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whowantstheworld

Lowly beginner in need of guidance

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Afternoon all,

Greetings from West Yorkshire. Brand new to the hobby and having lurked around a couple of collecting forums over the past few weeks / months I happily stumbled upon the mine (mint?) of wisdom that is predecimal. Thought I'd hang around here for a while.

As with all newbies, I've been trying to pin down my focus / interests a bit (albeit not too narrowly.) Contemplated diving head first into ancients but received a number of warnings that it's an area that's particularly unforgiving to the beginner - with tourist fakes and forgeries abound.

Picked up a few decent books, including a couple of Rotographic titles and was thinking of picking up 'Coins and Tokens of the Possessions and Colonies of the British Empire,' if anyone has any feedback on that one?

Initially, I'm leaning towards the faded grandeur of the British Empire and thought that putting together a modest collection of coinage from around the empire from a given year (e.g. 1900) would be a decent place to start and would encourage further study.

I've already picked up tonnes of information from this forum but any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Ta / Mark

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Welcome to the forum Mark, glad you decided to settle here and post ;)

Also well done on doing some prior research, the more you know the less you'll get stung (although count on being stung at least a few times lol), many people dive in head first and realise after they've spent too much on not a lot.

You'll have to do a bit of research if you're doing a particular year because there are some around that decade that can cost you an arm and a leg, for instance a 1902 half crown will cost you 120-180 for a nice UNC one, whereas the same coin from 1905 will cost you 500 in a very poor grade. There are also some denominations that were not struck for certain years so there's that to consider too.

Sounds like a good start to collecting though, look forward to seeing some pictures! Any doubts on grades on prices, put up a post as there are many here that will help with anything you're unsure about.

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12 minutes ago, Nordle11 said:

Welcome to the forum Mark, glad you decided to settle here and post ;)

Also well done on doing some prior research, the more you know the less you'll get stung (although count on being stung at least a few times lol), many people dive in head first and realise after they've spent too much on not a lot.

You'll have to do a bit of research if you're doing a particular year because there are some around that decade that can cost you an arm and a leg, for instance a 1902 half crown will cost you 120-180 for a nice UNC one, whereas the same coin from 1905 will cost you 500 in a very poor grade. There are also some denominations that were not struck for certain years so there's that to consider too.

Sounds like a good start to collecting though, look forward to seeing some pictures! Any doubts on grades on prices, put up a post as there are many here that will help with anything you're unsure about.

Thanks for the feedback - really helpful and much appreciated. Yes I realise that I've got some serious planning to do before I dive in but at this stage, I'd settle for a nice selection from different countries rather than chasing down every denomination (although once this thing has got its claws in me I'm sure that viewpoint will change!)

Thanks again - time to do some more reading.

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Hi Mark,

Welcome, you will soon find out that there are some VERY knowledgeable collectors/dealers on here who are immensely generous with their time and knowledge (just wish I knew 10% of what they do).

Empire sounds like a great place to start, but don't be too rigid, buy what you like.   

As you are in West Yorkshire, you might be interested in the York Show 15th -16th July   http://www.stampshows.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=5  

or joining the Yorkshire Numismatic Society http://yorkshirenumismatic.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Happy collecting.

Ian..

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Welcome to the forum...you can get some nice coins from the Empire for very reasonable prices. There are also a whole host of designs to aim for. A side collection of mine was to collect farthing sized colonial coins, and it has been a slow process but it is a wide range of coin designs and metals.

Edited by Colin G.

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19 minutes ago, Nutsaboutcoins said:

Hi Mark,

Welcome, you will soon find out that there are some VERY knowledgeable collectors/dealers on here who are immensely generous with their time and knowledge (just wish I knew 10% of what they do).

Empire sounds like a great place to start, but don't be too rigid, buy what you like.   

As you are in West Yorkshire, you might be interested in the York Show 15th -16th July   http://www.stampshows.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=5  

or joining the Yorkshire Numismatic Society http://yorkshirenumismatic.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Happy collecting.

Ian..

Thanks Ian. Much appreciated. Yeah I've stuck the Yorkshire coin show in the diary, nice one. As you say, there's some serious knowledge floating around in the ether on this forum, if I can soak up 1% of it I'll be set for life. 

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17 minutes ago, Colin G. said:

Welcome to the forum...you can get some nice coins from the Empire for very reasonable prices. There are also a whole host of designs to aim for. A side collection of mine was to collect farthing sized colonial coins, and it has been a slow process but it is a wide range of coin designs and metals.

Thanks Colin, I think it'll be fascinating and there's plenty of experts and literature to support the quest. In the meantime I'll get reading and continue to drool over everyone's purchases on here! 

Ta / Mark

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Welcome to the forum.

If you are in West Yorkshire, go to the Wakefield coin fair at the Cedar Court hotel off junction 39 on the last Sunday of each month (except December). Next one is this coming weekend and it starts at 9:30. That will allow you to look through the trays at leisure without being forced to buy anything.

If you do decide to go, I'm the large hairy object in the centre aisle facing the entrance, so come and introduce yourself.

If you are just starting out, I wouldn't bother trying to specialise too early. It means you will pass by a lot of things that you find attractive, and with specialisation comes the ludicrously expensive piece or two that you will need to complete. Far better you start by acquiring a range of cheaper things before diving in too deep. You will change direction somewhere along the line.

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3 hours ago, Rob said:

Welcome to the forum.

If you are in West Yorkshire, go to the Wakefield coin fair at the Cedar Court hotel off junction 39 on the last Sunday of each month (except December). Next one is this coming weekend and it starts at 9:30. That will allow you to look through the trays at leisure without being forced to buy anything.

If you do decide to go, I'm the large hairy object in the centre aisle facing the entrance, so come and introduce yourself.

If you are just starting out, I wouldn't bother trying to specialise too early. It means you will pass by a lot of things that you find attractive, and with specialisation comes the ludicrously expensive piece or two that you will need to complete. Far better you start by acquiring a range of cheaper things before diving in too deep. You will change direction somewhere along the line.

Thanks for the welcome Rob. I take my proverbial hat off to the members here for the responses I've received. Thanks for the tip on Wakefield, only 10 mins away so would be daft not to come down for a look-see. Ta muchly. 

Mark 

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Welcome to the forum

 

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Most posts are really good advice , but the best advice I can give apart from the wealth of information above is TRY AND ENJOY the hobby - in the end nothing else matters.

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3 hours ago, copper123 said:

Most posts are really good advice , but the best advice I can give apart from the wealth of information above is TRY AND ENJOY the hobby - in the end nothing else matters.

Thanks copper...that's the aim of the game! 

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The QE II (post decimalisation) series is the best for a newbie in my opinion. Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

 

Edited by Prax

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3 hours ago, Prax said:

The QE II (post decimalisation) series is the best for a newbie in my opinion. Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

 

Thanks Prax, think my tastes are a bit more Olde Worlde but at this stage I'm keeping an open mind 

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Welcome to the forum WWTW. I'm quite partial to a bit of British Empire stuff myself. :)

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Welcome to the Forum Mark, this place adds another dimension to the hobby in my view :)

Here's an interesting old sausage, albeit fairly common

1813_1_stiver_british_guyana_05_1600.jpg

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Wow that is the most ugly portrait of  George III  ever

Edited by copper123

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10 hours ago, Paulus said:

Welcome to the Forum Mark, this place adds another dimension to the hobby in my view :)

Here's an interesting old sausage, albeit fairly common

1813_1_stiver_british_guyana_05_1600.jpg

See, there's a whole world to explore! Poor George, looks like a serious case of the mumps! 

Ta Paulus! 

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3 hours ago, whowantstheworld said:

See, there's a whole world to explore! Poor George, looks like a serious case of the mumps! 

Ta Paulus! 

George dressing up as a Roman emperor, having been attacked by a swarm of bees

1817_hc01_obv01_sellers_mhcoins_940.png 

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