Finding Coin World’s new podcast shows Numismatics is in technology amateur hour
Did you hear? Coin World started a podcast.
I found out in one of their multiple daily email blasts that Coin World is producing a podcast starring Chris Bulfinch and Jeff Starck.
A professionally produced podcast that is regularly published for the hobby is a good idea. I would become a listener but it is not possible. The podcast is not in the Apple Podcast directory and only available on directories other than Apple including Spotify, Stitcher, or TuneIn.
Aside from not having enough room on my iPhone for another app, I have a lot of time invested in my chosen podcast app that is configured to work with my weird listening schedule.
Why did Coin World make this decision? Shouldn’t they want to reach as many people as possible? After all, there are approximately 97.2 million iPhone users in the United States. That is approximately 47-percent of the smartphone market. And some research suggests that approximately two-thirds of podcast listeners use an Apple device. That is a lot of people to exclude!
Time and again it seems that when numismatics does something to try to reach beyond its borders using technology, the attempt reminds me of the 1971 kitschy movie The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight. In this case, Coin World shot itself in the foot.
ADDENDUM: After I wrote this and queued it for posting, I went back to the announcement page on Coin World’s website and looked at the HTML source behind the page. I found the URL of the RSS feed that my podcast app could use to subscribe.
Even though I found the URL, I deconstructed the page to find where the link was hiding. Yes, it is hidden.
To find the link, you have to hover your mouse over the embedded podcast player on their webpage so that the controls appear. Click on the share button to the far right to bring up a share panel. There is a button that says “Get the RSS Feed.” Clicking on that will bring you to the feed.
Or you can just use https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/273189.rss.
Click on the share button? Really? Now that’s really intuitive!
Coin World is using Buzzsprout as their hosting service. There is nothing wrong with Buzzsprout although its embedded podcast player’s UX (user experience) leaves much to be desired. However, Buzzsprout is a well-rated service for podcast hosting.
Then again, Coin World should have read Buzzsprout’s “How to Make a Podcast” guide. Step 6 on their list is “Get listed in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.” After all, it says “Listing your podcast in these directories will ensure that people can find your podcast when they search for it. Getting into these directories is the most important step in marketing your podcast.”
Coin World should have considered their overall UX when doing this. It’s an amateur’s mistake!
There once was a time that Coin World’s parent company, Amos, had a good technical group that was there to help the Amos properties but was also doing consulting. These were the people who were brought in to help get the improved money.org off the ground. The people we worked with were very intelligent.
Unfortunately, Amos did not retain this group following the issuing of the money.org request for proposal (RFP). These smart people went their separate ways. I hope they all have had a lot of success after leaving Amos. But for Coin World, it is too bad because this is a time when it seems that this they could have used expert assistance.
NGC’s New Holder for Presidential Dollars
Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) announced the release of the EdgeView Holder™ which suspends a coin within prongs to enable viewing of its edge. The change from the standard holder is in the insert of the holder that has rubber-like material cut in a way so that the protruding prongs holds the coin in place. NGC will use this holder for encapsulating the Presidential $1 Coins whose edge will be incuse with the year of minting, the mintmark, E Pluribus Unum, and the motto “In God We Trust.”
“Because critical information relevant to their attribution and identification is found on the coins’ edges, NGC has elected to use the EdgeView Holder™ which enables clear viewing of a coin’s edge,” according to NGC. “NGC will encapsulate Presidential $1 Coins with a patriotic red, white, and blue, label, displaying images of four Presidents on a blue background. A vibrant red bar across the bottom of the label includes the words NUMISMATIC GUARANTY CORPORATION.”
NGC will also have a designation for FIRST DAY OF ISSUE for coins released on the official release date. “To qualify, coins must be received by NGC on the official release date or by overnight mail or air carrier on the day immediately following the official release date. The first coin of the Presidential $1 Coin series, George Washington, goes into circulation on February 15, 2007, and to qualify for the FIRST DAY OF ISSUE designation, coins must be received by NGC no later than February 16, 2007.”
There have been mixed reports as to whether regular collectors can obtain these coins on February 15. Many bank tellers and front-line workers appear to not know about the coins or when they will be distributed. I will visit a bank on Saturday or Monday to see if I can purchase a roll, or two.
Competitive Collecting
My collecting philosophy is that whatever intrigues me, I will collect. My collection consists mostly of 20th century coins with the moderns complete through 2006. But as I have been filling holes in my albums with nice coins, I am missing the thrill of the hunt—the thrill of searching for something neat to fill those holes in the albums.
When I restarted collecting following my first wife’s untimely death, it was to have a diversion to get my mind off of recovering from that loss. As I expanded my interests, I started to buy albums and coins to put in those albums. I would buy coins in lots, take what I want and resell them elsewhere. It was fun, even when I bought those packages with pounds of coins. But some of the collections are complete and in others, I am missing some of the key dates.
The hunt was revived a little when I started to look into large cents and Morgan Dollars. Large and half cents are intriguing as they represented the founding father’s desire to ensure even those at the lowest levels can participate in the building economy. For example, the half-cent was struck so that change could be properly made when something costed “bits” one-eighth of the Spanish milled dollar or 12½ cents (a bit), the de facto currency of the new country.
That has been interesting, but there has to be more.
Fans of the Food Network have seen the various ways of turning cooking into competition. Numismatics has its own version of competition called Registry Sets. Registry sets are competitions amongst collectors to see who can put together the finest graded coins in a particular category. Categories range from date sets to date and mint mark sets to year sets. There are various categories for any interest.
Registry set competition is sponsored by PCGS and NGC individually. PCGS restricts registry sets to PCGS graded coins. NGC allows the NGC and PCGS graded coins in their registry set. Both services allows competitors to enter the information about their coins via the web, include pictures, and a short write up of the entry. PCGS’s web-based interface is recognized as being more user friendly. At the end of the year, both services recognizes the best sets as the best representation of the category they are entered.
Once I became interested with the registry set competition, I chose to compete for sets at NGC because of the ability to register both NGC and PCGS graded coins. It allows for more flexibility. Then I had to decide what sets to compete with. I started with uncirculated American Silver Eagle coins because I had a few already graded. But there is a lot of competition and I have not been collecting the highest grade in order to compete.
Previously, I had started to collect quarters, halves, and dollars from 1976 with the bicentennial commemorative reverses. These were the first changes in coinage during my life time and I remember the exuberance over the celebration. I really like the designs and I think were successful modern type coins. I submitted the best coins I had to NGC for grading and started my bicentennial set. NGC does not have a bicentennial set, but they have year sets for mint state, silver, and proof bicentennial coins. Then I started to purchase coins to complete the sets. My Mint State set is now fifth in the competition! I like having a set ranked that high, but I want it at least in the top three. I have the rest of this year to complete and improve this set!
As a side effect of this, I have been collecting the last large dollar series produced by the Mint. Eisenhower dollars are the last of the large dollars. These large metal pieces were not widely accepted and only lasted eight years. But I find them intriguing and started both mint state and proof sets. The mint state sets are missing the more expensive 1972 die types and the 1976 coins need to be upgraded, but as I said, there is time to fix this.
I would like to try to come up with a top ranked set. I am close with the mint state bicentennial set, but I have to upgrade those dollars. In the mean time, I am having fun putting together the sets, which this is all about!
Registry sets add a different slant on collecting and can be fun. You may want to give it a try.
My First CC Morgan
There is something magical about the Morgan Dollar. It is the only coin that seems to remind us of the Manifest Destiny as the country expanded across the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean. It brings up images of the Old West where people moved to make a better life looking for gold and silver or making money from those who have struck it rich. Sure this is a romantic view and does not take into consideration the plight of the Native American nations, but it ties into the fascination there has been with the west of the 19th Century.
The Comstock Lode was the greatest discovery of silver. So much silver was discovered that it was causing the price of silver was declining. To protect the financial interests of the mine owners and allegedly the nation’s economy, congress passed the Bland-Allison Act of 1879 to order the US Mint to buy the silver evacuated from the mines. The law required the Mint to produce 90-percent silver coins for circulation using that silver. The result was an over production of silver that would have repercussions for years to come.
Virginia City was the hub of the region, many deals and other favors lead to the building of an assay office then a full branch mint in nearby Carson City. Its history is an example of how things worked in the 19th century. The cornerstone for this branch mint was laid in September 1865 and was opened to strike coins in 1870. When the Morgan Dollar began its run in 1878, this branch mint would strike far more coins than necessary.
As the Mint purchased the required amount of silver and struck coins, the extra Morgan Dollars were bagged and placed into storage. These bags were transported to different government buildings including the Department of the Treasury in downtown Washington, DC. These coins were discovered in the 1960s by the General Services Administration (GSA) when they were cleaning out old government buildings in Carson City for sale and the Treasury building for refurbishing. The GSA sale of these Carson City dollars in special holders caught the imagination of the public.
The stories of the CC Mint is legendary. Like a lot of people, when I started to collect Morgan Dollars, I thought the cost of purchasing examples of these CC minted dollars was a bit out of my price range. Over the last few years, I have been looking for an affordable (under $100) nice looking coin. It would have to be at least in Very Fine condition with some mint luster, but at least worth the grade.
I finally found one! The 1890-CC Morgan Dollar is not worth a lot in comparison to other CC mint Morgan Dollars. But it is still a nice coin. But when I was able to find a Very Fine 1890-CC Morgan Dollar for under $100, I had to make this purchase. It is a nice coin with a little shine that suggests it was dipped a long time ago. But the elements are nice and the CC mint mark on the reverse is very clear.
While uncirculated coins are very beautiful, circulated coins have a history. What events did this coin see? Whose hands has this coin passed through? Was this coin used in Deadwood, South Dakota? Was it once handled by Buffalo Bill Cody? Or Teddy Roosevelt? I may not know this coin’s history, but it is fun to imagine while admiring its beauty.
American Gold Eagles and Preparing for $1 Coins
The US Mint announced last week that American Gold Eagle proof coins will be available for sale today, February 5, starting at 12 Noon. Gold Eagles are Minted at the West Point Branch Mint and bear the “W” mint mark. Prices of the coins have risen as have bullion prices. According to the Mint, the Four-Coin Set will sell for $1,449.95; the one-Ounce coin is $789.95; the half-ounce coin is $399.95; the quarter-ounce Coin is $209.95; and the tenth-ounce coin will sell for $104.95.
The Mint also announced the offering of free educational materials to help promote the new Presidential $1 Coin. These materials are free and include informational brochures, bookmarks, posters, coin boards, and stickers. If you are a member of a club, you may want to order enough to distribute at a meeting. Remember, shipping can take four-to-six weeks, so order early.
25 Years of Chinese Panda Coins
The People’s Bank of China announced that they will issue a set of commemorative Panda bullion coins in gold and silver to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of issuing the Panda bullion coins. Released on January 25, the coins will feature the different reverse designs of the Panda silver and gold coins for the last 25 years. The obverse of the coin will feature the Hall of Praying for Good Harvest of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, the title of the People’s Republic of China, year 2007, the Chinese characters that will translate to “Chinese Panda Gold (or Silver) Coin Commemorating its 25th Anniversary.”
The 1/25th ounce .999 gold Panda anniversary coins will be 12mm in diameter and have a face value of 15 yuan. Mintage is limited to 18,000 of each coin.
The quarter-ounce .999 silver Panda anniversary coins will be 25mm in diameter and have a face value of 3 yuan. Mintage is limited to 30,000 of each coin.
Both gold and silver coins were minted by Shenzhen Guobao Mint, Shanghai Mint, and Shenyang Mint. China Gold Coin, Inc. will distribute these coins for The People’s Bank starting January 25, 2007.
I have written in the past of my appreciation for the silver Panda coins. And like a lot of people, I also appreciate the cuddly look of the Giant Panda. Although I am interested in purchasing a silver set, the price may be an issue. As I was searching the Internet for availability, I saw one major dealer who has set pre-sale prices at $399 for the silver set and $1,199 for the gold. As they are distributed to other US dealers, I will compare prices looking for the best deal.
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