I got hosed at my MD Club meeting last night.

[lonelyduckhunter]

So here's the story. Last night had our monthly club meeting with guest speaker who was a expert on silver/gold. He gives us a great presentation. Anyway we have our annual "find of the year" and 4 items are entered 1 coca cola watch fab, 1 Maryland militia button, 1 1877IHP graded by Anacs VF20 and a 1794 flowing hair liberty large cent. Well each entrant explains there find and the president who enters the large cents gives a bunch of crap how his 1794 large cent is worth $900-$200,000 and going up in price which at best is in Good condition considering he scrubbed it with a sos pad and the date is barely readable and copper is showing everywhere where he had scrubbed it. (Earlier in the night our coin expert looked at it and told him it was in Good condition at best and worth maybe 500 but the problem was the coin had probaly reached its max value and would be hard to sell) Well the older members in the club by the presidents bullcrap story and vote his $200,000 coin the winner I'm not a sore loser but sorta mad at the fact that other members consistanly vote for his stuff based on his own facts. This same coin tied the month before in club favorite category with a irish halfpenny but then beats out hands down a 1877 IHP graded by Anac VF20 and a Maryland Militia button for find of the year. I'm starting to get irritated with the constant bullcrap that people buy into because of there lack of knowledge so they vote on what they are told. Any opions on the matter. Everything this same president finds is colonial and worth a fortune or 1 of a kind. He was one of the founders of the club so I guess it gives him the right to be the local expert on everything.

 

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[Dedimus]

crap like that is why I don't belong to any clubs anymore. It's sad things have gotten so competitive and people have to try to make themselves look important. When we started one club years ago it was just a bunch of friends getting together showing what they dug and hanging out. Then it started getting cliquish and I got out.

And I agree on that opinion.

 

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[AUDuke]

Its the ingnorance of the voter that is the problem, the believe what the are told. works like that in national politics too.

 

[ivan salis]

this is bound to occur when uneducated morons vote -- both in metal detecting clubs and the real world , uneducated voters are scary , since you never know just what nonsense they might do -- and we gotta live with the results of their voting. sad huh?

 

[TORRERO]

I disagree to some extent about whether an earlier dated coin should win hands down over
a newer coin, the reality here is that when something is placed on the board then people are
to vote what they believe is the Best / Nicest find or what they personally like best
I may personally find a later date Indian H. better in my opinion or personal likes than say an earlier
silver half.
My point was that when I was in the club, people with the Newer coins / Relics consistently
won out over everyone else, regardless of what others brought.
Even though there were 40 - 50 Members, only 3-4 people seemed to consistently win top honers monthly or "Top detector of the Year" awards anually,

(these were based on a point system of who got the most votes for items presented for display at the monthly meetings)

These people seemed to be in "Clicks" as in... all those who won, knew each other well, they hunted together regularly and were buddies..

(So this month I have nothing to put on the board, but your my buddy or I have my 5 kids with me
and my buddies and my kids all vote my crappy item as best, regardless of what others brought because hey... I want my buddy to win and have the most points at the end of the year)

They never invited others to join in, when asked "let us go hunt with you, we would like some CW
stuff, they would say...
Oh the places we go are hunted out, not much to find.... Not worth the trouble.. (so no your not invited)
This Click, included the President and several of his close friends.. I just got tired of it so I stopped going.

 

[TORRERO]

I remember one time going to Myrtle Beach SC and I was hunting in the dry sand, it was the wintertime as not many people were there.

In the upper dry sand I dug 2 Maria Theresa thalers

http://www.theresia.name/en/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Theresa_thaler

I did not know what they were, they looked brand new, being in the dry sand and all...
I presented them as finds at the following club meeting and they did not even get a single vote.

(these coins are silver dollor size and pure silver)

The only thing I could figure was those who ran the club passed the notion around that these were not dug (who would believe a story like that right ?)
but placed only to get votes, so no one voted for them....

I never understood that..... Not one person in 40 thought it was good enough for a vote...
very strange...

 

[ivan salis]

they most likely thought they were "plants" if they looked too good -- maria thalers (often sold for not too much as silver coins in coin shops) have been restruck many times over the years