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jon

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I am about to catalogue my collection (using excel) and looking back on old threads it was suggested that its a good idea to list the "book" value.

I have the 2016 editions of Collectors Coins GB and also Coin Yearbook.

I have stared to enter data for my farthings and note that some of the prices vary between both books, sometimes by quite a bit.

My collection so far is low value common coins so not much of an issue really.

I am just curious as to what others do regarding values, do you record them or not bother?

As a side note I prefer the CCGB  book and this post is not meant as a who is correct etc

thanks

Jon

 

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I have a coin inventory program, and there is a entry slot for both the purchase price paid for the coin, and the retail coin value. I use the CCGB as a price guide, because I think it is closer to what a coin is really worth in the market. I also use the CCGB book when I go to coin shows, so I am comparing the value of the coins I am looking to purchase, using the same book I valuate coin with in my coin program.

 

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I've just gone through my farthings too. One thing I didn't do was list a value for them. Perhaps I should have. In most cases I can't note what I paid - some of them I've had for 30 years, others I bought more recently but don't have any records prior to this year really. It was quite a painstaking job going through each one to make sure I've got the correct variety noted, as I have almost all from 1860-1956. I'm only missing about 8. Wish the rest of my collection was as complete! :)

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58 minutes ago, RLC35 said:

I have a coin inventory program, and there is a entry slot for both the purchase price paid for the coin, and the retail coin value. I use the CCGB as a price guide, because I think it is closer to what a coin is really worth in the market. I also use the CCGB book when I go to coin shows, so I am comparing the value of the coins I am looking to purchase, using the same book I valuate coin with in my coin program.

 

That makes sense, choose a book from the start and stick by it.

thanks for your reply Bob

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14 minutes ago, mrbadexample said:

I've just gone through my farthings too. One thing I didn't do was list a value for them. Perhaps I should have. In most cases I can't note what I paid - some of them I've had for 30 years, others I bought more recently but don't have any records prior to this year really. It was quite a painstaking job going through each one to make sure I've got the correct variety noted, as I have almost all from 1860-1956. I'm only missing about 8. Wish the rest of my collection was as complete! :)

The whole of my collection is only a tiny fraction of your collection of farthings !!!!!!

As I have only just started (apart from some decimals sets from 10? years ago) it isn't too bad for me.

I want to scan copies of invoices and photograph the coins I have (about 70)  so that will take some doing but once I am on top of it it wont be too bad. (fingers crossed ):)

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I take an average of 4 books, Jon:

CCGB - which I too think is the most accurate

Spink - which, in my area at least, I think is too generous

British Coins Market Values, which is generally too low

Coin Yearbook - lower than Spink, but a little more generous than BCMV

For varieties, which are not covered well by the the three latter books (CCGB is better than most, but still not comprehensive), I use the values detailed in Davies (for silver), and Freeman (for Bronze) as relative values, and calculate using current values - so for instance, if we take the 1955 Scottish shilling as an example, Davies values Rev C at £3.50 in UNC, and Rev D at £1.50.  These are 1982 prices, so the absolute numbers are meaningless - the relative numbers however, are still valid in my opinion, so I assume that the CCGB 2015 value of £8 is for the commoner variety and calculate the value of the scarcer Rev C accordingly:  Rev C = 8 x (3.5/1.5)

 

I also make detailed records of what I have sold coins for, so those values get fed into the average of the 4 books too - this tends to come up with quite an accurate figure.

 

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15 minutes ago, jon said:

The whole of my collection is only a tiny fraction of your collection of farthings !!!!!!

Well, I have been collecting for over 30 years, off and on, and I have tended to concentrate on farthings. In other denominations, I haven't got much 1860-1900 just because it tends to be more expensive. I've just been reading through the March LCA auction catalogue, with the Finchampstead collection of farthings. Apparently, I'm missing nearer 28 than 8! These are what I consider to be minor varieties and die errors (broken letters etc) so I'm not too worried - I have quite a few varieties but it's not the end of the world if I don't get them all.

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18 minutes ago, declanwmagee said:

I take an average of 4 books, Jon:

CCGB - which I too think is the most accurate

Spink - which, in my area at least, I think is too generous

British Coins Market Values, which is generally too low

Coin Yearbook - lower than Spink, but a little more generous than BCMV

For varieties, which are not covered well by the the three latter books (CCGB is better than most, but still not comprehensive), I use the values detailed in Davies (for silver), and Freeman (for Bronze) as relative values, and calculate using current values - so for instance, if we take the 1955 Scottish shilling as an example, Davies values Rev C at £3.50 in UNC, and Rev D at £1.50.  These are 1982 prices, so the absolute numbers are meaningless - the relative numbers however, are still valid in my opinion, so I assume that the CCGB 2015 value of £8 is for the commoner variety and calculate the value of the scarcer Rev C accordingly:  Rev C = 8 x (3.5/1.5)

 

I also make detailed records of what I have sold coins for, so those values get fed into the average of the 4 books too - this tends to come up with quite an accurate figure.

 

Your method makes sense Declan given your business selling etc. 

I think for me I will go by ccgb as a guide price and use these for my record keeping. At the end of the day if I like a coin or want it to complete a run etc I will pay what I think it's worth to me.

Btw the coins arrived today thank you. I am very pleased with them ?

Edited by jon
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2 hours ago, jon said:

At the end of the day if I like a coin or want it to complete a run etc I will pay what I think it's worth to me.

i.e. far too much. You're getting the hang of it. :D

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