TomGoodheart

Always when I'm working.. Stupid rotas .. And yes, halfpennies are good. Nice coins. Not like shillings. Especially hammered Charles I shillings. Nobody wants those, so I'd steer well clear of them myself. I have three on eBay right now and each for well under a £grand and not a bite. Like I say, totally unwanted series, best avoided... .

Welcome Dan! Sounds like a good start. However, a small warning. I started collecting shillings with the aim of having an example of each major bust design and the main reverses but realised how deep my pockets would have to be if I wanted to go back to the Stuarts and the first (hammered) issues. I then got sidelined by the shillings of Charles I (I sold all the milled coins to Chris Perkins to finance them) and am still stuck here! So enjoy the journey, but don't be surprised if you end up with a slightly different collection from the one you first envisaged!

LOL There are two phrases that I think are useful you will encounter fairly frequently on the forum Jason. One is 'in the hand' and the other is 'eye appeal' I think you've possibly just had a valuable lesson in both! And we don't delete people. Everyone here started knowing little and most of us are still learning. No shame in that.

I don't have a club close to me and working shifts means I often can't get to evening events. However I have made contracts via the internet and correspond regularly with a few of them. One in particular I share new purchases and discuss all matters 'coiny' with. We've only met in person once but it's a good way to enjoy the hobby even if all by email. Virtually my whole collection has been sourced via the internet so I don't particularly miss meeting people while I have online friends and forums like this Not that I'm against the idea of clubs. If there was a convenient local society its quite likely I'd join. .

Cool! Yes, I think three strikes .. plus a bit if encrustation. I wonder how much they circulated for in England? .

aliexpress is a site where you can buy replica goods of pretty much any description. All made in China. The 10p listing I linked to appears to also be for replica coins, though their descriptions are never very clear as to exactly what you're getting .. maybe you have one of those too! All very curious. .

Not sure if it's related but it's interesting: 10 p .

I think it would depend on what was graded, at CGS91 isn't that a proof? Therefor the PCGS/NGC grade should be PF whatever. Just took a look at the CGS site and CGS91 is aFDC meaning the coin was a proof issueWell, I'm not much up on grading, so that could be the case. But if we drop down the table so proofs aren't a consideration, wouldn't the person with the CGS85 that graded US 64 be a bit unhappy that a GGS70 graded the same? Surely there's something odd going on there? .

A CGS 91 was graded lower than a CGS80?! Something very worrying there! Whether it's consistency or comparability, it does suggest you shouldn't make a decision about who you have your coin graded by lightly. It could have a dramatic effect, depending on where and to whom you might eventually wish to sell.

It should weigh exactly 8.0g

Just buy what you like. It isn't a job from which you earn a living, you are supposedly doing it for pleasure. What Rob says. All series of coins will have some dates/types or varieties that are eye-wateringly pricey. But you can avoid those at first until you're sure you want to concentrate enough to fill those gaps. Or collect widely. You don't have to focus on a reign, denomination or even metal. The key things I think are don't overspend until you feel confident you know those particular coins. Research can really pay off here. You can look at hundreds of coins from online dealers, from searching auction hosting sites such as sixbid, results sites like www.acsearch or grading companies and find what a really top example looks like before spending any money at all. Then buy coins you like. Yes, bang for your buck is possible. But that really requires you to know those particular coins well. It's spotting the rarer varieties or commoner coins in uncommonly good condition that can provide the bargains. But of course, that only comes into play if you plan on selling ... if you are building a collection then really it's probably more important to feel that you have found an example you are pleased with and haven't been ripped off. It's also important to remember that coin collecting has fashions, just like anything else. When I first started over a decade ago rare types and varieties were quite popular. Now? Very few people seem interested unless those coins are also in good condition. Grade and eye appeal are the main thing, at least for what I collect. And I admit to following the market, in that I have become much fussier more discerning. This year I have bought just 5 coins (3 of which I now slightly regret and am hoping to sell!) Having started buying enthusiastically and filling gaps where possible I have then spent almost as long weeding out poorer examples and upgrading. Eventually, I hope to be happy with every coin in my collection. It would have been easier if I'd known what I know now at the start and bought more carefully. But then nobody (apart perhaps from Rob) does that, do they?

Intriguing! It does at first look doubled. However there are elements on your coin that I can't see on the one I picked out of my daughter's purse to look at. It's like there is extra metal around all the edges of the design, but some parts such as the dots under the lower lion's back leg I can't explain through a double strike ... Clearly I haven't paid enough attention to modern coinage. When for example did the start employing school kids to do the designs? Those lions are rubbish! Can you weigh yours at all? Because it still looks dodgy to me and I'm curious. If it is a fake (or even if it isn't) I don't suppose it will be worth much of a premium over a regular one, but it's still very interesting, so thanks for posting it! They're faking these now too? I have what I think is a cast 1997 50p, but have not seen one like this before ... Why copy 50p? No idea, but I did hear of fake 20ps .. hardly worth the effort I'd have thought, but maybe that's the point .. people wouldn't question it.

Actually it looks like a modern fake to me.. very interesting! Picture of the other side please? .

I would but I already have two ... oh, hang on. I think I ate one at Christmas. It is a chocolate coin, isn't it? .

On first glance I can tell you it's a groat (fourpence) issued in Calais. But earlier hammered aren't my area and that part of the legend is pretty much all gone, so I'm not sure which King I'm afraid! .

Or if they don't want it, you could always give it to me..

S'gone. I agreed with Rob. Too much spam, not enough content. .

Doesn't look right to me... eBay listing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scarborough-silver-siege-coin-Charles-1st-hammered-/262040557519?hash=item3d02d597cf .

Nor for me I'm afraid Saxon. And I can't see enough as thumbnails to give an opinion. Could you try reposting the image(s) please? Oh, and welcome! .

Yeah, that works. I think I can make out a figure holding a cornucopia (horn of plenty) Bit like this: Trouble is it could be a number of different Goddesses from Felicitas (I also think I can make out AVG to the right as perhaps in FELICITAS AVG) to Pax or whatever .. but it's a start I hope. Maybe look here: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/vespasian/t.html Though as I say, it might still be a copy .. .

I'm afraid the Google links just take me to a search page. However I think I can make out the legend IMP CEA L(?) VESP AVG which would make it a coin of Vespasian. This sort of thing perhaps: A pic of the reverse of the coin might help. I'm assuming it's bronze or similar. The diameter might be useful too. I have to say, on first impressions my feeling is that this is a modern copy. The laurel wreath is quite crude and the odd legend doesn't fit with a regular issue coin. The portrait looks more like Constantius than Vespasian to me. However, Roman coins aren't my area, so I could be completely wrong! .

Welcome Mian. Very difficult to ID without a photo I'm afraid. Perhaps this will help? http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/7880-posting-pics/ Oh, and if you manage to get a photo up let us know the diameter (and weight if possible) as that helps too! .

I've tried Acetone on a couple of gunky copper coins and it did the trick, getting the worst of the dirt out of the incuse bits and from around the detail, which is what I wanted. I didn't notice any adverse effect on the coins but neither was exactly BU to start with. I also attempted to remove what I thought was marker pen from a hammered shilling. Didn't shift it at all, so I guess it must just be odd toning (maybe it lay for years on some string or leather cord?) ... unless Acetone doesn't work the way I thought it did. Anyway I don't fancy dipping the coin, so I'll just have to live with it.

LOL I'm pretty sure coinage initially circulated across the border for its English equivalent. A Scots 12 shilling coins was marked XII, similarly six shillings VI, exactly the same as their English counterparts. I'm guessing a Scots 2/- will therefore have been accepted for 2d in England. Of course, the standard of coinage in Scotland was 0.916 fine silver, compared to sterling (0.925) across the border in England. But I doubt that would have bothered most people as I can't imagine many would have recognised the subtleties of a thistle over a lis mark and so not known they were in effect being short changed. However when subsequently the denominations were changed North of the border, those might have been received less willingly... .

Egyptian or Indian cotton Vicky?