Apr 15, 2011 | education, technology, web
As part of my posts earlier this year about creating more electronic access for numismatic publications and resources, I wrote how the ANA could do more. This post was the reprinted in Numismatic News (with my permission). Apparently, someone decided that one of my suggestions was a good idea.
This past weekend, I received an email from Numismatic News inviting me to a free live, web-based seminar Beginning Coin Collecting presented by Numismatic News editor Dave Harper. When I clicked the link in the email, I was sent to a registration page at GoToMeeting.com. The seminar will be on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 starting at 4:00 PM until 5:00 PM EDT.
Harper has an easy style and tremendous knowledge that should make the seminar worth attending. Although I would like to attend, I may have a conflict that will prevent me. However, I urge those working on the conventions and in the education department at the American Numismatic Association to login and see how Dave handles the seminar. I hope it gives the ANA ideas as to how they can transform their education program into something that can be presented online.
Once again, I urge the ANA to look into broadcasting open meetings, board meetings, and Numismatic Theater presentations for anyone who wants to log in at the time of the event. It will be a great promotion for the organization.
I am still willing to volunteer my services as an ANA member and a computing professional to help bring the ANA into the 21st century!
Apr 6, 2011 | apps, technology, web
Coin World magazine announced that it will be offering a free app for the Apple iPad in mid-April. The iPad app comes with the release of the new Coin World website with expanded information.
Although Coin World said the app will be free, the article talks about “paid apps” to include access to coin values of U.S. coins and a digital version of their Making the Grade book. It appears that this will be an in-app purchase where you can purchase app add-ons within the application.
It was not clear whether the new Coin World app will offer subscription services using Apple’s new subscription interface.
In addition to the information from the Coin World website, it will offer the ability to talk about your favorite article and other content on Facebook and Twitter.
Coin World is behind numismaster.com from Krause Publications for publishing its numismatic resources on the web. Numismaster.com has been offering subscriptions to the pricing information from the Standard Catalog series as well as the text of the articles from their publications like Numismatic News and Banknote Reporter. However, Amos Publishing, the parent company of Coin World will leap past Krause with the offering of a dedicated iPad app.
As an advocate of digital publishing and someone with an iPad on backorder, this is great news. It will be amongst my first downloads when my new iPad arrives. Hats off to Amos Publishing and Coin World for getting out in front of the rest of the numismatic publishing industry with digital publishing.
Dec 15, 2010 | review, US Mint, web
In the quite of the night, the U.S. Mint flipped their virtual switch to unveil a website for both their main site and their online catalog and e-commerce site. The new design used the new logo and branding features the branding consulting firm Siegel+Gale and the U.S. Mint unveiled in August.
When visiting the redesigned site, the front page is simply laid out and more striking. The black background and updated design is more inviting. Half of the opening screen is dominated by a rotation slide show with images that general visitors and other collectors would find inviting. In fact, the image used to guide the user to view their coin and medals programs features classics such as a Morgan and Peace Dollars. Under the slideshow is a sliding visual menu with the current coins that are links to their information page. It is is a nice element.
The new design appears to be with the theme only and not the underlying organization of their site. Text and other visual features of each page are the same as they were yesterday except surrounded by the new theme. Even though they were designed using the old theme, they visually fit with on the new site.
Everything that was said about the main U.S. Mint website also goes to their online catalog and e-commerce site. The new darker theme works with the current catalog information and seems to work as it did prior to the change. Hopefully, the U.S. Mint changed the backend of the site in order to make their customer service better.
No change was made to the America the Beautiful® Quarters Program microsite. It was well designed from the beginning and used the same basic theme as introduced today.
One nit on the catalog site is that the Product and Services lists on the left side has no order to them. Reordering those menu lists to be alphabetized would be beneficial to the site. If they want to put the “Last Opportunity” menu item at the top of the list and highlight it in some way, that would work. Otherwise, an alphabetized list would work better.
Overall, the U.S. Mint’s redesigned site gets a grade of MS 66 for its freshness, luster, and striking visual balance. They earn points for keeping the underlying structure while there are some little things to work on, including adding additional historic information. Kudos to the U.S. Mint for a job well done!
Logo image courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
Aug 21, 2010 | US Mint, web
Back when I wrote about the U.S. Mint joining the electronic communities of Facebook and Twitter. I also noted that the U.S. Mint was showing off a new logo. Almost a week later, the branding consulting firm Siegel+Gale issued a press release announcing new branding for the U.S. Mint they are calling Connecting America Through Coins.
The logo features a golden colored flipping coin that will be used as part of product marketing throughout the U.S. Mint product line. As previously noted, the new logo appears on the U.S. Mint’s new Facebook and Twitter pages as well as the “microsite” for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. No other U.S. Mint asset uses the new logo. Images of the new products in the U.S. Mint&rsuqo;s online catalog show either the use of the old logo or the official U.S. Mint seal.
According to Siegel+Gale, the U.S. Mint felt there was a “general lack of understanding of its breadth of additional offerings” and “aspired to increase sales of collectable coins, increase the uptake and use of dollar coins, and develop increased public awareness of the United States Mint as the only legal manufacturer of all American coins.”
If the U.S. Mint’s issues were about branding and understanding who they are, then this is a good move. But those of us who watch the U.S. Mint knows that their problems run deeper than their branding and logo. From lackluster designs, questionable customer service, to questionable management, U.S. Mint needs more than branding to help their image. Unfortunately, if we look at the how the U.S. Mint has performed, the axiom “a fish rots from the head&rdquo becomes very profound in describing the state of the U.S. Mint.
May 6, 2010 | BEP, web
The websites for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and their storefront came back online sometime today. The site appears to be fully functional and a scan of accessible pages shows that all evidence of the malware discovered earlier this week have been erradicated.
BEP nor the Department of the Treasury has issued a statement regarding this incident.
BEP has not yet responded to an email inquiry about the incident.
May 4, 2010 | BEP, web
Security researchers discovered that the website for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and associated “MoneyFactory Store” were hacked on Monday. The attacker added instructions to the front page of both sites that would run a script to allow a Ukrainian-based system insert instructions that will allow someone to attack a user’s computer through the browser.
Currently, the BEP website (moneyfactory.gov, bep.gov, and bep.treas.gov) and the BEP’s online store (moneyfactorystore.gov) are off-line. The website used to support the launch the new $100 Federal Reserve Note (newmoney.gov) was not infected by this attack.
The system that would have been used to launch the attack from the Ukraine is also down but do not count on it staying down. Attacker systems can be transient in order to throw off investigations.
As an information security professional, I urge everyone to ensure they practice safe surfing! Here are five basic rules to help you keep your system safe online:
- Make sure your system and software is up to date. While many products will check for updates on their own, you may have to check Microsoft Windows and Office on your own. In your “Start” menu select “Windows Update” to allow your system to be properly updated.
- Run an anti-virus and anti-malware program. Malware is “malicious software” that would do harm to your computer. This attack would install malware on your system through your browser. Some service providers (like Comcast) offers a free download of an anti-virus program. Take advantage of that offer! If you want a good basic anti-virus program is the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. It is not as full featured of others, but it provides good protection.
- Once you install your anti-virus program, make sure you keep it up to date! Keeping it up to date means that you download the information about new attacks from the manufacturers of the anti-virus program. Threats are constantly changing and you need to keep up to date. If you are using old information, it is like leaving holes in your defenses for the attackers to get through. Make sure the software keeps updated. Also, pay for the yearly service to keep it updated. Think of it an insurance policy for your critical data!
- If you are not running the latest version of your browser, upgrade it now! If you are running Internet Explorer version 5 or 6 it is similar to leaving the doors of your car unlocked in an unsafe neighborhood. I know Internet Explorer 7 looks different that others, but it is worth updating. Do so now! This also is true if you are using any other browser including Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.
- Turn on your system’s firewall service. The firewall is software used to protect the system from threats that come directly from the Internet. All modern systems come with a firewall, turn it on and use it. Many anti-virus packages have better firewalls than the one that come with the operating systems. Use it!
Microsoft has a very good Online Safety and Privacy Education website with information and resources written in plain English (as opposed to Geek English) along with easy to follow How-To guide and instructional videos. You can find a more comprehensive information at the Home PC Firewall Guide.
Please stay safe online and watch my Twitter account (@coinsblog) for when the BEP is back online.
Dec 5, 2009 | RCM, Royal Mint, US Mint, web
Progress and experience is a good thing. It helps us learn about ourselves and how other perceive us. In the world of competing for business in numismatics, progress and experience helps those who sell coins and offer services improve how they communicate to us, their customers and constituents. Today, we are going to look at the websites that those of us who live part of our lives online visit for our numismatic fix.
Earlier this year, the Royal Canadian Mint updated their website. Prior to their current update, their site was written using Adobe Flash in a way that felt limiting to someone who visited the site to browse. The updated site has a more exciting look, fresher colors, and is better for those of us who like to browse. And speaking of browsers, this version does not use Flash in the same way as the old site. Your experience will be faster and more responsive than the previous RCM design. It is clear that experience has allowed the RCM to progress to a new design.
Not long ago, The Royal Mint updated their website. Although The Royal Mint did not need an update, they chose to change the basic theme and go with a simple design with a black background. It give the site a regal look, which is in tune with The Royal Mint’s vision of itself as one of the world’s oldest mint. However, navigation of this site is a bit quirky. There appears to be extra clicks required to find products and while the look is nice, every page has an image on top that distracts from the presentation by pushing to coins down. This image may only be a minor annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless.
Here in the United States, there have been changes in the website for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The bureau with one of the best domain names (www.moneyfactory.gov) appears to have hired website designers that have graduated from Web Design 101. The site is is clean and professional looking with easier navigation making it easier to find information about the BEP. From the front page, the site is about the bureau and its functions. Sure, the last major even of the BEP is the redesign of the $5 Federal Reserve Note in 2007, but it allows the BEP to highlight its limited accomplishments.
With the new design, the BEP has created a new store front with its own domain name: www.moneyfactorystore.gov. The new store is easier to navigate and find products. The categories have been cleaned up, the unavailable products have been removed, and the premium series can be purchased by series or individual Federal Reserve banks. Buying individual premium products by Federal Reserve Bank was not possible with the old website.
Moving away from the government, the Professional Coin Grading Service has redesigned its website again. This time, rather than rely on the black and gold theme of their logo, PCGS is using a lighter blue theme to highlight their service. While this design is better than their previous designs, it is not without issue. For example, there is something about the front page layout that bothers me. The banner is too large, there is too much space between the banner and the page contents, and menus at below the main content are too low. If the PCGS web designers can lower the height of the banner, close up that extra space, the lower menus will move up on the page and not feel as if they are an after thought. Making these fixes could change the A- design into a solid Grade A design.
Of course the one website that is in dire need of updating continues to have the same design since 2000. The US Mint should update their web presence, especially their online catalog.
Apr 12, 2009 | coins, web
Every so often I will surf the ‘Net to find new things on topics of interest. When I do this for numismatics, I find interesting sites that I bookmark for future blog posts. The problem is that the topics are not in the mainstream and not in my core interests. But they are intriguing enough for me to try to find an excuse to write about them. Today, I will write about three of these websites.
I wrote about a presentation at my local coin club about Hobo Nickels. I heard about Hobo Nickels before but did not know details but I learned more about these coins and the artists who are credited with creating them. Although I mentioned the Original Hobo Nickel Society, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about their website. Although it can use a small does of aesthetics, web surfers are greeted with a montage of six Hobo Nickels on the front page. One area to check out are the Nickel Carver’s Showcase with pictures of modern artists and their work. There are three pages of great works so be sure to look at all of the pages. You may also want to see the OHNS Annual Hobo Tokens, which can be purchase from the Society.
Under the category of collect what you like is the collection of Holed Coins. These are not coins made with holes but coins that had holes drilled into them. Most of the time, these coins are used for jewelry or for adornments on clothing. One representative of a Holed Coin enthusiast is Holey Lovin’ by Douglas Thigpen. On the home page, Thigpen writes that he has “always been drawn to holed coins.” noting that “they are often procured for much less than non-holed examples.” Although the site looks sparse, the site can be easily navigated through the categories with pictures of various holed coins. You have to see the images of the two Carved Holed Coins where an 1875 Seated Liberty Dime and Gold Indian Dollar are carved into Love Tokens.
Rather than collecting coins, how about the slabs which they are housed. I am not talking about collecting for registry set but collecting sample slabs produced by the grading services. Cameron Kiefer, former Young Numismatist of the Year and grader for ICG, collects the sample slabs given out by the grading services to promote their services. Aside from the images of sample slabs from nearly every grading service that exists and used to exist, the site provides a visual history of grading services. The pages showing PCGS sample slabs and NGC sample slabs shows a fascinating evolution of their respective slabs.
While researching this post, I found a few other interesting websites. I will write about those in the future.
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