Your favourite coins

[Red Riley]

As we've hit a bit of a quiet spell, can I just ask the question, 'what to your mind is the most aesthetically pleasing British coin ever minted?'

Since I posted the topic, I will reserve my opinions until later!

[Peter]

Not stating the obvious ie gold or THE VICTORIAN gothic crown one series that I get excited about is copper between 1672 and 1724 (the William coins being the exception because good coins are so rare).

Many an evening I drool over my early farthings and 1/2ds.

I really can't put my finger on it but quality Croker coins which were used every day are in my opinion the most beautiful.

To think some of these were used to buy a loaf of bread or a pint of ale and not hoarded like gold or silver makes them special.

I don't try to collect perfect examples but nice coins with eye appeal get me everytime.

When I go to the Midland coin fair there are trays of gold and silver glinting away....lovely as they are....when I can find a quality copper piece at a reasonable price I'm a happy man.

[Peter]

Here are a couple.....

http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view.aspx?id=905761

http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view.aspx?id=902790

Both coins are probably less than VF but would command at least VF prices...(compared to dealers lists etc).

[coin watch]

For me it has to be Charles I English late hammered, not just because this is the era which I collect but it is in the sheer volume of diversity in this series and the differing quality of some issues that interests me. From the early Tower issues through to the later Provincial issues you can literally see the civil war period unfolding before you. So my favourite by far!

[Red Riley]

I am going to be completely conventional about this, and say that to me the most artistically pleasing British coins are firstly, the Gothic crown of 1947-53 and secondly the standing Britannia florins of 1902-10. In the Gothic crown, William Wyon just managed to get everything right and the amount of detail is just stunning.

No coin reflects the era in which it was minted more than the 1902-10 florin, the reverse being pure art nouveau. Look at any advert or book illustration of the time (especially by the likes of Aubrey Beardsley) and you will see art in exactly this style. I love it.

Other than that, I am fond of the early bun series bronze (1860-74), the garnished shields of 1820-23, and of course Pistrucci's George and the Dragon. I also, for some reason, admire the accuracy and sheer unpretentiousness of the wren farthings.

[DaveG38]

A coin which took my fancy when I first saw it and I have always wanted is the Elizabeth I sixth issue crown from 1601-2. I think its a combination of veneration of the age of the coin, the size, the excellent portrait and the fantastic detail for a hammered coin, which makes it so appealing for me. I have never got around to buying one (and they are pricey) plus the fact that I don't really 'do' hammered which has stopped me having one.

[Geoff T]

Half crown man as I am, I have to admit that what I find consistently pleasing are the farthings of George IV. It's the Britannia I think - so much detail in such a small image. Personally I can live without the OTT flummery of the Gothic crown, but I would put in another plug for the half crowns of William IV. A beautiful reverse, dignified without being over-fussy, and an obverse where the effigy shows a real person, not a pseudo Roman emperor.

G

[Hussulo]

Hard to choose one. The Victorian Gothic Crown would be up there, and If money was no object:

Petition Crown

Una and the lion

Triple Unite

Probably more, but they were the first to spring to my mind.

[Red Riley]

Hard to choose one. The Victorian Gothic Crown would be up there, and If money was no object:

Petition Crown

Una and the lion

Triple Unite

Probably more, but they were the first to spring to my mind.

You have expensive tastes, Huss!

[Hussulo]

You have expensive tastes, Huss!

Well they are added to my "if ever I win the lottery" list.

To be honest I like most if not all the coins I now have in my collection, especially my world gold collection.

I am enjoying collecting world gold coins as the only criteria I have set myself is that I have to like the look of the coin before I buy it. Not collecting a specific country, date run or a type allows me a lot of freedom and means I can "cherry pick" the coins I want to add to my collection.

On the more strict collecting side I am trying to build a complete set of 1/3 farthings and then possibly move onto the other fractionals as well.

[scottishmoney]

I like coins that fill out the design with many details. One of my favourite British coins has always been the Nobles that were minted during the 14th century:

This is from Edward III(1327-1377) and is S-1502. But alas this will be a short timer in my collection as it is one of the pieces I will part with in the next few months to fund a new philanthropic endeavour.

[Kronos]

I am slowly being drawn into a love affair with the Half Crown myself, especially Edward VII and George V.

I have a total of 47 Unc. so far ranging from Edward VII to Elizabeth II my favourites at the moment being 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 obviously signifying the two world wars.

Mark

[Red Riley]

I am slowly being drawn into a love affair with the Half Crown myself, especially Edward VII and George V.

I have a total of 47 Unc. so far ranging from Edward VII to Elizabeth II my favourites at the moment being 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 obviously signifying the two world wars.

Mark

Yes, the series does contain some atractive designs, especially (as Geoff T says somewhere else in this thread) the William IV issue and the preceding later George IV coins. All halfcrowns from 1816 however feature a shield reverse and some are better than others. The one that I like least is the Queen Elizabeth II design with a dreary shield, which moreover was usually very poorly struck.

[Geoff T]

I am slowly being drawn into a love affair with the Half Crown myself, especially Edward VII and George V.

I have a total of 47 Unc. so far ranging from Edward VII to Elizabeth II my favourites at the moment being 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 obviously signifying the two world wars.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the love affair with half crowns - don't resist! If you've managed to get eveything from Edward VII in UNC then you're either very lucky or very rich, or both. A genuinely BU circulation 1911 is proving the Holy Grail at the moment. Plenty of them out there almost make it, but so far none has come up to scratch (or non-scratch). Plenty of 1911 proofs (which I have) too, but no really top notch circulation issues.

I have seen a couple of near BU 1905s recently, but they came with a price to match. Fine if you're on a premiership footballer's salary, but I guess the average premiership player isn't up to appreciating coins.

G

[Gary D]

I am slowly being drawn into a love affair with the Half Crown myself, especially Edward VII and George V.

I have a total of 47 Unc. so far ranging from Edward VII to Elizabeth II my favourites at the moment being 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 obviously signifying the two world wars.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the love affair with half crowns - don't resist! If you've managed to get eveything from Edward VII in UNC them you're either very lucky or very rich, or both. A genuinely BU circulation 1911 is proving the Holy Grail at the moment. Plenty of them out there almost make it, but so far none has come up to scratch (or non-scratch). Plenty of 1911 proofs (which I have) too, but no really top notch circulation issues.

I have seen a couple of near BU 1905s recently, but they came with a price to match. Fine if you're on a premiership footballer's salary, but I guess the average premiership player isn't up to appreciating coins.

G

My run of Half Crowns is coming along nicely as well. I collect 1900-1970 and I'm trying to put together a set of Davies types, recently found a 2310 in Proof that's 1953 1+A listed as 'to be confirmed'. Just five short for the set now.

[Rob]

First of all I would like to point out that unlike just about everyone else, I don't have a love affair with half-crowns. As a result I only have about 20 in total including a few oddballs.

As regards the most aesthetically pleasing design, I would put the George VI silver threepence reverse right up there. Simple, but effective. Obverses are more difficult because they are typically just a head. Therefore the gothic has to get my vote because of the detail. These are of course subjective and liable to be superseded by the latest stunning acquisition - whatever that may be. I tend to have favourite individual coins as opposed to types.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Rob

[Red Riley]

First of all I would like to point out that unlike just about everyone else, I don't have a love affair with half-crowns. As a result I only have about 20 in total including a few oddballs.

As regards the most aesthetically pleasing design, I would put the George VI silver threepence reverse right up there. Simple, but effective. Obverses are more difficult because they are typically just a head. Therefore the gothic has to get my vote because of the detail. These are of course subjective and liable to be superseded by the latest stunning acquisition - whatever that may be. I tend to have favourite individual coins as opposed to types.

Kind of agree. I do really like some halfcrowns, but my problem is that I'm a little agnostic on shields. Some are admittedly good, some bad, but in my view most are just a teensy bit dull. It's all about opinions I guess, and I simply prefer the pictorial representations which appear on the copper and bronze series, not to mention Pistrucci's George & Dragon.

[Kronos]

I am slowly being drawn into a love affair with the Half Crown myself, especially Edward VII and George V.

I have a total of 47 Unc. so far ranging from Edward VII to Elizabeth II my favourites at the moment being 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 obviously signifying the two world wars.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the love affair with half crowns - don't resist! If you've managed to get eveything from Edward VII in UNC them you're either very lucky or very rich, or both. A genuinely BU circulation 1911 is proving the Holy Grail at the moment. Plenty of them out there almost make it, but so far none has come up to scratch (or non-scratch). Plenty of 1911 proofs (which I have) too, but no really top notch circulation issues.

I have seen a couple of near BU 1905s recently, but they came with a price to match. Fine if you're on a premiership footballer's salary, but I guess the average premiership player isn't up to appreciating coins.

G

I understand that the half crown is not everyone’s cup of tea so to speak, but you like what you like. The half dollar as it was, just does something to me. There’s nothing better than pulling out a tray(s) with some weight to it.

Unfortunately for me Gary I am not a football player and most of my half crowns at the moment fall into the G V, G VI and E II category, although I do have a couple of E VII in VF.

As with most of us we start off buying anything and everything, I am now content with collecting the half crown, florin and the brass threepence as my main areas for concern (as my wife puts it).

Mark

[CartwheelTwopence]

Gothic crowns all the way! Truly stunning pieces... But the 5 guinea Lima coin reverse is very good, too.

[CartwheelTwopence]

And of course, the sovereign design. Just... classic.

[ozjohn]

Hi Mark,

I'm another halfcrown man and I collect from 1816 to 1946. I'm not sure if truly UNC George IV coins for any date really exist other than proofs as the quality of minting these coins was poor due to the very deep design adopted. Very rarely the top of the kings's ear and the side facial hair are all fully struck and the top of the shield on the reverse suffers as well. These problems are often taken as wear when it is not always the case and telling the difference can be almost impossible. A good guide is to look at the milling and if that looks pristine but the ear looks flat then it may be the "wear" is more due to poor manufacturing also if you look carefully at the edge of the obverse of coin often you can see a raised collar of silver on the rim of the coin. If there had been much circulation of the coin then this would be the first to wear. If you want a perfect coin the proof is the best. I always wonder how many they had to strike to get the required number of proofs given the problems with this coin. I have a couple of proofs and a CGS AU75 1911 halfcrown and I think I'll have to be happy with that. A photo of the GGS AU 75 is attached.

[ozjohn]

Sorry I attached the wrong picture.