Rest In Peace, Mr. Herbert..

[coppercoins]

I just found this old pic taken of me having one of my many enjoyable conversations with the Answer Man, Alan Herbert. He will forever be missed in the numismatic community.

http://www.coppercoins.com/images/pic_c_herbert.jpg

[coppercoins]

Looking a little harder at my badge, I can see that this was taken in March, 2005 at the National Money Show in Kansas City.

[hasfam]

That's great. I'm sure this brought back some fond memories. I never had the pleasure of meeting him.

[coppercoins]

Every time we would meet up at a major show we would take five or ten minutes to sit down and chat about nothing special all the way to definitions of errors and varieties as they were originally intended. One time we would talk about all the snow they got in Wyoming, another time we would talk about the finer points of die state versus die stages.

[coppercoins]

I can remember when I first published my first book I took him a signed copy to take home, read, and be ready to comment on the next time we met. Sure enough, he had his notes together when we met again. He said overall the book was really good, but in order for people to really understand the die making process I needed more images and to devote a full 20-30 pages to it. As it stood, I was lucky to squeeze 5 pages. I had to explain to him that a brief overview of the entire process was enough to understand that hub doubling occurs in the die making process. He was good with that.

[jcuve]

Only heard positive things about him. Wish I had a chance to have met him. Thanks for sharing the picture.

[cimperialis]

I was fortunate enough to meet him at the ANA convention in Chicago in August 2011. It was such an honor, and I'm so grateful for that opportunity.

[papascoins]

I enjoyed his column every week in NN. You are right--He will be sorely missed.

I wish NN would run a series of his column again. What would it hurt to teach new-comers who have missed his knowledge of numismatics.

[JC Stevens]

I started collecting coins in the 50’s and in the late 80’s wrote a program to track my collection. It was a large task to enter all my collection in the database. One of fields in the database is the location of the coin, “Bank, Date Book, Date Box, Date Tray, Error Tray and etc” so I could find it if needed. When I got a USB Microscope for Christmas I started looking at my errors & varieties. I didn’t know anything about errors at the time so I went to the book store and picked up the book “OFFICIAL Price Guide to MINT ERRORS by Alan Herbert”. Using it as a guide I went through my Errors Tray and cataloged all my coins using Mr. Herbert’s PDS System. I no longer have and Error Tray but albums with the names like II-E-1 and II-F-4. Each album has 9 pocket pages. Each pocket has the coin, a printed image with comment as to the location on the coin of the error or variety. In my database the location field would looks something like this (II-E-1-901). Now if I’m looking for coin ID 0011954D163MV I know it’s in album II-E-1, on page 901. Also the image of that coin is in a folder on my computer named II-E-1-901.
I never see anyone on the Forums referencing coins using the “PDS System” and have often wondered why. But then my last issue of Numismatic News, April 23, 2013 had a letter “Herbert’s PDS system for errors brilliant”. It looks like I’m not the only one that catalogs his coins using his classifications.
In the FOREWORD of the last book Ken Potter writes about editions to follow. I’ll be first in line for the next edition.

[coppercoins]

I have been a long-time proponent of Alan's system for cataloging errors. In fact I talked with him at length one time (between talking about the weather in Wyoming) about whether he thought we could EVER straighten out the numismatic community and have ONE solid basis by which all people could understand the subject. He said it would be impossible until such time that everyone in the profession was willing and agreed to using the same terms in the same manner. We discussed how PCGS calls varieties "mint errors" on their labels, we discussed the fact that the 1937D 3-legged buffalo is a minor error that took off, but it is NOT a variety, technically.

Essentially, all of what I try to teach people about the differences between errors, varieties, and die varieties comes straight from Mr. Herbert. All of the definitions I use are those he developed, and are those which I happen to have a very thorough understanding (his words). Much of the numsimatic community is resistant to this simple method of classifying 'oddity' coins because they either want to toss them all in the same pile with no understanding of the differences between them, or they insist on calling errors varieties or varieties errors, and are missing a very simple yet key ingredient to understanding the entire subject.

I have professed for years and years that I am NOT an error specialist. I don't care to be an error specialist. Unfortunately, 3/4 of the questions I would receive through email or on message boards were all about errors, to which my reply would be that I am not an error specialist and need to point them elsewhere for their answer. I don't collect ALL things Lincoln cents. ALL I do care about are the regular series in better grade and in die varieties. Clips, broadstruck coins, struck through coins, planchet defects, broken dies, and mis-strikes are NOT what I collect, NOT what I study, and NOT what I am qualified to respond to. I collect die varieties - doubling. Doubled dies, repunched mintmarks, over mintmarks...and that's really it. With the (lack of) education in the marketplace and in numismatics in general fewer than 50% can even distinguish between them and know one from the other.

Alan's plight at the time he wrote about this system for the first time (early 1970s), he recognized this problem and wanted to simplify the entire thing for everyone. His system was brilliant, simple, and really easy to understand. Unfortunately, however, his educated voice has fallen on deaf ears among a large majority of the numismatic community, and today even major sources such as PCGS and eBay miscategorize die varieties to the extent that it has become "right" to so many collectors that telling them the truth tends to serve only to confuse them. This is sad.

Truth of the matter is, that while die varieties could have been made in error, they are made during a different process than errors which categorizes them differently by nature. Why is it important to separate them? Because most true collectors of one do not collect the other, yet most of the peers in the community lump them together as one in the same. It's frustrating.

[JC Stevens]

Thanks for some great comments Mr. Daughtrey. One thing I would like to add. For anyone who collects Errors & Varieties that doesn't have the book “OFFICIAL Price Guide to MINT ERRORS by Alan Herbert”. It should be the next book you buy "brilliant"!!

[eaxtellcoin]

Nice pic Chuck - Guess I should have pulled out my phone and got a pic of you and me in St.Louis....
I have met a few of the more knowledgeable collectors and columnists over the years, and they are starting to pass before our eyes..
Hopefully we can all gain something from there vast experience and knowledge.