ANA Correspondence Course
Larry Louks
I was just reading some blurb here about the "Grading Coins Today"
correspondence course that the ANA offers. It is something that sounds
pretty good. If you have taken the course, I'd appreciate hearing of your
experiences and ideas. Thanks!
Larry
'Reaching further into numismatics'
logan
grading course. I think it is well worth the money and I recommend it
highly. You can't beat the instruction for the price.
"Larry Louks" <ldlouk...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:iz8Vb.199036$nt4.890985@attbi_s51...
Bob Peterson
"logan" <log...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:wndVb.18568$WY4.4...@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> I am presently taking the entire ANA Diploma coursework, which includes
the
> grading course. I think it is well worth the money and I recommend it
> highly. You can't beat the instruction for the price.
>
I am curious how they teach you to grade coins. Do they send you a set of
coins to inspect for grade? If not, how could you ever learn to grade coins
without actually seeing any appropriate specimens.
GELEWIS
The more numismatic education you get the more you will get out of this hobby.
Gary Lewis
ANA President
Michael E. Marotta
> If you have taken the course, I'd appreciate hearing of your
> experiences and ideas. Thanks!
I took the course. I liked it. Here is why.
I had two classes in Art History in college and a course in "Design
Studio." In addition, I have taken self-study classes in other lines
of work (most recently, real estate). Compared to the kind of
knowledge taught in an Art History course and a Design class, the ANA
class in grading does teach you what you need to know about the visual
language and graphic vocabulary of the material. Compared to other
professional certifications, the ANA self-study is the result of good
research and good execution in the delivery of information.
I have had a long string of publications in numismatics. I speak at
ANA conventions. I write for Numismatist. The ANA course "Grading
Coins Today" was an important part of my education in the art and
science of the forms and uses of money.
Mike Marotta
ANA R-162953
Michael E. Marotta
> I am curious how they teach you to grade coins. Do they send you a set of
> coins to inspect for grade? If not, how could you ever learn to grade coins
> without actually seeing any appropriate specimens.
Well, that is a good question! Much of grading is verbal, not visual.
You need to know what you are looking at and what you are looking for.
This can be taught many ways. It is not incorrect to teach it with
pictures and words in a book.
Obviously, the more you know, the more you get from the class.
Someone like you with a lot of years collecting across a wide range
would get more from the class than a newbie who does not even have an
up-to-date folder of State Quarters. However, even a newbie can get a
lot from the course.
The problem you highlight is the old bear about how you match your
coin (or the dealer's) against the words in Red Book or the pictures
in Photograde or either or both. In other words, when we grade coins
on the bourse floor, we do not do this against a standard reference
set. Perhaps we should. It might be a campaign for you to consider,
to assemble and replicate a complete standard set of grades of US
Coinage and thereby replace all books. Short of that, grading tends
to be founded on a few terse words in a book, and a photograph that is
one level of reality shy of useful. Upon that foundation, we do a lot
of arguing with phrases like "... look at that!..." and "Yes, but,
look at that.'
Personally, I liked the old Brown and Dunn.
You might want to check into Scott Travers's website:
http://www.coingrading.com/
Mike Marotta
ANA R-162953
Larry Louks
> I took the course. I liked it. Here is why. . .
Thank you for the response and for citing reasons that you found the course
to be beneficial.
I have also wondered about the question that Bob Peterson posed earlier in
this thread. Could you share a word or two about that? Thanks!
Larry
'Clamoring for more'
Larry Louks
> I am presently taking the entire ANA Diploma coursework, which
> includes the grading course. I think it is well worth the money and I
> recommend it highly. You can't beat the instruction for the price.
Excellent! That's what I was hoping to hear. Thank you for replying!
Larry
'Getting "the skinny" from the horse's mouth'
Larry Louks
> The more numismatic education you get the more you will
> get out of this hobby.
I appreciate the reply, Gary. I can see where this instruction could be a
real boon to the serious collector.
Larry
'In full agreement'
Larry Louks
Larry
'Too quick on the trigger'
Scot Kamins
mer...@torchlake.com (Michael E. Marotta) wrote:
> would get more from the class than a newbie who does not even have an
> up-to-date folder of State Quarters.
...Uhhh...is collecting state quarters required? <g>
-Newbie,
- Scot Kamins
Learning the Art & Science of Numismatism
Jorg Lueke
wrote:
If you don't have at least one modern Series in Whitman or Dansco folders
then they kick you out of the correspondence course ;-)