New to collecting

[Rob75]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum (and coin collecting) and would be grateful for any advice you can provide. However, I apologise in advance for such a long post.

I recently received a box of coins from my mother-in-law which belonged to her late husband who was an avid collector in his youth (there is quite a large collection of coins in the attic which have not been looked at for years if at all).

The box contained hundreds of coins and has sparked a genuine interest in me as I have found some fascinating coins in the box, some dating back to 1703 and others which look and feel completely different to our own (UK) coins. Having never considered collecting coins I now find myself busy flicking through coin magazines and books at the local library as well as on the internet in order to find out more about each coin.

The reason for this post is to ask a few questions and get some feedback as to how I propose to become more involved in the subject:

1. I would like to combine my interest in computing with my new found interest in coins to set up a website whereby a can catalogue each coin I find. So far I have written notes in a

scrapbook for the coins contained in the box but believe it would be more fun to be able to add pictures and links to provide a more interactive learning environment.

Will it be frowned upon if I am asking questions in the forum which will be used to further my knowledge and potentially inform the information on the website?

2. How many questions are too many when you are first starting out?

3. Is it considered bad etiquette to post on different forums?

4. Can you post pictures of coins for identification as some of the ones within the box do not have dates or words i.e. I believe they my oriental (circular with a hole in the middle)

5. Are there any specific books/journals/magazines/sites I should be reading or visiting?

I have lots more questions but would be grateful for any feedback/advice you can provide.

Many thanks,

Robert

[azda]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum (and coin collecting) and would be grateful for any advice you can provide. However, I apologise in advance for such a long post.

I recently received a box of coins from my mother-in-law which belonged to her late husband who was an avid collector in his youth (there is quite a large collection of coins in the attic which have not been looked at for years if at all).

The box contained hundreds of coins and has sparked a genuine interest in me as I have found some fascinating coins in the box, some dating back to 1703 and others which look and feel completely different to our own (UK) coins. Having never considered collecting coins I now find myself busy flicking through coin magazines and books at the local library as well as on the internet in order to find out more about each coin.

The reason for this post is to ask a few questions and get some feedback as to how I propose to become more involved in the subject:

1. I would like to combine my interest in computing with my new found interest in coins to set up a website whereby a can catalogue each coin I find. So far I have written notes in a

scrapbook for the coins contained in the box but believe it would be more fun to be able to add pictures and links to provide a more interactive learning environment.

Will it be frowned upon if I am asking questions in the forum which will be used to further my knowledge and potentially inform the information on the website?

2. How many questions are too many when you are first starting out?

3. Is it considered bad etiquette to post on different forums?

4. Can you post pictures of coins for identification as some of the ones within the box do not have dates or words i.e. I believe they my oriental (circular with a hole in the middle)

5. Are there any specific books/journals/magazines/sites I should be reading or visiting?

I have lots more questions but would be grateful for any feedback/advice you can provide.

Many thanks,

Robert

Hi Rob and welcome to the forum and to coin collecting as a whole. Many people here can help you with many questions, its better to ask the questions rather than not, as a relatively newcomer myself i've found lots of help from the people here. You should never think that asking to many questions is a wrong thing, and ask as many as it needs to help you. Yes you can post pictures here up to 150kb max, it does also help with grading and determining what your coins are, i personally upload hi grade pics, each 150kb for OBV and REV, i just make 2 posts for each side. As for books, well there are many different ones out there, Spink being the market leader i would say, the owner of this site has allso written a coin book, very helpful to, there's also coin yearbook, but i won't confuse you with them all, i would suggest to start with the New Spink book 2010 if you have a lot of various different coins.

I hope thats helped a little to start you off down the road of collecting and i hope to see some of your pictures soon

Azda

[Leviathan]

Welcome to our hobby.. it is a mad oul world, and something that will grip you for life!

As for questions etc.. if you ever feel that you have run out of them, you have left the hobby.. we are always questioning and debating, it is half the fun!

[1949threepence]

Hello Rob and welcome. Just to say there is absolutely no bar to any of the questions/points that you pose. Also, as you may have noticed, there is a sub forum specifically devoted to software.

Enjoy

[Red Riley]

Hi Rob,

Some of us on here actually enjoy answering questions; somehow it makes us feel important!

So my answers are as follows:

1) Er pass... not my subject. I still rue the days when information was stored on little stone tablets.

2) See above, but if you want answers to everything, suggest you don't flood us with 100 all at once. 2 or 3 at a time saves overloading our little brains.

3) See above.

4) See Azda's reply.

5) Yes, Azda has pretty much got it right, Spink's is the market leader particularly as your coins go back to before 1797. Rotographic (aka Chris Perkins, the owner of this site) also publishes a very handy price guide which is a lot cheaper than Spink's. If you don't have many copper coins before 1797 or silver prior to 1816, it may be an idea to buy 'Collectors' Coins GB 2010' and just borrow Spink's from the library. Rotographic also publish 'The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins'. There is a reason for my suggesting this, but I've forgotten what it is!

[Rob75]

Thank you all for your posts.

I think I am really going to enjoy being a part of this community, everyone seems very friendly and enthusiastic.

I shall shortly be posting a few questions now that I have started to catalogue my coins.

Many thanks again.

[azda]

And we look forward to seeing your coins