Peckris

I've always thought that one of the fun things about collecting was shifting through loads of junk to find a bargain coin that satisfyingly fills a gap LOL Glad you've got the time to waste! When you've got an auction house to haul up yet ANOTHER accumulation in a cardboard box, bags full of worthless low denomination crap, you never want to see another believe me

"You might get other coins rather than the one shown in the picture, but they are all in similar condition." Oh great. You mean I might get a circulated 2009 £1 coin? Gee whiz. Quick quick, let me bid, NOW.

Welcome Uncle Phil (don't ever call yourself "Uncle Vagn" - I'm still recovering from last night's conclusion to "The Killing". Shudder) Good luck in your endeavours! On the subject of cabinets, you may need to be aware that you need a 'non-reactive' type of wood such as mahogany if you intend to make your own. As for getting started, there are two good books published by the Rotographic Press (see banner advert above) which are ideal for newbies : "Collectors Coins GB" with not only all values for English coins from 1797 on, but all kinds of interesting titbits to do with varieties, collecting, etc; and, "Grading British Coins" which shows all the main obverse and reverse types from 1797 mostly in 4 states of preservation. Rob's advice is sound, but I'd say you don't have to settle for UNC only - you can get very many pre-1937 20th Century coins in EF grade, which is almost perfect but only between 1/5 and 1/2 the cost. And scarcer dates / types you'd be settling for Very Fine or even less. As a general rule, the toughest reign is Edward VII, then George V. George VI and pre-decimal Liz II are both reasonably easy.

No, that's a regular 1922. You have to be aware that : 1. The 1927 reverse is extremely rare 2. It's as evident in its own way as the ME obverse is. It's not just a matter of checking 'trident prong to teeth' - the 1927 reverse smacks you in the face.

Two volumes, each covering a different period.

I've got both volumes of North which I picked up at a provincial auction. I don't really want or need 'em. What's the second-hand value of 'em? I picked up North 1 from the Midland and it's immaculate for £10 (it was a bargain) as they go for between £25 & £45 each. Each set, or each volume? Each volume. Wow. The whole lot cost me £22, and included a carrying case with felt trays, plus a Philip II tetradrachm (admittedly with a chunk out of the edge but I've seen more unsightly flaws. That wasn't a bad buy! I'd be quite happy to sell off the North to a forum member at a reduced price, or do a swapsie with a coin.

Tried to follow the link. It turned into an ad. Told me to clean my Mac. I don't have a Mac. I have a Mac It worked for me ok, and the unwanted ad opened as a separate tab which I closed. The pdf is currently downloading at diallup speeds, but thank you in advance Aardhawk. I'm sure I will enjoy reading it.

Yes I would agree. Well there is poor and there is poor. I am happy with a poor coin if the poor value is about £40-50. That'll do nicely thank you. Yes indeed. It's a rare date, and if it fills a slot for you, then that's cool. My 1905 isn't really much to write home about but it fills that "oh I've got one" gap.

I've got both volumes of North which I picked up at a provincial auction. I don't really want or need 'em. What's the second-hand value of 'em? I picked up North 1 from the Midland and it's immaculate for £10 (it was a bargain) as they go for between £25 & £45 each. Each set, or each volume?

"...but only if you're lucky" Apparently! Now here's a chance that must only come up once in every hundred lifetimes.... A roll of 2p coins I bought back in 1973 that seemed to have leaked! Steve, if they all say new pence and the Queen is on them wearing a necklace you should sell them on ebay; "cos sumone telled me that this a RARE coin and is gud for colectors and will be a gud invesment" And don't forget the "...don't loose this opportunity!!"

Are you THE Richard the Second?

Not my cuppa tea I must admit. Bit like bidding for a 2009 Ford Focus with 5 and a half doors.

I've got both volumes of North which I picked up at a provincial auction. I don't really want or need 'em. What's the second-hand value of 'em?

You're selling Thai massages Dave? Must be a nice lil sideline

It's quite telling that the 1903s in F are up for between £200-£300, with no bids, and the one in VF is up at £750, again with no bids.

Either I'm showing my ignorance, or that's a typo for D&M which stands for "Doriens and Magens" shilling, an unissued shilling of George III which is quite rare and highly sought-after. I'm not sure about removing the 'lower end coins'. Obviously the commonest and poorest, yes. But otherwise, where are new collectors - e.g. schoolkids on very low incomes - going to turn when they start out? No low end coins, no schoolkid collectors, no future lifeblood for the hobby.

I love the conjunction of "Bidding has ended on this item" with "0 bids" hang on! could that have been an 1882 no H........................ More like 1882 no Hoper

To be fair, there were precious few (forgive the pun) by then, and only because they hadn't yet been spotted by those who knew what they were. I calculate that I must have found fewer than half a dozen in the entire decade.

That's exactly what I did. The 1920 is a 50% overlay on top of the 1923. You can see from the background where I've rotated the 1920 to get the overlay to match precisely (on the legend). Because the two coins match so perfectly, the only part of the 1920 that shows up is the rim between 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock.

I love the conjunction of "Bidding has ended on this item" with "0 bids"

Hi Pete

I'm sure that's right, however it was also true that due to serious inflation caused by the war economy, that the price of silver exceeded its value in coin of the realm, making it impractical to mint sterling silver coins without incurring big losses. But, the inflation ended in a collapse of wages and prices by the mid-20s (which is why the mintage figures for large silver drops off so dramatically between 1924 and 1926), and the price of silver fell again to a value that made it practical to mint sterling grade coins again. However, as I mentioned above, once the 'alloy genie' was out of the bottle there was no going back, and gradual price inflation meant even 50% silver became no longer cost effective.

No harm in asking at all. An open 3 is a very rare variety of 1903 where the 3 in the date has its top and bottom strokes pointing to the left (as in normal writing). The common type has a stylised 3 where the top and bottom strokes curl towards each other, and the whole effect looks like an 8 more, but with a little piece missing from the left hand side. (Very hard to explain in words - there are plenty of threads in this forum where members have put up comparison pictures). I'm 90% certain (from the picture you put up) that your 1903 is the regular variety, not the open 3.

Hi Peteuk, welcome to the forum. Condition of the coins is very important, but as a start can you post images of the 1903 and 1918 penny reverses (tails side). As you have surmised, the vast bulk of these will be worthless but you never know... Here's the pictures you requested: Oh dear - I have to break it to you - your coins turn up in auction lots by the absolute bucket load! Worth little more than metal value I'm afraid. But, if you're interested at all in getting started, there's an inexpensive and highly informative little price guide available through this site - "Collectors Coins GB". As for grading, one of our members has produced a very useful guide to all the main 19th and 20th Century types showing each in 4 states of preservation, "Grading British Coins". But either way, you'll find we're a friendly lot, and you can learn more than you ever wanted to know about coins.