2 curious questions for my inquisitive mind

[DaveG38 385]

This thread has taken over the boards lol. I was reading the reply Rob left regarding prices at St James auction, so i have yet another curious question (it is personal so it's up to you if you want to answer or not)

Whats the most anyone here has paid for a coin. I've personally paid 1500 and was sweating, so i can't imagine what someone who's paid the 150K Rob earlier mention must be feeling, think i'd need a bottle of vallium (for the wife after i pick her up off the floor)

BTW, i love the detailed answers given by members on the forum, it makes this forum worthwhile looking at.

It's nice to see that there are plenty of 'ordinary' (no offence) collectors on here. I don't quite know why, but I sort of had the feeling you were all rich and top payers for top quality. My highest price was £1900 plus buyers premium for an EF 1934 crown a year or so ago and £2500 for the 1989 gold proof set. Otherwise, even my older stuff tends to be at sensible prices in the low hundreds or less. Occasionally I splash on something a bit dearer when it comes to filing gaps e.g. the 1689 farthing from Colin Cooke for a shade under £500. Trouble is that even in the low hundreds, its easy to burn cash at a phenomenal rate when several coins come up at once. Unfortunately that seems to be how it works. For ages there's nothing then a whole line of stuff comes along and I have to dig deep or cut Mrs G's frock allowance!! Some hope.

Edited September 30, 2011 by DaveG38

[Rob 3,002]

It's nice to see that there are plenty of 'ordinary' (no offence) collectors on here. I don't quite know why, but I sort of had the feeling you were all rich and top payers for top quality. My highest price was £1900 plus buyers premium for an EF 1934 crown a year or so ago and £2500 for the 1989 gold proof set. Otherwise, even my older stuff tends to be at sensible prices in the low hundreds or less. Occasionally I splash on something a bit dearer when it comes to filing gaps e.g. the 1689 farthing from Colin Cooke for a shade under £500. Trouble is that even in the low hundreds, its easy to burn cash at a phenomenal rate when several coins come up at once. Unfortunately that seems to be how it works. For ages there's nothing then a whole line of stuff comes along and I have to dig deep or cut Mrs G's frock allowance!! Some hope.

We are all ordinary collectors on here, just that some things cost more than others and it's a case of each to their own. Thanks to the diarrhoeic output of the Royal Mint coupled to my insistence of obtaining an example of each attributed designer's handiwork, fully one in five or more of all purchases are under a tenner and do nothing for the quality of the collection. Some things cost a few pounds, some a few hunderds or a few thousands, but when the time comes to sell they will in all probability still be worth what you paid for them. Don't get me wrong, if I could buy £10 notes for a fiver, I'd do it all day long.

[Rob 3,002]

Whats the most anyone here has paid for a coin.

erm...£68...for a 1903 halfcrown.

I suppose that makes me an average pleb on eBay

No it doesn't Declan and well you know it. It isn't the cost of Ebay purchases, rather the finer points of numismatics that are missing from many listings such as identifying the monarch on a coin, or the denomination, or even the country sometimes. Tickets don't come into it for most when the basics are missing for starters.

[scott 129]

most i have paied?

£39.08

but then again, i have been lucky and own a good 6-7 coins worth more then that some (i know my top 2 in terms of value are £100 and £65)

i think this is hammered

[Peter 615]

The most I have spent on a farthing is £380 (364,800 x face) if it was a crown £91,200 equivalent.

I have spent over £100 probably 50+ x mainly in the £100 to £200 bracket.

I have only ever won 1 coin at auction but have lumped on a few where I have been blown away

However with the price of gold etc some older purchases would now beat my record.

I'm quite happy clipping away at the lower £ range

Unlimited funds...mmmm but wouldn't it take the fun out of collecting.You hear of some rich collectors just using dealers to hunt down coins...where is the satisfaction in this?

I have just sold an old Rob purchase for 110% profit and 4 colonial BU early 20C coins for £36....they cost me 5p each.

I'm also happy to sift through a dealers tin for interesting bits.

The main thing about my hobby is that I can still enjoy it when not buying and at anytime can confidently sell some to pursue something else.

I've sold over £1000 of bits in the last month and have a few £1000 more earmarked to go...I'm sure some more will come in as will a bit of pre 19C furniture (I do use my pal for advice on this but again only want to buy what I like and hopefully use)

[scott 129]

ahh yes the dealers tins, found a few interesting bit at 5p and 10p in those

[TomGoodheart 373]

Th vast majority of my coins were under £200. It used to be you could get a respectable (common but VF) Charles I shilling for £50 but this has crept up over the last few years and I'd expect to pay around the £100+ mark. The least I've spent was £18 which was for a coin that's pretty knackered but a clear and unusual privy mark.

Yes, as Rob says, there are always rarities in any series and they will be pricey. I've been lucky in making contacts and have managed to buy a few coins privately that would otherwise have been very difficult to find. But generally shillings were produced in huge numbers in Charles' reign, more are found regularly and so they are never going to be very expensive unless in exceptionally decent condition or from premium collections.

I guess one of the things that makes me a collector (though I'm not sure about 'ordinary'!) /numismatist rather than investor or 'hobbyist' is that I'm fairly happy not buying coins. I get nearly as much pleasure searching the interwebz for examples and sales prices to compare against my coins and sharing views and the little knowledge I've picked up with others. Currently (as usual) I'm searching auction/ dealer sites for coins both new stock and archived information. It's free (apart from the cost of a broadband connection) and educational. Keeps me off the streets too.

[£400 for a Penny ? 0]

Most I spent was £1,050 on a Charles 1 Unite.

I couldn't really justify doing it, but I didn't half enjoy hasving it for a couple of years before moving it on.

At the end of the day, it's not a pissing contest, a better question perhaps would be - 'what's the coin you've most enjoyed owning and why ?'

That then is individual to the owner and everyone can play.

[Rob 3,002]

Unlimited funds...mmmm but wouldn't it take the fun out of collecting.You hear of some rich collectors just using dealers to hunt down coins...where is the satisfaction in this?

I'm not sure it would. Most people I know have their collecting limited due to the funds available unless they have made a conscious decision to only collect a restricted range in a certain grade. A few people like top quality coins, but can't afford huge numbers of them, so overcome this hurdle by collecting say all the mint state Ed.VII florins, then sell them and move on to another restricted collection of say Victorian halfcrowns. In this way they manage to acquire and appreciate the top quality in any series collected, but by continually changing direction provide themselves with an ongoing target. It's not a bad idea if you image each collection when formed and means that over time you can have a very large but virtual collection. If you have the means to collect extensively and expensively, then using others to hunt down the coins you can't find is a reasonable way forward. One feature of the high end coins is that they are rarely abundant. You need to put out a wants list, just like anyone else would, if there is to be any chance of acquiring certain pieces. If you are desperate for a Cromwell halfcrown in gold to complete the reign for example, it would help if you advertise the fact as it will then find its way to you. If you wait for one to appear on ebay, you might not be so lucky.

Edited October 1, 2011 by Rob

[ski 1]

Whats the most anyone here has paid for a coin.

Mr Cooke once took £475 off me for a piece.

ski

[Peckris 579]

Most I spent was £1,050 on a Charles 1 Unite.

I couldn't really justify doing it, but I didn't half enjoy hasving it for a couple of years before moving it on.

At the end of the day, it's not a pissing contest, a better question perhaps would be - 'what's the coin you've most enjoyed owning and why ?'

That then is individual to the owner and everyone can play.

My 1926ME penny in GF - given me by a bus conductor (remember them??) as a schoolboy, when I hadn't got ANY 1926s! Mind you, it was nearly a year before I realised it WAS the ME. Now I could spot one instantly - any ME in fact. I still have the penny, wouldn't sell it at any price

A close second would be my near UNC Cartwheel twopence, bought from Peter Viola marked down from £140 to £100. Mind you, that was in the 1990s.

[Rob 3,002]

Whats the most anyone here has paid for a coin.

£1882 (inc buyer's premium) nearly six years ago.

And in case anyone thinks I'm in Rob's league, the next highest I've paid is less than a third of that.

Which is probably the AVSSPCE shilling you beat me to.

I haven't forgotten.

[scott 129]

coin i most enjoy owning is my 1858 small date farthing, VF grade cost me as fiver a good few years back, which i bought as a cheap example of the copper design (and only for that lol)

[TomGoodheart 373]

Whats the most anyone here has paid for a coin.

£1882 (inc buyer's premium) nearly six years ago.

And in case anyone thinks I'm in Rob's league, the next highest I've paid is less than a third of that.

Which is probably the AVSSPCE shilling you beat me to.

I haven't forgotten.

*wonders where the shaking knees smiley might be*

Actually it was for my G3/2; which I thought was quite a reasonable price until they started popping up everywhere (Eight at last count. Eight! There were thought to be only four when I bought it! )

As for which coin I've enjoyed .. that's difficult since many have their attractions. But I'm still oddly fond of this shilling that has most of the flaws of hammered coinage; it's weak in places due to uneven flan thickness, the dies are breaking up and there's double striking due to the coin moving between blows. However it is also pretty much as struck (the edges are almost sharp with minimal wear) on a decent weight round flan (so often not the case!) and attractively toned.

Edited October 2, 2011 by TomGoodheart

[azda 973]

The coin i most enjoyed was the 1905 Halfcrown, i had it several days lol, but just to own a decent and original coin of that year was pretty amazing. Unfortunately for me, it was way out of my price league for the time being and was merely bought to sell on, the wife did enjoy the 1200 euro profit though, i think i saw about 100 of that

I also really liked the one i had purchased for Rob from Germany, a shilling i think it was (Rob might show it again) Really nice coin. I actually wanted it for myself, but at the time it was to much for me, i had showed Rob the dealers gallery pics and he also liked it, so i snapped it up for him before anyone else got it, plus €50 off the asking price as i'd dealt with the dealer before.

Edited October 2, 2011 by azda

[azda 973]

Just found the Chas shilling on my photobucket account that i sent to Rob, very nice indeed

[TomGoodheart 373]

Very nice. And unusual, that size. Mine are all much smaller.

Oh, and I just spotted one of my previous coins listed by a US auction house. Not sure if I'm more upset by the price they got for it, or the rather garish toning it seems to have developed!

[scott 129]

i like toning, a good natual tone is lovely, american coins tone with crazy colours...

[Peckris 579]

Just found the Chas shilling on my photobucket account that i sent to Rob, very nice indeed

Ah, the Chas milled coinage. That's the kind of hammered that I like

[Rob 3,002]

I'm more than happy that so many people like milled coinage. I shall deny myself the pleasures of owning delights such as this from the most inappropriately named seller ever, and console myself with the hardship of owning crap like this Aethelred II late transitional CRVX penny from Oxford.

Further evidence should it be required with regard to the original question - yes, hammered can be better than VF.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Rob

[Peter 615]

Another spectacular coin Rob,the pick of the litter.

Love the Bun penny.It would of helped if they had focussed the obverse...well maybe not.

[azda 973]

Just found the Chas shilling on my photobucket account that i sent to Rob, very nice indeed

Ah, the Chas milled coinage. That's the kind of hammered that I like

I think the topic moved on to the best coin Peck, regardless of hammered or milled. Do try and keep up my old bean

[Peckris 579]

Another spectacular coin Rob,the pick of the litter.

Love the Bun penny.It would of helped if they had focussed the obverse...well maybe not.

I notice the pictures of that bun penny were supplied by www.mintstate.co.uk

Just found the Chas shilling on my photobucket account that i sent to Rob, very nice indeed

Ah, the Chas milled coinage. That's the kind of hammered that I like

I think the topic moved on to the best coin Peck, regardless of hammered or milled. Do try and keep up my old bean

I'm wishing I had even the faintest idea what you're talking about Dave. Could it be you misunderstood my little joke? I think you must have

Edited October 3, 2011 by Peckris

[Colin G. 147]

A very interesting thread this has turned out to be...I am also in the "few hundred pounds category". Mind you it's not through lack of trying, I just must get tighter as the price goes up because I always lose out!!

As for favourite coin....that is sooooo tough.......can there be several? Do we have any rules in place or am I allowed to bend them?

Some nice coins going on display

Edited October 3, 2011 by Colin G.

[TomGoodheart 373]

A very interesting thread this has turned out to be...I am also in the "few hundred pounds category". Mind you it's not through lack of trying, I just must get tighter as the price goes up because I always lose out!!

As for favourite coin....that is sooooo tough.......can there be several? Do we have any rules in place or am I allowed to bend them?

Some nice coins going on display

Well, seeing as we all like looking at coins I see no reason you can't choose more than one Colin. Though I wouldn't bend them if I were you. They're a real pain to straighten again!