Hi albundy, and welcome aboard! I can highly recommend a couple of days browsing the posts on this forum, it'll give you a taste of what's out there, before spending any money on books! Namely, the width and breadth of the hobby, and the depths to which it can travel! When it comes to buying modern Royal Mint coins, I'd say it's about whether you like them or not, most people here are especially interested in the pre-decimal material, though a few do add the RM pieces as curios to their cabinets, the Olympic 50p's were impossibly popular! Edit; and having just read Peter's post, I do agree re books, as everyone on here does, however, in view of the number of books out there, it's worth targeting your interest first! The 2 suggestions above are definitely excellent choices!