Leaderboard

That was me Chris. The owner believed it to be genuine and was distraught when told it is a modern repro. He paid genuine 1905 money for it some time ago on eBay and is now trying to get his money back. I'm told they're not being very helpful and so he's approached trading standards. I did suggest he sign up as a member here in case anyone would be able to help but he's having trouble registering. If anyone does have advice he could be messaged on eBay via the contact the seller link. I think his feedback profile attests to his fair dealing and his listing of a coin he paid a lot for believing it genuine. On being told it was fake he immediately cancelled the listing.

A builder's labourer goes to his doctor, "I'm constipated." he says. The doctor examines him for a few minutes and says, "Lean over the table." After he does so, the doctor whacks him on his a**e with a baseball bat. A loud "CRACK!" is heard, and the doctor sends him to the toilet. After coming out of the toilet, he says, "I feel great! What should I do to prevent constipation in the future?" The doctor says, "Stop wiping your a**e with cement bags

Ben Doon and Phil McKavitee always works a treat

I got caught out when working at IBM when someone persuaded me to put out a call for Hugh Janus over the tannoy...

Hi everyone, I'm Jack, nice to meet you all - I've been collecting British pre-decimal coins since lockdown started last March, albeit with quite a large gap between then and now due to moving house, quitting my job (good timing mid-pandemic) and other minor impediments. I'd say I've been properly focussed on collecting coins now since September 2020, so in a word - newbie. Even as a kid I remember finding old coins around my grandparents' houses and being fascinated by how old they were (even the ones that weren't particularly old) and equally fascinated by the alien (to me and my generation) system of £/d. While I'd remark at how fascinating old coins are, I never actually got round to making a hobby of collecting them or delving deeper into numismatics. I found a old hot chocolate tin underneath the bed in the spare room of my step-mother's house when I was staying there for Christmas in 2019; in it there were loads of old, mostly British, coins so I decided to sift through them and see if I could find anything really interesting. In amongst the tonnes of decimal 1/2 p coins there would appear various George VI coins, the odd George V coin, a few Victoria pennies rubbed to oblivion over time. All of these were simply magical to me; tangible pieces of history passed from untold numbers of hands into untold numbers of pockets untold numbers of times - amazing! And each coin a work of art in its own right. I decided to cherry-pick the best ones (best one being a 1909 Edward VII Half Crown in not the best condition) and when I got home, I put them into an album I'd bought. That's when I did what I believe most new numismatists do - I went on eBay and bought garbage in order to bulk out my collection. I later read in some coin groups on Facebook that you ought to focus on something specific and avoid quantity over quality. People suggested date-runs, all coins for a certain monarch or a certain year, etc. My favourite piece is the shilling by a long chalk, so I've decided start trying to get a shilling of each pattern (is that the right word even?) for each monarch going back as far as I can, so: Elizabeth II Scottish + English omitting BRITT. OMN, Elizabeth II English + Scottish with BRITT. OMN, George VI English + Scottish CuNi IND:IMP. omitted, George VI English + Scottish CuNi with IND:IMP., GEORGE VI English + Scottish Ag .500, etc. Currently I've got a few (can provide pics if people would like to see where I'm at so far), notwithstanding some gaps in chronology and some necessary upgrades owing to my earlier less-informed eBay jaunts 🤦‍♂️ Does this sound like a good idea to you more experienced folks? Another thing, how best can I spend my time when not actually making purchases? I have a few books (Spink 2021, Collectors Coins GB 2020, Grading British Coins); are there any others that you would recommend? What would you recommend researching? Sorry this has ended up quite long, I can boil it down to: 1) What do you think of collecting each pattern of shilling for each monarch? 2) What would you recommend doing to learn more? Thank very much in advance. I'm really looking forward to engaging with everyone on this forum, which seems like a really nice place with some very informed folks 😊

Orson Carte Al D'Enté Willy Eckerslike Bella Pock Helen Bach Tanya Hyde

A good auction for you @Nick ! At least, I hope it was - most lots were over estimate, quite a lot were well over.

That's a real shame. What a pity he didn't do more research especially as that's a hugely popular and therefore much faked rarity. I'll contact him with any advice I can offer.

stupid fuels

We put grease on my mother's back. She went downhill quickly after that.

My opinion, for what it's worth (and those are certainly good enough to collect): AF/F (rather flat portrait) GVF/VF (slightly flattened reverse) GF VF (ish..) and no, the grey tone - which is fairly typical - in no way reduces the grade VF the reverse is VF, the obverse is hovering around VF too but not quite as good As for paying, yes go with what you like and be prepared to pay over the odds (but not too much!) for something you really want. For example, I took part in my first ever auction today at one of the 'big boys' (Dix Noonan Webb), and paid over book price for a scarce halfcrown in top grade - I wanted it because I have every other one in that series in better-than-EF minimum and I only had the scarce one in VF/GVF. To me, as I could afford it, I was prepared to splash out in order to get it.

Straight out of Porkies. Barman, having answered the phone: "Mike Hunt? Mike Hunt? Anyone seen Mike Hunt?" I'm sure it would have been in The Simpsons too, when Bart and Lisa used to prank call Moe's .. unfortunately it wasn't after the watershed!

Must be someone who peruses this forum - it's been pulled.

Books are best for a young or starting out collector , try not to buy at first but borrow from a library , it should not cost you much that way Buy a few books esp out of print ones - you usually get your money back for them if you get bored .

Obverse 5.

Fine, gVF but looks cleaned, aVF, nVF, VF and nVF. Don't worry about the grade if you like it - just don't pay too much without the necessary knowledge. Once you are up to speed it is possible to justify paying over the odds. At the end of the day, collecting is a selfish thing. It's all me me me.

Probably having difficulty understanding the numbers, so he's used copy and paste from somewhere. He can't spell Leicester, so a lack of numeracy would merely be an extension of this.

I am not the greatest grader - I tend to work more on a similar basis to @Rob : "Do I like it or do I not?" My opinion, for what it's worth, is that you are doing the same as most new collectors and being a little optimistic. The first three I would say are half to one grade lower than your assessments. The 1817 and 1745 I would put at F+ to aVF. The 1787 at VF+ to aEF - but others are bound to disagree! By the way, I have been collecting for 20 years and am still in the "date run" mode as I find that more exciting and it allows me to keep many more coins. Shillings are a great starting point - big enough to be clearly visible and identifiable without being so big that the trophy hunters want them.

Hi Jack Collect what you want to collect and what you find interesting and attractive - it's your hobby and your money. But do read all you can about your subject as that may well affect what you end up collecting or specialising in. And do keep detailed records of your purchases together with the best photographs that you can manage (the examples above are pretty good). You will have years of pleasure (with a little frustration and envy thrown in). Best of luck.

Hi Jack, Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of help here, I was in your shoes some 4 years ago and the members here helped me so much giving me guidance on grading etc. I am sure you will enjoy you new hobby. Take a look at the Coin Acquisition of the Week section and you will see many pictures of the type of condition you should be looking for. Don't be afraid to ask questions or advice we all have had to start from somewhere. When I first started I collected all over the place, but soon realised that I just could not collect everything. So now only collect Sixpences, Threepences and Encased Farthings which is much more manageable. Also please post some of you coins for us to see and get advice.

Oops sorry I seem to have posted the same thread twice 😕

I doubt if I will be fighting you for many as I have limited funds, also I am only just dipping my toes in the Victorian era. So I'm like a child in the sweet shop, want everything but with little to spend. But will have a go on a few😘

I think this thread needs som pictures - here are some of mine. First - probably my favourite - Frankfurt:

China petrol station