TomGoodheart

I am starting to wonder if grading hasn't .. slipped a bit everywhere. Certainly I've noticed a few dealers who worked for major companies before setting up on their own being ... more generous with their grading than they would ever have been allowed to get away with earlier in their career. Oh, and this caught my eye the other day. Coin on the left was graded 'generally good fine, better in places' when sold by Bonhams in 2006. Coin on the right, currently on sale through Baldwins graded .. very fine. OK, the difference between good fine and very fine is not great and there is some subjectivity ... but doesn't very fine sound better? And probably will command a better price too.

Well, there's always vcoins, which operates like that and does have some UK dealers. I think the nice thing about online was that it was (AFAIK) smaller dealers who used it and, though I never met him, Andy provided a friendly service. As I say, in its day there were some good coins there. Maybe it's just easier to set up your own website now and those who would have joined online have done their own thing? Or maybe it was down to turnover in the end? I know the dealer sites I visit most often are those that regularly add new stock.

Yes, it's basically a follow on from the research done on calorie restriction and longevity. But in a more managable form for people who don't have a team of doctors and nutritionists to advise them on their precise calorific requirements and ensure they are getting the optimum nutrition from their restricted diet.

Something to do with those polished Churchill crowns:

That's an excellent idea. I did try to do something similar with Google Custom Searches, but it doesn't work exactly like I'd hoped. I wanted to search for a specific coin across a list of dealers websites. It'd be great if someone could do that, and I can't believe I'm the only one who'd like to be able to do it. Chris!!!! We have a new project for you!

Looks in decent condition so don't be tempted to clean it as this will leave little fine scratches that detract from the appearance (and value) and store it somewhere it won't knock against other coins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9_vGtbjHPQ Anyone else see this programme? 'Background' article here: Eat, Fast, Live Longer

I'm not entirely sure, but I believe that Andy Bruce who used to run it either left, or took a back seat. When I last looked at his ebay listings they were all for furniture. For some time now I think the only active seller has been Rendel Ingram, who has mentioned in recent listings that photos of coins were unavailable because the site had run out of bandwidth. I did try to email Andy a while back (he's a member here too) but got no reply. And Rendel has his own site where he lists coins. I guess you could email him? http://www.ringramcoins.com/english_coins_antique_coins_catalogue.shtml But I'm assuming the site may be broken with nobody available to fix it. Sad. I got quite a few very decent coins from Andy, most of which I still have in my collection.

Interesting. The bit at the bottom might indicate (regnal) year 29, but beyond that .. no idea! My only suggestion is somewhere like cointalk forum or you might try Tim Wilkes. Never spoken to the chap, but he specialises in Indian and Islamic coins and this looks a bit like one of those to me!

Showing your age John. One day you'll be old enough to be happy with a Glenlivet and not the blonde from down the road. That's when to really complain!

Meh... As everyone knows, milled coins aren't my forte. That would be eating mince pies, but setting that aside, I personally can't see anything EF about your shilling Dave. For that I would expect the garter to be crisper and the letters sharper. I did once have a Charley II shilling where you could read the garter motto. I know some coins are softly struck (William III's seem particularly prone to this). But I would grade as gVF.

Mughal maybe? India? Half rupee? Size (diameter in mm) and a pic of other side of the coin might help Hax!

FUTURE CURRENCY. SURVIVAL. POST APOCALYPSE. BOOK OF ELI. MAD MAX. "IT'S STARTED ALREADY, HYPER INFLATION, NATIONAL DEBT, CURRENCIES STARTING TO FAIL. WE'VE ALL SEEN THE MOVIES, POST APOCALYPSE, MONEY, ANY MONEY, WILL BE WORTHLESS. SO AFTER THE PROVERBIAL FAN HAS BEEN WELL AND TRULY HIT WE WILL BE BACK TO THE BARTER SYSTEM, TRADING IN ANYTHING THAT IS OF VALUE TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE. SO WHAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE HUMAN RACE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT, VITAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES, EASILY CARRIED IN CONVENIENTLY SMALL INDIVIDUAL SEALED BLUE SACHETS? WHO KNOWS WHAT FUTURE VALUE THESE WILL HAVE?. I HAVE SPENT MANY YEARS BUILDING UP THIS COLLECTION ( APPROXIMATELY 150 IN 1 GRAM SACHETS )OF INFLATION PROOF "FUTURE CURRENCY" FROM ( JUST IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T GUESSED YET ), CERTAIN BAGS OF THINLY SLICED FRIED POTATO SNACKS, NOT FROM "SALT YOUR OWN" OR OTHER GENERIC COPIES, BUT FROM THE ORIGINATORS OF SAID SNACK. SOME OF THE SACHETS ARE INCREDIBLY RARE, YOU KNOW SOMETIMES WHEN YOU OPEN A PACK AND NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU SEARCH THE SACHET IS MISSING, THEN MONTHS LATER THE MISSING ONE TURNS UP IN A DIFFERENT BAG ALONG WITH ANOTHER ONE! I MEAN, HOW LUCKY IS THAT? THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE OF THESE IN THIS COLLECTION, BUT SINCE I DROPPED THEM I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES THEY ARE NOW, PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT A BIT MORE ABOUT THAT ONE. ANYWAY, SOMETHING HAS CROPPED UP THAT I NEED ORDINARY " MONEY" FOR AND THE PEOPLE AT THE DEALERSHIP DON'T APPEAR TO HAVE THE SAME FORESIGHT REGARDING THE FUTURE VALUE OF THESE AS I DO! SO UNFORTUNATELY I WILL HAVE TO TRADE EARLIER THAN EXPECTED. SO BE PREPARED, GET SOME FUTURE PROOF CURRENCY NOW BEFORE EVERYONE CATCHES ON OR HEAVEN FORBID I'M BOUGHT OUT BY BILLY GATES. "

I see their cataloguing is its usual amusing shambles. Philip? tetradrachm? Hey, let's list that under 'T' for The Roman Province of Syria and Cilicia, after 64 B.C., silver tetradrachm, wt. 15.6g., in the name of Philip Philadelphos ... ..idiots.

Yeah, I don't think you did anything wrong Chris. As Azda says, we had a problem with spam and quite a few new accounts were purged. Looks like yours was accidentally included. But hey, at least we get to say "Welcome" again!

What everyone else said! Basically the differential between lower grade coins and the better ones seems to keep increasing. Which means, as Peck said, buying the best example you can will normally be the best course. The problem being, learning what grade (condition) a coin is, rather than what someone (particularly on ebay!) claims! And while some people do collect anything and everything, it helps the learning process if you narrow down the types of coins you are looking for. Some types of coins can be had quite easily within your budget. Very nice copper pennies for example can be had for £50 to £300. Whereas silver crowns will, in general, be quite a bit pricier and when you get to Civil War siege coins ... well, you'll need to save your pennies a bit more! You need to buy something that appeals to you. But it can also be frustrating if you can only afford one or two purchases a year. (My budget is so small, I'm in that situation! I'd be happy with £100 a month!) So your choice might need to be a compromise. So, despite the temptation, I'd suggest not rushing in. Read a bit, borrow a coin book from the library, or buy one from Chris who runs this site. Decide what you like and check prices to see how many you can afford. And remember, there's a wealth of knowledge from members here, all to be had for free. Ask questions, I've found it's the best way to learn.

When I did a search (search " Histria coin Gemini" ) there were a lot of these about. And virtually all on ebay. Now I'm not saying that someone knocked out thousands of modern copies of the things and I don't know the area so can't comment on authenticity .. but when you see something unusual and the only source is ebay .. it does make me cautious. Edit. I did a search on vcoins for Thrace and some came up under 'Istros', so maybe they're fine. The diameter will tell whether it's a stater, drachm or whatever. The two heads are the Twins / gemini /Doiscuri.

I had a look to see if Lindner still make the budget coin case I have which has 160x260mm trays, but it appears not I'm afraid. Hopefully someone else can help. They still do a 165x 165 box, but it only has 9 spaces http://www.predecimal.com/coin-case-with-square-compartments-lindner-2005-p-18040.html?

Billon is largely copper I believe, with a small amount of silver either mixed in or as a wash. I understand a Cuartillo is a quarter of a Real, so quite a small denomination, maybe equivalent to twopence? Value? Not my area I'm afraid, but a search showed a few similar on ebay and the following auction results: mcsearch so my guess is that, unless the mint or variety are scarce, then in this condition, not so much. You might be lucky though and get £20 on ebay? An interesting find though ...

My guess is that it's Spanish. A billon coin of Castile & Leon, probably Henry IV (Enrique) though the name is difficult to make out. At 27mm maybe a Cuartillo? Cuartillo The star to the left of the bust may signify the Cuenca mint. Like this ...Maybe!

I hope your presents include some coins!!

Sounds like a good start to the wonderful obsession hobby of coin collecting!

Photobucket is a site to which you can upload photos from your computer. They can be viewed there, or it gives you a url (web address) that you can paste somewhere else, like in a post, and the link makes your picture appear. As for storing coins (and bearing in mind modern ones will be of maybe historical interest but unlikely to be of much financial value) the key things are to avoid them rubbing or knocking against each other and to keep them dry and away from chemicals such as perfume, cigarette smoke. There are lots of ways to do that. A chocolate type box with partitions would work. My Dad used to just fold coins in small pieces of paper, though the acids in paper can change the colour (tone) of some metals. More fancy options are albums or trays (Chris who runs Predecimal sells all sorts of storage options. Just click on the predecimal.com link near the top of the page) Anyway, welcome. And remember we're a friendly bunch, (though obviously being coin collectors, a bit odd!) so if you have any other questions, ask away!

I was thinking this very thing this morning as, thanks to Rob's brilliant detective work, I was delighted to discover that I actually already own an ex Grant Francis and Lockett coin! Not bad for no additional purchase! It does feel to me that provenance information is lost (or just not passed on) too readily nowadays. Whereas some people seem to fall over themselves to buy coins just because someone else has assigned them a grade. Yes, I know that a previous owner is no automatic guarantee to quality or even authenticity. But I do believe that having bought a coin from a reputable dealer or collector doesn't hurt, particularly when it comes to selling it on. Whereas a TPG grade, as we all know, can on occasions change upon resubmission. Because grading will always be subjective. And of course, grade is only one aspect of what gives a coin 'eye appeal' and desirability. [/rant]

I certainly hope not!