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Some recent additions, I do like the Half crown and the Groat looks much better in hand. Again none really qualify for coin of the week but the Groat means 1 more box ticked for now. The shilling is currently in a dodgy NNC slab but I intend to break it out ASAP.

When I first joined this site I met Peter PWA1967 and he told me I should speak my mind on the forum but carefully / thoughtfully does it. I am probably going to be locked in the virtual "Stocks" for what I am about to write and have Cabbages thrown at me but here goes . . . . . Being a Yorkshire Man you will know I am careful with my money. Like you I do not like to pay for some thing especially when you are used to receiving it for free. The old CGS site is now closed, gone and the new site is accessed via the London Coins site and they are still in process of making live some of the smaller, less used facilities. Yes £99 is a lot of money and I thought long and hard about it before sending my £ 99 to them but this is for a year and breaking that down to £ 8.25p per month it is not an extravagant amount of money when you consider a coffee and a bun from Costa costs over a tenner. I am passionate about my pennies and as I am a variation collection collector the information held on the new site is very useful to me and whilst the site was off I must admit I missed the ability to access the information held within the site. Apart from this variation information on the site, being able to view my coin collection in the various lists like denominations or monarchs is pleasing and helps me plan what my next purchase will be. There is always another coin. My Wife calls me a "Coin Addict". Lets not get onto Wives and coins. One other important point is that as new coins and new variations are discovered they are quick to put these on the site. I like my coins in their "coffins" or slabs for several reasons: Have you ever dropped a coin and been rewarded with an edge knock or worse ?. I have dropped several slabs on the floor with no damage whatsoever. I also appreciate the fact that in the past I have purchased coins which were labelled "UNC" only to find out later that they were A/UNC or lower. At least with the slabbing you have the grade what it says and should this ever be wrong you have their guarantee of a full market refund. A cautionary tale is that whilst a slab does float its floatation buoyancy is dependant upon the coin within. I can tell you that half sovereigns DO float in their slabs where as a full sovereign DOES NOT float. I know this as several of my slabs went into the river Ouse from my boat and the floaters we all half sovereigns. For the REAL coin seekers there are several sovereigns in the River Ouse outside the Kings Arms in York !!! Grading fees are always a topic of conversation. I would like mine done for free but it does cost money for wages, admin and also the slabs, labels and actual grading time. I have previously spoken to two of their graders and they told me its not just have a peek and guess / assess the grade. The year and denomination / monarch is a no brainer - we can all do that. Firstly they have to decide exactly which variation of the denomination for that year it is and also if it is a NEW variation. This can take some time bearing in mind the pressure they are under and the *ollocking they would get if they miss some thing. Then they have to assess the actual grade. They have a benchmark set which I have seen myself and this does help them decide on the grade. Then the coin goes to the second grader who basically does the same job again and the second grader gives their grade. Now they have two numbered grades, probably, hopefully both the same number. The coin and both graders numbers then go to the final grader who makes the final call upon the grade - A consensus of opinion is made is there is a difference of numbered grades. Now the coin has to be fitted in the slab, label attached and the UIN info uploaded - All for £ 15.75p. I believe this £ 15.75p covers all coins valued up to £800. I believe the maximum grading charge is £90 at a rate of 2% so that's up to a coin costing £ 4500. If you can afford a coin for £ 4500 then you can whinge about £ 90 . . . . Also its a business not a Non Profit organisation. How many of us would want to or could afford to work for free ? Coins that are not British cost a flat fee of £ 15.75p so If you collect other than British coins you will not pay more than £ 15.75p - that is my understanding. I believe in slabbing. Slabbing is HUGE in America and what happens over there usually happens in England. To sum up and this is the bottom line: We are coin collectors so we buy / trade coins. Do you want to be able to see ALL your coins in list format with photos ? Do you want to buy a coin that is exactly the grade / variation you want it to be and if not have the confidence that if it is not you are covered by their guarantee ? Do you want in depth information about the coins you have, their values and also their variations ? Do you want to damage your coins when you drop them and you will drop coins ? Finally and very important buying a slabbed coin is so much easier than buying a raw coin as you know exactly what you are going to get before you part with your money. I have now put on my Tin Helmet and Bullet Proof Vest and I await the back lash !

Swedish 1 daler plate, 1746. 715g of madness.

Most people would admire a 100+ years old circulating coin graded MS68 (or CGS equivalent) as an object of high rarity. I certainly can't see any interest for a modern proof coin wrapped in plastic moments after birth and later graded as MS70 or CGS123...

My latest edition, a 1902 circulation Halfcrown

I wouldn't disagree in principle with anything people have posted on here about buying the best you can afford, and trying to get a minimum of EF grade. It's a perfectly sensible and practical way to go. However, there are a couple of caveats. Firstly, that's only really a workable policy for readily available coins and dates, unless that is, you have infinitely deep pockets, something most of us don't have. To give an example, if you are a collector of all coins Edward VII, you may well be able to obtain most coins in EF or better for reasonable money. However, if you are a completist, you will want a 1905 halfcrown (and florin and shilling) and you are not going to get these for reasonable money in EF. A halfcrown in Fine alone will likely set you back £500, whilst in UNC you could have to pay around £10k for the best. In this situation you have a choice. Either ignore the hole in your collection or accept that you have to lower your grading goals, at least for this one date and type. Most of us who are completists have this dilemma from time to time and we usually compromise our grading ideals. Only today, there's an example on another thread where davidrj has managed to complete a date run, but the final coin is in pretty low grade, but I bet he's happy to see the gap filled. http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/9947-still-a-completionist-at-heart/ The other point is that those who say that buying lower grade means an upgrade later with more cost are quite right for common coins. However, for less common ones, filling a gap and waiting for an upgrade may be the only way to have the satisfaction of achieving a collecting goal, but it may not cost you money either. For instance, I have a complete date run of halfpennies back to 1672. Of these just about the most difficult to find is the 1689. I bought a River Thames find in near fine condition for £400, some years ago and filled the gap. Eventually, I bought Nicholson's example which is in GF maybe NVF, as an upgrade. I have no expectation that I can find an EF example, and even if I could, that I could afford it, so I have to remain satisfied with the one I have. However, the Thames find subsequently sold for £450, so there was even an up side to the upgrade. I guess the point I'm making is that when it comes to rarities, the idea that upgrades will cost more than buying the best you can doesn't always apply. A final thought and that is that although you can see the ideals for collecting on here, don't run away with the idea that every coin collector only collects in absolutely top grade. It may seem so based on people's comments, but in reality most collectors compromise on some coins some of the time. If they didn't, you wouldn't see the volume of sales on ebay that you do, and dealers wouldn't even bother offering lower grade material, but they do, all the time. It doesn't make you a less serious collector, just because you don't always collect high grade. And finally, finally, for what it's worth, your half farthing seems a perfectly reasonable buy for £4 to me. No, it's not top grade, but it's not the worst either. Based on your pictures, wear is very even all round and the colour looks nice, and I reckon you'd easily get your money back on ebay if you wished.