|
Online translators
In the past, I recommended
American collectors shop with German, Swiss, and Belgian auction houses and dealers. Their catalogs are always excellent. Unfortunately, the slide in the dollar relative to the Euro has severely limited buying in Europe. It currently makes much, much more sense for European collectors to be buying here.
However, you should understand that there are some "must-have" certificates that only appear for sale in Europe. It therefore behooves advanced collectors to follow European sales.
Translation is easier now than ever before
Most European dealers converse in English. Feel free to write them in English. Mario Boone's catalogs are published in English. Most other catalogs are written in German. Thankfully, translation software makes it much easier these days to read those catalogs without tremendous struggle.
The best and cheapest (free!) translation software I've seen is Google Translate. If the catalog is online (and most are!), all you need to do is cut the text from the catalog, paste it into Google Translate, and click on "Translate".
The German to English translation will, of course, never be perfect, but it is very acceptable and getting better all the time.
You will discover that the stock and bond hobby has its own specialized language . Tanslation software will never translate collector jargon 100% correctly. Below is a short dictionary of some of the most common certificate description terms.
One of the operating rules of German
English tends to use hyphens to combine words, whereas German speakers create new words by welding several words together. For instance, Güterwagendepot means freight depot. English speakers can make more sense of the word if they separate it into Güter wagen depot.
It is very common for German compound words to baffle translation software. If you encounter that problem, simply guess how to break the problem word into component parts and re-translate. For instance, if the software fails to translate Nachfolgegesellschaft, break the word into Nachfolge gesellschaft and try again. If one break does not work, try two breaks and then three. Just like English compound words, the more you break German compound words, the further the meaning migrates from its intended use.
German capitalization
Like English, German capitalizes the first words of sentences and all proper names. It also capitalizes nouns, just as English used to do.
| German |
English |
| |
|
| Abb. |
see Abbildung |
| Abbildung |
illustration, figure |
| abheftlochungen |
punch cancelled |
| Adler |
eagle |
| AG. |
see Aktiengesellschaft |
| Aktie |
share |
| Aktiengesellschaft |
share company (stock company) |
| Allegorie |
allegory |
| ältesten |
oldest |
| angeboten |
offered |
| anh. |
see anhängen |
| anhängen |
attached (esp. coupons) |
| Anleihe, Anleihen |
bond, bonds |
| Anschlußbahnen |
connecting (or branch) railroads |
| Ansicht |
view |
| Atlantik |
Atliantic |
| Ausgaben |
issues, expeditures |
| ausgestellte |
issued |
| außergewöhnlich dekorativ |
exceptionally decorative |
| Außerordentlich früh |
extremely early |
| Bahnhof |
train station |
| beiliegenden |
attached (as in coupons) |
| bekannt |
known |
| bekannten Stücke |
known pieces |
| Bienenstöcken |
beehives |
| blaugrauem |
blue gray |
| braun |
brown |
| Brücke |
bridge |
| Dampflok |
steam engine (locomotive) |
| Depot |
depot |
| Die Überfahrt |
The Crossing |
| drei |
three |
| Druck |
printing, impression |
| Eingetragen |
issued to |
| Einzelstück |
single piece, single item |
| Eisenbahn |
railroad, railway |
| Eisenbahnaktie |
rail share |
| Eisenbahngeschichtlich |
historic railroad |
| Eisenbahngesellschaft |
railway company |
| Eisenbahnkostruktionen |
railroad construction |
| Eisenwerk |
iron works |
| entwertet |
cancelled |
| erstmals |
first time |
| fier |
four |
| Fluß |
river |
| Flußufer |
riverside, along river |
| frühe Variante |
early variation |
| ganze Breite |
entire width |
| Gebirge |
mountains |
| gedruckt |
printed |
| gegründet |
founded |
| gelblichem |
yellowish |
| Gesellschaft |
company (literally society) |
| gestaltet |
designs |
| Getreidegarben |
sheaves of wheat |
| Gleisarbeitern |
track workers |
| Goldsuchern |
gold prospectors |
| groß |
large |
| großartiger |
great |
| große, |
large |
| Großformatiges |
large format |
| grün |
green |
| Gründung |
founded |
| Güterwagendepots |
freight depot |
| Güterzug |
freight train |
| Haltestelle |
stop (as in whistle stop) |
| Hauptvignette |
main vignette |
| Hellbraun |
light brown |
| Hermesstab |
caduceus |
| herrliche |
wonderful |
| Hintergrund |
background |
| Historische |
historic, historical |
| hochdekorativ |
highly decorative |
| Holz |
lumber |
| Holzschnitt |
woodcut |
| Holzstich |
wood engraving (woodcut) |
| hügeliger Landschaft |
hilly country |
| Hypothek, Hypotheken |
mortgage, mortgages |
| im Cox nicht gelistet |
not listed in Cox |
| Kai |
quay, wharf |
| karminrot |
carmine red |
| Karte |
map |
| katalogisiert |
cataloged |
| Kohle |
coal |
| Kohlenzug |
coal train |
| kreisrunden Siegel |
circular seal |
| Kupon |
coupon |
| Lagerhäuser |
warehouses |
| links |
left |
| Lithographie |
lithographed |
| Lokomotive |
locomotive |
| Löwen |
lions |
| Mädchen |
girls |
| Meilen |
miles |
| Mio. |
million (abbreviation) |
| Nachfolgegesellschaft |
successor company |
| Nebenvignetten |
secondary, additional vignettes |
| nicht gelistet |
not listed |
| nordamerikanischen |
North American |
| oben |
top |
| olivgrün |
olive green |
| orangerot |
orange red |
| Originalunterschrift |
original signature, autograph |
| Papier |
paper |
| Pazifik |
Pacific |
| Personenzug |
passenger train |
| Pferdefuhrwerken |
horse carts, horse wagons |
| prächtigen |
magnificent |
| purpurrot |
purple red |
| Pusteblume |
dandelion |
| Putti |
putti (cherub-like allegorical figures) |
| Querformat |
horizontal format |
| Raddampfern |
paddlewheelers (paddle wheel steamboats) |
| Rarität |
rarity |
| richtig |
right |
| Riesen-Seltenheit |
great rarity |
| Rinder |
cattle |
| Ringeisenbahn |
belt railway, belt railroad |
| rostrot |
rusty red |
| rot |
red |
| rotdruck |
red printing |
| Sammler |
collector |
| Sammlermarkt |
collector market |
| Sammlung |
collection |
| Schiffen |
ships |
| Schleusenwerk |
locks (on river or canal) |
| Schmalspurbahnen |
narrow gauge railroad |
| schöne |
beautiful, attractive |
| Schuldschein |
debenture |
| schwarze |
black |
| See |
lake |
| Segelschiff |
sailing ship |
| sehr detaillierte |
very detailed |
| selten |
rare |
| Staat, Staaten |
state, states |
| Stadt |
city |
| Stadtansicht |
city view |
| Stahlstich |
steel engraving |
| Straßenbahngesellschaft |
street railroad company |
| Stück |
pieces, items |
| Umrandung |
border |
| Unentwertet |
uncancelled |
| Unikat |
unique |
| unten |
bottom |
| unten links |
bottom left |
| Untergesellschaft |
subsidiary company |
| unterschrieb |
signed |
| Uralt-Lokomotive |
ancient (old style) locomotive |
| versteigern, versteigert |
to auction, auctioned |
| violett |
purple |
| Vorgängerbahnen |
predecessor (ancestral) railroad |
| Waggons |
cars (as in rail cars) |
| Wappen |
arms (state seals) |
| weiblichen Allegorien |
allegorical females |
| weiblicher Allegorie |
allegorical female |
| Wertpapiere |
documents, securities |
| Wissenschaft |
science (as allegory) |
| Wunderschöne |
wonderfully beautiful, very attractive |
| Zug |
train |
| zwei |
two |
|
|
