TomGoodheart

Yeah, I copied it from the 2015 Spink Coins of England for quick reference. To be honest, a handful of pics like that probably aren't all that helpful to you. Perhaps better to check a dealer website that has a variety of stock and reasonable grading skills. Also (I think) it's important to remember that strict grade (ie the amount of wear a coin has been subject to since it was made) isn't always the best measure with hammered coins. Individual variations can mean an unworn coin which was weakly struck is less appealing than one that was stronger and has circulated a bit. Then there's toning, how a coin compares to the usually encountered examples .. I (and a few people I know) tend to talk more about 'eye appeal' than grade with hammered coins. The above shilling for example, is worn (easiest to see on the rim which can be almost sharp enough to cut your fingers on truly unworn coins) and is weak in places (such as the shoulder) where the flan is thinner. I grade quite strictly, if at all, and I guess I'd personally call it nVF if I was feeling generous (it was sold as VF). And it's also double struck (another challenge with hammered coins!) and has a flan split! However the portrait is (fairly unusually) clear and it's pleasantly toned and on a nice broad round flan and so I like it better than other, more crisply struck or higher graded coins. For me it has good eye appeal. If that makes sense?

Very nice Cameron. If only later issues such as the Plantagenets were as crisply struck I might be tempted to take up collecting pennies!

Yours is at least nEF Dave. Theirs probably gVF by Spink but lacks eye appeal. IMHO

Buying from a reputable dealer who offers a simple return policy suggests you can have confidence in their stock. And I don't really mean eBay. While there are decent coins and sometimes even bargains there, it's better to have some experience under your belt before spending serious money. A coin fair might give you an opportunity to meet dealers and inspect some coins up close. There's nothing like seeing the real thing to develop an eye for something a bit dodgy. The internet is a remarkable resource. When considering a purchase (and I've been collecting nearly 15 years now) I still check auction site records, old sales catalogues and reputable dealers sites to compare the coin I'm interested in with others in terms of condition and eye appeal. You also have to remember that the vast majority of coins are genuine. Yes, fakes are a problem for some series, but not most. Provenance will help reassure, there although most coins will have little unless rare and it's generally a lot easier to spot earlier sales of a hammered coins (because each is unique in its quirks) than milled ones. More important then is spotting a coin that has been cleaned, checking for edge damage and trying to buy the best you can afford. And as Paulus says, posting a picture of a potential buy here for opinions can be very helpful. Oh. And we all make mistakes. Buy coins that we later regret or that turn out not to be the bargain we thought. All you can do is mark it up as a learning experience and try to make the mistake an inexpensive one! Welcome to the forum and have fun!

I was looking for pics of home but they must be on my old laptop. So here's a pic of somewhere I went running back in the summer. Mid-Wales, not far from Dolgellau and jolly nice it was too ...

True. Though of course, I'd prefer old toning with a few tickets from earlier collectors. I'm just too fussy for my own good, I know!

Yeah, sorry guys. I've just been busy elsewhere, only popping in occasionally. Sadly the Chas I shilling field has rather dried up for me, with the better pieces being held onto or going for daft money. Rarities in poorer condition are still occasionally about, but I'm looking to upgrade a fair few of mine and so have had no new purchases to talk about of late. I need both a large increase in pocket money and a reversal of the trend for only top grade material to be of interest ... neither very likely I'm afraid. Though I live in hope!

Ah. I had some of those too! But I can't see any rules were broken and it seems to have generated a good discussion, so I'm inclined to let it stay.. all agreed?

I think the £100 is not really enforced as I've had things I've listed for more. You could pm Chris, but I'm not sure he'd worry too much about the difference as numismatist is a regular contributor and it's not a huge amount these days ...

That's pretty much spot on Sword. A quick glance through John Brooker's collection gives a range from around 14.5 - 15.3g. Actually the legal requirement, tested at the Trials of the Pyx, was 232.25 grains (which = 15.0495 grammes). (Another snippet from the Brooker book which can sometimes be picked up cheap on eBay).

I think you're on the right lines Sword. With hammered, my view is that grade is not always as important as 'eye appeal', by which I mean for example that a slightly more worn coin that is centrally struck can be more pleasing than one that is crisper but has bits missing or a weak area. Obviously full flan, nicely toned EF examples are ideal, but generally I've found some compromise is usually needed! I suspect everyone has their own criteria as to what is essential in a coin and what weaknesses are forgivable, though it takes time to develop an eye for this and views can and do change with time. In other words, collecting hammered is a much more personal and subjective thing than with later milled coins. That said, your round / well centred / no weak areas / decent enough grade, with rather good details and / full flan covers the main areas well enough. Now you just need to buy a few more! I guess the only other thing I would add is that I have found comparison useful in my own collecting. A few (more modern, as they tend to be more fully illustrated and sometimes in colour) auction catalogues for decent collections can be a useful investment, enabling you to see what discerning collectors selected as an example (or in some cases had to make do with) of a particular coin. Then you just have to look for similar or better! Obviously it's easier if you have a particular area that interests you. Any idea what you'd like to buy next?

Mmm .. I tried to remove my Title and got 403 ERROR Sorry but the page you have requested has encountered the following error: Forbidden Please feel free to browse the rest of my website You may also use the "Search" feature to find the product you are looking for I apologise for the inconvenience. Any ideas Matt?

Welcome Stephen. A fair number of dealers will value a collection for insurance purposes, either with a fee or sometimes a charge for travel expenses. In such a case receipts wouldn't really be needed. Years ago I had mine valued by the local Numismatic Society. Of course, I've sold a few and bought others since. Hence I do keep receipts and provenance information. As my coins are all effectively unique (being hammered) I keep photographic records of all of them so if they ever did resurface on the market they would be easy enough to identify. You can also get stuff like SmartWater .. I don't see why it would mark coins and it's linked solely to you, so again if stolen coins turn up they could be identified as such. Mine are covered by my household insurance policy, though they do require anything over a certain value to be listed separately. How well a lump of cash would compensate for the work of 10+ years of collecting however I'm not sure. And hope never to need to find out. Insurance is good to have, but other precautions (such as not advertising you collect, keeping the collection out of sight of casual visitors etc) shouldn't be overlooked.

I know I'm coming into this late in the day. It's not something that really affects me. However I do find the whole thing very odd. Surely, from a marketing point, one of the selling points of a CGS (or NGC, PCGS etc..) entombment is that, should you decide to sell your coin, potential buyers can then find it on the grading service's database, confirm it's the same coin (and have the possibility of inspecting photographs of it) before committing their cash? Now that is surely impractical, unless you're a dealer. For a casual occasional buyer, paying £50 to validate a coin seems daft. To me, what LCGS seem to have done is made their service much less attractive an option. If you want a database of coins, you'd surely be better off photographing them yourself. Protection? The afore-mentioned Quadrum capsules sound ideal. Certification and grading? NGC or PCGS are better known and grade to an internationally understood scale. Even if their current customers are the loyalest of the loyal, I just don't get how CGS think this is going to be viable.

I quite understand Pete. As my fussiness has increased, the number of my purchases has decreased. One year I bought just two coins. Then Daughter was studying the French revolution and I got interested in the symbol of the Republic, Marianne. She's obviously used widely on French (and French colonial) coins. But also other 'revolutionary' states, such as Cuba, Civil War era Spain. Plus of course, the US. They come in copper, silver, nickel brass, aluminium, zinc ... It provided me with a new theme, the coins are generally cheap (you can add in advertising tokens, jetons and American Civil War Tokens if you like ..) Not suggesting you do the same. Just that you might like to look beyond one denomination or nation for something that takes your fancy?

Ah, thanks Peter! Good idea!

My exhaust fault light went on. My garage were busy so I took it to a place that do performance retuning. They checked it and say it's the actuator which, if it was a newer model would just need replacing, but as mine is an early version might entail the whole thing. They are checking to see if they can source a repair kit, so fingers crossed ..

I like my Octavia. Cheaper than an Audi, decent build quality, VAG engines ... I've got a 1.4 TSI saloon. Good size boot (popular as taxis here). First car I've owned from new. Good luck with the car shopping! .

I only post when something interests me. Which tends to only be in my rather narrow collecting area I'm afraid ... And to keep on topic, the turbo in my Skoda might need replacing. Not as pricy as a new car, I know. But ..

The next questions might be where it was bought. If from a dealer that usually gives some reassurance. And provenance too. Though I didn't find this particular coin during a short web search..

More Clive's or Rob's area Nick, but there's nothing about it that shrieks 'fake' to me ... looks nice.

In the 60's we went on holiday to Austria. While driving through Germany we parked up at a stop on the Autobahn, this large chap wandered over and inspected the GB plates on our car. He turned to my Dad and said "You were in war?" "I was in war" Reached over to pop the boot of the car next to ours to reveal a case of beer. "Now we friends" he went on. "We drink". And they did. That was the only time I remember the war being mentioned.

Returning the thread a bit to the EU vote, my most serious misgiving is that this is indeed a divided nation. But not so much the Scots and Northern Irish and the rest. More our elected politicians and the rest of us. If any MP thinks that the public will have more respect or trust in them now they are fooling themselves. When it's clear that (probably whatever the outcome of the vote was) we need stable, reliable leadership all we have is pettiness and in-fighting. Both from the Tories with Michael "I woke up early and decided to run for PM" Gove imagining that polishing off his illustrious political career by stabbing his old friend BJ in the back would earn him Brownie points in the leadership race, and Labour with sulky MPs continuing to try to get rid of a leader who was elected with the largest (membership) mandate ever won by a party leader and whose presence appears to have more than doubled the membership of the party. Seriously. I didn't vote Leave, I don't like the result, but it is what it is. We now need to get to work sorting out the mess to the best advantage of our nation. And if our politicians can't or won't work towards that, perhaps we should look at deselecting and getting ones that will.

Welcome Damowain. As Rob say, Spink is a good generalist publication. Though you have to remember that books take time to compile and print and so prices are already dated by the time they hit the shelves, so they are only a guide really. You also have to remember that what a coin is 'worth' will vary depending on demand. A coin can sell for silly money if two people really want it, but conversely a really rare one can go for peanuts if few people collect that type and those that do already have an example. There aren't really all that many websites that offer prices as it would take a lot of time to keep them up to date and many sites are run by just once person. The most accurate price guide is perhaps to follow auction sales (coupled with some knowledge) but that's probably only something to worry about when you are looking for something very specific. And of course, while grade is key, nice or nasty toning, 'eye appeal' and other factors all come into play. Really there's no substitute for personal knowledge. And until you have that there are places like this forum. Most members will happily offer an opinion as to grade or reasonable price if you post a photo of a coin for discussion, so don't be afraid to ask. We're all learning here. Just some have been learning for a bit longer than others!

And no eBay fees here!