TomGoodheart

I think picking up a few good coins that are easily available can be fun. Then you can start to look at things like first year of issue, or examples of major obv/ rev design changes or whatever takes your fancy later. 1787 shillings for example exist in large numbers in better grades. Similarly the 1887 Jubilee Head. While I'm not sure how accurate the actual prices are, those on Tony Clayton's site give you an idea of which are the commoner years for the various denominations. http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/values/onesh.html Obviously everything depends on individual budget, but I reckon you could get a Geo III shilling with good 'eye appeal' for around £20-£30. I reckon you'd be hard pressed to get a US coin from 100 years later in as nice condition for that amount. Just an idea, Rob was kind enough to pick me out some Russian coins as a gift for someone and I got a lovely selection for a very reasonable price. If you didn't mind which years the coins were issued, getting a selection in decent grade from a dealer would both save on say eBay, where you'd pay postage on individual coins, and likely get you a better selection than could be found on US sites or your LCS sirdizzy?

I tend to think of myself as tall and handsome. For the issue. That what you had in mind Peter?

The main problem with U.S. grading of English Coins, is there are no good grading books on this side of the pond. Most Dealers here, as a result, grade their English coins, one or two grades above what they really are...doing grading by guesswork. Derek's book on grading has helped correct some of those problems...for those who have the book. The real problem is most U.S. Graders and collectors don't have Derek's book! I agree, it's partly to do with experience in that if you've not seen enough examples to know whether a coin is prone to wear in particular areas it's hard to grade accurately. There was a discussion on coincommunity about an Australian coin and while there was a consensus from the Aus collectors, even looking on the ANDA website I just couldn't see it being as highly graded as everyone else (apart from Peter!) said. As for hammered, well! I've seen overgrading from dealers in the US who should know better and also undergrading. The former I can sort of understand since the expectations for how much to pay for a coin from the 16-1700s in the US can be quite different than here and maybe you need the grade higher to justify the price! But the undergrading is, I'm sure, down to lack of knowledge about the more pronounced variations in strike that occurs with hammered coinage. Probably best to stick to one grading system. Particularly when buying, it's probably safest to use the standards that are used in the country of origin. The problem then comes if you want to sell a say, US, coin in the UK. If your crown was a Barber dollar I suspect it would be most acceptable in that grade and command a decent price. Here, as others have said it's an acceptable beginners coin but could be improved upon without breaking the bank. Comparing between international grading systems is a bit of a minefield IMHO!

Oh, forgot to mention. Remember our 'silver' coinage was only silver (0.925) to 1919. From 1920 to 1946 it was only 50% and from 1947 there have been no currency "silver" coins, all being CuNi. OK, metal content doesn't always have relevance to the price of numismatic coins. But if you're bin picking, don't spend 'silver' money on things like Churchill Crowns or even the E II Coronation or Festival of Britain (1951) ones. They are common enough to find for a few quid and have no bullion value.

Hi and welcome sirdizzy! I'm afraid albums aren't really my thing. I suspect the one I found with a quick eBay search was the silver type (1901-1954) one you've already seen. I thought I'd seen New Zealand folders but there are none on the Whitman site ... maybe they used to do more but don't now? Did you ask on coincommunity? (Or maybe I'm thinking Dansco ..) Sadly (AFAIK) such albums don't seem as popular over here as in the US. At least I don't know of any UK manufacturers. Maybe because we've had decimal coins for 45 years or so, so there's no chance of picking up any older coins from change for beginners. Plastic sleeve ring-binders for 2x2s are probably a reasonable starter option, though obviously don't have the useful guide pages. It also depends on what quality of coins you plan to collect. If you're spending decent money then perhaps capsules and a tray storage system, coupled with one of Chris' books to guide you to what coins are available? (Just click on the 'Book Range' tab from the link Peckris gave above) Collectors coins GB 2014 might be of interest. Derek's 'Grading British Coins' book can be found (for Kindle) via the Amazon banner ad at the top of any page too. Or maybe someone here has a list of suggested denominations and easier to get dates to start you off. Unfortunately unless you want recommendations on 17th century shillings, I'm of no use I'm afraid!

Thanks Colin! Just what I needed to know.

I just wondered whether there is a Charles I shilling, mint mark Tun listed and illustrated in this sale? (I didn't want to spend time and money searching if the coin I'm interested in isn't there!) Thanks!

It's seriously rubbish and they should be ashamed of themselves. Quite why they can't fix it I don't know. But for a major dealer to have such poor IT in this day and age is ridiculous.

Ah, maybe Spink's website works in Australia Nick, but I simply can't get the archive to work in Internet Explorer. Hasn't done for over a year now. If ever I want to look for anything it would be quicker for me to walk to London and ask them if they could print me a copy ... Better to just look it up on SixBid.

And shillings for me. Price of a Ladybird book or a Fab lolly! And when I found a copy of James Mays' (no relation) The Splendid Shilling and saw they were used world wide .. there was no holding me back!

I believe Rob has the Glendining. 7/8 Dec 1977 English & Foreign gold, silver and copper What date is the Spink sale? This one? Indian, Islamic, British 24/25 Sept 2013

Welcome Jason. I agree with pretty much everyone else here that, while reading about grades and so on is very useful, it needs you to buy some coins before you start to get a feel for what it all means. Post pics here as others do and we'll give you our honest opinion about grade etc. As for storage, Chris sells both small plastic envelopes to put coins in and flips (which are hinged card 'sandwiches' with clear window that allow you to see the coin) here on predecimal. You can opt for an even cheaper option with envelopes. The guys at Colin Cooke sell acid-free paper ones. I use them for coins I pick up out of change and ones that aren't the main part of my collection. All of these are 2"x2" is so will fit in a small box or drawer conveniently. Handy if you tend to 'accumulate' coins like most of us! http://www.colincooke.com/envelopes.html Just be warned that the folders of your youth may not have been made from the inert materials that are used now. PVC in particular is bad for coins. That said, millions of Americans seem to collect coins in card sheets where you put the coin in a hole in the card to display it or in flips which are then put into little pockets in albums. So long as your coins aren't exposed to nasty chemicals, too much damp or salt air and don't knock against each other or slide about much causing damage there's no right or wrong, just what you prefer. I use cheap (paper envelopes), mid-range (a box with trays that sounds like the Lidl one into which I put the coins in plastic flips) and a mahogany coin cabinet.

Though interestingly the sixpence in this lot was listed as mullet over bell ... .. is that wax I see?

Happy Birthday!

The only one I've seen recently was with Workman Books, which is probably the one you're referring to. Try Rob? And if I spot a copy I'll let you know.

Youngster. N00b. ZX81? Hah! Some of us remember the ZX80... When I was a lad, we had quills. Quills? Why animals hadn't even evolved feathers when I were a lad! Fortunately, neither had writing ... we just slapped some clay on the cave wall and called it ug.

Hey! Sylvester! Over 11 years for you isn't it? Good to see you! Wonder what happened to Master jmd, Geoff, Emperor Oli and a few of the others? And where did they years go?

Short answer is, yes. You can get parts of the coin doubled and yet the rest mysteriously appears as it should. Not James, but a similar result for Charlie:

Like Rob, I keep it open on a tab, so pretty much whenever I'm on the internet I'll check. And I admit I'm on a lot, lookin for the barginz. Sometimes for new topics, sometimes to see replies to a post, other times just to check for spam (of which we've been thankfully free recently). .

Someone posted on coincommunity about an 1847 penny with no colon after REG. I believe this is type 2 rev? Not my area but is this of any interest? http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=182459 Anyone help him? Cheers!

Hmm .. difficult to tell from the photos Peter. But my guess is ..ooh, 9.89 grams. Thereabouts.

Not bad Tomo, though you might want to add some side lighting so that the boils cast more of a shadow (can't believe I just typed that LOL!) I find I sometimes have to rotate coins to vary where the shadows lie to best pick out the details I find most important. Bit of trial an error but worth experimenting after all, you're selling the errors (most everyone knows what a 20p piece looks like) so they need to stand out.

Ah, but sometimes I wonder if that's because they have the least supportive public in the world. The number of Americans who post things on the internet about how little they respect or trust their government and would like to do away with it all might make anyone paranoid! America feels to me like a paradox, on the one hand criticising certain elements for wanting to live by standards and cultural norms established in the middle ages and yet seeing no parallel with a constitution apparently drafted for life in the wild west...

Chas Shilling You said can click. But not whether it would be one you'd want to buy at that price!

There are some shiny pennies in this auction and I know some people like that sort of thing so here's a link for anyone interested that doesn't receive their email newsletters: Stacks Bowers galleries Some trials, patterns and proofs too.