Another newbie

[toddmeister]

Morning everyone,

Been browsing the forum for a couple of days and thought I'd sign up and introduce myself.  I am a total newbie with zero knowledge so please be gentle.  

I recently found a couple of coins which I believe belonged to my Grandad whilst having a clear-out at home. This has really sparked my interest and I'm now looking to get into the hobby and start a collection of my own. I'm somewhat overwhelmed at all the info to take in and not really sure where to start. It seems one should specialise. But as a total novice I don't have a specific period/type that interests me as yet. I guess that will come as I learn. 

One way I thought of getting into it was by starting with a coin from the year of birth from each of my family members. For example my Grandparents were born in 1924,1925 & 1926, my parents 1953, myself 1980, my wife 1983 etc. How does that sound for starters?

I'll be ordering one of the books from the forum links too as a starting point

Thanks 

[Rob]

Welcome.

Sensible approach. Your starting point is as good as any. You won't know what you like until you have seen the full range of choices available, so if you want to expand on the above list, try a type collection, i.e. an example of each type without putting yourself into the position of having to spend a lot more than you are accustomed to just to acquire the key date. That will expose you to the widest range of coins. Some you will like, some might have seemed a good idea at the time. We all change direction somewhere along the line.

Buying books is the best decision you will make, irrespective of what you eventually decide to focus on.

[Colin G.]

Welcome to the forum, as Rob says there is no right or wrong way to compile a collection, have a good look at what appeals to you. Knowledge is key in this hobby/addiction. Most of all have fun and don't jump in with purchases, take your time and have good look around to see what appeals to you. 

[markflorida]

Welcome to the 'Hobby of Kings'.

You have already been given good advice by other members. I would also suggest you consider to find a 'Favorite Coin'. That could be a low cost modern penny all the way up to Gold Sovereigns. Once you find a coin you really like, read about them, a simple way is wikipedia for basic info and coin books. The important thing is you enjoy them and like the look of them. I still get excited when I see a beautiful Silver Dollar or Silver Crown. (I've been buying coins for over 40 years) I regard them as the best looking coins ever minted, yet I know others equally fascinated by well struck farthings. 

[toddmeister]

Thanks all. I've ordered the Collectors Coins book for some initial reading. Won't jump into buying yet until I've done a lot more reading 

cheers

[Peter]

Welcome toddmeister. Free info is available here on anything numismatic.Just be wary of Ebay and don't spend anything more than you cannot afford.

Have a read of Ebay laughs thread and you will get my gist.

[Chris Perkins]

Hello toddmeister, thank you joining the forum and thank you for buying one of my books.

[zookeeperz]

8 minutes ago, Peter said:

Welcome toddmeister. Free info is available here on anything numismatic.Just be wary of Ebay and don't spend anything more than you cannot afford.

Have a read of Ebay laughs thread and you will get my gist.

Yes in fact I would even go further and do not even go near ebay until you have enough  knowledge under your belt. It can be a very expensive failing ground and not a place for a new collector. If anything you see that takes your eye you can always come here . I 100% guarantee you will be given precise info and the reasons

 

[will1976]

Hello Toddmeister and welcome

While the forum is mainly for pre decimal coins don't forget about tokens, there are a lot out there and are a very interesting area of collecting (well I think so!) While I would echo the cautions about eBay it's worth a trawl through just to see the vast scope of what is available out therein both coins and tokens

[toddmeister]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome

To be honest I wasn't really intending to buy anything on eBay. That said, could you give me ideas for other auction sites or places I can look to get an idea of what's out there, price ranges etc. 

Im based in Sunderland. Looks like the only actual coin fairs within reasonable travelling distance are York but I think that's only twice a year? Any other suggestions?

thanks again

[Peckris]

To look, rather than buy (at this stage), you could do worse than to study the auction listings of London Coin Auctions, where the lots are well described with good pictures.

[Rob]

Have a word with argentumandcoins. John is the dealer nearest to you.

Apart from York, there is also the Wakefield fair on the last Sunday of every month (except December) at the Cedar Court Hotel just off junction 39 of the M1. Doors open at 9:30. It isn't much further to travel than York, but York will be the next fair.

[toddmeister]

Ok thank you. Will check it out 

[UPINSMOKE]

Hello Toddmeister and welcome to the forum. I am sure you will enjoy it here. Plenty of help and advice given.

[Gaz T]

Hi Todmeister. Very helpful bunch on here ? Enjoy. 

[toddmeister]

Thanks upinsmoke & GazT

[Ukstu]

Welcome toddmeister. You came to the right place, great bunch of folk on here with different collecting areas. Between the lot of us i am sure we can advise or assist you in your new hobby. 

[toddmeister]

Book arrived yesterday. A bit of bedtime reading over the Xmas period ?

[Leo]

I suspect you will also enjoy the grading manual.

Welcome to the hobby! There is no way back 

[Andy77]

Another newbie here, I didn't realise I cant start threads in the buying/selling section?

Maybe toddmeister would like some of my pennies as I have an absolute load from my dad who passed away 2 years ago, and my mum wanted rid of them, so I'd thought I'd see if I could sell them here, or more than likely pass them to a charity shop.

None of the pennies are brilliant uncirculated, but neither are they in a terrible state either, I'd say good, but I'm not a proper collector. And I cant believe that my local bank wont accept old coins and just pay me on face value.

[copper123]

On 15/01/2018 at 0:13 PM, Andy77 said:

Another newbie here, I didn't realise I cant start threads in the buying/selling section?

Maybe toddmeister would like some of my pennies as I have an absolute load from my dad who passed away 2 years ago, and my mum wanted rid of them, so I'd thought I'd see if I could sell them here, or more than likely pass them to a charity shop.

None of the pennies are brilliant uncirculated, but neither are they in a terrible state either, I'd say good, but I'm not a proper collector. And I cant believe that my local bank wont accept old coins and just pay me on face value.

Thats the promise with notes and coins I'm afraid -

"I promise to pay the bearer the sum of five pounds"

Its never been negotiable or anything

[mrbadexample]

On 1/15/2018 at 0:13 PM, Andy77 said:

Another newbie here, I didn't realise I cant start threads in the buying/selling section?

Maybe toddmeister would like some of my pennies as I have an absolute load from my dad who passed away 2 years ago, and my mum wanted rid of them, so I'd thought I'd see if I could sell them here, or more than likely pass them to a charity shop.

None of the pennies are brilliant uncirculated, but neither are they in a terrible state either, I'd say good, but I'm not a proper collector. And I cant believe that my local bank wont accept old coins and just pay me on face value.

Can you give us a general idea of what you have? Date range, photos of a couple of the best ones maybe? Someone might be able to give you better advice that way.

[Andy77]

Yeah, I'm still sorting them, there are some Victorian ones, but on the whole, I think my dad sold most of those, and I got rid of most from the 60s, so date range is probably 1880-1950, with the bulk around 1910-1940. As for photos of some, I will attempt at some point on my phone, but I'm not the most technically gifted person

I was hoping with big forums like these, that there may be fellow posters from Yorkshire that are interested and that way they could be passed on for a small fee, and then not a problem with postage and such like.

I am also in the process of weighing them, to see what total weight I have left.

[copper123]

It was well known in the sixties what the rare dates were so it should have been picked clean of them .

You might get more money from scrapping them (I hate to say it but its prob true)

[Andy77]

On ‎16‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 5:37 PM, mrbadexample said:

Can you give us a general idea of what you have? Date range, photos of a couple of the best ones maybe? Someone might be able to give you better advice that way.

Had a quick look at my first list, before I started hiding some of them in my local town, and I have 1860-1949, but I still have a moneybox full to double check and list. I've weighed the two lots I've sorted so far, and I'm at 5kg so far, think it will end up around 9kg.

If I could get some money for scrapping them, then I would do that, but I don't know where scraps them?