Generic Lad

I just bought a lot of unattributed cut hammered coins online from a dealer that I use fairly frequently for US and some world coins and was wondering if anyone could help me attribute them. 2 I believe are Henry II because from what I can tell from my trusty Spink/Seaby book his reign seems to be the only one that uses 4 of the orbs in each quarter of the cross and would have the cross on the top. Can't seem to make out any letters from the other coin so I have no clue about that. The dealer's pics aren't the greatest pictures, but I was wondering if any of the hammered experts here can help figure out what these are.

Well, when compared to the state of American coin designs I have to say that I like a lot of the British designs better, especially since the US mint decided that all circulating coins need to commemorate something, and rather than having a single design for even a single year, there needs to be 4-5 different, yet equally terrible, "commemorative" designs and confusing people into thinking that by filling a folder with every different design (all of them with incredibly high mintages) they will somehow have a collection worth more than face value later on. While I really enjoy some of the older US coins (even more so than some of the British coins minted during that time period) such as Standing Liberty Quarters, Walking Liberty half Dollars, and the $20 double eagle, our modern coins are some of the ugliest coins ever minted, especially the presidential dollar series and the Susan B Anthony dollar. I think I'd rather have a crowned lion or the royal shield in my pocket when compared to the recent abominations coming out of the US mint. ....Sorry about the rant.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HARRY-POTTER-Great-Britian-3-Coin-Set-DEATHLY-HALLOWS-/230660525695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b4704e7f These lots always make me laugh, especially the blatant lie of "genuine legal tender". These coins have several things going for it: A) Non-legal tender coins being advertised as such A "certificate of authenticity" that is recognized by "every monetary authority" which somehow authenticates it as a "collector" product C) The fact it is a coin with crap on it D) A plastic case worth more than the coins itself Of course, I suppose I'd prefer the Harry Potter coins to the seller's other offerings including a hideous gold plated $2 bill found here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310337318424 or the Obama/Lincoln/Kennedy presidential dollar coins, as if the presidential dollar series wasn't ugly enough http://cgi.ebay.com/OBAMA-JFK-LINCOLN-24K-GOLD-PRESIDENTIAL-DOLLAR-COIN-SET-/310338962372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4841a4c3c4

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this; Elizabeth II florin George VI florin Bun Head Penny Brass Threepence Wren Farthing 1967 halfpenny Elizabeth II shilling And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say. My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin Sorry Peck but I don't like the look of dear old Lizzies Thrupenny bits Pre 1953 they were nifty thrifty's I've always liked the way that the brass threepence feels in your hand, its got a nice weight and thickness. Of course, I'm not British (nor old enough) so I never got to actually use any as currency. For the coin that everyone owns I'd say its the '65 Churchill commemorative crown, its a shame its the most popular crown though as the design is rather plain and it doesn't have the nice edge lettering like most of the other crowns, even the later crowns seem to have a more attractive design.

Yeah, I went out and bought one from a well-known online internet coin dealer that specializes in ancients, has a punchmark on the reverse and the obverse is almost completely gone, paid $140 for it but I'm happy with it.

Found something similar online http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=357&lotNo=14351 Might help you on your search.

Not sure what the conditions are over there in the UK, but here in the US there is a huge interest in gold/silver and the like. Everywhere you see "Cash4Gold" commercials promising to pay "top dollar" for silver/gold coins, jewelery and the like (but of course only pays you a fraction of what a reputable buyer would pay). In fact a number of US states have either passed or are considering making US silver coins legal tender for their bullion value. Coin and jewelry stores that used to be nearly empty a few years ago are now packed with people buying and selling gold/silver bullion. The difference I see in this market than the market of the 80s is that a lot of the price increase is caused by investor demand and actual (non-recoverable) use of silver rather than the market of the 80s which was caused mostly by the Hunt Bros. In the US people have stopped trusting the dollar and most are looking to move a lot more of their assets to physical gold/silver. What is interesting is that coins that were "collector" coins such as common-date Standing Liberty quarters, Morgan Dollars and Barber coins which a few years ago contained a substantial premium over silver melt have now come to be priced the exact same as a coin of the same denomination dated 1964. At least for me, I could make a substantial profit if I sold a lot of my silver, but unless there was something decent to put it in, other than taking a guaranteed loss by putting it in a savings account, keeping the cash, or buying a savings bond, and risking it on the stock market, or buying more risky investments like real estate (which the market still hasn't settled), I'm not going to sell it, even though I don't think we will hit $60+ silver (until the US dollar and the rest of fiat currency collapses).

Depends on what you want to collect, how much you want to spend and what all is available. Personally I like the Victorian "Gothic" Florin and in worn grades it trades fairly close to silver content. If you have any interest in American coins and there are some available, American "Mercury" Dimes (1916-1945), American Standing Liberty Quarters (1916-1930), and the American Walking Liberty Half-Dollar (1916-1947) are all beautiful coins in my opinion and later years in circulated (but still in decent condition) sell for nothing more than silver content.

After 49&46 50&51 are the rarest brass 3d's. If it was Unc it would be worth a few bob. The one offered looks cleaned (grade looks cleaned VF) I've never seen a counterfeit brass 3d. The .92 in the PCGS genuine numbering scheme is the code to indicate that it has been cleaned. The codes are: 91 Artificially Colored 92 Cleaned 93 Planchet (Coin Blank) Flaw 94 Altered Surface 95 Scratched or Rim Dented 97 Environmentally Damaged 98 Other Damage Hm, interesting, thanks for the info on the PCGS numbering scheme, I didn't know that. And also thats interesting with 1950 being a rare date for the brass threepence, any other rare/interesting dates for UK base metal coinage (both decimal and pre-decimal) that I can keep an eye out for in dealer "junk bins"?

http://cgi.ebay.com/1950-PCGS-GENUINE-GREAT-BRITAIN-BRASS-3D-BO34-/360380195643?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e855633b Am I missing something? Or are there a bunch of counterfeit 1950 brass threepence out there? But who sends that to be certified genuine? And then sells it for $75?

Yeah... possibly the 4 as well! Maybe by his maths, its a dollar a year... I wouldn't be surprised if it sells though. Here in the US there is a huge "age premium" for coins that you don't see in most of Europe and condition matters less with US collectors than British ones. Even 19th century coins sell for $$ based on their age, and any coins in fine/very fine condition dating from the early 1900s or before are considered to be in excellent condition. If you buy early milled or hammered coins form a US seller you end up paying much more than you would from a British dealer simply because of the age. Even an incredibly worn Victoria penny will easily sell for $3+ just because most Americans view it as ancient. Best get all that shite out of the jar and get it on ebay Yeah, a crusty George III copper would go for $15+ regularly on eBay, just put down that it was "used as currency in the colonies" and you'll have people bidding $$$$, happens all the time.

Yeah... possibly the 4 as well! Maybe by his maths, its a dollar a year... I wouldn't be surprised if it sells though. Here in the US there is a huge "age premium" for coins that you don't see in most of Europe and condition matters less with US collectors than British ones. Even 19th century coins sell for $$$ based on their age, and any coins in fine/very fine condition dating from the early 1900s or before are considered to be in excellent condition. If you buy early milled or hammered coins form a US seller you end up paying much more than you would from a British dealer simply because of the age. Even an incredibly worn Victoria penny will easily sell for $3+ just because most Americans view it as ancient.

I like this listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/931AD-KING-ERIC-The-Bloodaxe-SILVER-PENNY-COIN-UNC-/110714831690?pt=AU_Coins2&hash=item19c71e434a . I particularly like how its a commemorative coin, in proof condition, and has historical information shamelessly copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

In group 2: The last coin is a coin of Queen Elizabeth I, not sure which denomination because I don't know the sizes, but could be a threepence or sixpence? I haven't studied hammered coins enough to really give you a value (plus, in the US hammered coins are -expensive- and so the price will be different than what you can get in the UK). In group 3: The fifth coin is a Victorian farthing, the coin looks to have about fine details if I was grading it, does seem to have corrosion and pitting. Unless it is a rare die variety, it is pretty common and not worth much in that condition. The sixth coin in group 3 is an Edward VII threepence, it isn't in that great of condition nor is it rare, it is only worth silver scrap value. The seventh coin is a 50% silver 1924 shilling and in the condition it is in, is only worth silver scrap value. Sorry I couldn't be much help on the ancients and medieval, but I haven't studied enough of it to be able to easily identify it, though surely someone on this forum can for you.

Go ahead and post them and we'll try to identify them.

Nice collection! And I understand your pain of trying to find a good dealer, most British coins here are sold as curiosities which mean low grade and you are paying $$$$ if it is old. Most of my collection has come from eBay too, but good luck at finding a dealer, chances are you'll find one you like easily enough over there.

On the gold coin it seems like the easiest way to identify it would be to figure out what monarch's coat of arms it is in the picture. It doesn't seem to match any English king/queen that I can see, so its most likely foreign. From my searches it looks to be most similar to the coat of arms of some of the Burgundy kings such as John the Fearless? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Fearless So it might be early French? I'll try searching some more and see what else I can come up with, I don't have a good reference for early French coins however.

What are some of the useful reference books for British coin collecting? I already have a (quite outdated) copy of Spink/Seaby's Standard Catalogue of British Coins, but thats about it for British coins. Any recommendations on some other good overviews?

Interesting coin! Wish I could help you with the identification, but if it was a contemporary counterfeit during the reign of William and Mary its in great shape. I'm interested to see what this ends up being.

That makes sense, thank you very much.

I recently bought a 1746 fourpence off of eBay, however, I cannot seem to find any information online if it is a Maundy coin or if it is just a fourpence intended for general circulation. In my 1999 Seaby Standard Catalogue of British coins, the design matches the Maundy issue (and I'm assuming the circulation issue also, the Arabic 4 with a crown separating the date) and I don't see any price for the 1746 fourpence in it other than for the entire Maundy set. So is this a Maundy fourpence? Or just a circulation issue?