Monday, March 30, 2009

Great quotes by comedians

"If you ever see me getting beaten by the police, put down the
video camera and come help me."
--Bobcat Goldthwait

"I've been doing the Fonda workout: the Peter Fonda workout. That's
where I wake up, take a hit of acid, smoke a joint, and run to my
sister's house and ask her for money."
--Kevin Meaney

"My mom said she learned how to swim. Someone took her out in the lake
and threw her off the boat. That's how she learned how to swim. I said,
'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.' "
--Paula Poundstone

"In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a
single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic? Do tall
people burn slower?"
--Warren Hutcherson

"I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every
other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the
locks, they are always locking three."
--Elayne Boosler

"Ever wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup?"
--John Mendoza

"Today I met with a subliminal advertising executive for just a second."
--Steven Wright

"Relationships are hard. It's like a full-time job, and we should treat
it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they
should give you two weeks' notice. There should beseverance pay, and
before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp."
--Bob Ettinger

"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills
than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: Duh."
--Conan O'Brien

"I haven't taken my Christmas lights down. They look so nice on the
pumpkin."
--Winston Spear

"Did you ever walk in a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's
how dogs spend their lives."
--Sue Murphy

"My grandfather's a little forgetful, but he likes to give me advice. One
day, he took me aside and left me there."
--Ron Richards

"I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up
something else."
--Lily Tomlin

"USA Today has come out with a new survey: Apparently three out of four
people make up 75 percent of the population."
--David Letterman

"Chihuahua. There's a waste of dog food. Looks like a dog that is still
far away."
--Billiam Coronell

"I was a vegetarian until I started leaning towards sunlight."
--Rita Rudner

"I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific."
--Lily Tomlin

"The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war.
Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little
Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there.
Corkscrews. Bottle openers. 'Come on, buddy, let's go. You get past me,
the guy in back of me, he's got a spoon. Back off. I've got the toe
clippers right here.'"
--Jerry Seinfeld

"I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed
it."
--Steven Wright

"I don't kill flies but I like to mess with their minds. I hold them
above globes. They freak out and yell, 'Whoa, I'm way too high!' "
--Bruce Baum

"I met a new girl at a barbecue, very pretty, a blond I think. I don't
know, her hair was on fire, and all she talked about was herself. You
know these kind of girls: 'I'm hot. I'm on fire. Me, me, me.' You know.
'Help me, put me out.' Come on, could we talk about me just a little
bit?"
--Garry Shandling

"I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York
said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't
cold enough. Let's go west.'"
--Richard Jeni

"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--Paul Rodriguez

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my
fishburger and I realize, Oh my God....I could be eating a slow learner."
--Lynda Montgomery



General Post Ring - Old Post

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Introduction to coin collection

Found this great article. Forgot the link. If anyone finds the original please send me the link so that I will put up the link on the blog.

Coins old and new have a special attraction for many people, professionals as well as amateur hobbyists; Estimates of the number of active collectors worldwide range into the millions. Scholars regard coins as mirrors of history, studying coin portraits of contemporary Monarchs some famous, others scarcely known except for coins and the inscriptions and designs that often refer to important events. even analyzing the purity of the metal from which a coin was made can provide an insight into the economics of its time. amateur Collectors, often called Numismatists, enjoy coins for their beauty, their rarity, and the stories behind them. Added to this is the excitement of searching for and finding specific coins, or the challenge of identifying an unfamiliar item. Numismatists also enjoy arranging and displaying a collection. Most appealing of all, perhaps, is the possibility of finding rare coins for a bargain price and the hope that coins in a collection will in time increase in worth.

The market value of any coin,that is, the price a dealer would charge for it, is determined by supply and demand, the available quantity of a coin and the number of collectors and degree of interest they have in owning it. Once a coin becomes recognized as a rarity, its value frequently increases every time it changes hands. A key element in the value of any coin is its state of preservation. A specimen in perfect condition, just as it left the mint, may be worth many times as much as the same coin in average used condition. Mutilation or damage greatly reduces the value of a coin. Collectors and dealers use a point system as well as a set of terms to describe the condition of coins: Uncirculated or Mint State (ms 70-60), about Uncirculated (au 55-50), Extremely Fine (ef 45-40), Very Fine (vf 30-20), Fine (f 12), Very Good (vg 8), and Good (g 4).

Collectors are likely to start with coins of their own countries because of their availability. With this kind of collection, every date, mint mark, and variation in design is counted as a different coin; The goal is not only to acquire one of every variety issued but also continually to upgrade the condition of the coins already found. The number of coins to be found in circulation is, however, fairly restricted, and a collector must resort to trading or buying to fill in such a series.

Another popular form of collecting is assembling types of older coins. Instead of trying to have a specimen of every date and variety of a series, the collector obtains a single coin to represent each "face different" series. This kind of collection is particularly interesting because every coin is different and has its own history.

If a Numismatist turns to coins of other countries, many thousands of specimens become available. Series collections or type collections of any country that interests the collector can be formed. Specific dates and varieties of foreign coins are much harder to find even in dealers' stocks, so a Numismatist may try putting together a collection of one coin each of many different countries, or only commemorative coins.

Topical or Thematic collecting has also become popular. In this kind of collection the coins are related to one another on the basis of their design and the people or objects shown. Animals, Plants, Ships, Maps, Buildings, and religious motifs are well represented on coins; By watching the new issues of the world for appropriate designs, additions to a collection can be made.

When deciding on the purchase of expensive coins, collectors must do the same kind of research necessary for any other investment. The current market value for the item, how readily and for what kind of price it can be resold, and its potential appreciation must be determined. Above all the collector must be knowledgeable enough to know whether a coin is genuine, or must have confidence that the dealer does.

Coin catalogs give some idea of current prices realized for various coins; Dealer advertisements in the special coin magazines and newspapers are, however, usually more up to date. Coin auctions are an important feature of the major Numismatic conventions. Catalogs of the items to be sold are issued ahead of time, and lists of the prices at which the items were sold can often be obtained afterward. Conventions may have tables where Numismatists can consider the offerings of many dealers. To assess future trends the collectors need to meet with other enthusiasts, perhaps by joining a local club.

The most elegant way to display a coin collection is in a cabinet with pull-out trays. The most convenient way, on the other hand, is to use an album system with plastic pages that hold individual cardboard coin mounts. The best way to deal with large numbers of coins is to use small, standard-size coin envelopes filed in boxes. The same precautions taken for other valuables must be used to safeguard a coin collection.



Coins Ring - Old Post