicknamed Sleepy Hollow, a profusion of questions to answer and people to help is hardly an unwelcome thing. This forum logs me out against my wishes every few days. Normally I just do not bother to relogin until I see that something has shown up that I want to post about. I'd be more inclined to participate if it were busier.

I think what happens is that somehow the system doesn't make obvious to new posters that the post went through. This happens fairly often but only with people brand new.

Original Poster. Whoever started the thread; in this case, me.

When you post a question about a coin or coins, it's worth remembering that the people giving you answers--unless it is specifically about an NGC policy matter or submission--are volunteer hobbyists who do this for fun. They are not speaking for NGC; they speak only for themselves, and they want to help people. When you do a good job of posting your inquiry, you increase your chances of helpful replies, because you show respect for the volunteers' time.
Please do:
Ask a question, or multiple questions. We need to know what to focus on. Authenticity? Grade? Identification? Value? All of these? Think about your questions. "What would this grade at NGC?" and "What grade would you give this coin?" are two very different questions. If you ask the first one, only people who know a lot about NGC's ways have much to offer you. "How much is this worth?" is another nebulous question. Better: "What would a dealer pay me for this?" Or: "What would a dealer sell this for?" Post clear photos of the entire obverse, reverse, and if necessary the edge. If need be, add zoomed photos of specific features, but always clear shots of both full sides. Post all pictures of a given coin in the same thread. Accept that if you have photographic limitations, and you keep posting badly photographed coins, you'll keep being told they're not good enough to use to answer your question. You can't expect everyone to read all your threads and know your circumstances, be they poverty or Parkinson's or can'tbebothereditis. It's not their fault your photos can't or won't get better, even if it is also not always your own fault. Use a thread title that describes the coin(s), so that people who know the subject matter are likelier to read the thread. If you just inherited Bampaw's silver dollar collection which you can see spans the period 1850-1921, you could title it "Evaluating silver dollar collection 1850-1921." People who know a lot about those silver dollars will see it and be likely to help you. "Grading advice" is bad; everyone wants grading advice. "Morgan dollar grading advice" is good. "Is this fake?" is bad. "Is this Chinese silver coin fake?" is good. Post only once per coin. (If you have received a huge collection, and you want to start with a picture of the whole hoard with zoomed shots of parts, that's no problem. This guideline is intended to keep people from slamming multiple fully photographed coins into a single thread, making it difficult to figure out which one the answers are talking about. So if it's a hoard, and you single out some for close scrutiny, go with new threads for each of those.) If the picture files are too large in terms of data, learn to make them smaller without losing necessary information. Paint.net is a free image editor for Windows. Open your pictures in it, crop them, and save them as .jpgs. Look at what sizes they are now. This is too easy. If there is any question of identification or authentication, include weight in grams and diameter in millimeters. If you don't know the metric system, use an online converter. Weight is one of the key diagnostics of authenticity and unless the coin is too obviously bogus to bother, you will be asked for it. Just include it with your first post. Tell us what you know, or what you believe to be the case, about the coin. It's okay to be incorrect. Understand that the term "melt" does not automatically mean someone plans to melt the coin down, nor is anyone suggesting you should. It refers simply to the value of the metal for its own sake. Do not freak out when someone says "melt" about Bampaw's Morgan dollars. We really do not want or expect you to throw it in a blast furnace, all right? Use punctuation. Being easy to read works to your benefit. When you write a twelve-line paragraph with no periods or commas, people tune you out. For those who need reminders, this , is a comma. You use it to separate phrases, more or less. This . is a period. You use it to end most sentences. Hitting Enter will insert a paragraph break. You use this between series of thoughts. Live them. Love them. Use them. because ill tell u what really suxors is when some1 posts sententses like this 1 4 about half a page its impossibel 2 read and some people including me will prob not finish readin it which means u arent gettin as many respontses think about it ur only hurtin ur own cozz notice how stooped this reads ur in affect makin urself ten times harder 2 help and frankly its disrespectfull 2 assume entellegent people should do all that extra work 4 ur sake now kinely clean up ur act and rite like u at least got thru 6ixth grade im glad we had this little talk Come prepared to accept responsive answers. Brace yourself to learn that Bampaw or Opa, always considered the family's Great Numismatist, may not have been so great at this. No one seeks to offend your relative's legacy, but the coin must be called what it is. Be patient. No one who doesn't know the answer is going to post "I don't know." It can take days to a week for someone to notice. Remember that some inquiries may require research, for which volunteers are not being paid, and are doing as they have time. Expect that opinions may vary, even among experienced numismatists. Realize that if you're rude and/or difficult, your problem is not the people who take time to fight with you. Your problem is the people who, without a word, mark you down as someone not to bother with in the future--because you have no idea who or how many they are, and thus have no power to alleviate that diagnosis. Kindly do not:
Just post pictures without giving any indication of what you want to learn. Post glare-obscured, blurry, or otherwise poor photos. Post only partial pictures of errors or damage. Complain that your pics are too big to post. Use an image editor to crop and save them as .jpgs. Get defensive when told your pics are not good. Maybe you're bad at photography; maybe you don't have a good camera; maybe the photography gods just don't like you. If you can do better, do so. If you cannot do better, than just accept that this limits how much we can help you. Post a new thread for every photo of the same coin. Post new threads in the same forum, or other forums, with reference to the same coin. Once suffices. The shotgun approach makes one look impatient and immature. Use a meaningless thread title like "looking for advice" or "no idea what 2 do" or "plz help." Those tell people nothing about the discussion except that it was begun by someone who picks meaningless thread titles. Omit weight and diameter, unless they are completely irrelevant to your question. Get annoyed if you don't like the answers. If you disagree with them, fine; act on your views. Ask us to tell you how we know it's a counterfeit. While that's a legit question on its face, the problem is that even if you didn't mint the fake, those who make them are always looking for ways to improve. We frown upon supplying helpful feedback to criminals, and so should you. So no, don't ask us that. And if we tell you politely that we aren't going into detail, don't get annoyed because you don't like that answer. Grouse about not getting any replies. No one knows everything; no one has unlimited time; sometimes no one knows the answer. Come in telling how many Youtube videos you have watched about coins. This will lower your credibility. Use Photobucket links. If you do, don't anticipate that people will use them. Photobucket has been connected with numerous malware and virus infections. Spell 'nickel' as 'nickle.' Whether referring to the element or the five-cent coin, this misspelling is a very bad look. If you take the time to do this correctly, you can learn a lot more here than if you skip important steps.
If you do not take the time to do this correctly, some posters may decide that their time is better spent helping other people.
Lastly, here is a Cliff's Notes version that would take care of 95% of the most common disappointed inquiries. If you want to post yours anyway, fine, but just please kindly do not engage in a protracted and dullard debate when you are told that:
Your 1804 silver dollar is a bad counterfeit. Look up authentic examples and compare closely. Your 1776 Continental dollar is a bad counterfeit or a souvenir replica. Many were churned out. What you think is a double die is almost surely mechanical doubling, which carries no premium. What you think is a mint error is likely post-mint damage, and your coin is worth face value. Your "silver" non-1943 penny is plated, replated, has had the plating come off, is altered, or somesuch. Your "bronze" 1943 penny is altered somehow, and is worth very little. Your Greek "silver" coin with flanges sticking out of its edges is a bad cast counterfeit. Your cheesy-looking brass token is not gold, and is not a coin. Any clown can mint brass tokens with bad designs. Cleaning your coins is a stupid idea. Yes, even for you. You, too. If you ask how, listen to the people who tell you not to do so. If you cite Etsy as an authority, people will laugh their heads off with good reason. This is horrible for your cred. If you cite a Youtube video as an authority, people will laugh with good reason. This is bad for your cred. If you have more than three supposed error coins you found in change, and plan to post them all, the odds are overwhelming that none of them are mint errors worthy of note. If you keep posting these without seeming to learn, people might conclude that learning is not your thing. There, that rounds up the usual suspects. I'm not saying those answers are automatically always right. However, as the strongest probabilities, they should be presumed correct unless they can be proven wrong. If you have one child and something is broken in the house, not by you or your spouse, typically the child did it. If you can prove the kid innocent, fair enough; but you know the kid almost surely did it. If you argue about a "double die" at fatuous length when it's clear you don't know what one really is, you will look like the kid with soot all over him insisting he didn't really dig around in the fireplace.
Don't be that kid.
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Opinions, comments, additions, suggestions?

The limiter there is the time it takes to deal with photographing each one correctly; it's enough work that people eventually slow down and start to pick their spots, so the anticipated problem rarely materializes. But new threads don't really clog up the listing; if anything, they push dead threads farther down so that our thread necromancers have to at least go digging in order to animate undead threads to waste everyone's time and attention. It doesn't have to take very long for an OP to obtain all the info they needed.
The bottom line is that we've long had a consensus of one coin, one thread. Every time someone does it differently, and posts ten coins in a thread, we relearn the reason for that consensus. ("Wait. Which coin are you referring to?" "imma refer 2 the dime" "There are three dimes in this thread, Einstein. Which one?" "dont get uptite man its not a big deal")

The limiter there is the time it takes to deal with photographing each one correctly; it's enough work that people eventually slow down and start to pick their spots, so the anticipated problem rarely materializes. But new threads don't really clog up the listing; if anything, they push dead threads farther down so that our thread necromancers have to at least go digging in order to animate undead threads to waste everyone's time and attention. It doesn't have to take very long for an OP to obtain all the info they needed.
The bottom line is that we've long had a consensus of one coin, one thread. Every time someone does it differently, and posts ten coins in a thread, we relearn the reason for that consensus. ("Wait. Which coin are you referring to?" "imma refer 2 the dime" "There are three dimes in this thread, Einstein. Which one?" "dont get uptite man its not a big deal")

I might add that, given that this place has been nicknamed Sleepy Hollow, a profusion of questions to answer and people to help is hardly an unwelcome thing. This forum logs me out against my wishes every few days. Normally I just do not bother to relogin until I see that something has shown up that I want to post about. I'd be more inclined to participate if it were busier.

I disagree. As soon as the second coin appears in a thread we thereafter must try and figure out which one we're talking about. We have tried and tried and tried to impress this on new posters, and this new poster got the message first time. All she needs to do in order to make it a little better is to title the thread something about the coin and ask questions in each case. Let us please not ask people to take steps backward.

I went searching for such a thread, rooted around a while in the WYNTKs without finding it. We have a steady stream of numismatists or coin-curious folk who use terms without having any idea what they are saying. While we take time to correct and educate, it occurs to me we could have a post containing these.
Do we in fact have such a thread/post? If not, does anyone else think this would be a good idea? If there's support, I'd start with some basics and then look to add posted suggestions. Terminology matters. It gets really tiring telling someone that their "silver penny" is not actually silver, for example. We can't expect people to learn proper descriptive terms unless we're willing to do something positive that makes it simpler for them.

I disagree. As soon as the second coin appears in a thread we thereafter must try and figure out which one we're talking about. We have tried and tried and tried to impress this on new posters, and this new poster got the message first time. All she needs to do in order to make it a little better is to title the thread something about the coin and ask questions in each case. Let us please not ask people to take steps backward.

They tell us what we need to know to answer your question. It's uncirculated, probably not cleaned though I wouldn't rule it out, and absolutely pocked with minor contact marks including quite a few in prime focal areas. I do not see it grading above MS-63, and I think 62 is likelier.

They are very, very common. To be worth much more than melt, it would have to meet many conditions that are very rare (which is why that's what it takes to get them to be worth much).

Depends how you want to do it. Consensus is that it's useless to compile our own list and that we should just have links or photos. Once you decide exactly what the concept should be, create the content in whatever form, then ask the admins to stick it. Someone has to sort of own the topic and be assigned editing rights that will survive the normal sunsetting of those (I think it's a month by default), but they will do that if you have a good reason. What I would not do is try and do it in this thread--definitely start a new one.

iBienvenido! The first way to start is by cropping the photos better. The coin should fill the whole picture. This enables us to better see important grading and attribution aspects. Each coin should receive its own thread.
Also, you can help yourself if you can get hold of a current Red Book, which is a good reference for US coins' condition and rarity. While they probably do not sell those in Medellín, you can surely order one online. Its formal name is A Guide Book of Red Book US Coins 2023. On world coins, quite a few of us collect those and can probably help you.

I don't have better pictures, but if that's a known overdate, seems quite likely that's what you have. I would be hard pressed to explain the traces of a 5 in any other way. Nice find--I like occupation and colonial coinage.

I don't have better pictures, but if that's a known overdate, seems quite likely that's what you have. I would be hard pressed to explain the traces of a 5 in any other way. Nice find--I like occupation and colonial coinage.

Depends how you want to do it. Consensus is that it's useless to compile our own list and that we should just have links or photos. Once you decide exactly what the concept should be, create the content in whatever form, then ask the admins to stick it. Someone has to sort of own the topic and be assigned editing rights that will survive the normal sunsetting of those (I think it's a month by default), but they will do that if you have a good reason. What I would not do is try and do it in this thread--definitely start a new one.

Ancients, some medieval, and general world coins. I have a US collection but it isn't my focus lately. I like the challenge of coinage of the Islamic world.
The ancients part began in college when my Roman history prof, in a class on the early Roman Empire, brought in some Suetonian coins and taught us how to read the legends. A few years out of school I had some money and a decent job, and I found a siliqua of my folk hero, Julian II. Still have it. It did not take me long to learn that ancient coins simply weren't that expensive for the most part, mainly because the demand is low, mainly because attributing them takes skill and references most people won't invest in. I did.
While studies in Arabic calligraphy and the Arabic and Hebrew languages got me a fair start on Semitic coinage, what kicked me into gear was buying out a very large collection of south Asian coins (roughly Afghanistan/Pakistan/India/Iran). This meant I had to figure out how to attribute them. This forum wasn't any use at all, but I found one that was. The references were ungodly expensive, but one only has to buy them once. The real hard part is understanding the Arabic/Persian alphabets and numeral systems. Pretty soon I learned that hardly anyone else did this; even my mentor in our club was quickly outpaced by what I was absorbing. Now it's an important part of what I collect.
To me, the worst thing that ever happened to this board (well, outside of some of the thread necromancers joining) was the unification of US, world, and ancient coinage into this particular forum. If it were in my power I would split them back apart tomorrow.

Odds are heavily against it actually having errors, but if you'd like to post sharp front and back pics, we'll be glad to tell you for sure.

Start by assuming it isn't.
Then ask yourself why you'd want it slabbed. It's a legit question. To preserve it? There are other, cheaper ways as good. To be "doing this right?" Many people never slab any coins; I'm not going to tell them They're Doing It Wrong, especially as I myself never slab any. To enhance the value? Okay. Figure out what you think it's worth. Ask yourself if spending $60 on it, with no guaranteed outcome, fits with that value. If it's a $25 coin, clearly, spending $60 to have it put in plastic makes no money sense. It's like load conventional open-end mutual funds, if you understand the term. What value do you get from that load that outweighs the combustion of your capital on it? Usually not enough.
While we are at it, bear in mind that nearly all new collectors overgrade and overestimate the likelihood of errors. Not true of all, but as a general rule, novices grade a couple notches high. Some dealers grade everything a notch high. So what you think is worth AU money is probably worth VF money until proven otherwise (for example). Wishful thinking is your enemy.
My best advice would be to start from the premise that a given coin has been mishandled, grades lower, and that what looks like a mint error is not. In other words, just an ordinary coin of that issue. Then seek to rule out the limiters. No wrong color? Nice. No hairlining? Cool! No doubled dies exist for that issue, thus the shelfy doubling you see is mechanical (non-valuable) doubling? Okay, good to know. Rather than have to be dragged down from hopes of early retirement, start from low expectations and see if the reality surprises you in a happy way.