Victorian penny set

[coinkat]

Same question asked for Victorian shillings... How many here are seeking to complete a date set, excluding varieties? And what is the minimum grade or overall look of a coin within the series that you find acceptable? 

I am asking this in part because I hear and read collecting British pennies by date is a thing of the past. I suppose I am currently unwilling to accept that notion... Is collecting by date obsolete "Across the Pond"?

[VickySilver]

Well, count me amongst the old fogies as I collect pennies and shillings in this way.  I try to get at least GEF.

I do try for the MAJOR varieties such as plain and crosslet 4 on the 1864s.

 

Edited March 4, 2017 by VickySilver

[Rob]

For what it's worth, I used to collect shillings and halfpennies including varieties, so basically date runs on steroids. I found after a while that although individually they were high grade (EF or better) and usually appealing to look at, there was a certain monotony in the rows and rows of mint state coins which collectively didn't provide the same satisfaction. This was particularly striking in the bronze as they tend not to tone with much difference in colour, so it was either full lustre or a watered down version. Silver was better due to the greater variation in colours, but at the end of the day the only real difference was a digit or two in the date, so it was this which finally turned me off date runs.

[PWA 1967]

I started wanting just a few nice ones and after a date run .

Then it just went beserk 

Edited March 4, 2017 by PWA 1967

[jaggy]

1 hour ago, VickySilver said:

Well, count me amongst the old fogies as I collect pennies and shillings in this way.  I try to get at least GEF.

I do try for the MAJOR varieties such as plain and crosslet 4 on the 1864s.

 

You and me both. 

I enjoy doing date/variety runs. Also getting into type sets by monarch.

[1949threepence]

2 hours ago, coinkat said:

Same question asked for Victorian shillings... How many here are seeking to complete a date set, excluding varieties? And what is the minimum grade or overall look of a coin within the series that you find acceptable? 

I am asking this in part because I hear and read collecting British pennies by date is a thing of the past. I suppose I am currently unwilling to accept that notion... Is collecting by date obsolete "Across the Pond"?

This is actually my current specialism, except I also collect varieties.

If I was going for dates only and no variety, I'd go for GEF minimum.

As I collect varieties, some of which are extremely rare, I've had to settle for near fine in some cases.

ETA: No, collecting by date isn't "obsolete" - and even if it were, I'd still collect by date as it's what I like doing. Don't allow your collecting preferences to be influenced by what others tell you, or what you hear and read.  

 

Edited March 4, 2017 by 1949threepence

[davidrj]

I have to admit to being a date set collector, but I am old enough to have completed the penny one of each date set from circulation, all bar the 1951 ( I bought one a couple of years ago) 

It's when you start trying to get all the varieties that the fun starts

 

[terrysoldpennies]

11 minutes ago, davidrj said:

I have to admit to being a date set collector, but I am old enough to have completed the penny one of each date set from circulation, all bar the 1951 ( I bought one a couple of years ago) 

It's when you start trying to get all the varieties that the fun starts

 

I started collecting with my mother in the 1960s , and managed an almost complete year set of bronze and copper back to George lll with nearly all brass and silver of the 20th C . Though not all in great condition, I did manage to find a 1951 penny in circulation, all be it a wee bit bent.  After starting to collect again after a break of forty years, I found myself drawn to the pre-decimal copper and bronze pennies , mainly because of the diversity and shear number of varieties to be found, all of which were made accidently , or by trying different designs for there attractiveness or the durability of any one type of die. None of these though, were created by the mint with the sole intention of make money from the public collecting them. The creation of scarce types almost every year now, is deliberate to encourage their removal from circulation.  Also the hunt for that elusive undiscovered type is real fun for me.  Terry