how is it possible? 0

[JKK]

How is it possible that any US collector and native English speaker can't spell "nickel" correctly even while collecting them? How can anyone not see this as waving the Banner of Dumbth?

Seriously. I want to know. I understand spelling problems with the English language, which is infamous worldwide for its inconsistent phonics and homophones. Other cultures don't need spelling classes in elementary school. I get that it's hard. And if a coin collector misspells something obscure unrelated to coins, such as "amphictiony" or "enforcement," I see no reason for embarrassment. But "nickel"? When there is no such thing as a "nickle"? This is not a word that requires a Ph.D in chemistry. This is a word we grow up with and have used thousands of times by adulthood, even if saying we didn't have two nickels to rub together. For US coin collectors it's in the wheelhouse, like "cent" or "penny" or "dollar." It's so common that to collect US coins while boycotting all nickels or references to nickels would be bizarre. And even if one did, the copper-nickel alloys would still be in play.

Nickel. Nickel. Nickel. Nickel. It's a coin term as well as the name of an element.

Come now. You--whoever you might be--cannot possibly be telling me you don't know how to spell that word, or that you learned it wrong because you saw it written as "nickle" by the mint or in coin books. Are you dyslexic? If so, I feel for you, but that is also why there is spellcheck (which I see highlighting four terms in this post as I review it). There is no prompt for spelling it wrong, unless "semi-literate collectors on message boards" count as prompts.

I am lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness. If you have been spelling it wrong, this post is my gift to you. You now never need to make this mistake again. I herewith issue an amnesty for previous misspellings, which we will not harp on again. Clean slate, fresh start. You are free, liberated, ready to collect nickels and talk about them in a way that will not invite disdain. I'm glad I could be of assistance and I wish you many years of intelligent-sounding coin collecting discussion.

[Just Bob]

Sign of the times, My Brother.

But, you are right. Spelling a coin's name properly should not be negotiable. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Just Bob

[Coinbuf]

Kids don't learn English anymore, no need to as they have talk to text, spellcheck, and rely on texting shortcuts for communication.   Combine that with the fact that English will soon become the second most commonly spoken language in the US (replaced by Spanish) and it is no surprise that spelling English is not a priority.   Add in some dyslexia and there you have it, I know for myself that I have at times been typing fast and have swapped the two last letters by mistake.

[USAuPzlBxBob]

What I like is the thread right below this thread — at the moment — is entitled, 1943-D Nickle DDO-1, and when I typed it in as written by "whomever," it revealed that that person didn't even accept the complimentary spellcheck available on all devices.

[DWLange]

This is a longstanding problem, as evidenced by this coin board from 1937.

[JKK]

Good lord.

[“”]

Be careful. Once upon a time there was a disme!

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

I have been guilty of swapping letters - not because I cannot spell "nickel", but because I am moving too fast.

[JKK]

On 9/7/2022 at 12:04 PM, Simple Collector said:

Be careful. Once upon a time there was a disme!

In that case it was an evolution of the French-derived term, about the time (pardon me here if you happen to be a French speaker and historian who already knows this stuff) a lot of French words were losing the silent S such as in "hôpital," being replaced with the accent circonflex. Us being mainly an Anglophone country, of course, it would have been odd for us to bring the circumflex along into English, especially since we didn't do that with other words. Not that you said they did, but I doubt that anyone ever pronounced the S in English by saying 'diss-me' or somesuch. I'd guess they said 'deem' at first and it later became 'dyme' in common speech, probably once the word showed up on coins without the S.

I dug a bit, partly to make sure I wasn't saying anything dopey and partly out of sudden interest, and learned from credible sources that while the mint continued to call the coin a disme in official correspondence, the word in any form did not reappear on our coinage until 1837. When it did, it was just "dime," with the vestigial S gone for good. Back in those days, wandering/variable spelling was rather more common.

Happily, I have faith that the mint will never surrender to calling the five-cent coin a "nickle" in any foreseeable future. I could be giving the American public way too much credit, though. It wouldn't be the first time, and most of that has been beaten out of me, but I'm still human and prone to occasional forays of hopeful naivete. (For which, given that we are writing in English, I dispensed with the French accent marks as a froufrou affectation.)

[EagleRJO]

On 9/7/2022 at 3:21 PM, The Neophyte Numismatist said:

I have been guilty of swapping letters - not because I cannot spell "nickel", but because I am moving too fast.

Me too if I was rushing a while back before there were spell checkers for everything.  A long time ago someone said it's a "nick-elll" not a "nick-leee" and that kinda stuck. 

[VKurtB]

It all makes me hungry for a nice crisp dill pickel. /he ducks

[JKK]

On 9/7/2022 at 1:11 PM, VKurtB said:

It all makes me hungry for a nice crisp dill pickel. /he ducks

Can't help you. I like cucumbres but not so much pickels.

[zadok]

On 9/7/2022 at 12:55 PM, Coinbuf said:

Kids don't learn English anymore, no need to as they have talk to text, spellcheck, and rely on texting shortcuts for communication.   Combine that with the fact that English will soon become the second most commonly spoken language in the US (replaced by Spanish) and it is no surprise that spelling English is not a priority.   Add in some dyslexia and there you have it, I know for myself that I have at times been typing fast and have swapped the two last letters by mistake.

...cinco centavos it is then...i personally preferred half disme...nickel seems to be a word often spoken but not written...then again cursive isnt even being taught anymore n reading will most likely follow suit...

[VKurtB]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:55 AM, USAuPzlBxBob said:

What I like is the thread right below this thread — at the moment — is entitled, 1943-D Nickle DDO-1, and when I typed it in as written by "whomever," it revealed that that person didn't even accept the complimentary spellcheck available on all devices.

Windows 3.1? 1989. On 5-1/4 inch floppies. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by VKurtB

[zadok]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:39 AM, JKK said:

How is it possible that any US collector and native English speaker can't spell "nickel" correctly even while collecting them? How can anyone not see this as waving the Banner of Dumbth?

Seriously. I want to know. I understand spelling problems with the English language, which is infamous worldwide for its inconsistent phonics and homophones. Other cultures don't need spelling classes in elementary school. I get that it's hard. And if a coin collector misspells something obscure unrelated to coins, such as "amphictiony" or "enforcement," I see no reason for embarrassment. But "nickel"? When there is no such thing as a "nickle"? This is not a word that requires a Ph.D in chemistry. This is a word we grow up with and have used thousands of times by adulthood, even if saying we didn't have two nickels to rub together. For US coin collectors it's in the wheelhouse, like "cent" or "penny" or "dollar." It's so common that to collect US coins while boycotting all nickels or references to nickels would be bizarre. And even if one did, the copper-nickel alloys would still be in play.

Nickel. Nickel. Nickel. Nickel. It's a coin term as well as the name of an element.

Come now. You--whoever you might be--cannot possibly be telling me you don't know how to spell that word, or that you learned it wrong because you saw it written as "nickle" by the mint or in coin books. Are you dyslexic? If so, I feel for you, but that is also why there is spellcheck (which I see highlighting four terms in this post as I review it). There is no prompt for spelling it wrong, unless "semi-literate collectors on message boards" count as prompts.

I am lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness. If you have been spelling it wrong, this post is my gift to you. You now never need to make this mistake again. I herewith issue an amnesty for previous misspellings, which we will not harp on again. Clean slate, fresh start. You are free, liberated, ready to collect nickels and talk about them in a way that will not invite disdain. I'm glad I could be of assistance and I wish you many years of intelligent-sounding coin collecting discussion.

...however, nickle is a valid word in scrabble....

[VKurtB]

On 9/7/2022 at 4:00 PM, zadok said:

...however, nickle is a valid word in scrabble....

Why? My phone marks it as a misspelling. 

[zadok]

On 9/7/2022 at 5:02 PM, VKurtB said:

Why? My phone marks it as a misspelling. 

not sure but Scrabble has it as an acceptable word for use....

[JT2]

On 9/7/2022 at 4:59 PM, VKurtB said:

Windows 3.1? 1989. On 5-1/4 inch floppies. 

hey buddy if you want i still have the installer disks for DOS 5.0 and we can install your Windows for old times sake....................

[J P M]

I know I must have spelled it wrong a time or two babbling along without seeing it.

On 9/7/2022 at 1:02 PM, DWLange said:

This is a longstanding problem, as evidenced by this coin board from 1937.

I love the coin board DW. it is truly a collectable.

[JT2]

Where are you "at"........ this one has always gotten me..... a few more... must of, should of, would of, could of.......  what's that? and what about "first year anniversary"    well just because my keyboard doesn't like to spell correctly doesn't mean i do...................hahahahah

 

Hot water heater....... humm as if a cold water heater would work?

last but not least if you ever say this then never talk to me again!!!

Irregardless   

 

[JKK]

I don't mind slang. I have a natural gentle drawl that sometimes becomes quite pronounced, sometimes say "ain't" and "I reckon," and otherwise colloquialize my speech and writing in ways that don't take away from understanding. What I mind is dumbth, or unthinking speech. I don't mind typos; I make them and expect them to happen to others. But "nickle" is too core to our hobby, and misspelling it is like writing "doller" or "corter" or "Libberty." It's not the only one that looks awful, just the one that stood out to me at the time. Others happen.

For example:

The misuse of "literally." "My head literally exploded!" If only. I have a couple M-80s I can loan you.

"Off of." The 'of' is not needed. I'm sure Kurt would never snarl at kids to get "off of" his lawn, being an educated person. JT2 is right to object likewise to "where are you at?" as the 'at' is superfluous.

"Irregardless" is butt-ugly and a syllable too long, but at least is not unclear.

Of course, one person's comfortable colloquialism is another person's nails on the chalkboard. (Children, we used to have classroom boards made of slate. Fingernails run across them created an ear-torturing shriek.) I maintain that one can be colloquial without dumbth. And there is a difference between speech and writing in that speech flows out and is ephemeral (unless you go around recording it), whereas in writing one has lots of time to consider. And the "I write like I talk" thing is essentially a confession of cluelessness, for the reason of my typical rejoinder: "That's sad. People don't read like they listen."

[USAuPzlBxBob]

On 9/8/2022 at 11:42 AM, JKK said:

Of course, one person's comfortable colloquialism is another person's nails on the chalkboard. (Children, we used to have classroom boards made of slate. Fingernails run across them created an ear-torturing shriek.)

"Y’all know me… y’know how I earn a livin’.  I’ll catch this bird for ya, but it ain’t gonna be easy.
Bad fish.  Not like goin’ down to the pond and chasin’ bluegills or tommy-cods.

This shark, swallow you whole.  Shakin’, a lil’ tenderizin’, down you go."

[DWLange]

Quote

I love the coin board DW. it is truly a collectable.

If you like antique coin boards, the greater part of my collection is on display at the Newman Numismatic Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollections?searchLetter=C

[EagleRJO]

On 9/8/2022 at 4:11 PM, DWLange said:

If you like antique coin boards, the greater part of my collection is on display at the Newman Numismatic Portal:

I like the collection of books and coin albums in your office I think someone mentioned in another thread that are in the pics from that site.

[DWLange]

That was my office before CCG ballooned in size. I had to give it up and take my library home. 😥 All for the cause...

[J P M]

On 9/8/2022 at 4:11 PM, DWLange said:

If you like antique coin boards, the greater part of my collection is on display at the Newman Numismatic Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollections?searchLetter=C

Oh my, I remember you commenting on some of my older coin books. I have also seen your coin bookcase. I never expected your collection boards to be that elaborate. 

[VKurtB]

On 9/8/2022 at 7:27 PM, J P M said:

Oh my, I remember you commenting on some of my older coin books. I have also seen your coin bookcase. I never expected your collection boards to be that elaborate. 

He literally wrote the book on coin boards. 

[GBrad]

On 9/7/2022 at 4:49 PM, JKK said:

Can't help you. I like cucumbres but not so much pickels.

Sorry, couldn't resist JKK...... all in fun my friend. (**Please don't blackball me**)