Different types and varieties

[Jimmyb0468]

This is my third post. ....at this rate I could be a "forum God" by Christmas!!!!    

What I would like to know is this. Since reading and enjoying this forum for the last year or so, I am aware that a number of members place great importance in owning, finding and discussing varieties, types, die numbers etc. Up here in sunny Glasgow, I know of no fellow collectors who put any importance in varieties etc. Every coin I have ever bought, I've never looked for anything else, other than year, grade, price, eye appeal. Only through this forum, am I beginning to learn there is obviously another level of collecting, above where I am at the moment.                  Is it a part of coin collecting, that you only get into after years of learning the basics?? The very few dealers I frequent up here, also seem ignorant to this other side of the hobby. Should I be learning all about die numbers, types etc, or am I right in presuming that the majority of collectors don't bother. (I once witnessed a dealer sifting through another dealers tin of scrap pennies, at an antique fair. After picking out 3 or 4 pennies, he asked how much. £2 was a the reply. He handed over £10, and said "keep the change" ......He walked away with a huge grin, and I've since wondered.......what exactly did he find in that tin of worn pennies! )

[Stuntman]

I think it probably depends on the type of collector you are (no pun intended).

I'm similar to you in the sense that I'm not setting out to obtain different varieties of the same denomination and date, but reading about them here certainly raises my awareness of them.  I suppose it's a spectrum really - I mean, most coin collectors probably know about things like the H and KN pennies of 1912, 1918 and 1919, the 1926 ME penny and the 1902 low tide penny for example.  Coming on here opens your eyes to further varieties, such as different versions of a number (1903 open 3 penny for example) or different date widths (1889 penny for example, I think).  Then I doff my cap to the real Forum Gods especially the penny collectors when they show pictures of even more micro-varieties and/or impacts of die wear evolution!

 

I think if you're into collecting certain denominations, the varieties keep it interesting and give you something to try and find.  But someone like me, and for a given budget, would rather have examples of different types of coins in my collection rather than different varieties of the same coin.  

 

It's an adventure either way!

Edited September 6, 2016 by Stuntman

[Leo]

Quote

I once witnessed a dealer sifting through another dealers tin of scrap pennies, at an antique fair. After picking out 3 or 4 pennies, he asked how much. £2 was a the reply. He handed over £10, and said "keep the change"

That's not very nice of him!

Anyway, to your question... Like you, I don't care about small varieties, but probably because I'm a beginner and for now I just aspire at having a different type rather than year, not to mention die or variety.

In a few years I suppose I may have developed a liking for a certain denomination and/ or historical period, and that may lean me to study some of these subjects as the more experienced collectors do.

[mrbadexample]

It's easily started, if you think about it. For example, the pennies of 1918 and 1919 have three (quite significant IMO) varieties with the Heaton (H), Kings Norton (KN) or no mint marks. So, do you just want any one, or one of each? I'm a one of each person myself.

Then you get things like the 1902 low and high tide pennies. Ok, I'd best have one each of those too please.  

Gradually the differences get smaller and smaller down the line until people start calling flaws, clogged dies and suchlike varieties (I'm not saying that's wrong, but where I draw the line I think.)

So, how about you? One of each or any old one?

 

 

[mrbadexample]

Stuntman writes faster than me...

[Stuntman]

Great minds... 

[mrbadexample]

Just now, Stuntman said:

Great minds... 

Actually think differently - I'd take the different penny and you'd buy a groat or something.

[Jimmyb0468]

Maybe one evening when the telly is rubbish, I will sit and check all the minute details of my coins. I might be sitting on a fortune. I genuinely, have only recently, checked my pennies for low tide/ high tide and mint marks. Haven't found anything that allows me to give up the day job..........yet.

[Nordle11]

It is difficult and entirely depends where you want to go with your collection, I think the main reason the powerhouses get to the stage of micro varieties is because the initial list was filled, then the subsequent additions get filled, then when running out of things to collect, start to really scrutinize every coin, looking for differences.

At the moment I collect (pennies) all the years, mint marks, the main recognised varieties like 1903 open 3, 1911 Gouby X, recessed ear varieties etc, and then have a side collection for anything of interest. There are some I have like the missing wave varieties that I don't want to include in my collection because they're caused by the natural process of minting coins and not by purposeful design changes.

If you haven't already, I'd definitely recommend getting literature on your area of collecting because there are some excellent books out there to help you along the way.

[Michael-Roo]

Hunting and documenting copper varieties, 1671-1860, would provide you with decades of hunting fun.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Michael-Roo

[Jimmyb0468]

I'm in the early stages of coin collecting. I've only recently stopped buying everything and anything, regardless of grade.   Now, I'm definitely more selective. I want high grades only, but I'm still buying any denomination, any monarch. I'm beginning to think that until a collector settles down into one or two categories, for example, collecting only pennies, it would be almost impossible to keep track of all the variations, of all coins.