TomGoodheart

You would need to post a picture at least for an opinion. Counterfeit Elizabeth sixpences are not common but do exist. In my experience counterfeits are often rather worn - possibly made like that to avoid detection. There are of course quite a few reproduction coins on the market, which are a different matter. Pics should be as clear as pos (of course) or decent scans at around 300-400 dpi

I like walking (unless that too is some youtful way of saying something totally different...) I walk to work most days (well - the ones I actually go to work) - 40 minutes to an hour, depending on which route I take, but hiking.... done it a bit but I like some company to share the sights with. Nothing too heavy - strictly a daysack and 'approach' shoes man (- and preferably a nice hostelry at the end of the trip!!) I find it very meditative - kinda my chill out time. (Plus the fact that I am walking is a useful way of me checking that I'm not so chilled out I'm dead..) Sheffield's a good walking area burpalot - well, the Peaks. I also like the area South a bit towards Derbyshire - Matlock's nice.

Yes, I don't know what career I want yet either, but then I'm only 49. I think I'm working my way to being a bum. Gradually downsized from research scientist to artist to admin assistant and now working in a small care home. Eventually I aim to do something really useful, like hanging out at the beach, practising my spitting.... I find coin collecting's fine but just a tad stressful...

I have a copy of the most recent (2003) edition of "Coins of Scotland..." if you post a pic and dimensions...

Yes, and the link to "Report This Post" seems to have gone from his post - very irritating.

I think you're crediting 'the government' with more influence than it actually has Sylvester. If governments could actually do anything I suspect someone would have done away with them by now!

Well... yes and no. If one accepts that morality is related to the degree of conformity to certain rules and standards of behaviour then, in principal, it is. In practice there doesn't seem to me to be much evidence that any of the things you previously cited (death penalty, corporal punishment ) have the desired effect. ie no. Ideally I think we need to help (particularly young) people find some purpose and value in their lives. The trouble is that since the 1980's money, 'fame' and ostentation have become the benchmark of success and happiness. Chavs in my view are Thatcher's children, not Blair's. Perfect consumers for whom more designer clothes and recreational drugs have become something to die for, or at least worth kicking someone else's head in for. Personally I think that political divisions are a reflection of two different ideologies. One is broadly 'exclusive' and promotes the idea that life is a struggle - everyone has to look out for themselves because the world is a hostile place - a sort of 'batten down the hatches mentality'. The other is more 'inclusive' , tends to look on others as intrinsically good and so values cooperation as a means of achieving goals. One need only consider the inscription on the Statue of Liberty "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." and then reflect upon how the United States now treats immigrants, dissenters and the poor to see which direction we are heading. Obviously I believe we need more of the 'inclusive' and less of the 'exclusive' but how we achieve this I don't know. I do my best on a personal level but whether I can change society I don't know. I just know I haven't given up hope quite yet!

Sorry Sylvester - are you saying these are moral things or that you are also for morals?

'Fraid like Plan I can't see the boat from the pic posted. Don't clean the coin. Any chance of a better picture? (Do you have a scanner? They can be used to get pictures of (relatively) flat items like coins). Beyond that you'll just have to wait for someone more knowledgable about modern coins than me (that's just about anyone!) to get back to you.

Rather late in the day I decided to insure my coin collection. I decided that before I went to a broker to get a specialist quote I'd find out how much my household insurers would charge me. During the discussion I happened to mention the idea of specialist cover and was told that my company (Direct Line) has an all-or-nothing policy. This means that they insist on insuring ALL the contents of the home. In other words, if my collection was insured by another company Direct Line would consider me to be underinsured by the value of the coins and would adjust any claim accordingly! I don't know if anyone else is aware or affected by this but I suggest that those with collections that may be worth over the 'unspecified' valuables limit on their policies check it out. Similarly anyone with specialist cover. Having had to make a claim a number of years ago I can't recommend it to anyone - the last thing you need after a loss is for the insurers to start quibbling! (Actually no - the last thing you need is for the insurers to accidentally post the loss-adjuster's bill to you and to find that the amount by which your payout has been reduced has been given to someone else!) As a post-script - the price I was quoted was not far off what I also pay a bank for a box in their vault. Those with really valuble collections may wish to consider this although the number of branches that offer this service (or have space available) has reduced considerably in the last few years.

Can you post a picture please?

61 Charles I shillings - £15 grand (do I laugh or cry?) Thing about safety boxes - you can't play with your coins (doncha just love to let them drip through your fingers, listen to them clink together NOT!)

As to insurance, most home contents policies cover valuables up to a couple of grand. On the face of it your coins should be covered within this. Unless anything particularly rare turns up separate cover isn't likely to be necessary. I'm afraid most coins passed down the generations will be of generally poor condition (Fine to Very Fine) since most were assembled from loose change. Purchased (?) coins like the Lizzie 6d might be nicer.. Have you any ideas what you want to do with them? - It occurs to me that they could help you take the first steps as a collector. A bit of research with a book like Chris' "Collectors' Coins GB" (see Predecimal link at very top right of this page) and you might find you're hooked! Just a suggestion!

Why - thank you all (and especially for the compliment Chris!!)

Er... I think I've lost the thread here.. (or someone has !)

Me too! Partly because they are all so individual, partly because what with all the various recoinages it's a small miracle any have survived this long and partly because the Americans don't yet seem to have got into them in a big way!!

Yes. We split the difference between what I wanted and what she wanted to let me spend (ie I got half what Iasked for!!)

I have always liked collecting stuff, whether seashells, nice pebbles, stamps or coins. Dad was also a great magpie - anything nice in his change he'd pick out and keep. When he died I had to sort through all the stuff and kept the pieces I liked most. I went to the library and looked at the coin books to work out if anything was worth much (it wasn't!) and there was James Mays " The Splendid Shilling" and I was hooked! There was a bag of £105 worth of out-of-date 50p pieces (!) in amongst the stuff which I took back to the bank and spent the money at a dealers on some shillings. I subbed myself a bit to buy more from savings. After collecting for a while I realised I wasn't bothered about the later milled at all. And once I got a book on Charles I coins I decided to sell up the later coins (Chris was kind enough to help out there!) and concentrate on Chas I shillings. Then my wife found out what I'd spent and we had a row! Eventually she named a figure I could have to play with and I was sensible enough to realise that it was non-negotiable and graciously accepted! I have been very lucky. The internet (including ebay) has meant that anyone can see more coins in a day than some dealers get in a year. It could have taken decades to assemble a collection like mine if I'd only attended auctions and visited dealers in person. I was also lucky enough to be contacted by two collectors I bid against on ebay and they have pretty much taught me all I know (and helped track down a few scarcities too!) I am on a couple of dealer's lists, receive a few auction catalogues but mostly rely on online dealers (and ebay) where I can view pics and ask questions from the comfort of my living room. I think that if you asked me the best possible present for a new collector it would have to be a choice between a good specialist coin book on their chosen interest or the opportunity to view a really good collection. Probably the latter - there really isn't anything to beat seeing a good range of examples and being able to examine them up close, especially if you can also talk to someone with more experience at the same time. Knowledge is power!

Yes the condition is very nice (although you do sometimes get currency coins that are very clear. There is always a temptation to keep nicer coins and get rid of lesser examples!). The fact that Charles does not wear a crown was the clue that made me check my records for patterns. I believe all currency coins for this ruler show him crowned.

Yes, an those wots' good conditon for theyre age. Sum are so rare Spinkses has no price at all for the m at all (usully the 'F' ones)

Not til the booze runs out! I guess agree with both Peter and Rob. Since value, for the most part, depends on grade and since there's a lot of lousy grading out there (a bit of wear on a Chas II coin is ok for VF but not for 'modern' coins (Vicky on to me...). There are too many 'VF' coins out there which to my eye are no better than Fine) purchase price is I guess the sensible yardstick for most purposes. But then there is the question of what to do with coins bought for a 'bargain' price... I keep a list on a spreadsheet and scans for reference and a printout of the pics to show people. I'm not sure there are enough sales of what I collect (or at least the less common examples) to make it possible for the software itself to update prices. More modern pieces may be a different matter....

Well, I dunno. That's probably only for used ones with a bit of history to them. Sadly mine are all shiny as new so presumably will be worth a lot less... When is the next 5p listing day on ebay by the way?

Looks like a pattern Charles I coin normally held to be by a chap called Abraham Vanderdort, found in both gold and silver (Unite or Shilling). At least that's how it is described in the Brooker Collection book. A Broad is a coin of 20 shillings and since this pattern is occasionally found with that mark of value it could be termed thus, though more correctly it would be a Unite since Broads were, as far as I am aware, exclusively issued for Cromwell.

It's a modern reproduction. Although I do keep records of repro coins I don't seem to have a scan of this one so I'm afraid I can't tell you who made it. Sorry. Value will depend on 1) material (if it's silver you'll get at least bullion) 2) if anyone's interested - since it is clearly a modern copy it will probably be less attractive to potential buyers than one that looks more 'realistic'. My advice? - keep it as a souvenier.

COOL!!! Hey Chris - any chance of Predecimal stocking some lasers!?