Chris Perkins

That's the hardest part! Be conservative and don't fool yourself into believing the coins are up a grade when they aren't. Compare very similar coins and try to establish a coin that you know is for example VF and that will be a big help when looking at the others. Chris. www.predecimal.com

Babs! If it makes you feel better, I was at least mis led into thinking you were experienced on the internet because I think often net beginers shy away from forums, thinking they look complicated. So well done, and I'm very please you're finding the coins interesting. I have contacted a publisher in Torquay recently and hope to be offering a GBP4.50 book on the site that contains values for every UK coin 1821 - now in all collectable grades. it also contains info on grading, collecting and pictures of all the coins. I'll put you down for a copy shall I!! Chris www.predecimal.com

1950 is one of them!! There are a few 40's dates that weren't issued if memory serves, none of the 40's coins are that rare, I just don't have any! 51 is pretty scarce, 52 is worth 1000's (you won't find one!) 53 out of it's set it was issued in is scarcer, 54 is impossible and there were no more in the 50's or 1960. All the 60's are easy to find, and they stopped in 67. have a look at: http://www.predecimal.com/key_dates.htm Chris www.predecimal.com

Shane, I don't think there are any books specifically on fake sovereigns. I'd recommend some scales accurate to 100th of a gram to check the weight and an 8x magnifying glass to check the strike quality. If you get the 2003 Spink book 'Coins of England and the United Kingdom' it also outlines a few commonly found fake dates. **PLUG** I have scales and a magnifier in the online accessory shop You are also welcome to post pictures here of intended purchases when you register in the forum. Thanks for posting, Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

You're welcome and good luck with them Chris.

I don't do note on the site, but like coins the newer ones tend to only be collectable in very good condition. Have a look at: http://www.collectpapermoney.co.uk/ Maybe it would be an idea to separate the coins and notes that look really nice and buy the Spink published, Coins of England and the United Kingdom (RRP GBP18.00) which should contain all the info you need. Just let me know if you find any collectable ones and want to sell them! Good luck Chris www.predecimal.com

That's quite a lot isn't it. Where are you located? I'll be around SE England late september, they are probably nothing remarkable but if you're local I could pop by. Chris www.predecimal.com

The prices on the website are a dealers selling price, and I have to make a profit on the coins I sell to pay for this site and my time in listing/grading the coins etc, so the listed coins should be used as an idea, but be aware you are unlikely to get those prices for the coins unless you could sell them all individually to the right collectors. Also the coins listed are all strictly graded and are not the prices for eg any 1907 Florin, the price is for an AVF previously cleaned Florin. It's always the grade of the coin, not the age that makes it in demand. The best thing you can do at this stage, like you say you already have done is make a list and let me see it. Generally as a rule nothing newer than 1937 is worth much unless in EF of preferably UNC condition. Roughly how many coins do you have? Chris www.predecimal.com

Mish, All the Bronze (ie after 1860) farthings were struck in 'Medal' alignment. (so if you hold the top and bottom and turn the coin over the reverse is up the right way). The copper farthings before that (up to 1860) were coin alignment. So it's either a misprint in your book or perhaps you are looking at the wrong section? Thanks for joining and posting, your input is very welcome. Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

Thanks Brownowl, It's great to have you contribute to the site. I was thinking when I wrote my part that the Thrift plant could have something to do with being 'thrifty' i.e careful with your money but wasn't sure. The 2 sites you mention I have noticed before as they always seem to do better than me with search engine rankings! But I suppose that's fair enough because they do both have massive amounts of content on them! Chris www.predecimal.com

You need some webspace and an FTP client! You will be unable to add pictures to the website part. The predecimal.com webspace is password protected etc and you won't be able to put things directly on it (I don't want people deleting and changing my site behind my back!) However as you have registered you will be able to put things in the Forum area. When you post a message it should give you the option: 'You may attach a file to this message. Maximum file size (in bytes): 51200000'? You need to click the button to the right of it and browse your local hard drive for the file (the Picture) you want to attach to the message. The file has to be a jpg because bmp's are far to large and it will take people forever to view it. I've never done it myself, but i imagine when you've selected it there's an 'OK' button to press and then you post the message as normal. email me if you need to cp@predecimal.com Chris www.predecimal.com Chris. www.predecimal.com

Dear Cara, Most commonly found from that year are copper Half pennies (about 30mm) but farthings look the same and are around 22mm. Whichever it is, chances are it didn't do to well under the ground for 300 years and it's value will depend entirely on condition, from nothing and just a curiosity piece to over GBP100.00 for a near mint example. Also, that coin type was probably one of the most widely forged coins ever and there is a good chance your coin is not the real thing at all and a contemporary forgery. Which doesn't have to be bad because it will be of the same age and possibly even more interesting, and even more valuable to a collector (a few quid, i'm not talking huge amounts!) If it is a forged coin of the realm having it is probably still illegal and punishable by hanging If you register you can upload a scan of it for us all to see? CP www.predecimal.com

Hello Brownowl, The Reverse is the tail side of a coin and the side with the 'Head' on is the Obverse. King George VI ruled from 1937 - 1952 and on all his Brass Threepences can be seen a Triffid, SORRY a Thrift plant on the reverse. I expect this represents something helardic rather than the man eating John Wyndham creation and probably represents part or the whole of the United Kingdom, but the exact meaning of the scary looking plant escapes me! I'm sure if you do a google search on 'Thrift' you can find out and tell me! Queen Elizabeth II (Daughter or George VI) became Queen in 1953 and for some reason the design was changed on the reverse to a Portcullis with chains Royally crowned. Threepence's stopped being produced for circulation in 1967 and all the coins from 1953 - 1967 have the same portcullis reverse. Another heraldic design which I believe represents 'Justice' but i'm not 100%. Interestingly the New penny (or 1p) that was first issued in 1971, to this day has a very similar reverse. CP

Thanks grcalvert, I did it around the other way and am just stating to get into Roman so stick around, I'm sure we can help each other. Chris www.predecimal.com

Yes 'Bright' and 'Shiny' are certainly part of the Lustre experience! Lustre is what the coin has on it when it's freshly struck. So a brand new 'Shiny' coin that you get in your change has lustre on it. Over time, through handling, wear and being exposed to the elements the lustre gets lost and the coin will look brown (if it's copper or bronze) or just dull if it's a silver coloured coin. When the original lustre has gone, that's it, you can never get it back! Even by polishing the coin (NEVER DO THAT) the original lustre can never be brought back and the shine resulting from polishing will be a different colour, have a different look and the coin will be worth less than if it was brown! Coin collectors and dealers can always tell the difference between original lustre and a polished coin and in most cases will not be very interested in a polished example. So a coin with full unblemished lustre is a coin with it's original lustre as in left the mint and therefore, if it's an old coin much more in demand than a dull example. Usually the grade BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) indicates a coin with full original lustre. Although UNC (Uncirculated)coins usually have most of their lustre intact and even EF (Extremely Fine) coins sometimes have traces remaining. Hope that helps CP Predecimal.com

Yes there are plenty of coin collectors phrases to describe different parts of the coin, and most of them are in my Numismatic dictionary, here: http://www.predecimal.com/dictionary.htm Just to start you off: The grooved edge is called a milled edge although it's quite possible the 'American' name is different because American coin collectors annoyingly use different terms! (Yes thought so, just looked in a book, it's called 'Grained' in American!) The reason the USA Quarters have different colours shown on the edge is beacause they are made from a copper core plated in nickel. The British 2 pence from 1992 - 1998 was acually copper plated steel but the edge was also copper plated so you couldn't see the metal underneath (and to stop the steel rusting). I don't know of any other contries that leave the core visible. Personally I think it looks cheap! For those of you that are not aware, the British Threepence coin was made of Brass from 1937 - 1967 and did indeed have 12 sides. In fact there are also varieties with sharp corners or rounded corners but the basic 12 sided shape is called a Dodecagon but I expect it's different in American!! Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

Coins with arabic (or non Western of any kind) writing on sometimes prove very difficult to identify, let alone date and grade. You assume it's hebrew, possibly israeli. It could also be from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, even India, Pakistan, Egypt, Ethiopia or any number of countries that write in what to a Western eye looks just like squiggles! Things have got easier though, it seems many countries at least have dates in Christian format. As far as i'm aware there could not possibly be a website in existance covering every possible middle eastern country's mint marks from the last 200 years or more. if you register as a Forum member you will have the ability to upload a picture of the coin. With a little help from a couple of books I have I may be able to identify it for you. Thanks Brownowl

Yes, no problem. A special Grading Forum will be created in your honour! Chris

Why are some coins considered valuable?...... Why is Gold valuable?.... Simple...Demand. There is no real logical explantion. Gold is pretty and makes nice jewellery, but so does silver, or even stainless steel, so why is gold so expensive? Perhaps because since time began people have always been obsessed with gold. If the demand for a coin is high, the value will be high. Coin demand is usually created by a mixture of condition, rarity and 'wantability' (or obsession!). If the coin is pig ugly and comes from the Kingdom of Bhutan, (although they make very wonderful coins there) a country that no one has heard of, even if only 1000 were made, chances are demand will be low and the 1000 coins will be worth relatively little. If the coin is a 1934 British Wreath Crown the demand will be very high! Around 1000 were made, but it's a beautiful large coin, part of an important series and from a very imporant coin issuing country (I like to think so, i'm sure you all agree!). Lots of British coin collectors have lots of spare money to spend on coins, so the people that want it exist, therefore a demand exists and therefore that coin is valuable. I wrote a little about this subject in the 'what makes a coin valuable' section of www.coinvaluation.com Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

Dear Brownowl, Firstly, thankyou very much indeed for your comments on the site. I'm pleased the site is providing what it was always meant to provide. It's all about encouraging new collectors, not just selling coins! Your comments do wonders for the old ego too! I see you have been very busy in the Forum too and that really has done me a favour as it adds to the content of the site (without me having to think of more ideas!) and puts accross different subjects and views. Hopefully more people can reply to them and the word spreads etc. I will address your other comments in the other forum areas and hope very much that you become a regular 'face' in here! We can at least talk to each other in these early stages. Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

Hello there, thanks for using the Forum. 1893 Crowns had either LVI or LVII on them. Which by the way is the Regnal year (how many years Victoria had reigned for when it was struck). It was the 1897 Crowns that had LXI on them but there isn't much difference in the current catalogue values whether it's 1893 or 97...Around GBP15.00 in Fine condition, GBP35.00 in VF condition and considerably more in higher grades. have a look around the site for grading information, I currently don't have any similar coins for sale. Chris www.predecimal.com

Gary, If you register, you can upload a picture of the coin if you have one? Chris www.predecimal.com