Nothing new, the US have had an interest in British Coins since ….

[petitioncrown]

The USA has had strong connections with the British Numismatic Society since its formation at the beginning of the 20th century.

Recently when browsing through the year 1911 BNJ I noted the following. The patrons and members of the society were drawn from all walks of life - from Royalty to ordinary members of the public living in the UK and overseas. It was with interest that it lists His Majesty the King and 18 other royal members. There were a number of honorary members and many names appear that are associated with famous collections that have since been sold alongside institutions.

American members included the American Numismatic Society, Virgil Brand, Brooklyn Public Library, Congress, Library of Washington, Harvard University, A F Holden, Max Mehl, J Sanford Saltus (who later became president of the BNS), the US Treasury Department, along with two dozen other members. Notable British collectors included E K Burstal, P W P Carlyon-Britton, R C Carlyon-Britton, Cumberland-Clark, T B Clark-Thornhill, Dr E C Carter and many others too numerous to list.

There need be no question why so many US collectors enjoy British coins which can be traced back about 2000 years to Celtic times.

[Peter]

It is of no suprise that US interest was strong at the start of the 20C as they had little more than 100 years of their own coinage.

Today interest runs even deeper down to price and availability.

Lets not be greedy we have enough to go around and as long as coins are not purchased to be polished and mounted to become jewellery I have no problem....indeed I have purchased several coins which have been entombed in plastic by US TPG's....but thats another story.

[Rob]

It's no surprise that US collectors take a liking to British coins when other parts of the former empire have many collectors in this field. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa have all produced good collections of British, so why not the US? Americans are big into their roots, so there is also a healthy collecting base of many European countries as well as other parts of the world. Irish and Scottish coins are similarly popular.

There is a parallel collecting base interested in the investment side of numismatics which becomes noticeable the wealthier the country, but the collector is well represented in all fields. As has been said previously, some investors inadvertently find out that collecting can be fun too and so pursue the hobby.

[Generic Lad]

Yes, during the early years of US coinage there were no real "rarities" for collectors, after all, the collector base was fairly small and confined to fairly wealthy individuals. Even today it is only through the fact that coin collecting is a major hobby in the US that certain coins have become scarce. One only needs to compare the prices for certain "rare" US coins and their mintages to British coins to see that a lot of those coins that US collectors are willing to pay $$$$ for would be considered rather common and have no major premium over other years in British numismatics.

The trend will only continue that US collectors will flock to British coin collecting because there are some coins that are seriously undervalued relative to their mintages (some pattern and most Maundy coins come to mind) and what sells for £150 might sell for well over $1,000 if it was a similar coin in the US. Because of this, we will only see more US investors and collectors getting into serious British numismatics. Location is no longer much of a barrier, even though I'm in the US and don't live anywhere near a good coin dealer in British coins, I can still collect and (if I had the spare cash) bid on some of the major coin auctions in the UK, and buy coins from dealers not just based in the US, but in the UK and EU too. What 20 years ago may have been nearly impossible because of the limitations of print and the mail service, now is routine.

[1949threepence]

Yes, during the early years of US coinage there were no real "rarities" for collectors, after all, the collector base was fairly small and confined to fairly wealthy individuals. Even today it is only through the fact that coin collecting is a major hobby in the US that certain coins have become scarce. One only needs to compare the prices for certain "rare" US coins and their mintages to British coins to see that a lot of those coins that US collectors are willing to pay $$$$ for would be considered rather common and have no major premium over other years in British numismatics.

The trend will only continue that US collectors will flock to British coin collecting because there are some coins that are seriously undervalued relative to their mintages (some pattern and most Maundy coins come to mind) and what sells for £150 might sell for well over $1,000 if it was a similar coin in the US. Because of this, we will only see more US investors and collectors getting into serious British numismatics. Location is no longer much of a barrier, even though I'm in the US and don't live anywhere near a good coin dealer in British coins, I can still collect and (if I had the spare cash) bid on some of the major coin auctions in the UK, and buy coins from dealers not just based in the US, but in the UK and EU too. What 20 years ago may have been nearly impossible because of the limitations of print and the mail service, now is routine.

Very true. All borders are now open in the mumismatic world.

I think it's pretty much inevitable that the American market will move into the British one, quite substantially over the next few years. This may be perceived as either a positive or negative trend, depending on how you look at it.

It will certainly enhance interest and place coins into a higher investment league. Existing private collections will be re-valued upwards, and collectors with money will continue to buy.

I imagine ~ although I readily concede that I may be well wide of the mark with this assessment ~ that the US influence will widen the gap between UNC and the rest. Or between the very best available and the rest. So we may have a two tier market with very distinct boundaries. The first will be for wealthy collectors and investors, both UK and US based, who will compete for the high quality end of the market, and the rest will be the small time collectors who will be increasingly confined to a mid grade, and even sub mid grade world.

Meanwhile the percentage price differentials between EF and UNC will continue to steepen, while those between mid grade and EF might narrow. Grade chasing will be commoner, even of less scarce specimens. "Rare in this grade" will be the stock phrase.

[Peter]

I have noted any "foreign" dealer who use's Krause to value his UK stock is often ripe for picking...I've just chanced upon a EU dealer who does this and I'm warning Mrs Peter that I intend to fill my boots up next week...my list is over 15 coins and I've only done up to 1/2d's

[scott]

my dealer uses krause to mark up his foreign stock, which is odd considering i have found stuff for 10p that is worth more then that. and also rich pickings when it comes to russian stuff

[Hussulo]

Great coin Jeff.

I have an interest in US coins as well, so I am a member of both the BNS and ANA.

I believe what Peter said "It is of no surprise that US interest was strong at the start of the 20C as they had little more than 100 years of their own coinage." Does have a lot of truth to it. Also a lot of the US coins were based on UK and French designs so you could see the appeal of British coins to the US collector.

If you look at the US designs especially from the late 18th and early 19th century they are quite basic compared to what European mints were producing, but perhaps that is why I quite like them. The only down side is the price of nice condition early US coins makes them hard to collect for most including myself.

This is one of the reasons why I tended to focus more on Colonial US coins in the past.