TomGoodheart

In case anyone wants to refer to the images in future: .

I think if it were only this then catalogues would make most depressing reading! All those prime examples, now unobtainable and often buried, unseen in a basement somewhere! But of course, metal detecting has brought new material to light, both new hoards and individual coins. In particular smaller coins people have lost such as silver halfpennies and farthings which might have been overlooked in the past. And there are, I am sure, still unrecognised gems in small collections here and there. So for me catalogues, particularly of better collections, still provide a benchmark to aspire to. And while they may be what were then considered lesser pieces, it's always a joy to discover one of your coins has some provenance to an older collection. And of course, collecting isn't just about the premier pieces, although in some areas the trend is very strongly towards just quality. Older collections (I'm thinking of John Brooker's collection of Charles I, but the same could to an extent be said about the recent Lyall sale) quite often contain lesser coins as examples of differences in design or legend reading etc. While there doesn't seem to be much taste for the 'rare but poorer' coins at present, as the prices of the top coins soar then maybe more people will see the merit in these variants again. At which point catalogues, particularly the more recent ones that illustrate the majority of the coins, will no doubt prove useful. .

Well, I did say it wasn't my area Paul! Still at £210 I see ... .

There's a bit of gold in Elsen's latest offerings in case anyone is interested? http://www.elsen.eu/Auction127/emodule/490/egallery/177 T

Yeah. Though not my series, these have all the characteristics of hammered coins in terms of sharpness of the design etc and are clearly different from the modern replicas you see on places like eBay. Looks like two very nice finds to me. I'm jealous of the finder ... ..though not to the extent I'm tempted to get up at the crack of dawn on my days off to cart a heavy load of kit around a muddy field ! .

Done.

LOL No, it's OK Debbie. She's the asthmatic. A mere sprigling at 21. Me, I'm ..er, the other one! .

Anyone done one? Or even just trained for it? ... just curious, that's all .. .

Oh dear. I can run for 5 minutes and do 10 some press-ups! But I do have almost a year to prepare! Daughter and I will have to work out a training schedule I think. I'm less worried about the distance .. we can always walk as it's not a race, than building up my upper body strength to get over obstacles. The electric shocks, water drops and so on I aim to just blunder through determinedly. But getting stuck because I can't heave myself over (or crawl under) a wall would be a bit depressing! .

Happy Birthday Paul! If you're really lucky I'll raise a glass in your general direction when I get home from work! .

LOL

Only just spotted this. I noticed your name Joe and thought .. uh? But now the comic connection makes sense! (I used to love 2000AD when it first came out, though I don't read comics these days.. Yeah, I'm old!) .

Agreed. Nice penny btw. Sometimes I almost envy you milled coin guys. In that people do seem to keep turning up pleasing examples. Whereas hammered, well, ... I keep looking but, apart from fine work pieces that I don't currently collect, most of the time I find the example I have is as good as (or better than) those that come up for sale. And types I don't have either don't appeal, or the price is far too much. Then again, maybe I'm just too fussy ...

Cool! Thanks Pete. .

Cheers!

Do you know if they just downloaded a training schedule or if there were organised meets to help prepare? Daughter seems to have registered and I'm a wee bit concerned that an asthmatic and a 59 year old might have to do a bit more than most of the other entrants to get ready... .

Yeah, Happy birthday Christoph! I hope you get some coins as presents! .

Nice find Dutch and welcome! And yeah, for British coins you'll always get a better response on here than coincommunity.

Actually, "collectors' pieces of.. numismatic interest" with a value of more than £15 but less that £135 should only be liable to VAT. And at an effectively reduced rate of 5% Below £135 there's no Duty to pay. What can add to the cost of lower cost items is the Royal Mail charges for the collection of the import duty. I've had to pay £16 on a £42 coin. When I challenged it the VAT had been miscalculated. I received a refund against that. But of course still had to accept the £8 RM fee! . .

Very nice Matteo. Both the coin and that it has provenance to an earlier collection! .

Hi there. I wouldn't rush into auctions until you get a feel for grading and idea of prices. But the coin fair idea, to see coins 'in the hand' is a good one. I'm sure you're aware of the buy the best you can afford maxim. While budget comes in somewhere most of us here will agree that coins bought cheap are often relegated to the upgrade list later down the line. A good reason to start with (cheaper) more modern issues (nice examples of the commoner dates back to say, Victoria) at first. That will also help you develop a better eye for nicer coins ... and possibly a feel for how a coin can differ from a photograph of a coin! My only other suggestion would be to remember that the internet is an extraordinary resource. Checking out a few dealer sites or auction archives can give you access to many times the stock you'd see during a visit to one dealer or even a fair. And while photographs are never as good as seeing a coin in real life, it will help you get an idea of prices ... .

I'm guessing it might be the 1985 BNJ article? You can access that here http://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital%20BNJ/1985.shtml Links on the left allow you to access an index to other digitised copies of the Journal. A useful resource to bookmark if you've not seen it before! .

The blurb is sort of amusing. But it bemuses me that people don't seem to be able to work out how to turn an image around so the coin is the right way up. That I find irritating!

I can see what looks like the very tip of the arrow just above the cross of the crown. I'd therefore agree with Rob. .

Ah, well.. although mainly a British forum, several members collect 'foreign' coins and we have a thread where members can post photographs. I'm sure many of us would be interested to see some of your collection and read a bit more if you'd like to add something: http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/6056-recent-aquisitions/ .