Message threads are more useful that some realize. 0

[RWB]

This and other coin collecting message boards contain several million topic threads and a large number of individual posts. Most threads have a short "life," soon vanish from the first page or two, and thus from general awareness. But the threads and posts can serve a purpose beyond their immediate and obvious subject of discussion. Careful examination over several months or years can reveal patterns and trends in collector interest. This has potential value for dealers and coin wholesalers, and even the slimy side of selling on TV or in distorted ads.

I have another use: identify unanswered questions posed by collectors and dealers. These are beyond the usual "what's it worth" questions, and are part of the fundamentals of coins as money. A good example is the book Mint to Mint 2 which is in its final editing stage. Every subject is an answer to basic questions about American coinage and the U.S. Mints. All of these questions came from collectors and dealers via direct request, or as a question embedded in a routine message thread ---- including multiple members of this board.

Here are a few examples:

Why was the first mint kept in Philadelphia? How were mint medals bronzed or colored? How were coins distributed? How did someone get a job at a US Mint? What kinds of equipment repairs were common and how were they made? How were gold coins converted into bars after demonetization in 1934? How were medals for which there were no dies copied and new dies made? What did mints in other countries think of the US Mint system? How did foreign gold and silver circulate in the early US?....and more.

This use of hobby message boards is one of several possibilities if we look beyond the superficial.

End of soliloquy.

[Mike Meenderink]

So many questions so little time. Questions reveal answers that beget new questions. You might as well start working on Mint to Mint 3 now. Get to work..

[RWB]

On 5/31/2024 at 12:10 PM, Mike Meenderink said:

So many questions so little time. Questions reveal answers that beget new questions. You might as well start working on Mint to Mint 3 now. Get to work..

I would, except the pool of reliable information has become very shallow. The US Mint systems never kept a comprehensive history of their operations - unlike the British and French Mints. Most US Mint technical and operational information was kept by individuals in pocket notebooks - nearly all of which are lost. There were few user guides or operational manuals prepared and almost none exist. Training of new employees was verbal and on-the-job, and many employees were not of the type that kept personal diaries.  I fear the MTM3 would be a thin and unsatisfying volume.

[VKurtB]

On 5/31/2024 at 9:54 PM, RWB said:

The US Mint systems never kept a comprehensive history of their operations - unlike the British and French Mints. Most US Mint technical and operational information was kept by individuals in pocket notebooks - nearly all of which are lost.

Oh well, then I guess nothing ever happened there. That’s the standard, right? If you don’t have (retained) documentary evidence, then it didn’t happen. That’s been your “jam” all along, right?

Pfffft.

[RWB]

Beginning with the telephone, the volume and information density of US Mint and Treasury documents began to decline. Verbal instructions have always existed - the pattern pieces of 1879-1882 were the result of verbal conversations not recorded on paper, for example - but once telephones sat on every clerk's desk, many discussions about operations and plans were only summarized. The long letters of mid-19th century discussion and explanation largely vanished. By 1920 document are increasingly superficial except for specific internal reports or Congressional submissions (which are not necessarily reliable).

Further, increased use of contractors meant that Mint engineers no longer built equipment and were engaged in routine maintenance rather than major repairs. A coin press made by Ferracute Machine Co, was repaired by Ferracute not by Mint mechanics as in the past. Almost all record of repairs therefor was part of the Ferracute company records (Hagley Museum, Ferracute Machine Company records 1928), not the Mint's.

The historical result is that the amount and extent of detail recorded and retained diminished, even as operations expanded.

[GoldFinger1969]

I back up every few/5 pages the SAINT-GAUDENS Thread here and a few others dealing with Saints....I save key posts here and ATS dealing with grading concepts, wear, key coin hobby facts, etc.

I urge anybody who has a thread here or elsewhere that has valuable information for a coin series they collect or follow to back it up on their OWN PC.  You never know if a thread gets deleted...locked....website goes down....TOS Denial...etc. 

Edited June 4 by GoldFinger1969