All Activity

I think you would be fine if you use mylar which is an inert plastic. Avoid PVC like the plague as it releases harmful chemicals. I am not a bronze collector and would probably use inert 2x2 coin holders which is air tight for high grade lustrous examples. Airtight is good for bronze to reduce the chances of toning.

Look for microscopic scratches (hairlines) (sometimes not so microscopic) that catch the light, or a "flat" look where the natural frosty luster is gone, losing the original "cartwheel" effect of an original coin. Comparing it to an uncleaned coin is often the best method. This is when a loupe and a strong light are useful. I don't mind gently cleaned coins - it can be done carefully with little to no damage. OTOH, sometimes for some coins I've happily bought more heavily cleaned ones because that brings the price down to a level my budget can afford. As an example I have a cleaned 1873 Bordeaux mint 5 Francs coin that is XF/AU details. Without cleaning, it goes for $125+; I got the cleaned one for $45 - less than melt. I'd love to find, for example, a cleaned but otherwise nice 1905 shilling because they tend to be quite expensive as _the_ key date in the 20th century. A cleaned one that is otherwise nice might have a price tag my budget allows more easily. Some collectors won't touch them at all but only really harsh cleaning with scratches and totally destroyed luster are the ones I avoid. Hope this helps.

Hi everyone. I am trying to increase my expertise on coin collecting but I am unsure how to tell the difference between just high quality coins and cleaned coins. If anyone can please help me with this, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, all the best, F Drummond.

Thanks Bernie. That’s some good advice.

An Ariel Square 4! Lovely machines. My first, a long time ago was a '77 Bonneville 750. Still love Triumphs to this day.

So do I. It will get the wife off my back telling me to stop doing all the things I enjoy. Rest assured all will be fine. I'm not giving up the ghost yet. I haven't yet created a box for Rob Pearce 1958-2026 to tick yet. Eventually it will be filled, but family history suggests I might be around for a while yet. My father's eldest sister was 96 when she died. Never married, ran a smallholding on her own, then had a sweet shop in Wells, rode a motor bike until she was 70 and refused to go into a home to the day she died on the grounds they were full of old people. The interesting bit was the bike. At 5'3" and weighing 5 &1/2 stone, one that she rode was an Ariel square 4. I guess she didn't want to conform to the insecure female model. By the time she stopped after coming off on ice one night, she was down to a 250, but was collecting her pension. I liked visiting her sweet shop.

It just seemed bit of a sweeping statement and reflected the personal searches of 2 people for different varieties. Had it been a survey of 30 or 40 collectors, all searching with the same level of intensity, either statement would have had more supporting evidence behind it. Both are unquestionably less than common, but I wouldn't like to assign a rarity of one relative to the other because I haven't done the spadework. My NGC MS65 1673 halfpenny was in a 65 slab when I bought it in 2006 and did so because I could see without a glass that it was actually a 5/3. To me that was obvious. Thanks to the work done by Nicholson identifying the various 5 over 3 dies with their different styles, I was then able to say that the majority of 1675 halfpennies were actually 5/3 and the straight, clear 5 from new dies was the rare type. At this point the yearly mintages fell into place, because if you believe the mint output figures, 1673 and 1675 were not particularly different and certainly not as rare as the 1672 in the case of 1675, yet listings in past catalogues suggested they were much on a par with far more 1673s than the figures suggested. That was my 3rd unassigned 5/3 to go in the collection, none of which was in less than a 63 slab. And all now out. Add the identifiable dates from images rather than cataloguers opinions and you arrive at not dissimilar numbers of 1673s and 1675s, and 1672 then becomes much rarer relatively. Which is what the mint said. Consequently I am happy with my analysis. This study also showed the existence of a doubly cut overdate, when close examination of my 5/3 showed it in fact to be 5 over 3 over 2. Totally unambiguous if you look at the pictures in the confirmed unlisted varieties section. It ain't going anywhere soon, but my sketches do allow others to identify the reverse die involved. Nobody would have considered it likely prior to my discovery due to the propensity of the mint to use dies to extinction.

I advise that you should not store your copper or bronze coins in anything that resembles plastic, such as plastic pockets. The coins will sweat and get verdigris.

I do also really like the Shilling but my favourite British silver coin is the crown.

Thanks for the help guys. This is great. Those cabinets are gorgeous but I think they are slightly out of my price range.

will do

CH boiler not working in the winter is a real pain. But replacing a 20+ year model will save a lot of money and energy as the new one will be much more efficient. I did notice the cheaper bills when I had to replace mine with a Worcester Bosch some years back. Sorry to hear about your health issues Rob, and I hope the tests will go well.

I find them beautiful. Big enough to see all the detail yet small enough to get lots in a small space. The art of them is also a really huge plus for me. It's like the best of all worlds when it comes to English Silver Coinage 😇

Not sure what you're saying in relation to the above 1736 (3/5), 1754 (4/0) comments Rob. Could you clarify?

Anything anyone finds at the first or second time of looking immediately becomes easy and not an issue in terms of acquisition, and immediately reduces the rarity in their eyes. Oh that life were that simple. The entire essence of collecting anything is serendipity. Right place, right time and you are on a roll. Miss out on something you could have bought with one more bid and you are forever cursing yourself. There are so many could have, should haves out there I've stopped counting. Don't forget every missed opportunity creates the funds for the next one. Win every one and your issue becomes funding, because you are likely to have overpaid at some point just to have it and I can confidently say you don't have unlimited funds. I wanted one of the the Henry VII sovereigns in Carrington recently, so made sure the money was on standby and placed a bid. I was one bid short, or rather David Guest was the person who outbid me on the day in the room. Dragon marked sovereigns aren't difficult to find, but the price makes them appear so. This one ticked the trade off boxes just right. Not buying that meant the remainder of the auction was now up for grabs. I bought the type 1 Mary Angel and the Triple Unite instead. Not what I wanted that day, but both ticked boxes and I was happy with that. And it left me with cash to spare.

Tins are very tricky! I have a few, but most are near impossible to make out from photos. This is probably my best farthing 1684:

I have three 1698, date in exergue farthings, though none of which would win any beauty contests. Two VG, one Fine. I'm keen on tins, so would very much like to see your 1686 please. 🙂

I don't have a cabinet myself for several reasons. One being that I haven't collected in a systematic way, and don't have enough good pieces to justify having a cabinet. Another is that I like to look at both sides of my coins easily. Quandrum works well for the number of pieces I have and make handling easy. Like you, I do appreciate the craftsmanship of a good cabinet. BTW, I like your shilling album pages. The pockets are just the right size to reduce the amount of rotation. When I first started "collecting" as a teenager, I also focused on shillings.

Oh I know that and I won't be changing what I have. If I could afford that, I'd be a very different kind of collector than I am. I enjoy what I am doing though that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the aesthetic joy of that design.

Certainly scarce, but I would have to disagree; examples can always be found offered for sale, whereas 1736, 3 over 5, is almost never seen. Even old Colin Cooke and Farthing Specialist lists regularly include the 1754, 4 over 0, often listed in a range of grades, but I've yet to find either offering a single example of 1736, 3 over 5.

Saving for a new front door is indeed practical 😀 Seriously, I think it depends very much on the number, grade and value of the coins you intend to collect. If it is say a date run collection of UNC-EF 18 /19 century halfcrowns, then they would look fantastic in a quality cabinet. But if the priority is to make date runs of lower grade or common coins, then an album / flips/ 2x2 coin holders /quadrums would be much more practical.

A 1754 4 over 0 is even rarer it took me years to find a decent one

Holy Catfish Batman, er, Rob. Those are gorgeous. If I had a spare grand laying around I'd get a single door in a heartbeat!

Thank you everyone, and nice coins.

1562 Sixpence S.2594 Only in fine condition but one for the error collectors. Legend reads ELIZABTH £375 plus £10 SD Message me if interested.