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About me
I was born in Philadelphia, the home of the first united states mint. As a child I remember touring the historic sites such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Betsy Ross House. I took science courses at the Franklin Institute (which has been recently re-branded as the Franklin because it sounds cooler). But tours of the Philadelphia mint were always my favorite. During my first class trip to the mint (in fourth grade) I knew I was destined to become a numismatist.My apporach to numismatics
I approach the field of numismatics from a multidisciplinary standpoint. I have included in my studies history, economics, and physics. We cannot understand the rarity of coins from 1877 and 1893 without understanding the periodic banking crises, which our nation has always faced (by the way, I hope everyone is enjoying the current one). An 1894S dime becomes interesting if we know its history. Without it, it is no more exciting than an 1896S dime. Physics provides some powerful techniques (such as x-ray fluorescence) for determining compositions of coins. I would encourage anyone wanting to go into the field of numismatics to get a good broad liberal arts education and read books. I went to school nine more years after high school to get my PhD. Now people call me Dr. Planchet. I even call myself "Dr.Planchet."MY biggest pet peeve
Finally, I try to be tolerant of all people, but I must mention my biggest pet peeve: people who call the cent a penny. Ugh. It drives me nuts. (a cent is a hundredth of a dollar, which is what we use in the US. The US has never had a penny). So please don't sound like an ignoramus. Be educated and call a cent a cent.
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