Numismatic literacy

[shirohniichan]

I'm re-reading Hirsch's book, Cultural Literacy, and this has gotten me to thinking about numismatic literacy.

 

Wikipedia defines cultural literacy as follows:

Cultural literacy is the ability to converse fluently in the idioms, allusions and informal content which creates and constitutes a dominant culture. From being familiar with street signs to knowing historical references to understanding the most recent slang, literacy demands interaction with the culture and reflection of it. Knowledge of a canonical set of literature is not sufficient in and of itself when engaging with others in a society, as life is interwoven with art, expression, history and experience. Cultural literacy requires familiarity with a broad range of trivia and implies the use of that trivia in the creation of a communal language and collective knowledge. Cultural literacy stresses the knowledge of those pieces of information which content creators will assume the audience already possesses.

 

Obviously numismatic literacy isn't nearly as broad as cultural literacy, but I find I am seeking a broad view regarding what I collect.

 

Collecting trade dollars led me not only to learning about mintages, scarcity, varieties, etc., but also to use in Asian trade and domestic commerce, the bi-metallism controversy, mining, the Comstock, the Bank of California, Mint Director Lindermann, chopmarks, and a number of other topics. Only after learning about the production and use of the coins did I feel like I "got" trade dollars. If I had decided to continue collecting modern Canadian NCLT I think I wouldn't have needed to read nearly as much as I did about trade dollars in order to be familiar with them.

 

How much reading and research does it take you to become literate in your area of collecting?

[physics-fan3.14]

I think the idea of cultural literacy, and by extension numismatic literacy, is even more broad than that. For example, while we take basic terms like Uncirculated and Gem for granted, the initiate is baffled by them. Because we have a certain numismatic literacy, we can freely converse and interact with other collectors based on a shared common ground. Even though we may disagree on numerous topics, at least we share an understanding of what they are. We have a feel for them, more than mere rote knowledge which can be gained from a book.

 

Of course, there is an extensive learning period before a collector can truly become "literate" in his series. I think in this context, literacy is a working knowledge of the series. Just as a "literate" person can discuss books they've read, certain well known authors, have a general understanding of literary criticism, a collector knowledgeable in his series should have a grasp of key dates, general characteristics, values, etc. They are by no means an expert in the series, but they aren't lost when an expert discusses the series.

 

I think there is also a certain level of community knowledge shared among longer-term members here, which it takes time for a new member to be able to understand. This is our own "cultural literacy." For instance, anyone who has been here a while could make a joke about a Taco Bell napkin, and be well understood by many members - but a new member would have no idea what we were talking about. There is a shared commonality amongst the community, which is takes a certain amount of time to become proficient in.

[DaveG]

I've been researching and writing about how gold and silver coins were used in commerce in the US in the 19th century (particularly the 1840s and 1850s) for five years and I think I've gotten up to "sub" literate status.

 

Another five or ten years of work and I may be up to "literate".

 

The best part of my journey is that it has been much more fun than agonizing over the difference between MS-69 and MS-70 for modern NCLT and I understand 19th century US history so much better than I did when I was in high school!

 

 

[shirohniichan]

I think it is easiest to learn the technical details of a series one collects (grading, mintages, pricing, etc.) because there is so much information on those topics. Learning about the coins' actual use (if they are business strikes) gets more difficult because it means one has to step outside the bounds of most numismatic literature. For trade dollar collectors a book like Willem's famous tome is a godsend because it explains the commercial, economic, and political background behind the minting, use and redemption of the coins. I appreciate the work of those who can give us the "big picture". A long time ago I enjoyed Q. David Bowers' Adventure With Rare Coins because it also discussed, for example, the use of nickels in nickelodeons.