TomGoodheart

I noticed that Peter Nichols now do medal cabinets and I thought "If I replace two of my current trays (because medal trays are the depth of two coin ones) with what is effectively a drawer, that will sort where to put envelopes and other paperwork that doesn't fit in the coin recesses!" Just under £10 + post for something made to order - stained and with the knobs aligned to match my existing trays - doesn't seem too bad at all! Now I'm going to get back to looking for auctions that have a reasonable number of Charles I shillings illustrated in the catalogue. So if anyone has suggestions for sale catalogues I might not have, do please let me know! I should say I'm only interested in Tower issues. So it will probably be a sale from the last 40 years. They weren't considered rare enough to spend the money on illustrating much before the 1970s, unless it was a well-known specialist collection. Anyone else got any coin-related requests on their list this year?

Perhaps an abbreviation of shiny bright? Something like ... SHIGHT would do, no? .

201225154593 ex Lockdales. But sadly at 4.8g, probably also ex a workshop in Lancashire like these: http://www.forgerynetwork.com/asset.aspx?id=h/nbQ~x~5QgFs= .

I believe you can submit via a dealer in London? http://www.ngccoin.com/services/dealer-listing.aspx?services=assists-collectors-with-submissions And I presume you know about these guys? http://www.coingradingservices.co.uk/ You might find they will recognise varieties better than a US TPGS. .

Depends on the token. Some were used as coins when the official issues weren't sufficient to provide people with small change and otherwise business would have suffered. Others were used to advertise services and presumably handed out with change. Others .. maybe just souvenirs? Advertising token: US 'Civil War' Token which I think were used as change: Money of necessity (struck during Spanish Civil war to provide local currency) .

Nice one Tomo. And I'm glad your finding the forum useful. I know I certainly do! And well done Garrett. Looks like Scott has some homework to do! .

I guess the problem is mintages don't tell you much about survival. And obviously there was the further re-coinage in 1816. I don't know whether there might be anything else in the BJN ... I've not done a proper search. Either way, their archive is a useful asset. Here ... Rob seems to be the man with all the esoteric facts to hand. Not sure if he can add anything but you could pm him? .

Not my area I'm afraid Arthur. But you might find something in "Some notes on the great recoinage of William III, 1695-1699 " in the British Numismatic Journal? Eleventh article down, by Philip Nelson: http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/1906.shtml .

There are quite a few variations amongst Victorian coinage, some are particularly rare. I presume the London one was a rare variety, however it's not my area I'm afraid. Hopefully someone with knowledge in that area will chip in in due course! .

As far as I can tell coins with die numbers are rare trial pieces that entered circulation. The number would be below the date. But I can't see any sign of one in your photo I'm afraid. I'll leave it for someone else to give a grade and confirm what I've said. In the meantime, welcome! .

Everyone is different but I will say that when I first started I bought lots of coins to fill gaps. However with time I have come to realise a lot of them were pretty poor. More importantly I just don't get any thrill when I look at the things. Whereas the better examples I still enjoy. Coins are little bits of art. A good deal of time and effort was put into their design and execution and for the most part you only get an appreciation for that when a coin is over a certain grade. To my mind a bargain is only a bargain if you're happy with your purchase a year or so down the line. If you feel (as I occasionally do) you'd really rather have the money you spent back, to buy something now with your greater knowledge and understanding then it perhaps wasn't such a bargain? Just my view of course. .

Basically, unless a coin is so rare there's no price because no examples exist in that grade, the lack of a price means it's of little commercial value. That doesn't mean it has no collector value (just look at things selling on eBay!) nor that a dealer won't give it a price (they have to cover overheads, postage and other costs so unless it's in a pick-it-yourself bin for 10p you might still have to pay £1!) I believe most guides have a minimum of £1 below which it's considered pointless taking time to guess a price! The general guide is buy the best you can. If no value is given for VF then there are probably enough decent examples for you to aim for UNC. Of course, if you like a coin and it gives you pleasure to own, who cares what grade it is? Just don't spend too much on it! .

All I know is I collect coins because I like them. The only time value comes into it is when I want to buy something and need to raise money by selling another coin to purchase it! Coins are completely separate from any investments and sadly for the government I am a very poor citizen in economic terms. I rarely buy the sort of high end items I see colleagues sporting like smartphones and iPads. My car is now 4 years old and I have no intention to change it. We pay off all bills at the end of the month and live within our means. (Not so sure about daughter but, hey, what's a student loan for eh?!) Revitalise the economy? No thanks. I'm just going to sit here and hold on to as much as I can for when I retire. The coins? Less than 5% of my total wealth. I only consider myself well off because I can afford (thanks Mum and Dad and Grandpa) to buy what I'd like. If I had a similar 'net worth' back in the 19th century I would probably have been in a similar position I guess. But collecting would undoubtedly been more of a challenge due to my antisocial nature making obtaining information, exchanges like this and finding material to buy far more difficult. . .

Happy Birthday John!

My personal view as an exclusively on-line collector is that I'm better off now! The ease with which information can be gathered and referred to I'm sure makes collecting a simpler task than it used to be. Plus where I would have had to write a letter to another collector who might then have introduced me to someone sharing my interests, I now just send an email and get a friend's opinion on a coin within minutes. Similarly I can and have bought worldwide as far as the US, Australia and Europe. In the old days it would have taken far more effort to find stock or auctions internationally and likely I would have had to fork out significant sums to be on the mailing list of a comparable number of dealers as I am able to access by the internet. Yes, there are star coins that have disappeared to museums or collections I will never access. Though as a care worker, probably these would not have been within my budget when they were available to collectors. But I only started collecting about 10 years ago. Looking at relatively contemporary collections such as Brooker's and even Ashby or Hughes' there are some great coins. But there are also some that I feel I have a better example, or at least a comparatively acceptable one. So the fact that I can't afford a Lockett / Murdoch/ Montague provenance coin is not one that troubles me greatly. I look for the best I can find, or what I feel has good eye appeal and that satisfies me. And who knows? With a bit of luck in a decade people will be complaining that they can't find coins to compete with those from my collection! ... Or a huge hoard will be discovered containing enough top grade rarities to satisfy the entire next generation of collectors! .

When I buy things at auction it is with the intention of keeping them in my collection, so really the only question is whether I think it's a fair price to pay or not. Yes, I'm aware of the 'add ons', but I am essentially a collector and so in it for the longer term. When selling I only sell individual coins to (ideally) recoup what I paid so I can put the money towards upgrades and additions to the collection. So it's not worth my while going to an auction house. My preference is another enthusiast collector, then I know the coin is going to 'a good home'. Plus we'll probably be able to agree on the price whereas dealers who don't particularly know the area won't recognise the rarities etc. Next best is to part exchange with a dealer for a coin I want and then a fair way down and third choice is eBay. eBay is not perfect. But it's simple to use, waiting time is minimised and has a huge audience with costs that are not exorbitant.

A kind member here whose name shall remain secret Declan, once reminded me that modern coins such as George V halfcrowns were struck in the millions. For many years of issue excellent examples still exist in decent quantities. So it's worth holding out for a nice one. Edges and all! .

Personally, as well as keeping records of coins I'm interested in I find a Google image search can be useful. I pick out coins from dealers and compare prices and stated grades to get a better idea of how what I'm looking at compares. Just an idea ... .

It sort of depends what you mean by 'auction sites' John. There aren't any quite like (or as big as) eBay. However many auction houses have their own websites if that's what you mean? DNW, Spink and Baldwins are the big ones. London Coins, Warwick& Warwick, Lockdales are others I've used. Or quite a few use sites like sixbid numisbids invaluable and the saleroom.com That help? .

eBay is the answer Sparkey! People list things at whatever price they want. If some fool is happy to be parted with his money it will sell .... but that doesn't mean that's what one should pay. Or what something is worth. Meaning what you'll get back if ever you try to sell. As for grading, well we all know that there's a tendency to grade higher when selling than when buying .. Hence the importance of learning about grading yourself so you rely less on others opinions. .

I only collect coins that I like. Hence someone else's opinion is largely irrelevant and it would come out of the slab to go in the trays. Of course the label would be retained, just as I keep old tickets and envelopes. They are part of the provenance and history of the coin. If however I bought it in the hopes of selling it on for a profit, the slabbing might play a part in that. And even if not, I'd probably leave it for the future owner to decide. Easy enough to unslab a coin. Difficult to put them back! .

Sorry Stuart. Elizabethan busts are still an arcane science where I'm concerned. But good luck anyway! .

251720770217 Sadly for the seller, ultrasonic cleaning doesn't make it any more genuine. .

LOL And yes, I can see it too. Do you know how often this '2 phenomenon' comes up Stuart? Just for a moment I wondered if it was a way of a particular die-maker identifying their work. But then correcting it seems to confirm that it was just an error .. and were I to want to identify my work, I'd probably find a subtler way .. a dot in the centre of an O or something ... Sorry, just waffling! .

Not exactly, Rob. I'm still adding coins to hide the felt! Just now, rather than aiming for one of each type/ variety in any condition, I have more duplicates with equivalent - albeit different - good features. Yes, the long-term aim is still to complete the collection from A1/1 to H3/2, with all privy marks and all coins with sufficient 'eye appeal' to give me that sense of satisfaction! But I now accept that it may never be finished! .