What got you into coin collecting

[Guest Dan]

What first fuelled your passion for coins? What was the inspiration?

For me, I was too young to remember old money (born in 1971) but I remember seeing sixpences, shilling and florins in change. Then I rediscovered a 1970 proof set that someone had given me as a birth souvenire, and it all went from there...

[Chris Perkins 223]

My Uncle Peter, who was quite well travelled gave me a few foreign coins that he had collected from foreign visits, I remember some Russian Kopeks and American Quarter dollars. That started my little collection off.

The first British coin I remember having was a very worn 1921 Florin, and I got into British coins from there. I too am too young to remember £SD but also remember spending florins and shillings as 5 and 10p's.

I used to bunk college to go to coin shops and have been into coins since I was about 7 I think.

Chris

[Sylvester 15]

I must have drifted into it a little later than you two, as i only remember recieving florins in change, that is as legal tender.

I have recieved many shillings in change since the 10p reduced in size, but i don't remember getting any as 5ps whilst they were legal tender.

So i guess it was those florins that did it.

But what really kicked it off was my father giving me his old collection back in 1989/90 what little of it there was, mostly change finds, but five coins stood out that really caught me and brought me into the collecting fraternity.

An 1887 Shilling in VF, an 1853 half penny in F, and my three favourites, 1882H penny, an 1807 penny, both well worn. And a 1932 penny. Now anyone who knows the penny series at all will know that 1882 (without H) penny is extremely rare, as is the 1933 penny.

So as a child when browsing through my battered 1985 coin catalogue it was that feeling of being just off by one date, or having the extra H, i suppose that really sparked of my interest.

[Guest DAS]

I'm still reeling from the bombshell that our mentor, webmaster, fuhrer and www.predecimal.com pal is too young to remember £sd

[Sylvester 15]

I'm still reeling from the bombshell that our mentor, webmaster, fuhrer and www.predecimal.com pal is too young to remember £sd 

It appears we have some younger collectors on here...

Who said coin collectors were middle aged? Actually that guy in the York coin shop...

Then he saw me stood there...

Boy did i feel out of place...

[Chris Perkins 223]

I'm only 25 DAS but I can count in predecimal better than anyone I know!

Hope I still have credibility with you.

Actually one of the reasons I created this small venture is because most coin collectors are older, out of date etc and this is a brand new medium that they know nothing about.

I want to mix my computer knowledge with my passion for numismatics.

(I edited 2 of your previous messages, to remove the obvious mistake)

Chris

[Guest DAS]

Credibility intact Chris (anyone that can talk about avatars, Gothic florins and the Darkness is alright in my book)

[Chris Perkins 223]

Well that's ok then.

Chris

[Sylvester 15]

I'm only 25 DAS but I can count in predecimal better than anyone I know!

Hope I still have credibility with you.

Actually one of the reasons I created this small venture is because most coin collectors are older, out of date etc and this is a brand new medium that they know nothing about.

I want to mix my computer knowledge with my passion for numismatics.

(I edited 2 of your previous messages, to remove the obvious mistake)

Chris

As part of the mediaeval course they had me counting in Marks...let alone £sd!

But i came out top with the £sd mathematics, i actually find it easier than decimal, cos i go into panic mode when i see big numbers like 73+59, whereas i can cope with doing everything in 12s and 20s, it's easier to imagine, and i have enough fingers and toes to do the calculation on.

Only thing i have a problem with is when farthings get involved, and you get daft things to add up or subtract like, £4. 3s. 8 1/4d - £1. 14s. 12 1/2d - 16s. 5 3/4d...

Then i panic and thank my luck stars for decimalisation.

[Emperor Oli 0]

It appears we have some younger collectors on here...

I'm 14, am I the youngest?

[Geoff T 3]

I always say that the only reason I got through O level maths was that I took it the year we went decimal and it was much easier to multiply things by ten. Having said that, I do remember mental arithmetic at primary school were we had to cope with questions like "If John buys 15 apples at 3 farthings each how much change will he get from half a crown when there's an R in the month" and I quite used to enjoy them - even if farthings by then belonged to history.

I think it's great that there are so many young people on the forum. I know that the latent interest in coins was there when I was in my teens but it's only that I'm in my 40s that the the interest has really come to the surface. It's just that when your 17-year old son exclaims "Hey, this pound coin is even older than me!" with a note of genuine amazement or your daughther of nearly 21 can't remember decimal halfpennies that you realise how alien even early decimal coins must be to the the younger generation.

Geoff (let's hear it for Grumpy Old Men

[Chris Perkins 223]

Hoorah for grumpy old men!

To follow on about your kids, I once had a youngster contact me who had a 1906 sixpence that was worn almost flat.

I told them it was just worth 20p or so for silver content....Do you think they believed me? They exclaimed: 'But it's nearly a hundred years old, it must have a value!', to which I replied: 'You can buy coins that are 2500 years old for £20.00 so relatively speaking yours is almost new!'

They would not have any of it, and it the end I had to be quite rude.

Kids of today! (Olli excluded of course )

Chris

[Sylvester 15]

I always say that the only reason I got through O level maths was that I took it the year we went decimal and it was much easier to multiply things by ten. Having said that, I do remember mental arithmetic at primary school were we had to cope with questions like "If John buys 15 apples at 3 farthings each how much change will he get from half a crown when there's an R in the month" and I quite used to enjoy them - even if farthings by then belonged to history.

I think it's great that there are so many young people on the forum. I know that the latent interest in coins was there when I was in my teens but it's only that I'm in my 40s that the the interest has really come to the surface. It's just that when your 17-year old son exclaims "Hey, this pound coin is even older than me!" with a note of genuine amazement or your daughther of nearly 21 can't remember decimal halfpennies that you realise how alien even early decimal coins must be to the the younger generation.

Geoff (let's hear it for Grumpy Old Men

I hate it when people can't even remember that we used to spend florins up until 10 1/2 years ago! Some people are about as observant as a block of cheese. And it's not just with referance to coins.

What really amazes me though is those people that find an old really really polished Victorian penny in Poor-Fair condition and think it should be worth something spectacular, because wait for it... it's 100 an odd years old! It must be worth a fortune...alas no otherwise i'd be quids in...

And those that think that £1 coins are gold, yes you get 'em! I mean it's not like brass and gold are even that similar. Brass has a slighly greenish dull yellow hue for Christ's sake, whereas gold is a much richer brighter colour.

[Chris Perkins 223]

The general public are really very stupid, i've known that for some time now.

Join this forum and become one of the elite!

Chris

[Emperor Oli 0]

Kids of today! (Olli excluded of course )

Yes! We are not all uneducated yobs as the media-at-large would have us portrayed!

[Guest Eliza]

My dad was a seasonal park ranger for a summer, in Montana. I was three. He would get his ranger paycheque cashed at the bank in Morgan silver dollars. I got to play with them. They weren't worth much more than face at the time and my mother was always cursing them for weighing down her purse.

Eliza

[Sylvester 15]

My dad was a seasonal park ranger for a summer, in Montana. I was three. He would get his ranger paycheque cashed at the bank in Morgan silver dollars. I got to play with them. They weren't worth much more than face at the time and my mother was always cursing them for weighing down her purse.

Eliza

How times have changed eh?

Of course in the US you've still got all the things that pull in new collectors by the bucket full. The state quarters, coins from before the Second World War can still be found in change, and of course so can silver.

It's things like that that drags everyone into collecting, amongst other things.

What have we got...owow 1971 pennies!!! And if you're really lucky you might just get a steel penny that has missed the copper plating process.

And that's about it...

[william 0]

Well we have got those rare 1983 two pence pieces with the "New Pence" error. Oh, and we got a stupid rumour with that as well!

[Sylvester 15]

Well we have got those rare 1983 two pence pieces with the "New Pence" error. Oh, and we got a stupid rumour with that as well!

hey my mother got a nice change find the other day, a 1977 5p piece.

Yep collecting from change is just that interesting!

I've got some nice £2 coins out of circulation today too.

[william 0]

I've got some nice £2 coins out of circulation today too.

Have any of you lot received the new DNA £2 coin in change this year. I haven't seen it at all!

Oh, a few weeks ago i found a small spanish peseta coin in my change, being passed off as a 5p. I didn't complain to the newsagent, as i would much rather keep the peseta!

[Sylvester 15]

Have any of you lot received the new DNA £2 coin in change this year. I haven't seen it at all!

Oh, a few weeks ago i found a small spanish peseta coin in my change, being passed off as a 5p. I didn't complain to the newsagent, as i would much rather keep the peseta!

Yes one of them was a DNA £2 coin, nice bit of lustre too. The last few i had were really horrible, talk about circulated to hell, even after only a few months. This one however is a bit scuffed on the obverse in the CuNi bit.

You really struggle to find nice ones in Circulation. This one probably only grades EF already.

[mint_mark 3]

Glad I'm not the only one who collects coins from change

I saw quite a few DNA £2 at the end of last year, and the Marconi ones before that, but hardly any of the commonwealth games issue. I never find a choice BU £2... even if there is no wear there are hideous bagmarks, and even if there are no bagmarks you seem to get striations at the edge of the centre part of the coin.

Also, I've only found one Suffragettes 50p, and 2003 50p and 10p seem generally thin on the ground...

Chris! There's a small market for decimal odds and ends... we have a few gaps to fill

Back on topic... this is pretty much how I started coin collecting. I built a complete set of shillings and florins 1947 to 1967 from change! The 1959 Scottish was given to me as change in a pub to complete the set

[mint_mark 3]

And another thing.... while we're talking about circulating coins

Coin Yearbook 2004 has two entries for most modern coins, the "ordinary" entry and the "unc" or "BU" entry with a slightly higher price. A note explains that unc or BU coins may come from presentation folders or sets.

So, is it possible to distinguish between these coins just by examining them? Or do you only know for sure if you remove it from the set yourself?

When the specimen sets started (1982?) I think the mint said that the coins were specially selected from those struck for circulation... is this still true? Or do they strike coins more carefully for the sets now?

[Sylvester 15]

Also, I've only found one Suffragettes 50p, and 2003 50p and 10p seem generally thin on the ground...

Chris! There's a small market for decimal odds and ends... we have a few gaps to fill

Back on topic... this is pretty much how I started coin collecting. I built a complete set of shillings and florins 1947 to 1967 from change! The 1959 Scottish was given to me as change in a pub to complete the set

50p's are definately the least encountered. I very rarely find any commems in circ.

The 10p's come and go, some times you get a few, sometimes none.

The 5p's are by far the most encountered, are they going to bother minting any in 2004? The mintage last year was phenominal... you begin to wonder whether they've made up the demand for them.

Also there's lots of new £1 coins out and about, usually i didn't find many, about 6 a year, now i'm finding about one a week.

£2 coins are a nightmare, for exactly the same resons you stated above! (Although i did find an absolute beaut , very few bagmarks... i kept that one!)

[Chris Perkins 223]

Some years were only issued in sets, so you know that's where they started out. As far as I knew, for the years when the coins also circulated normally the BU sets were just normal coins. You don't see many bag marks so perhaps they are treated more carefully after striking.

I'm really not sure.

I have a few high grade decimal coins, but I'm saving them for when there is a much higher demand. Perhaps if and when we go EURO.