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I thought this 1926 ME I picked up recently for £250 was quite a lucky find.

Hi All, This is my first post here and I'm although I'm new to coin collecting, it's something I've been interested in somewhat for a while now. So, when I inherited a small coin collection from my grandparents fairly recently - I had absolutely no idea where to start... but I see it being a stepping stone to growing some sort of collection. Knowing the monetary value of each coin is one thing, but I've genuinely struggled to identify what each coin is. Having said this, I have done some research and think I may have identified what each coin may be. I would love to share the collection with you (link provided below); if anyone would be kind enough to provide any further information on any of the coins photographed I would be immensely grateful! In addition to this, if anyone knows where such coins can be valued, I would be pleased if you could point me in the right direction. Kind regards, https://photos.app.goo.gl/nmRh2toxEXSGwDus5

Update? Nope! I have not seen the proof set of 2002 to show up again, and this is subtended by the elusive 1984 Jamaica specimen set. A couple/few are out there but where? On another forum I saw that "allegedly" there were at least struck - and possibly released (or not?) - 113 sets of the 2002 proof set. This supposedly from the Royal Mint who never did respond to my queries via email or Facebook site.....

That is a very pleasing inheritance and a great starting point for a collection! You seem to have the basic identification of the monarchs on each coin correct. It would help to add the denomination to the description as for some coins only the size differentiates one denomination from another. For example the Queen Anne 1707 could at first glance be anything from a Crown down to a sixpence, each with a different value. If you are unsure of the denomination, add a scale so we can advise. As to how to value the collection, there are two main approaches: - Learn enough to do it yourself. Buy the book (Spink Coins of England) and read up on how to grade, then assign a value based on your acquired knowledge. - Get hold of an expert. You can find local coin dealers online or at a coin fair, or you can go to an auction house. Bear in mind they will be looking at the coins mostly with a view to what they could buy or sell them for. Some dealers will do an Insurance valuation, but quite rightly they would charge for this as there is no profit for them in the deal. I can't see anything in there that is outstandingly valuable, and one, the 1977 Crown, has virtually no value. Unless you are planning to sell them, why not just enjoy them as they are rather than worry about their precise value? In any case, any value is only an opinion and only becomes fixed when you sell it. Good coins can go for peanuts on a bad day, and poor coins for a fortune on another.

Recently I have come across a couple of dealers listing examples of 1962 half crown 'polished dies'. One had already sold and I have managed to snap up the second one. I have no images available but will post here when I recieve. The dealer has told me it belonged to a retired mint employee and that it has a superior finish like the 1961 polished dies, and that it is sealed in a polythene pack. He had no further information on the matter but I am wondering if these 'polished die' varieties are something given to employees as gifts?

Not had a printed catalogue for over two years now, despite regularly requesting them and having spent hundreds (and sold similarly) with them over the years. Likewise nowadays rarely bid with them. The online catalogue is a poor substitute for the printed, the latter which I used to like to peruse at my leisure. Lockdales did the same with me many years ago, and I have never bid with them since.

“Double Reverse”!! Oh well, not too well done….

I had this one also ,not the nicest coin or grade ,although unusual as dont think i have seen a mis struck bronze farthing before ?

Interesting times. This from Wikipedia (Raleigh was originally imprisoned in the Tower since 1603 for his part in a plot against James): In 1617, Raleigh was pardoned by the King and granted permission to conduct a second expedition to Venezuela in search of El Dorado. During the expedition, a detachment of Raleigh's men under the command of his long-time friend Lawrence Kemys attacked the Spanish outpost of Santo Tomé de Guayana on the Orinoco river, in violation of peace treaties with Spain and against Raleigh's orders. A condition of Raleigh's pardon was avoidance of any hostility against Spanish colonies or shipping. In the initial attack on the settlement, Raleigh's son, Walter, was fatally shot. Kemys informed Raleigh of his son's death and begged for forgiveness, but did not receive it, and at once committed suicide. On Raleigh's return to England, an outraged Count Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, demanded that Raleigh's death sentence be reinstated by King James, who had little choice but to do so. Raleigh was brought to London from Plymouth by Sir Lewis Stukley, where he passed up numerous opportunities to make an effective escape.[55][56] It goes on to say that after his execution, his embalmed head was presented to his wife - perhaps so she could bury it?

Don't get me started on the film industry messing with historical fact! I gave up believing anything they portrayed after Braveheart.

The mind is willing, but the wallet isn't!!

My wife is a very distant relative of Alice Nutter's, one of the witches. When we were last in Pendle, some 20 years ago, we visited the churchyard where one of the Nutters is buried, and at this point, a large black cat appeared on the grave. Whoooooo!! Given this coincidence, I've been a bit wary of my wife ever since, just in case. You never know what she can do. If only she could magic up a 1726 half crown for me.