Stockportjohn

I have purchased some coins and books already from you Rob at the Wakefield / Birmingham fairs. Regards John

That 1820 is a clear VF I'd say - a nice coin. You could do a lot worse than major on halfcrowns - as long as you don't go in for date runs, they will be generally cheaper than crowns, but are still a good size for seeing detail. For types : going forward, there are Victorian Young Head where you should avoid anything before 1874 in a good grade as they will empty your wallet! One from 1874 - 1887 in GVF should be your target (unless you can afford to bump up to EF?) Victoria Jubilee Head : 1887 in EF up to BU Victoria Old Head : 1893 in EF or better Edward VII (difficult reign) : 1902 is far and away the most affordable George V .925 silver : 1915, 16, or 18 minimum EF George V .500 silver : 1920 or 1923, but minimum EF as the head flattens very quickly on that type George V M.E. : 1927 George V new reverse issue : 1928, 29, or 36 in AUNC or better George VI .500 silver : 1944, 45, or 46 in BU George VI CuNi : 1948 BU George VI last issue : 1949 is arguably the easiest Elizabeth II : 1953 BU Elizabeth II 2nd type : 1966 or 1967 in "Gem BU"! Oh, I forgot to mention the other 'machine age' types you don't have: George III 'Bull Head' : minimum VF George III Small Head : ditto George IV 2nd type : 1823 VF or better George IV 3rd type : 1826 VF or better Those are the main types to collect, and the easiest dates to find. Thanks for all the information its most helpful. Can anyone recommend at good website to purchase nice coins? The previous three posts? Sorry about the last post but my computer was still in the preview screen and my little Grandson thought it was funny to hit all the buttons on my laptop.

That 1820 is a clear VF I'd say - a nice coin. You could do a lot worse than major on halfcrowns - as long as you don't go in for date runs, they will be generally cheaper than crowns, but are still a good size for seeing detail. For types : going forward, there are Victorian Young Head where you should avoid anything before 1874 in a good grade as they will empty your wallet! One from 1874 - 1887 in GVF should be your target (unless you can afford to bump up to EF?) Victoria Jubilee Head : 1887 in EF up to BU Victoria Old Head : 1893 in EF or better Edward VII (difficult reign) : 1902 is far and away the most affordable George V .925 silver : 1915, 16, or 18 minimum EF George V .500 silver : 1920 or 1923, but minimum EF as the head flattens very quickly on that type George V M.E. : 1927 George V new reverse issue : 1928, 29, or 36 in AUNC or better George VI .500 silver : 1944, 45, or 46 in BU George VI CuNi : 1948 BU George VI last issue : 1949 is arguably the easiest Elizabeth II : 1953 BU Elizabeth II 2nd type : 1966 or 1967 in "Gem BU"! Oh, I forgot to mention the other 'machine age' types you don't have: George III 'Bull Head' : minimum VF George III Small Head : ditto George IV 2nd type : 1823 VF or better George IV 3rd type : 1826 VF or better Those are the main types to collect, and the easiest dates to find. Thanks for all the information its most helpful. Can anyone recommend at good website to purchase nice coins?

That 1820 is a clear VF I'd say - a nice coin. You could do a lot worse than major on halfcrowns - as long as you don't go in for date runs, they will be generally cheaper than crowns, but are still a good size for seeing detail. For types : going forward, there are Victorian Young Head where you should avoid anything before 1874 in a good grade as they will empty your wallet! One from 1874 - 1887 in GVF should be your target (unless you can afford to bump up to EF?) Victoria Jubilee Head : 1887 in EF up to BU Victoria Old Head : 1893 in EF or better Edward VII (difficult reign) : 1902 is far and away the most affordable George V .925 silver : 1915, 16, or 18 minimum EF George V .500 silver : 1920 or 1923, but minimum EF as the head flattens very quickly on that type George V M.E. : 1927 George V new reverse issue : 1928, 29, or 36 in AUNC or better George VI .500 silver : 1944, 45, or 46 in BU George VI CuNi : 1948 BU George VI last issue : 1949 is arguably the easiest Elizabeth II : 1953 BU Elizabeth II 2nd type : 1966 or 1967 in "Gem BU"! Oh, I forgot to mention the other 'machine age' types you don't have: George III 'Bull Head' : minimum VF George III Small Head : ditto George IV 2nd type : 1823 VF or better George IV 3rd type : 1826 VF or better Those are the main types to collect, and the easiest dates to find. Thanks for all the information its most helpful. Can anyone recommend at good website to purchase nice coins?

Thanks for the comments its appreciated. I only started collecting coins at the back end of 2012 and I am now only aware of how complex the grading of coins actually is. I have purchased a considerably amount of books and magazines as I love to soak up information but its no substitute for experience. I seem to be drawn to Half Crowns as the first coin I found was one from 1825 when I was metal detecting. Still not 100% on which coins to collect. Regards John

And my final coin is another half crown.

Another couple of coins that I purchased over the last couple of weeks.

Good Fine? Attractive too IMO. I know this might sound really stupid but what does IMO mean? Any ideas what it might be worth?

Please could anybody tell me the grade of the Crown below and an estimate of the value as I was wondering if I had paid too much? I will post the actual price I paid later. I have a strong feeling that I went a bit over the top with the money. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks John

First attempt at taking a photo of my coins. Whats the general opinion as comments are appreciated?

Grading Coins, Davies, ESC & Groom if you are looking at silver/CuNi only. Do you think ESC has anything to add to Davies in the 20thC? I haven't been won over by the micro-stuff (yet), but always take a quick scan through Groom to make sure I'm not giving any micro-rarities away, as we all know there are collectors out there looking for them! No, nothing, but if you collect anything before 1816 there isn't an alternative. I presume Groom is a book? Can somebody please let me know the full title as i liked to have as much reference material as possible. I think i must have spent £300 to £400 on books and magazines in the last twelve months. If you had a wish list of books that are a must to own, what would they be? Dave Groom is member of this forum (DaveG) and published two useful books on the 20th Century varieties in silver (etc) and bronze. If you PM him I'm sure he will supply you with copies at a very reasonable fee. As for wish list, it all depends where your interest lies. Gouby, Freeman, Peck, Davies, ESC .. these are all "must"s if you want to specialise in the particular area they cover. Then there's tokens, hammered, ancient - each has their specialist publication, but you don't need them all. Being new to coin collecting i like to read as much as possible so that i can soak up as much information as possible. I will buy these books. Thanks John

Grading Coins, Davies, ESC & Groom if you are looking at silver/CuNi only. Do you think ESC has anything to add to Davies in the 20thC? I haven't been won over by the micro-stuff (yet), but always take a quick scan through Groom to make sure I'm not giving any micro-rarities away, as we all know there are collectors out there looking for them! No, nothing, but if you collect anything before 1816 there isn't an alternative. I presume Groom is a book? Can somebody please let me know the full title as i liked to have as much reference material as possible. I think i must have spent £300 to £400 on books and magazines in the last twelve months. If you had a wish list of books that are a must to own, what would they be?

Thanks

I am justing starting to take photo's of the coins i have and was wondering what was the best method. I have a Nikon D5100 which i have just purchased a Macro lens for. Should i be using a Tripod and if so can you suggest one? Regards John

Nick, Where do you look to see whats coming up at the next auction? Regards John