Introducing MCM’s Info-Vault 0

[MCMAshley]

Hi all,

This is my first post since my introductory post a few weeks ago which you can read here.

I’ve been reading through some of the posts on this board and was struggling to come up with a follow up post that would enhance all the conversation going on here, and then it dawned on me! I could share one of the aspects of our website that I am particularly proud of, called the “Info-Vault.”

Here you will be able to find our Resource Center which contains a variety of guides and entries designed to assist the novice collector through their numismatic journey, although seasoned collectors may be able to learn a thing or two as well. In addition, we have a section focusing on Coin Mintage Charts which was just updated last month!

However, the highlight of our Info-Vault is the Article section which contains commentaries on all things numismatic. It includes topics ranging from the most recent United States Mint news to highlighting innovative coins series, like this one on the 30^th anniversary of the Kookaburra series, or innovative product releases, like this one on the recent “Break-it Brexit” coin release. Plus, if you have any content that you would like to see on here, I would love to hear about that! I am always looking out for new article topics that collectors might appreciate.

I figured this resource might be useful for the folks who participate on the forum here or at the very least could offer some fun reading in your down time.

Take a look and happy reading!

[RWB]

Here are just a few of the glaring errors in your "highlight of the Info-Valut article section." These were noted in a quick look at the section of US quarters:

“…E PLURIBUS UNUM (Latin for “Out of many, one”) is inscribed in a scrawl held in its beak….”

:… Liberty pole in her left hand and a stripped shield with a diagonal banner reading LIBERTY in her right hand.”

“In the late 19^th century the public had grown tired of Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty designs. A competition was held by the Mint to redesign the nation’s silver dimes, quarters and half dollars that was won by Charles E. Barber,…”

“A model and actress named Doris Doscher was the designer’s inspiration for the Liberty on the coin”

It will only be useful to collectors if it is accurate. Further, your site seems to avoid showing sources for materials that aren't common press releases and internal promotional fare.

Edited March 4, 2020 by RWB
Fix formatting

[Just Bob]

1 hour ago, RWB said:

Here are just a few of the glaring errors ...

 

I hate to pile on, but the first article that I looked at was written poorly - to the point of being distracting. Example: " The two first branch mints, Charlotte (“C” mint mark) and Dahlonega (“D” mint mark) were the first two branch mints, established because of the discovery of gold nearby."  Seems a bit redundant to say that the "two first branch mints...were the first two branch mints."

Another example: "The New Orleans Mint (“O” mint mark) was a major worldwide port, and opened a new mint in 1854..." The Mint was a port? According to the way that sentence was written, it was.

I understand that these are simple mistakes, easily made, but they are just two of many, and could have been corrected with a bit of proofreading.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Just Bob

[Morpheus1967]

Also, might as well call it the US Mint Coin Mintage Charts since that is all that is listed, and you can find that particular information in a million other places on the web.  

[Morpheus1967]

Also, might as well call it the US Mint Coin Mintage Charts since that is all that is listed, and you can find that particular information in a million other places on the web.  

[MCMAshley]

22 hours ago, RWB said:

Here are just a few of the glaring errors in your "highlight of the Info-Valut article section." These were noted in a quick look at the section of US quarters:

“…E PLURIBUS UNUM (Latin for “Out of many, one”) is inscribed in a scrawl held in its beak….”

:… Liberty pole in her left hand and a stripped shield with a diagonal banner reading LIBERTY in her right hand.”

“In the late 19^th century the public had grown tired of Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty designs. A competition was held by the Mint to redesign the nation’s silver dimes, quarters and half dollars that was won by Charles E. Barber,…”

“A model and actress named Doris Doscher was the designer’s inspiration for the Liberty on the coin”

It will only be useful to collectors if it is accurate. Further, your site seems to avoid showing sources for materials that aren't common press releases and internal promotional fare.

Hey RWB,

Thanks for taking the time to read the History of the Quarter article and to let us know about those misspellings and inaccuracies, they have been addressed.

While we always strive for polished content that is as accurate as possible, mistakes do happen, and we are committed to correcting them. We are always looking for ways to improve for our customers and having high quality content is one of them.  Thanks again! 

[MCMAshley]

21 hours ago, Just Bob said:

I hate to pile on, but the first article that I looked at was written poorly - to the point of being distracting. Example: " The two first branch mints, Charlotte (“C” mint mark) and Dahlonega (“D” mint mark) were the first two branch mints, established because of the discovery of gold nearby."  Seems a bit redundant to say that the "two first branch mints...were the first two branch mints."

Another example: "The New Orleans Mint (“O” mint mark) was a major worldwide port, and opened a new mint in 1854..." The Mint was a port? According to the way that sentence was written, it was.

I understand that these are simple mistakes, easily made, but they are just two of many, and could have been corrected with a bit of proofreading.

Hey Just Bob,  

We do appreciate these less-than-stellar sentences being brought to our attention and we do apologize that they made for some rough reading. Like you said, mistakes do happen, and while we do appreciate you being understanding of that, we are dedicated to correcting them and making our content more polished and easier to read moving forward.  

We are dedicated to bringing the best to our customers and are always looking for ways to improve, so thank you for the feedback here! 

[RWB]

MCMAshley -

A kindly suggestion or two. 1) Pay one of the employees to fact-check every article; 2) Pay an outside editor to review and edit all the articles after they have been fact-checked. (I strongly recommend PenUltimate Editorial Services.)

They are familiar with numismatic terminology (through some of my books and articles), extremely professional, and will give your promotional "Resource Center" a polished language presentation it currently lacks.

Once these are done, MCM can then confidently set you out promoting resources without fear of embarrassment.

Edited March 4, 2020 by RWB

[Revenant]

4 hours ago, RWB said:

MCMAshley -

A kindly suggestion or two. 1) Pay one of the employees to fact-check every article; 2) Pay an outside editor to review and edit all the articles after they have been fact-checked. (I strongly recommend PenUltimate Editorial Services.)

Some of it at least could be resolved by internal proofing and review (and a spell check by MS Word). I publish articles online, at symposia and the like and hardly anything I write goes out without being read by two others in the company. Some things still slip through but it's a lot less.

[MCMAshley]

23 hours ago, RWB said:

MCMAshley -

A kindly suggestion or two. 1) Pay one of the employees to fact-check every article; 2) Pay an outside editor to review and edit all the articles after they have been fact-checked. (I strongly recommend PenUltimate Editorial Services.)

They are familiar with numismatic terminology (through some of my books and articles), extremely professional, and will give your promotional "Resource Center" a polished language presentation it currently lacks.

Once these are done, MCM can then confidently set you out promoting resources without fear of embarrassment.

Hi RWB,

We do appreciate you taking the time to make these additional recommendations on how we can improve our content and are taking them into account.

[RWB]

Ashley -

The follow-up question is, of course, "Will anything be done to implement the suggestions?" Good managers have a plan. If this part of MCM is important to the plan's goals and objectives, then management will take aggressive corrective action. If nothing happens, it means the materials are just filler, and not important to the company. It might also suggest management has no meaningful plan. This is also known as "Management Road-Kill," or "Cubicle Stew."

[The take-away for any employee connected with such a "road kill" product is to search for a new employer - fast.]

Edited March 5, 2020 by RWB

[Revenant]

3 hours ago, RWB said:

Ashley -

The follow-up question is, of course, "Will anything be done to implement the suggestions?" Good managers have a plan. If this part of MCM is important to the plan's goals and objectives, then management will take aggressive corrective action. If nothing happens, it means the materials are just filler, and not important to the company. It might also suggest management has no meaningful plan. This is also known as "Management Road-Kill," or "Cubicle Stew."

[The take-away for any employee connected with such a "road kill" product is to search for a new employer - fast.]

It's a little interesting sometimes to run upon against the idea of what department "owns" an asset, resource or job.

At my job, Sales and Marketing owns the website and controls things like branding, logos, etc. But... Engineering owns the technical manuals to our products, so engineering hast to update the manual when marketing changes things, and the Consultancy owns the templates for our reports and proposals.

[RWB]

15 hours ago, Revenant said:

It's a little interesting sometimes to run upon against the idea of what department "owns" an asset, resource or job.

At my job, Sales and Marketing owns the website and controls things like branding, logos, etc. But... Engineering owns the technical manuals to our products, so engineering hast to update the manual when marketing changes things, and the Consultancy owns the templates for our reports and proposals.

....and if no one "owns" the results, the organization wastes time, money, expertise and alienates potential customers.