Guernsey 8 Doubles 1914

[Guest Tracey]

Hi there, my husband works at a market and came across a coin on the floor at the end of the day. It is a 1914 Guernsey 8 Doubles coin. We have no interest in coin collecting but thought maybe we should look on the internet in case it is worth something or maybe someone would like it to add to their collection. We came across this forum and thought here was as good a place as any to ask. I understand Guernsey is a Crown Colony so technically not British hence placing this message here. Any help would be much appreciated as the coin will just gathering dust somewhere in a drawer and that is pointless if someone with an interest would like it. Thanks in advance.

[Peter]

The Guernsey 8 doubles is equivalent to our predecimal 1d.

On the "date" side below the wreath you will see a small H.

This donates it was minted at Heaton(Birmingham).

Now for the value...in 2004 it catalogued at 40p in fine (all lettering and design readable with no damage) to £7 if mint fresh.

Hope this helps.

[Guest Tracey]

Than you very much Peter. The coin appears to my uneducated eye to be in mint condition. Apart from tarnishing all of the design is fully readable with no damage. Now to find somewhere to get rid of it .

[Unknown]

If you found it in the floor it may be difficult for it to be in mint condition... how proficient are you using the internet? I ask it because a posibility is showing a couple of pictures here.

[Guest coinman1]

Due to the coin being 'found on a floor' definitely means that it cannot be classed as mint or uncirculated, therefore the value of this coin will be much lower than previously listed. As you are trying to sell it, it may be of no use to a dealer so the only way of selling it is through an online auction. I feel that a value of £2.00-£3.00 is nearer the correct price, but best of luck.

[Unknown]

Due to the coin being 'found on a floor' definitely means that it cannot be classed as mint or uncirculated, therefore the value of this coin will be much lower than previously listed. As you are trying to sell it, it may be of no use to a dealer so the only way of selling it is through an online auction. I feel that a value of £2.00-£3.00 is nearer the correct price, but best of luck.

I didn't want to be so direct...

But that is esactly what I meant with my message...

[guyincog]

These coins turn up quite often in junk boxes I find.

Often in the higher grades, despite relatively low mintages (100,000-200,000 per year iirc)

I think the reason is that few people actually collect them.

When you look at them it's not hard to see why:

Possibly the world's most boring coin. And that design stayed the same for a hundred years.

You could put it on Ebay with a 50p start and someone might buy it. Hardly worth the effort though.

[TerryT]

That must be the 1914 mut- 8 -tion doubles that when you see a picture of it, it changes to 1920 !

[Guest Tracey]

Thank you for all the help guys. The pictures are not very good and do not do the coin justice (need a new camera). How do I put a pic on here? Normally I can see how to do it but not on here . The coin I have looks slightly better than the pic of the 1920 one that guyincog put up. There is no green bits on it (oxidation?). It is in better condition than some of the money in circulation at the moment lol. I am not interested in the money I can or cannot get for it (though I won't give it away lol), I just don't want it sitting round the house if someone else would want it.

[guyincog]

If it's better than the one I showed then it might be worth... something, to someone.

To photograph coins you really need a tripod (or very, very steady hands) and a camera with a macro function. The other, easier alternative is to use a scanner.

[Peter]

I think the UK based Guernsey collector is currently on his annual holiday in Slough.

Edited December 5, 2005 by Peter

[Unknown]

Thank you for all the help guys. The pictures are not very good and do not do the coin justice (need a new camera). How do I put a pic on here? Normally I can see how to do it but not on here . The coin I have looks slightly better than the pic of the 1920 one that guyincog put up. There is no green bits on it (oxidation?). It is in better condition than some of the money in circulation at the moment lol. I am not interested in the money I can or cannot get for it (though I won't give it away lol), I just don't want it sitting round the house if someone else would want it.

I think you have to register to be able to post pics... I am sure Chris will confirm/correct me soon.

[mint_mark]

Just thought I'd stick up for Guernsey coins! I think they're great... yes the design stayed the same for years but you can say the same about plenty of places (Switzerland springs to mind). It just means you have to look closer... Guernsey coins turn up in lovely condition and you can collect good examples of all the different sizes and metals for each denomination. There are a few rarities too and they come in a mixture of coin and medal rotation.

Besides, my local dealer once told me that Finland had the most boring coins... I disagreed and bought one of each he had!