TomGoodheart

1963 or 66 (highest mintages) sovereign? 1960s Maundy set? 1960 polished die (made for sale in New York) crown? (You can just tell modern coins aren't my area, can't you!?)

This coin looks a bit similar. But close inspection shows many small scratches. The 'lustre' here is down to 'whizzing' - polishing in other words:

??? Lustre is a quality of an unworn coin, not something that a coin gains or that can be added by a process. Crudely put, it's a sort of satin sheen: Be interesting to see your photos.

Many businesses (including my employers) have stuck with the tried and tested XP. Our computer at work has a Win7 sticker but that was removed and XP loaded ( ) 8 really seems to have been designed for mobile device use. Unfortunately that doesn't fit what most businesses use. I think Microsoft need to decide whether they can afford to run a business and a mobile package, whether 8 needs tweaking so it will work better on conventional keyboard/ desk based setups, or whether one OS will have to go ...

So I just got charged £16 for an item where no duty was payable and vat should have been under £2.50. I don't mind paying if that's the law, but to have to fork out six times as much as I owe is a bit annoying. Anyone know how long the Border Agency is currently taking to make a decision on BOR286 cases? It's coming up to two weeks and I've not even had an acknowledgement they've received my paperwork yet ...

LOL First (and really only) language I learned was FORTRAN IV when at university. I never saw the hardware - that was in another building - and everything was input using punched cards. Seriously tedious just getting the thing to draw a simple shape, so it's amazing to think that people did actual work on the thing! My second job we had an upgrade and they showed us all this box a bit smaller than a suitcase and told us it held 5GB. I was blown away by that. FIVE GIGS! Of course nowadays the next door neighbour's cat has more processing power in the chip on his collar than was needed to run the spaceshuttle. Trouble is, everything just eats the stuff. We'd be able to do so much more if only we could find a way to write programmes for a machine that has, let's say, only 128kB .. oh, wait ...

I had this problem when my Vista based laptop gave up the ghost Debbie. I opted for 7, partly because 8 seemed so geared to touch screens and I wanted another laptop. I also prefer the 'traditional' desktop and easy access to things like the control panel. I'm happy with it. I use Internet Explorer 11 and really, apart from the lack of some on screen gadgets (I only managed to get a clock whereas before I had a few more) it works just the same. I have a Toshiba laptop and it takes a few seconds to come out of hibernate which is what I wanted as I tend to keep many Explorer windows open simultaneously and it's a pain to have to reopen them! I transferred all my bookmarks and most files from a memory stick, even set it up with the same desktop wallpaper within a few minutes. All very smooth. Of course, I freely admit I've never tried 8, so can't comment on that, just that I'm happy with 7!

Several French coins used to be struck in Aluminium Bronze. And the current "Nordic Gold" used for mid size Euro coins is a variant. Trouble is, lots of coins are made of the stuff. A list of coins the Mint makes for other countries and their specifications would have been useful. In the meantime: http://colnect.com/en/coins/countries/composition/30-Aluminium_Bronze if it helps at all.

I find it works only if I right click and open in a new tab. Maybe try that?

Welcome and congrats Oli. If I may make a suggestion, you could do worse than get Chris to send you Collectors Coins GB as part of your prize. Then when you do find a coin you can look it up and find out a bit more about it. I know it may not seem as much fun as a bag of coins, but long-term I'm sure you'll find it useful!

Well, you're not alone! We all probably start off picking up things we like. In my case some of what I liked was too expensive for my budget, so I narrowed it down! Until recently of course, when I got bored of waiting for coins I wanted to turn up and decided to start on a 'theme' based collection, rather than denomination, metal or period, just for fun. The bottom line is that a collection is a personal thing. If you like seeing all the same value coins, fine. If you like diversity, that's fine too. It doesn't really matter. The key things, buy better grade examples where you can and learn a bit about what you're collecting, hold true whatever it is that you collect. The first because if ever you do want or need to sell (or pass on to family) your coins, better grades tend to do .. well, better! Plus you see more of the design of the coin as it was intended by the designer! The second because it avoids overpaying for commoner or poor condition coins, gives you perspective on what is available so you can plan your purchases and helps you recognise the actually rare, as opposed to eBay rare! Of course you don't even have to stick to these. If you're happy with well circulated examples, that's fine too. Whatever works for you really. You're a coin collector. How you define it beyond that, well, that's up to you!

If you did ever want one, physically older branches in market towns might be your best bet. None of the branches that have been built in my town since the late 1970s seem to have been designed with space for such a facility, whereas in my Grandparent's day it was routine for the Manager to offer, not only to store documents for known customers, but small valuables as well as part of the service. I'm sure Coutts still do. If you bank with them! Other banks that have them, there is often a waiting list. An alternative is that in some cities there are independent companies that let people to store jewellery etc in facilities like that Rob described with secure dual key, 24 hour access. But I don't think they are yet common nationwide. Bit of a gap in the market, maybe? For many, particularly those starting out collecting, I suspect that keeping quiet about collecting, having decent home security (perhaps including an alarm system if you don't own the Hound of the Baskervilles like Peter does) and making sure you check what's covered on your home insurance policy, will do. I'm sure we discussed this topic before and my conclusion was that there's no fun in collecting if it then makes you nervous about security or you can't discuss your purchases with close friends. But everyone is different. IMHO. .

Well done Chris actually. I'd say that, judging by others I've frequented, it's not so common for a forum to be thriving after ten years! Once the original enthusiasm and earlier members move on these things seem to dwindle and fold. So there must be something abut predecimal that people find useful/ helpful / fun or whatever, for it to still be attracting members (and not just those that drop in twice and disappear) after all this time. So .. well done everyone! And in particular mein host, or should that be unser Gastgeber Chris!

Pft. Young whippersnapper! I'm not even middle-aged! For a Hobbit anyway.

My only reservations about that is that the bank I use simply place cases in a storage area where staff come and go all day. As far as I can tell, it isn't protected in any way from damp, flooding etc. And most banks seem to be removing the facility. I had to opt for a town miles away as no banks where I live offer safe storage. Not very convenient if you, like me, enjoy looking at your coins regularly. Plus there's an 'inspection' fee of a few quid. My thinking is that my coins are circulated and have survived being handled for many generations and part of the pleasure of having a collection is to be able to look at it. Others may feel differently. Plus I get several £000 coverage as part of my home insurance. Only items over £1000 individual value need specifying, so depending on how soon you start buying serious rarities or gold you may find your home insurance adequate. Bottom line is collecting should be a pleasure. If having your coins in a bank helps you sleep easier, great. If you like to access them when you want, keeping the fact that you collect quiet (people can get strange ideas about the value of coin collections) and concealing them at home may be adequate. Your choice.

I reckon storage is largely down to personal preference, though price and long term flexibility might be a consideration. Options range from a few pence (Colin Cooke sell acid-free envelopes suitable for coins, though obviously you can't view them without taking them out, at least there's plenty of space to write notes for your records!) to a personally made coin cabinet. I have one of Peter Nichols' The advantage is that you can select trays with coin recesses to the size you wish. In my case, all my coins are the same denomination, so the trays are the same. It has a traditional feel, helped by the fact that I use coin 'tickets'; small paper discs upon which you can write information about your coin. As several of my coins came with earlier collectors' tickets I think it's a nice way to store them all. My 'secondary' collection is made up of coins of differing sizes and so I use a similar system to many others in that the coins are in 2x2s. Called 2x2s because they are around 2 inches square. Usually these are card with mylar windows: though I have some plastic ones I bought years ago. Mine then sit in coin storage trays (Chris sells the Lindner version) though some people use albums (like photo albums but with little pockets in the pages as pictured above) to hold the 2x2s, which can be a bit cheaper. Another option is to use coin trays but with round recesses to hold the coins directly or in plastic 'capsules' Again, Chris's supplies (click on the predecimal.com link top of the page) include these. Main thing is to ensure you use new products that were designed for coin storage as these will be safe (no pvc or acids that can damage the coin). Finally, there are coin 'flips' transparent plastic envelopes or double envelopes (one for the coin, one for a card to write details on). If you buy mylar ones these should be safe, but I'd suggest not using ones you might receive coins in when you buy them as it's difficult to know if they contain pvc. Paper envelopes from dealers and auction houses should in theory be acid free and hence safe! As sound says, best to consider record keeping now as part of your storage and security. So it's worth keeping records of what you have, where you got it and how much it cost. Additional details like grade, likely value .. up to you. I use an excel spreadsheet, coin tickets, photographs and retain receipts/ copies of ebay/ dealer listings and keep electronic copies on memory sticks. Recreating records later after you've bought a few dozen coins will be tedious, a few hundred .. well, like I say, best start now! Also gives you a way to keep track of what you have (avoiding duplicates) and what's needed. The collection might be worth but a few quid now but .. who knows what it might cost you to replace it I a few years time? .

Thanks Chris!

More of a commemorative that happens to be bullion than a coin by the sound of it. I suspect there are few collectors for that sort of specific product, so as Chris says, the value of the gold is what matters. £200 sounds about right, but if the certificate confirms the carat of the gold you can double check here: http://www.hattongardenmetals.com/sell-scrap-gold.aspx They offer a fairer price than many. If you're willing to take a chance you might get more on eBay, though there are no guarantees. Of course, whatever you do, avoid high street gold stalls. They will offer you a lot less.

What!?!? Me?? Gosh. Who knew? (Not me obviously!) I'm not sure if that's brilliant or a bit sad, but thanks everyone! And don't worry about going to the trouble of a gold watch. A sovereign will do just fine!

I received my 5 Centimes today. Haven't had a chance to photograph it, so I've had to edit the original images. In the hand it's a really nice chocolatey brown which I suspect won't come across properly, despite my tweaking. Anyway I am very happy with it!

Reminds me of a favourite quote from Richard Lobel's intro to the Coincraft catalogue: "One of my first mentors, Bill Ross,[] said 'when you go to value a coin it is what you have not seen rather than what you have seen that matters'. By that he meant that, when you see a coin you have never seen before, forget what it catalogues, it is rare!

mcsearch's companion site, acsearch Heritage have good archives though you need registration (for free) to access to better photos CNG have a decent search function and some nice coins Hosting sites like Sixbid, LiveAuctioneers the-saleroom.com and numisbids Christies have some sales archived Noble.com.au

I'm still curious about the bike! I was behind a TX1 the other day and I have to say, it didn't look terribly wide. I wondered if you'd need to remove both back and front wheels, or it would be sufficient to take the back one off and rely on the fact that you can twist the front round to fit in the space.

It was just one coin. More of a swap than an actual deal. But then I got the bug. Six months down the line, here I am in a dingy bedsit with a rolled up shilling up me nose ..

Looks like Chris has some competition! :lol: