I've never seen such a disgusting collection of know nothing drama queens, thieves and bottom feeders.
I tried it with a completely open mind and while I've not been scammed or otherwise aggrieved, (on the contrary I've had some quite pleasant experiences as both a buyer and seller) the crap that goes on there.... well, you just have to see it to believe it.
There's a lot of coin focused groups, a few are OK, usually the smaller ones with active moderators. Matt Yeackle, a fellow Numista member and personal friend o' mine, operates a pretty decent group but he seems to have lost interest recently. The larger ones are just jaw dropping in their low rent scummery. They are almost all centered on US coins, Sheldon Scale silliness and silver stacking. That's fine, it's just a reflection of the current pop collecting culture. However it seems to me that it's just one big pissing contest about who has the most members, regardless of the fact that they might be deadbeat bidders, fake peddlers or just barking mad, anti social misfits. Banned from Coin Talk, Numista etc..... then Facebook is the place for you!!
It all starts with the (mis)management. There are a few groups which are tightly run ships captained by reputable and experienced numismatists. The majority are run by the most ignorant, newbie dregs you can imagine. Did you know that these morons are now scouring the membership lists of "rival" groups and banning anyone who they find? Next step is loyalty oaths I reckon. There's one clown trying to charge a $5 membership fee for a free Facebook group. Seriously folks, I could create a FB coin page and drag several thousand members over from similar groups in less than 15 minutes but that doesn't really make me a major force in coin collecting like these bozos assume. 90% of the posts consist of badmouthing the admins of other groups, Shanghai Specials being auctioned and "experts" pontificating about the virtues of coins they clearly know nothing about. Oh, and drama... there's lots and lots of drama, often extending to family members, publishing police records, and making slanderous accusations of drug and alcohol abuse. All this over a few coins, sigh. It was OK until maybe half way through 2016 when it all seemed to fall apart overnight. I've seen enough, I'm done with it.
Meanwhile, while the management is busy with self destructive circle jerking, there are daily tales of people being fleeced for amounts climbing into the thousands of dollars. Really, so you sent a F&F payment to save a few bucks on PayPal fees to some anonymous jerkoff you met on Facebook and now you're wondering why nobody protected you from your own stupidity? Well don't worry, there's even a "Coin Court" where a self appointed judge will hear your case and put "asdfghj" on a Facebook blacklist. Yeah that'll show him. I swear it just like a numismatic Judge Goddam Judy show.
If mean spirited vindictiveness and embuggeration is your thing or you just feel like a good laugh at other folk's stoopidness then go create an account and try it. Numista might have an occasional problem child but usually they are moved along pretty quickly. I'll guarantee you that after experiencing the wild west of Facebook you will come away with a new found appreciation for our tiny island of sanity, decency and good manners that we call Numista.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
I'm only a member of one numismatic related facebook group, it's my local region's (Ex-Yugoslavia) group. It's a ok group to exchange experiences and see what people are up to if you're into metal detecting however buying or selling is just horrible while exchanges are non-existent.
First off most people in the group are sellers with no experience that find some cheap, common coin in the street and try to sell it at unrealistically high prices but that's ok I guess, they don't know better.
The real problem are the peddlers that pry on inexperienced sellers offering them peanuts for valuable coins. I once put up some silver coins just to see what would happen, I got offered 1/3 of the silver value by a "numismatic expert" which was barely 1/2 of what my local precious metal dealer would pay for them and he's only buying to melt them down. I politely turned him down thinking that's the end of it... well, he kept sending me messages saying what a mistake I made by turning him down, how I should reconsider his very generous offer etc... let's just say I love the "block" feature on facebook. :)
On Numista so far I only had positive buy/sell experiences, offers here are fair and I consider the site to be secure as long as you take the necessary steps to insure your partner is trustworthy (check ratings, make sure communication is good, open a swap, ask for scans/photos etc).
Quote: "pnightingale"
Well don't worry, there's even a "Coin Court" where a self appointed judge will hear your case and put "asdfghj" on a Facebook blacklist. Yeah that'll show him. I swear it just like a numismatic Judge Goddam Judy show.
This part made me laugh. I'd actually like to attend one of those just as a research project into human behavior on the internet. :)
I collect and deal in ancient Roman coin. In case you're looking for affordable ancient coins or need any help with the coins you already have send me a message.
I just joined FB as a side project with my daughter (my FB engineer), post-separation. We've had some great laughs and discussions about many topics but I must admit, I'm more of a "Face to Face" type of person. I've had a few tickles or pokes or whatever they call them from coin groups and you have confirmed my scepticism. I'll let the courts pass me by.
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so. Mark Twain
Has anyone had any luck with other social media? I'd like to think that there exists possibilities not involving the loony minority or that sinister blood sucking creep Zuckerberg.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
Before I discovered Numista, I would use Facebook to swap coins. I had all swaps go well. Now I just stick to Numista as I was getting so many messages asking for $50 and $100 bills for unequal sums.
