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OK, maybe these are a bit more interesting. Just finalized the purchase so wanted to wait until that happened before posting. 1902 Crown 1902 Florin

Nothing to blow your mind but I picked up the 1902 1/3 Farthing in good condition as part of my 1902 denomination year set.

I'm going to be a contrarian and say yes. What is the question?

I obviously have my own areas of loyal interest, but just thought of an idea for myself and, of course, others who struggle with the big question 'where to start' with collecting! One of the issues I've noted with newcomer questions, time and time again, is that of what to collect? 'Do I collect bronze, copper, silver, pennies, crowns, etc.?' Well, I've an idea, founded upon the other great collection struggle, that of having a decent collection quickly, which I'm sure is part of the reason we all end up with a useless pile of bullion once we settle into quality collecting! OK, so here's my strategy, and recommendation for those who are unsure where to start! Collect denomination year sets, and learn all about Bronze, Copper, Silver, CuNi, Gold even, and discover varieties, errors, so on, etc, etc,! As an example, I thought I'd snaffle an easy 1901 set off eBay, which started with a very cheap UNC penny, followed by a bargain 6D! The HC, HP, Farthing, and shilling, happened over a couple of months, with maybe a little bit of reselling to get these right! However, I now concede that I have watched quite some time for a 'right-priced' florin and the gold, and happily accept I will have to visit auctions or dealers to acquire these in top grades which, incidentally, is also part of the fun! Now, I presently don't have the resources to pursue the rest of my 1901 set, but I do have a small amount with which to watch eBay and snaffle the occasional pretty thing 321275869721 and start the whole process over again! So over the next few months I'll be keeping an eye on 1886, looking for a steal, and will inevitably stumble upon the denominations of that year that I'll have to seek out again at the dealers, fairs, or auctions! It keeps the fires burning, and keeps the grey matter and reading going forth! It excites me to snaffle some cheap things and begin another set of something, whilst I can't afford the harder pieces! Key point is, it's a manageable way of finding out what you like, and encourages visits to all the main collection resources! For me personally I quite like it all...so a copper, big silver, little silver, and piece of gold offends me not in the least! Happy daze!

Very very nice florin. I also went for the 1902 set, being so common in high quality you get the 'best bang for your buck' if you want to focus on quality rather than rarity, and quickly put together a type set. You do know that the third farthing did not circulate in Britain though?

I have maybe another 40-50 in stock plus the 30 ish in the shop which is about six months stock. So not a route to instant riches but it ticks over.

What about the poor old threepence a reverse design that lasted how many monarchs? William IV through to george V . Now that is iconic Definitely cartwheel tuppence Just always makes my mind wander to the time and who would be carrying these around Same can be said for any of the gothic florins. I believe our most iconic and probably the greatest coin design we have had St george sovereign just as classy and what better icon to be used than the great St george our flag bearer Also I believe the old penny again it matters not from what era of milled coins from George III onwards despite it's weight changes and slightly smaller diameters the Penny was huge. Any overseas visitor right up to decimalisation would associate blighty with the big penny I am going to sneak in the sixpence that funny old 2 1/2 pence anything that was given 2 nicknames "The Bender" and most recognised as "The tanner" deserves iconic status and this little description for one so small clearly was held with the highest regard by the british public Bender – A sixpence was known as a bender because due to its silver content it could be bent in the hands. This was commonly done to create ‘love tokens’, many of which survive in collections to this day. The value of a sixpence was also enough to get thoroughly inebriated as taverns would often allow you to drink all day for tuppence. This gave rise to the expression ‘Going on a bender’. Says it all lol Tanner – this alternative name for the sixpence probably dates from the early 1800s and seems to have its root in the Romany gypsy ‘tawno’ which means ‘small one’. I am less convinced about the latter's. Description more likely something to do with the tannery where the leather goods were sourced. Perhaps it cost a sixpence for a pair of shoes or a leather belt . I just can't get the leap of faith from tawno to tanner . Chalk and cheese imo And a tradition still used to this day even though the coins have long since gone was to put a sixpence in the xmas pudding . Finders keepers. The high society actually use gold ones. Nice little side earner again for the RM

I always try to look at like for like on these dealer sites. So it is with Baldwin. So, I looked at their 1790 Droz Pattern sixpence. In reasonable condition except that the toning is a bit blotchy in places and there is a rather nasty 'streak' on the obverse. Price is 450 pounds. My own example cost 366 pounds including BP and postage from DNW (Paul Cattermole Collection). It looks a lot better, toning is even and there is no streak. The Baldwin coin is, in my opinion, overpriced by at least 100 pounds. They do have another 1790 on the same page and at the same price. Problem with this one is that someone has been colouring it with blue marker (unless it is something a lot worse). They also have an 1831 sixpence. They reckon it is a GEF. When I compare it to my MS65, it looks like a GVF (but I will give them a bog standard EF). It also has some red marker on it. They want 350 pounds, mine cost 280 fully juiced. Of course, dealers can be expensive. Look at Atlas Numismatics where I have bought a few coins. But, if you are going to be expensive then you have to offer top quality merchandise and a great buying experience which Atlas does. Baldwins are not doing that. While they have, no doubt, some very nice coins, there is a lot of very average coins in their inventory. Problem is that the prices are not all that average.

Not in quite the same grade but a scarcer type for the year 1873 rev C die 117

Must be something about Florins of that era. I also have a 1900 which I repatriated from a New Zealand coin dealer's website a few years ago. Very similar in toning to yours! Sorry for the thread hijack Mick, look forward to seeing your incoming 1937s in due course

I picked up this beautiful 1900 Florin. The grey-scale toning on the reverse is really nice IMO.

Well everyone I have now completed my 1935 set of Denomination coins with this one off of eBay. Thanks to everyone that helped me, you know who you are. I have now to move on to the next set. I am happy with this nice and crisp and at last am getting better photo's although still struggling to get decent ones of the silver coins.

My latest additions, nothing spectacular and not my usual area of collecting but a nice memento of my holiday in Canada. The quarter cent is supposed to glow in the dark.......it doesn't!!