New exciting proposal! NumisThought: The NumisForums Journal - what do you think?

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I'd like to see some how-tos of coin photography (I've bookmarked some good recent ones) and post photography editing.  Some step by steps, especially of the latter (such as how do we separate the coin only), would be great. Also; tips on where to buy ready-made (or at least what brand it is) stands and photographic supplies, for those who aren't good at DIY.

Also how-to's on some various aspects of cleaning.

[Severus Alexander]

I’m so glad the idea appeals, @seth77, @Al Kowsky, and @FitzNigel!  Plus grateful for your willingness to participate @Qcumbor, Seth, and Fitz!

3 hours ago, FitzNigel said:

Is my understanding correct that the ‘NumisThoughts’ forum would be curated by the board, containing locked threads, but discussion would be encouraged on the original thread (via a link)?  Or did I get that wrong?

That”s how I envisioned it, yes. But nothing is set in stone of course!

17 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I'd like to see some how-tos of coin photography (I've bookmarked some good recent ones) and post photography editing.  Some step by steps, especially of the latter (such as how do we separate the coin only), would be great. Also; tips on where to buy ready-made (or at least what brand it is) stands and photographic supplies, for those who aren't good at DIY.

Also how-to's on some various aspects of cleaning.

Great minds think alike!  Just before reading your post, I thought: why not have two categories of articles, some aimed primarily at numismatists, historians, archaeologists etc. (the “academic” section of the journal), and the other aimed primarily at collectors, photographers etc. (the “hobbiest” section of the journal).  That might require a larger management team, though, in addition to a larger board.  Not sure exactly what would be included, but if there’s general support for that expansion of the original idea, I’m all for it. What say you, everyone?

More broadly, I’m wondering if this service might help bridge some unfortunate gaps, between academia and the self-educated, as well as between historians/archaeologists and collectors. (More broadly/philosophically still, I’m wondering if the general model might fill a need in other subjects too.  Perhaps this new(?) kind of journal could help bring dialogue and eventually trust back to the relationship between experts and non-experts, trust that is sorely needed… but that’s getting rather grandiose. 😆 Let’s get it off the ground first!)

[thenickelguy]

Now this is interesting. Hope someday I can contribute, and thanks go out to the brains behind it all.

[ValiantKnight]

On 6/17/2022 at 2:38 PM, Severus Alexander said:

1) review-type articles summarizing information that's already out there

I am not the type to do very in-depth scholarly analyses or studies (although I did do my fair share of research papers in my college and graduate program years), so would my non-scholarly-but-informative threads (like my recent Pharos thread) fall under this category? I would not mind bringing over my threads on CT that fit the bill. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by ValiantKnight

[Roerbakmix]

I would happily contribute as a reviewer / editor. In my academic area (medicine), students have to write a scientific thesis. The better theses (or students), after much editing, end up in a scientific journal. Perhaps a similar idea might work: good posts end up in the suggested online Numisforum journal; and the better articles could be transferred to Koinon (or a different numismatic journal) after pre-inquiry with the relevant editors of such a journal. 

[Severus Alexander]

1 hour ago, Roerbakmix said:

I would happily contribute as a reviewer / editor. In my academic area (medicine), students have to write a scientific thesis. The better theses (or students), after much editing, end up in a scientific journal. Perhaps a similar idea might work: good posts end up in the suggested online Numisforum journal; and the better articles could be transferred to Koinon (or a different numismatic journal) after pre-inquiry with the relevant editors of such a journal. 

Thanks so much for your willingness to participate, @Roerbakmix!!

Looks like there's enough enthusiasm to take some next steps.  Stay tuned!!

[Severus Alexander]

On 6/19/2022 at 4:43 AM, Nick said:

Thank you for including me in the discussions.  I don’t know what level of involvement Koinon could realistically have with the proposed journal, however.  We do publish anything from short notes to lengthy essays.  I would recommend more of an online “magazine” that has general interest articles about the history of the coins and on aspects of collecting/the market.  There’s nothing like that now, whereas there are many journals.

Thanks, @Nick.  It certainly is planned to be something different from the usual print journal, for sure.  I hope some of the best pieces might end up in Koinon down the road, as a couple people have suggested above.  I don't expect there would be a problem with permissions or anything like that.

On 6/19/2022 at 6:27 PM, ValiantKnight said:

I am not the type to do very in-depth scholarly analyses or studies (although I did do my fair share of research papers in my college and graduate program years), so would my non-scholarly-but-informative threads (like my recent Pharos thread) fall under this category? I would not mind bringing over my threads on CT that fit the bill. 

I think the main thing is that the piece needs to reach a high standard (academic standard) in terms of evidence.  So: well referenced (so we can find your sources) and you make it clear you've surveyed all/a sufficient amount of the relevant material.  As long as it has those two elements, I don't see why your previous stuff wouldn't be suitable!  Thanks for thinking about this, @ValiantKnight!  Personally I'd love to see some of your stuff in NumisThought... as you know we have some shared interests. 🙂

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I haven't opined on this topic yet but it seems like a good idea. Maybe accept both more academic articles using APA style or others, as well as CT style pieces with sufficient documentation of sources to qualify as high quality and well researched prose. At any rate, it would be fun to get this initiative going. I am familiar with the APA style as I used it in writing my dissertation. I only had ten featured articles on CT but once in awhile I'd crank out a well-referenced piece and mostly got those featured.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Ancient Coin Hunter