TomGoodheart

One for Chris P's collection, I think!

AFAIK Rob, that you can do by putting in a " - " So a search for " Crowns -Churchill " will leave out any listing with the word "Churchill" in it. Add " -Wedding -Diana " to your search terms and you'll avoid even more offerings ...

I forget who, but someone posted a link recently suggesting ebay is trying to get away from the 'auction' type listings. Sites like Amazon seem to have scared them (and I do wonder if they have finally realised that all their ridiculous changes over the last few years haven't actually made shilling go away) and they are wondering if people don't prefer a 'shop front' format, where you see something, it has a price and you just buy it there and then, to the 'competition' of bidding over a week. Particularly if you then lose out at the last second to someone with a sniping programme! Of course, we all love a bargain and I suspect everyone here has a coin they bought cheap, when the competition just didn't materialise, or that was much better than the photo, much rarer than anyone else appreciated, etc. But I've certainly found myself revisiting my usual favourite dealer sites more and more, and checking ebay less of late. The quality of coin I'm looking for is now rarely found on ebay and there seem to be even more poor quality, vaguely described crap listings than ever. I resent paying hammer price, plus 20% commission, then 20% vat (plus postage) to traditional auction houses. And most dealers don't have enough new stock to update their listings every week, let alone every day. So ebay still has some interest to me. But whether that will still be the case in a couple of years .. I just don't know. It probably depends on how easliy I can search for and locate coins that interest me without wading through pages that don't. And I'm not sure whether (yet) more ebay changes are going to help or hinder to be honest.

I agree, it would be a shame if the hole had been repaired but then the coin scratched during cleaning up. Maybe that's more acceptable in the US? I looked at Alan Davisson's new site and to be honest several of the coins that were described as having 'fresh fields' looked as if they had the tell-tale scratches of a quick polish. But it could just be the different photos. Was the coin otherwise 'as was' Gary, or have you noticed any differences to the surfaces following the repair? For me I don't feel strongly either way. I presume in that grade it's a rare coin and admit it's always a bit offputting to see a hole. But if it were me, I don't know what I'd do. Many of the Civil War period coins can be found pierced, probably for suspension as a memento, supporter's badge or charm. I've seen some repaired very well, others not so well, since it seems to have been acceptable practice to plug them, at least since the Victorian era. I guess, by today's standards, a visible repair (such as a silver plug in a gold coin) done to the standards of Gary's shilling would be fine to me. The aesthetic balance of the coin is restored, but it's not pretending to be pristine. But in the case of siege coins, the holing has historical interest itself. If I found one of my coins had been virtually invisibly mended, how would I feel? I don't know ... probably depends on how much I paid for it! I think there's maybe a scale here. Removing blemishes at one end, straightening coins that have been bent, then through plugging holes or scratches .. but what if it were possible to 'repair' a coin that had been clipped? I have one rarity that has most of the legends gone. If someone could rebuild them ... add a bit more flan .. nah, I think that would be too much. When you get to extremes then I'm not sure there's much difference between a 'repair' and finding the original dies and striking a coin yourself. While strictly speaking, all that separates the two is a few centuries, those years make all the difference! For me the thing about slabs is the associated third party grading (and everything that seems to go with that) rather than the slab itself. As I've said before, when I started collecting I put my coins in the plastic version of flips. Very handy to protect the coins from knocks and sticky fingers, so it's less the protection slabs afford I dislike, because I can see the purpose in that. But in the end I like to be able to see and handle my coins. And when most of them have some degree of patina anyway, it's not like BU copper or proofs, is it?

Suppose I'd better come clean LOL

I've not managed to find a proper photo of an original official case. But this Bonhams listing shows how the coins are laid out in one. Bonhams

Meh ... I reviewed recent ebay listings (after finally finding where in the new format they hid the bloody 'Completed listings' option!) and, while I'm not experienced with this series, there's no clear sign to make me think it's not authentic. The face is a bit odd, but Mary's chin is usually a bit sharp and I wonder if it's been lightly tooled (or just scraped) along the nose to change the profile slightly. It is a bit scratched. Bottom line is, if it were me and I wasn't happy I'd ask for my money back. If it had been £20-£30 I'd chalk it up as an interesting buy, but at a proper price I'd want to be comfortable with my purchase and would expect a decent seller to feel the same ..

I've not noticed any fake Mary groats and, like Rob, can't see anything obviously wrong here. But I agree, if you're uncertain, leave it. Better to have a coin you're happy with than one that you doubt, irrespective of what others say.

What? It's Back To The Futuredecimal now? But if you do go back to 1672, please pick me up some decent Charles I shillings will you Chris?

Yeah, the surface marks really show up on the large photo. Probably in the hand it would be quite nice. I just wonder, has something happened to the coupé bit at George's neck? It looks scratched/tooled where you'd expect a clean surface? Otherwise I think VF + is about right.

Many of that dealer's coins seem to be slabbed and slabbing costs money. Plus I don't know that dealers necessarily consider Spink prices when they list. If they think they can achieve a price, even though it might be way above Spink, then why not? Maybe in his experience someone will pay that sort of money. Of course, that doesn't mean that it's a sensible price. You only need to look on ebay to see coins almost as nice going for a fraction of the cost. Or here:http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=231223&lotIdNo=29027#Photo where a similarly graded coin went for US$70

Well, they are Royal Mint. But you can pick up the two proof sets from ebay for probably under £50. The fact that they are gold plated doesn't make them any more valuble. In fact it could be argued (as it has here!) that they are worth less than the untouched article, in that the market for such things is mostly the amateur 'collector' as opposed to people interested in cons. Sorry. I meant coins of course. Oh, and my thoughts? I'm not surprised the current owner doesn't want them and I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

A gold half sov would be around 4g, suggesting this one is, despite the seller's belief, base metal. I don't know why anyone would have made a model coin from the correct metal. An RM pattern, yes, but a model, not so much. But maybe someone else has ideas?

Is this reply in the right thread should it be in a parallel universe? What has wine, steak, a couple pints and the Midland got to do with a forecast for 2013? Sorry, confused. LOL I think Peter was saying (and oddly enough, I sometimes find it a challenge to decide) that we could all have a great meeting if we all got together to discuss coins, the future and so on. And of course, what's the point of meeting up if there's no food and drink to chat over, eh? As for Geoff's post, while I agree .. mostly, coins for me are things to enjoy. Yes, when you're on a tight budget the cost and eventual resale value is of some interest, but if I regarded my collection as an investment it would look very different! So my plan is to continue as I have been recently, seeking out those coins I believe to be scarcer but under-rated, upgrading where I can, but most importantly, buying coins that I will appreciate and be happy to live with. And if, in the end, I have a collection that is barely worth what I paid out for it but which gives me pleasure to look over it, I shall consider the money and time to have been well spent!

I have to say that, as a Veggie, I don't often miss 'old' food. I much enjoyed sprats, tossed in flour and lightly fried, or rare lamb cutlets in the day. But now I'm happy with a nice quiche or vegetable bake. I think simple food is often best. A nice 'French' stick from Waitrose, some decent cheddar some pickle and an ale of cider .. can't beat it! Poor weebo. Probably wondering how we got onto food from Falkland Isle coins!

Yes, I think the old shilling (5p), halfpennies and earlier farthings (Victorian and earlier) at 22-31mm are a nice size. In my youth, if you had a half-crown or florin (2 shillings) you felt that you had a big enough coin to be worth something. Provided you could avoid the dinosaurs long enough to spend it!! Nowadays, even £1 coins seem tiddly. But then I guess £2 is only worth the equivalent of pennies. I used to be able to buy a paperback book for 2/6. You'd be hard pressed to get a new one for under £5 now ....

Pretty much as might be expected for a small collection picked up from change. But while there's maybe not a lot of financial value there, it's a nice little selection. To be honest, only you can decide what you want to do with them (yeah, stating the obvious here!!) But a bit of background. I started with a similar mix, which my Dad hoarded. Yes, that's the right word, he just accumulated stuff rather than actively collecting. Except for the 50p design with hands on the back celebrating the EU, which he for some reason had nearly £50 worth of. I guess he just liked that one! What I did was pop into my local library and pick up a few books on coins. The 50ps although demonetised I managed to get the bank to accept at face value. The silver coins/ part silver (1920-1947) I sold to a local dealer and bought a few pieces I preferred. In time I found a denomination (the shilling) that I liked, helped by the fact that I found a book about the coins in the library and concentrated on those. I still have trays of old (Cu/Ni) shillings, a few bags of battered farthings, a tray with shilling sized coins from overseas and two more with various Euro values that I've picked up on holiday. Finally on Wifey's return from the US I have a selection of State Quarters. Plus of course my main collection. Coin collecting is one of those hobbies you can spend what you want, from a few pence in junk or charity shops/ car boot fairs to many thousands of pounds at an auction house or dealer. If you want / need to raise a few quid then things like the Swiss coins and US proof set could go on ebay. I succesfully sold a few mixed lots, one of odd shaped coins and one of mixed sizes from a 'cartwheel' 2d down to a Swiss cent. I stuck them on as 'interesting' suggested they would make a 'starter kit' for any kids who might be interested in coins. I think I got about £6-£8 each, which I thought was fair! The half sov I'd check the grade here to see if it has 'numismatic' value. If not and you wanted to sell, use one of the online bullion services. I can suggest two that seem to pay the best rates. Don't try the high street gold stalls, they don't give nearly as much.

Welcome Paul! You'll find that although you can just upload photos from your computer the size limit is small (150KB) Best to put them on a photohosting site like flickr or photobucket. You can then link to the full sized photos using the little 'Insert image' icon at the top of the reply box. The site resizes everything to screen size for you.

LOL It was only after I'd written it and posted that bagerap's post showed up. I'm either real slow or need to refresh the page more often!

Oooh! Real James Bond stuff! Snap open the Calcium, drop it in water and stand well back!

LOL Depends on whether you consider barter items to be 'coins' Debbie. All sort of things were used as money via barter. I have some Hudson's Bay trade beads. Made in Venice they were exchanged at the rate of three beads for a beaver pelt. A rifle would cost its height in pelts. Seashells (cowries and 'tusk' shells (wampum)), quartz stones with a hole in the middle and blocks of tea, were all used as currency at some point. And although even nowadays coins are afaik all metal, things like trade tokens, ticket checks, gambling checks (chips) have been made out of al sorts of materials such as plastic, mother of pearl, wood or paper.

Interesting idea. Though personally if I was spending that sort of money I'd rather put it towards freeing the Ashdown Forest Five.

It's Iraqui. The portrait is Faisal II and it's a 10 Fils coin, first issued 1943. http://www.chiefacoins.com/Database/Countries/Faisal_II.htm I got most of that from a book my daughter bought me in the local The Works bookshop for a few quid. A fun read. Maybe see if your local library has a copy? Doh! Too slow on the typing again!!

The bottom line is that storage is down to personal preference. But what's important is that you avoid the coins rubbing against each other and causing further wear and damage, and that they are protected from extremes of damp or chemical fumes. I used to store my coins in flips. Basically they are card (some are plastic) with clear windows and you pop the coin on the window and fold over the other half. The coin is sandwiched between the windows and so protected from sticky fingers. And if you drop it, the card takes the damage. It's an inexpensive way to start. Certainly compared to the money a coin cabinet would cost! Just be careful if you use the non-adhesive ones and close them with staples, to fully remove the staple before you try to get the coin out. I've met a few coins with staple scratches across them. Not attractive!

Essentially when a coin is freshly struck it has a certain surface appearance, commonly known as lustre. Over time some coins will change colour as the air oxidises the metal. Often this can be quite attractive and in some cases this 'toning' is combined with the original lustre. Some coins were chemically treated at the mint to darken them. All of these different states are characteristic of the age of a coin and a sign that it has not been tampered with. Polishing simply removes all traces of the above by removing the surface layer of the coin. The technical term for this is 'ruining' and a ruined coin will have no collectable value whatsoever, I'm afraid.