Red Riley

The only post 1936 penny varieties even approaching collectability are the 1940 single/double line. IMHO!

Probably true, and being in possession of each of the business types, I would say that these are the kind of variety that cure my insomnia! The differences are minute and consist of nothing more than letters pointing to teeth or gaps and not much else. I'm sorry if it's anybody's 'thing' but if all varieties were like this I'd collect bottle tops.

and a picture that no one could see...

I have crossed the divide as it were, so sell rather than buy, but I always found it worthwhile to keep a number of dealers websites in my favourites list. Even if they don't have the exact same coin that you are interested in, what they do have should often be enough to point you in the right direction. Then check in Spink (or CCGB, which I find more accurate for 'our' type of coins) to see that the item you have in mind is roughly equal to one on a dealer's list, and make your assessment from there. Does that make sense? Also bear in mind that coins are all individuals and a nicely toned EF say, may have a higher value than you might expect - it all comes down to demand and how easy it will be to re-sell the piece. And as someone on the forum, John I think, says, 'buy the coin and not the grade'.

I frequently find Spink to be the most far out of the major guides, some of their prices are quite baffling and bear no relationship to what coins are going for in the real world. I also think their Unc. price in this case (£50) is pushing twice as much as its actual value even with 95% plus lustre. Spink is fine as a wide ranging guide to what is available, and for all I know, may be reasonably accurate for those really top end coins which none of us can afford. But for the bread and butter stuff that us mere mortals dabble in, it can be quite hopeless. You may say that as the CCGB price is only £5, then you have paid 50p over the top, but what has to be remembered is that between EF (£5) and BU (£35) is a great chasm into which real, rather than theoretical coins will fit. The vast bulk of coins aren't exactly EF or Unc. but somewhere between the two, so on that basis I would consider the £5.50 you paid for a pleasing EF, pretty good value.

It's probably about the going rate. Common date and the commoner of two varieties, EF but no lustre. Looks quite a tidy coin, so no, you weren't ripped off.

I want to know what 'NEMATUT' means.

I'm not an Arsenal supporter but I would much rather see the menacing scowl and steam coming out of Roy Keane's ears. I have nothing special against the Tractor Boys, just their manager.

If you really have a 1968 British penny then go and put a deposit on a Ferrari! For the 1919, have a look to the left of the date; what you hope to see are the letters either 'H' or 'KN'. Still no guarantee that they are of much value but the presence of these letters (indicating that they were made in Birmingham by either Ralph Heaton & Son or the King's Norton Metal Company) make it worth enquiring further. Of the others, they would need to appear virtually unused, and preferrably with mint lustre (the shine you get on new coins) to be worth much more than their metal content.

First of all, DON'T CLEAN THEM!!! Secondly, valuations can often be disappointing. Comparatively modern issues (and anything from 1910 would fall into that category) need to be in tip-top condition to have much value. There are of course exceptions, rare dates, varieties etc. which have a reasonable value even in normal circulated condition.* Bank notes and Irish coinage are largely outside my experience, so can't comment individually but the same comment would certainly apply to them. What I suggest you do next is give us some idea of what you've got (i.e. denominations, dates etc.) and post photographs of what you think are your best coins, and with a bit of luck we should be able to point you in the right direction. *There are scarce penny varieties to look out for dated 1918, 1919, 1926 and all pennies dated 1950 and 1951 are scarce.

Thanks guys. The way you use it, RobJ is exactly as I envisaged - it is a learning aid and not a bible.

Wow! A Thermal printer? Now you are just showing off. lol Whooshing sound as this entire thread flies way above my head...

I think it was, but misguided in my view.

Snap! I'm not very far into this so take everything I say with a pinch of salt. Other more experienced dealers' views may be of more help. 1)What insurance would you recommend for operating stock of this value from home? I use these people: info@stampinsurance.co.uk. Recommended by somebody on the forum. They seem to know what they're doing but only operate in the mornings. A major difference between insuring as a dealer and a collector is that the sum insured is based on the total purchase price of the coins rather than the replacement value. Do you use your home address of set up a PO Box? I set up a P.O.Box No. Safer. I don't mind regular forum members knowing my home address but can get a bit dicey with Joe Public. I put a paragraph on my website to say why I use a P.O. Box no. Do you have much family time left if you are doing this as well as your day job? (Wifes concern) I'm not currently otherwise gainfully employed, but I think once you have set up the website (my wife actually set up mine!) you could probably get away with it. Don't underestimate how long it will take to photograph and catalogue everything. How do you combat customs charges when you are buying in if the seller declares the full value? I haven't bought from abroad so really can't comment. Would you advise to voluntarily register for VAT if your under the threshold? I haven't even looked at this, bur buying and selling coins (which are not subject to VAT) or books (ditto) your involvement with VAT should be minimal. Any other useful hints and tips? Due to the charges British banks make (they charge a teener every time you have to go and get one out), for most dealers it is not feasible to keep your coins at the bank, so invest in a bloody great safe! If I think of anything else, I will let you know.

We tend to look at l.s.d. with rose tinted spectacles. Frankly it was a bloody awful system to use and getting shot of it was arguably 100+ years late. So much school time was wasted teaching kids an unnecessarily complicated coinage structure as opposed to simply counting on their fingers which in effect is what we and virtually every other nation does now. It was only resiatance to change and official inertia which prevented its replacement in the 1850s. In purely monetary terms the related decision to re-introduce the halfcrown in 1874 really does take the biscuit.

E-bay make this worse by having 'no returns' as a default and it took me a lot of investigation to discover how to change it. Most sellers who have a numerically low feedback figure are in the same boat and just don't bother. Where you want to be really careful are sellers with e.g. 1000+ who still retain it, especially when they are using a P.O. Box number; my advice is, never buy from these people. Another tip is high feedback total and bloody awful photographs; that ought to start alarm bells ringing.

Excuse me, I feel an anecdote coming on... I used to work behind the till at my Dad's shop after school and was there on 15 February 1971. Being young, I had no problem with the new money but some of the older people, many of whom had been born in the 19th century were completely at your mercy; you could have given them anything in their change and they would have been none the wiser. Simply, you just took in the old money (in multiples of six old pennies or 2 1/2p)and handed out change in the new, large quantities of pennies and threepenny bits piling up in the safe out in the storeroom. It was a sad feeling bagging up the old money (meticulously checked of course) to be sent back to the bank and an ultimate firey end at the hands of the Royal Mint. For most people the process was all over in a couple of weeks but there were the old diehards who never got to grips with decimalisation; I remember four or five years later, and then being old enough to drink, visiting the Cross Keys in Great Missenden, ordering a pint and being told it was 'three shillings and fourpence halfpenny' or whatever. I paid my money and got change but God knows how much - the landlord was over ninety and you just felt sorry for him, so didn't query what was in your hand. The beer was okay though...

They can easily be 'laundered' by somebody with a better feedback rating and a UK address.

Now where's my trombone got to?

It was fairly dreadful at the very end of Alf Ramsey's regime. Failure to beat Poland and qualify for the 1974 World Cup was pretty grim. Going completely off subject, if you remember that superb goal scored by Bobby Charlton against Mexico in the 1966 World Cup, just cast your eyes up behind the goal he scored it in and you will see a small 11 year old boy picking his nose. That's me! Anyway, returning to subject, mediaeval Europe was not noted for its learning on anything other than ecclesiastical matters and the heraldic leopard/lion was probably just based on a folk memory of a big cat as almost nobody had ever seen one - especially a leopard. Wouldn't the 'leo' of 'leopard' indicate something to do with a lion anyway?

I stand corrected, but I don't actually remember them being available that far in advance. Of course you couldn't spend them...

Minting commenced way in advance of 1971 but they were not officially released until 15/2/71.

This of course is where it gets tricky... Not actually my area of expertise but from my recollection, there is no absolute concensus as to which coins were produced in the reign of Henry II/Richard I or Edward I/II/III. Also gets mighty difficult when yoy have to track down a penny of Edwy or Edward the Martyr, or even somebody as well known as Alfred the Great. But we wouldn't do it if it was easy, would we? I did manage to put together a complete penny date run from 1797 to 1970 plus all major varieties in average grade above EF, but it took years and years and...

Welcome to the forum Jay. Sounds like a fascinating plan and not dissimilar to one I attempted myself, which as per usual never got completed...

How strange. Not genuine though and I guess pretty unlikely that it's gold. Looking at the patina, it looks like the same alloy as pound coins. Fascinating why somebody would go to that much bother. Given the date, unlikely that anybody would take it as a genuine sovereign. Curious.