TomGoodheart

Nice! I've still to pick an example of the Dupuis bust for my little collection. Of course, I have lots of other gaps too!

Arrived today. KM 571 Portugal 20 Centavos 1920 CuNi 6g, 23 mm :

To be honest Demon, it isn't compulsory to specialise. Nor is it necessary to actually "finish" a collection! It's whatever gives you the most pleasure. If you prefer a structure and pattern when you look at your coins, fine. But as for example Rob says, sometimes it's fun just to break your own rules and buy something because it's nice! So long as you keep up the grades/ upgrading it sounds like you're on the right track. Anyway, welcome again and keep us updated on what you decide!

And they seem to have used pretty much the same bust only in reverse for coins of Angola! It's been fun just looking for variations!

Hi Lee. I started collecting shillings. Partly because I remember spending them, so had a connection to them. Partly I liked the size of coin. And partly because I found a book about them (James Mays 'The Splendid Shilling') so I had a reference for what was available. A year or so down the line I realised that I was never going to be able to afford an example of every different bust/reverse. Things like my Charles II and 'Northumberland' shillings bit into my budget and I had lot more to go. So in the end I specialise in hammered shillings made at the Tower of London Mint during the reign of Charles I. That might not sound like much but there are around 30 portraits and 20 reverse types. Recently it's been difficult to find new coins too add. Prices have gone up, I now prefer better condition coins and I have a fair few of the key ones. Plus good quality coins of most reigns have been scarce recently. So I started a side-line collection of coins with Marianne/ Liberty / The Republic pictured on them (see here for thread, post 143 on-) I've never tried collecting by 'theme' before and I'm finding it an inexpensive and fun way to keep the collecting interest going!

And I got this. Yes, I see the spot and dint on the cheek, but to me it's sharper than most. Particularly the obverse which just seems to be softly struck on other examples I've seen. Yes, I could have got better. But for £30 more which, as I'm trying to stick to lower cost coins, I decided I couldn't justify to get an example of this design. Shrink it to the size of a shilling (23mm) and I'm hoping it will look quite nice.

LOL And of course I meant T Humphrey Paget. It was late last night! And see, this is where my lack of grading skills for modern stuff let me down.. It looks nice to me. Seems shiny (as in lustre, as opposed to polished). But it's not amazingly crisp, so .. does it still count as BU? It's just under half-crown size at 30.5mm. I know that doesn't affect the grade, but the size of a coin can sometimes affect what we expect in terms of detail, no? I should have bought Derek's book when I had the chance. Though of course, modern stuff is a very recent interest .. so buying it made no sense at the time!

Another Brit connection. A Dominican Republic half Peso. If you look carefully you should be able to spot Thomas Hugh Paget's initials under the bust. This issue having been struck by the Royal Mint. And yes, I know it's not Marianne! But ... well, it's a 'native princess' version of Liberty. It's my collection. I get to decide the rules. And I liked it, so there! Edit. Damn. Just noticed a little scritch on the rev. Oh, well. And there was me going on about looking carefully!

I've never really fallen for lustre. It's nice, sure. But it's darn difficult to photograph. And the tiniest mark .. .. so I'd go for grade too. All coins start with lustre. But not all are sharply struck, Grasshopper.

Sheesh. I mention Bolton AND it's a copper coin .. c'mon guys, I'm doing my best here!

Not mine, but a couple of oddities I chanced across. First money of necessity (I believe). Struck at Bolton's Soho mint for use in France: And the next .. er, dunno. Lead or tin apparently. For Bolivia. Presumably a medal, but using a familiar obv design: Anyone know any different, feel free to enlighten me!

I like the King, urging on his unicorns (?)! I guess the only problem I'm having so far is shipping costs have generally been equal to the price of the coin(s)! Which is fine if I factor it in. But it makes me hesitate to pick up the odd coin here and there for a couple of quid. Shame there isn't the equivalent of Amazon's free Super Saver dispatch. Or a way to combine purchases from several different dealers! And I was just wondering whether you, Scott and I can keep this thread going to the extent of the British New Acquisitions one? After all, only another 280 pages to go!

Et, un autre: Silver (well, 0.68) 20 Francs. 35mm and 20g, so a bit chunkier than the others. Didn't think just under £16 including shipping was too bad. Particularly as it's coming from the other side of the world

It was just the convenience of buying a few coins all at once Scott! As for rarity, I'm not too worried about that, I just want nice examples. Though buying 'away from home' is right. I was looking at Barber dimes and half dollars. They can be picked up for a lot less if you don't buy from the US!

Colombia, 1 Centavo 1952. Nickel clad steel, 2g, 17mm:

I seem to remember that sixpences are slightly less common than the shillings. And it looks to be a decent example to me, so well done!

Well, my little selection arrived from France today and I'm generally pleased! Not bad for an order placed Wednesday evening. I guess my only niggle observation, in case it helps anyone else in future, is that cgb.fr use stock photos. I evidently missed the drop down for quantities when I bought. In practice that means that I received the Argentinian Dos Centavos I picked, as it was evidently the only one. However the TTB 54 1848 centime was not the coin pictured in the listing. While in the hand it looks decent, although it has a bit of original lustre there's a pinkishness to it that I associate with a quick clean. And there are a few more green spots visible under a lens than the one I thought I was choosing! Sadly, it was the most expensive, ... at £10. The 1939 2F has a tiny spot on the obv, also not on the photo for that grade. On the plus(er) side, the 1948 10F and 1992 1F are better than the photos with less bag marks! So no disaster and a lesson learnt. Now I guess I need to decide about what sort of budget I want to free up for future purchases!

Portuguese 20 Centavos. 23mm CuNi.

I think this (for me) satisfies in a number of areas. There's less opportunity for Wifey to say "but they all look the same!" There are different sizes and metals, but the 'theme' goes back early enough to include some coins that, like Georgian coppers here, were not a model of perfection even fresh from the mint. There's a bit of history to learn about. And as you say, so far it hasn't been expensive. That has to be a good thing!

I'm assuming that Chris (who was on earlier) has rearranged it! Oh yeah. He just said that!

Appears the resident expert agrees with an earlier poster that it is Gotarzes I 87-79 BC. "Reminds me mostly of my own example of Gotarzes I, Arsacid king of Iran, 87-79 B.C. 3.99 g, 23 mm, Ecbatana, Sellwood 29.1"

So if this is a test .. .. did we all pass?

So [sound of cogs whirring] .. you could buy a coin and sell it at a profit .. and then use some of the money to pay for your original purchase. Very interesting.

I just won $8 on the Powerball so I am moving in the right direction "To sleep, perchance to dream" WooHoo! the coins are on jaggy guys!!!