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I suppose in the case of 1865/3, as there are a number of different overstrikes of the 5 over 3, thus a number of re-used 1863 reverse dies, a 'good housekeeping' policy might be interpreted. The 1882/1 is somewhat similar, fewer different overstrikes but still a couple and used with earlier obverse dies. There are also a number of different 1893/2 dies. The others seem to be single die varieties, and perhaps therefore less likely the result of a mint 'good housekeeping' policy. But it has to be a question of probability, in the absence of contemporary records. Jerry

It depends on how much you want to spend and what sort of things you like. Do you appreciate quality, or are you just looking to tick boxes? This might be a little unfair at present, but the question will raise its head again. All collections are a trade-off between desire/ambition and funds. You collect what you feel comfortable with. Just the simple exercise of buying a book or two will give you knowledge. A book with prices means you can add up the numbers and see what the book says it will cost you to assemble your chosen collection. Prices at the top end can get a little scary if you are used to bottom fishing, but it is always worth remembering that even if you are normally paying £10/coin, a £100 coin doesn't suddenly become a £10 coin just because you bought it. More important is the need to understand the market you are playing in, which means a lot of reading and minimal collecting to begin with. Get a few books and visit coin fairs, speak to people. Wakefield is tomorrow at the Cedar Court Hotel (off Jcn 39 of the M1) starting at 9:30 if you are within range. The Midland fair is at the Motorcycle Museum (near Birmingham Airport on the M42) on the second Sunday of each month, again doors open at 9:30. People with a genuine desire or need for knowledge are welcome to talk to dealers - we don't want to frighten people away as they are our future customers.

Happy birthday Coinery!

Just looked on eBay! They've got the wrong reverse image, it's probably a London as per the description.

Newcastle, it's in my watch list!

A type set is an example of each denomination for a particular coinage, so fractional farthing up to the gold £5 if you can afford it. By collecting in this manner you can see a range of coins which differ in both size and design. After a while you may decide that you like a particular denomination, but until you do it keeps all your options open. Personally, I find a date run boring as it comprises a number of similar coins which differ only in the date which may be too small to see easily, but there is no right or wrong and it is each to their own. You can start with a single type set for a monarch, but this can be expanded to include type sets of the different coinages of that reign. For example, George VI's initial coinage was in 500 silver and had the full titles on the obverse. Following India's independence the IND IMP was dropped on the 3rd coinage, so you have a different obverse design, though the portrait was unchanged. You have 3 distinct portrait types for Victoria, the Young head, Jubilee head and Veiled head. Elizabeth II has half a dozen portraits and she isn't finished yet! The beauty of a type set is that it allows you to find the cheapest year for any denomination/type of coin. Go for a date run and you will end up with a gap for the key date that you feel reluctant to fill. Edward VII silver for example is relatively cheap for some years, but 1905 is way more expensive than the rest. If you got a 1902 set then you would have all the denominations issued during the reign at the cheapest price for any grade. 1902 is quite common in all denominations. Aesthetically speaking, it is better to have coins with a similar grade and tone.

That's what makes this hobby so great. Both ends of the spectrum and we both enjoy it. Not to mention the knowledge gained and the camaraderie shared.

Absolutely right Gary - nothing bargain-like about mine !

You probably saw this on Ebay recently. The route to getting it was tortuous but I just had to have it - it's stunning. It's far and away the best of only 4 known examples (1862 over 1).

I suggest you look at the Lighthouse catalogue. Whether you go for this brand or a cheaper one, they all follow the same principles. Numis and Optima are pretty much the same thing, I think the Optima is a bit bigger so it's capable of taking slightly bigger sheets. You buy the sheets separately so you can choose which pages suit you better. In the 'classic' type of sheet, the coins go into strips of pockets that slide in the pages' bays. it's great because you can always get the coins out and re-arrange them again and again. The bad thing is that the level of protection is not great, and the pages have quite set sizes so you can't mix big and small coins in the same page. The other system is put the coins in 2x2 carboard flips and then place these in special pages K50. The advantage of this is that the coins are permanently protected from the atmosphere and fingerprints, You can also arrange coins of different sizes in the same page. The bad thing is that once you put a coin in a carboard flip, you can't take it out unless you break it. All my low value collection is in Numis albums with K50 pages, therefore in 2x2 flips. Better coins demand fancier solutions - Quadrum capsules in Volterra box for instance.

Thanks Ian and Sword. I will be taking your advice ordering some of the albums and inserts recommended by Upinsmoke. Ian, to be fair to the makers of the 'cheap' albums, the plastic is OPP, not PVC. I think (though I may be wrong) that this is safe for coins. Thanks for all the replies everyone :-)

Hi Garrett, thanks for your reply. I did search on this forum but the posts seemed to focus on capsules, Lighthouse trays and separate stamp holders. I would really like to be able to store my coins in a book type format, and keep start-up costs low in case this is not a hobby that grabs me in the long term. No-one mentioned the cheap amazon and ebay coin booklets that are so common and I wondered why. Cheers, Pete

I've seen slightly different comparisons, but here is one: The table below shows how one scale relates to another based on our grading using standard terms, and our experience and observations of the numerical scales. It should be noted that the prefixes accompanying the US grades typically imply a higher grade than the UK grading terms (e.g. AU = VF-EF). Raw grade US grade(Sheldon) CGS grade Choice UNC MS66 - MS70 90-100 UNC MS64 - MS65 82-90 About UNC MS62 - MS63 80 GEF MS60 - MS61 75-78 EF AU58 - MS60 65-70 NEF AU55 55-60 GVF AU53 45-50 VF AU50 40 NVF EF45 35 GF VF35 - EF40 25-30 F VF20 - VF30 20 But: I have also seen some British auctions that follow the US scale more than UK. Australia is another story.

I added this beautiful 1904 penny to my collection recently.

Not really Mike, "a fool and their money" is a very old saying and applicable more so than ever!