TomGoodheart

Neither (automatically) good or bad. The Middleham hoard (1993), Prestbury hoard (2005), Bedale hoard (2009) ... all detector finds. So in some ways detector found coins can add to our knowledge and to the availablility of particular types. I'd guess most hammered coins were found at some point rather than saved and passed through families to collectors, certainly the earlier ones, and of those most were likely buried. Nowadays rather than finds being made when buildings were demolished or farmland ploughed I suspect the the majority have involved using a metal detector. On the other hand, whereas people used to claim a coin was from a house clearance or deceased relative (I know nothing about this, I am just selling it) to cover the fact that they were listing a replica on ebay, nowadays some people claim they are 'detector finds'. If you look up both the PAS and UKDFD database you will find Trevor Ashmore copies have been logged there as found. Did someone bury them as a bit of fun? Who knows. Just that a 'detector found' coin is not always a coin ... or found. Knowledge, as always, is power.

Certainly smaller coins such as pennies and 5ps can be found in the same condition they were when they left the mint. The problem is that coins leaving the mint are not always perfect. Edges of one coin knock dints into another, there are often metal flaws. The only 'perfect' coin is probably specimen or proof issues. But people hold on to nice coins and then decide to use them or even break into specimen sets, so it's certainly possible to find very nice examples of coins even 20 years old with a bit of luck! (I guess I shouldn't perhaps use the term BU, when really I mean nice, shiny and with no signs or blemishes from circulation (such as finger marks or suggestions of being 'wiped' which can lead to very fine marks that spoil the sheen)).

It certainly seems as if making choices is very difficult at present. We had money saved for daughter to go to university, but with the tripling of the fees, it's just a bit of help rather than the genuine support we'd hoped to provide. But she may never work and so never need to pay back her loans, so I decided why worry? She's no worse off than anyone else and a bright kid so we'll see how it pans out. As for myself (and Wifey) we have savings which are basically my inheritance from my parents. But we're by no means wealthy, we have a few pensions each that should amount to 4 or 6K a year, plus whatever the state gives us. I stopped boosting my pension a couple of years back and bought a small house which we rent out and I figure we'll have to live on savings and rental income to top up the pensions. Diversity I reckon is the best idea at the moment because it feels as if, while some were fortunate, the majority of people with all their financial eggs in one basket came a cropper. But if I had more money, which I don't, I honestly wouldn't know where to invest it. I suppose I'm sort of burying my head in the sand. But the way I see it is that worrying about it all isn't going to change anything, so I count my blessings and assume it'll all work out in the end. Certainly I'm aware that I am a most fortunate person to be living at this time, in this country, being in work, a relationship, little debt. No life is perfect, but mine is a damn sight better than some, if not most.

Hi and welcome Mongo. Always nice to see someone new and, more importantly, enthusiastic! I can't offer much advice on nice and shiny, or much on unc, as what I collect rarely comes like that! But I have picked out a few decent decimal coins from change, so it's still possible to get 1980s and 1990s occasionally in BU. I wouldn't spend money on them however. As to what you have bought, that looks like a good start. In time you'll get a feel for grade and prices. It still surprises me how (realitively) little some brilliant Victorian base metal coins can cost, though generally the further back in time you go the more you will need to pay for the better quality pieces. People talk about rare coins and certainly there are quite a few members here who own some very rare ones, but generally grade wins out over rarity. So whatever you collect, try to get as good an example as you can afford. And if you're ever unsure, just ask here. We all love giving our opinion!!

Ah. I can only claim to be someone who sounds as if he knows what he's talking about!

I like Alan Moore's quote: 'The one place gods inarguably exist is in the human mind'.

Nice little coin. Michele Steno is it? Apparently these circulated illegally as halfpennies! Cool bit of history Debbie! http://finds.org.uk/medievalcoins/denominations/denomination/id/170

Couple of years back I used to frequent the Religion & Spirituality board on Yahoo Answers. Now that was a bear pit! You'd get the atheists vs the believers, the Christians (aka protestants) vs the Catholics, the pagans vs the fluffy bunnies and everyone was regularly told they were going to hell, whether they believed in it of not! I did learn an awful lot though, so it wasn't all bad. Plus it was kinda fun, in a carcrash sort of way.

All the luckier! (I had to buy mine.)

Mmm ... not really. Yes, you can get a coin that has enough detail that you can identify it. Like this. But it won't be terribly pleasing for that money. I think it would be worth spending more like £30-£40 to get a better coin if you want silver. A jetton or copper farthing could be had for less, if you just want something hammered.

Just out of interest, what coin are you wearing Stuart? I've recently been wearing this: Mercury (though eveyone knows it's a she and She is Liberty) dimes are supposed to be lucky, Mecury being the god of chance. Leap year dates (which this one is, 1944, the last leap year of issue) are especially so, it's said. I also have one of those Johnson Matthey replica touchpieces. Though at the moment I'm actually wearing a brass snake buckle on a cord as a sort of amulet.

Hammered coins are definitely an area where it helps to do a good search before making a decision. Rob spends quite a proportion of his time looking at old auction catalogues and I spend far more than I should on the internet, but in effect what we are doing is similar. We are both aiming to get a feel for what sort of state you find a coin in and what sort of price that commands, so that when an exceptionally better example comes up we recognise it and have an idea what we might be prepared to pay. And to avoid spending money on 'best evar example none to me' and regretting it! Bottom line is, some coins are almost never found other than bashed, clipped, bent or badly made, whereas others you can pick up a nice example quite easily. And if you can recognise a coin as being unusual when everyone else thinks 'oh, I've seen plenty of those', well, you're at an advantage.

I'm not selling, just want to know bit more information about it... By the way, how much this coin can cost? A sixpence in that condition with the hand mint mark .. £30 or so. Pierced .. £20 on a good day. But a unique curiosity? Hard to tell really. If you were fortunate to find the right buyer it could go for quite a bit more than what I've suggested, maybe several times. But finding a buyer will be tricky. How much did it cost you?

My guess (without examining it) is that someone has seen fit to make a double headed coin. Whether a mint worker for their own or someone else's use, or someone has managed to get hold of a couple of coin dies, we'll never know. My guess is the former, since it would be difficult and risky, but probably easier than getting hold of undamaged dies if you had no connection with the Tower mint.

Very odd. However, I believe the pile (the bit that was fixed to the bench) bore the obverse design for the coin and the trussel (the bit that was hit with the hammer) the reverse. The 'obverse' and 'reverse' legends on your coin are different so it appears someone has decided to use two different piles (obverse dies) to make this coin. Less of an error coin and more of a deliberate mistake!

It didn't arrive Debbie and I'm pretty sure my settings were all as expected when I checked how to alter them in response to Stuart, so I guess it's a problem with the board rather than individual settings. I've emailed Chris P to see if he has any ideas. Thanks for letting me know guys!

Have you checked your settings to make sure you're still set up to receive them (and that your in box is not full)? Edit my profile > Profile > Settings > Notification Options > Settings

Ah, that's more my thing. Since I barely have enough money for coins let alone classic cars (Dinky or otherwise) I collect rubbish ephemera and oddities. Bottle caps (of bottles I have emptied myself usually!), fossils, beach pebbles, shells, bits of bone, religious medallions and talismans, four leaved clover and stuff people have thrown away or that catch my eye and imagination. Sometimes I make them into .. assembages. Other times, they just sit in a box.

It's odd, because they surely have the time to organise it all better. It's as if there are half a dozen compilers one of whom things a coin should be listed under "Shilling, Charles I" another "Charles I, shilling" and another "A coin". I agree it's a mess and no order, or more importantly consistency. However there is a search function online. But generally, it could be better and I don't know why it is the way it is.

And even more change for coins left over!

LOL If I had that sort of money I couldn't bring myself to spend it on just one coin!

One primarily for the hammered fans, but I suspect most here will see the appeal of this little coin. A pattern Edward VI shilling. Very nice. Very rare. Very expensive! Just goes to show that hammered doesn't always mean bashed about or knackered! And a link to the site for those interested in further details: Roderick Richardson

Hi and welcome. As everyone else has said, coin collecting and buying bullion are two very different things. If you want bullion, buy ingots because generally bullion 'coins' like Britannias are marked up quite a bit above bullion (scrap) price. Plus there's the old 'don't buy at the top of the market' thing. Anyone buying metal now is going to be paying well above what the smart investors paid a year or two ago and while you might get your money back .. well, there's a risk you won't. Coins however are generally collected for reasons apart from the value of the metal they are made from. People like the artistry, history, or challenge of forming a collection and the intrinsic value of the coin is of little interest. Take the coin below. Scrap value for the silver? £2.62. But the value to me as part of a collection of 17th century coins? Rather more!

Does that mean I can offset all my losses against purchases? WooHoo! More money from the gummint! Or ... maybe not. I have always assumed that money I make from selling a coin (imaginary though that might be) counts as a capital gain. And as I'm preeeeeety sure that my gains for this tax year are under £10,600, I'm hoping I don't need to worry. And there's also the fact that HMRC haven't sent me a message yet .. I wonder if there's a particular category of seller on ebay that gets them? Or it might just be that I never log off ... so never log in again!

I think ebay has it's uses. For a buyer it has the huge advantage over auctions in that you don't have the buyer's premium. And if you want to avoid paypal there are still cheques for the UK. There's also the thing that for sellers an unusual item can be buried amongst other stuff at auction, whereas with ebay you can to a degree tailor your listing to your potential buyers. It's the old thing. There are bargains to be had all over the place. But to benefit from ebay you need to know your coins, ask the right questions and reassure yourself. If you have the budget to take a gamble, that's up to you, it can pay off. Or not. The major problem with ebay is that as well as a huge market place it is also an ideal place for sellers with no knowledge of what they are selling (and invariably overinflated opinions. Go on a detectorist site and 9 times out of 10 when discussing a hammered coin people identify the type or mint mark as one of the rarest rather than looking for the simplest and commonest answer) with people who similarly have little knowledge about what they are buying. Hence the market for what are, basically, ruined coins. Of course, as a counterpoint, I was looking through an auction catalogue from about 10 years ago and to me many of the coins I was interested in looked dipped and a few others appeared to have tell-tale scratches suggesting cleaning. Not horrendous, but none of the mix of toning you'd expect from a collection built up over 20 years or so. There was no mention of this in the catalogue and the coins, obviously, sold. Maybe buyers are more tolerant of such things than I thought ...?