Writers’ Guidelines

 

CONTRIBUTORS
COINage is looking for contributors with extensive knowledge of and experience in the hobby and business of coins. The editorial staff can help refine syntax and correct punctuation, but a relatively high degree of writing proficiency is required on the part of the contributor.

OUR AUDIENCE
The audience for COINage consists of coin collectors and investors. The magazine provides a refreshing review for the experienced collector and an introduction to key concepts for the less experienced. Our goal is to provide informative and entertaining articles for this audience and to draw new people into the hobby.

ARTICLE TOPICS
We are particularly interested in fresh articles that put the past into perspective with the present. We also accept articles pertaining to coin auction and show coverage, currency, errors, modern and proof coinage, precious metals and bullion, commemoratives, ancients, colonials and historic numismatic figures. Also welcome are articles that educate beginning collectors or investors and promote active participation in the hobby.

QUERIES
Do not send unsolicited submissions. Send queries to editor@coinagemag.com. Describe your story idea in detail. If the article is of interest, an invitation to submit will be offered.

All authors accept responsibility for the accuracy of their facts, and should confirm any statistical or factual information with a reliable source before submitting an article.

RIGHTS AND PAYMENT
COINage contributors understand that their submission is a work for hire, and that by signing the independent contractor agreement they grant U.S. copyright and all rights in it to the Company (Beckett Media).

COINage pays $250 for a full-length feature submission, consisting of 2,000 or more words, plus 8 to 10 high-resolution photos with captions and credits. Shorter articles may be accepted, but will not receive full payment.

ARTICLE SUBMISSION
COINage
will only consider unpublished manuscripts. Simultaneous submissions are not accepted.

Articles are selected for publishing by the editorial staff and are subject to editing.

Upon invitation, submissions should be sent via email to editor@coinagemag.com and must include:
• a cover letter with your mailing address, phone number and email address
• a .doc file of your article manuscript

Please do not add headers, footers, or other unnecessary paragraph or document styling to your manuscript file.

Upon acceptance of your submission, send the following materials to editor@coinagemag.com via email, Dropbox or another file transfer method:
• a caption/photo credit list
• 8 to 10 usable photos (.jpg or .tif)

PHOTOGRAPHS
Each photograph should illustrate the story in a meaningful way.

Digital art must be submitted as high-resolution JPEG or TIFF files. Do not embed photos in a document. Minimum resolution can be measured as:

• 300 dpi at 4 in. x 5 in.
• 2 MB

We cannot use blurry, grainy or low-resolution photos.

By submitting images for publication, you certify that the owner has given permission for the use and understands that she/he is surrendering copyright to the image.

Sources of free and public domain images include Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Provide the high-resolution image or a link to it.

Coin images can be obtained through the Heritage Auctions and U.S. Mint (Newsroom) Web sites. Provide the high-resolution image or a link to it.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS
You must provide an informative caption of one or two full sentences for each photo submitted (see Writing Good Captions, below). Not all photos will be used, so please do not refer to them in the text of your story.

Captions must be listed at the end of the manuscript or typed in a separate document file.

Match captions to digital images by their file names in your caption list. Give a photo credit for each image.

Do not make your caption the file name. Keep the file name short and put the details in the caption.

Example:
1933 Saint.jpg
Ten specimens of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle were turned over to the Mint.
US Mint

COINage will not take responsibility for misidentification or other mistakes in captions if the author fails to provide an adequate description.

Provide an adequate credit for each photo or illustration.
Examples:
John Smith
John Smith via Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia
US Mint
public domain

WRITING GOOD CAPTIONS
If you have trouble writing an original sentence, find a sentence in your article that relates to the photo and copy it to your caption file.

Examples:
Poor: A 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle
Good: The 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle ($20 gold piece) is considered one of America’s most beautiful coins.

Poor: John F. Kennedy (obverse)
Good: Gilroy Roberts designed the bust of John F. Kennedy as it appears on the obverse of the half dollar.

Poor: The author at a show
Good: The American Numismatic Association holds several conventions throughout the year.

CONTACT THE EDITOR
Lynn Varon
Managing Editor
editor@coinagemag.com
(972) 448-4626