Dirt Monkey 1

Hello all, I wondered if some people on here would be able to assist in identifying some Roman coins I obtained about 20years ago. I got them from a jewellery shop whilst working in Tripoli, the shop owner told me they came from the Roman site of Sabratha a few miles away. I have two silver coins and three bronze. I have always had an interest in coins but have only recently started collecting again. I am having loads of fun trying to figure out grading them but have a book to help me on the British pre-decimal ones, that doesn't really help so much with these so any assistance with grading would be great. I do have an idea of what I think some are, from a bit of rudimentary google work, but would love to hear what you guys think. Thanks in advance. Jason P.S. my files are a bit on the large size so will have to post one at a time, It may also take me a while to photograph and process them.

Hi again, Is there any easy way to tell if a 1960 crown is a polished die? I ask as I have just bought (from ebay... I know I'm sorry) what were advertised to be a UNC crown and a polished die 1960. With them both in hand the polished die is a much better standard of coin but I was expecting more. Was I expecting too much or have I made my first noob mistake. Cheers in advance Jason P.S. sorry if this has been answered before but I did a search on here and couldn't find any reference to it.

Oh.... I have been even more stupid than I first thought. In preparation for photographing the polished die I have discovered that I can now clearly see the difference between the two coins; they are, as Gary1000 stated, like chalk and cheese. The valuable lesson I have learned is that a coin may look totally different when its removed from the 2x2 flip it is sent in . If everyone wouldn't mind just ignoring this thread that would be much appreciated. Nothing to see here Or if you feel I am too stupid to remain amongst you then feel free to delete me (please don't I would be devastated).

I think the problem is that I didn't know what to expect, I read the thread that Paulus mentioned but still didn't really get it. This is the first proof/polished die/specimen type coin I have bought so I think I was hoping that when the two coins arrived it would be as obvious as Gary1000 suggests and would help me to learn the differences for myself. I think that's why I was a little dismayed when they arrived. I don't know any other collectors so only have pictures in books and online to assist me. I am going to photograph the coin which is labelled as Polished Die and post it, if that is ok, to get your opinions? Starting to feel I've made a foolish mistake

Advice was spot on, they were very quick to respond. But i'm back now...

Thanks Coinery, feeling the love .

Sorry I realise there is probably a better way to post these but I also wanted to try to get some good quality images. I also realise I said I had five coins, but two are the same. Thanks in advance. Jason

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Coin 4

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Coin 3

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Coin 2, Please also feel free to comment on the photography used I welcome all constructive criticism.

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I have bought some coins from eBay and a couple have arrived with dark stick patches on them ? looks like they may have had sticky labels on them at some point. While I am a beginner, I have read enough on here to know that dipping them and scrubbing them with a Brillo pad is a bad thing. Can anyone suggest a gentle cleaning method that will take this goo off without damaging the coin. I thought about alcohol and a cotton bud but don't know if it will damage the lustre. Cheers in advance. Jason

I know I have only been on here a few weeks but I would just like to say thank you to everyone on here, it is not like the usually forums (full of Trolls), it is full of people who have a love of a shared interest and the generosity of heart to want to share their experience with others. One member on here PWA 1967 was kind enough to send me a large quantity of coin flips which has really helped me get my collection off the ground (nearly done with the 1960's ). But he also sent an album and numerous coin sheets, this came as a complete shock to me but I have been able now to pass it on to my seven year old daughter who has caught the coin collecting bug with me (she collects 'little coins' what ever that means other than stealing what she can of mine). Don't usually go in for this kind of emotional outpouring but big thanks to everyone on here!! Thanks again Peter Jason and Erin

Again great advice, thank you all. Got some acetone and it worked a treat, thank you. Think I will leave the Goddards until I'm a bit more experienced.

Hi all, Am a new collector, so new I don't even own a single coin yet, I collected as a child (long ago now) but managed to loose my collection when I left home (over zealous parents). I have bought some books from the website including the grading book and intend to start as soon as possible. So my question is if you guys were starting from fresh again, where would you begin? Regards Jason

Thanks for the advice again, just need to find some acetone now.

What is a type set?

Flips look like the way forward to me, I like the idea of being able to write on them and the uniformity suits my OCD tendencies. I will have to invest in a few boxes of varying sizes. Thanks again for all the advice, it is really appreciated. Jason

That's great, thanks for the advice Tom, do you know if flips fit into albums of will they just go into a box? I assume the flips come in different coin sizes. Sorry for all the questions but I don't know anyone else that has a coin collection so I have no reference point.

Hi Jim, can you suggest any good places locally to get coins or storage materials?

Thanks copper, don't worry about that I will only ever do what I want to do (until the wife tells me otherwise). I think this approach might be best for me as,being born in 71, I was always fastinated by the shilling and six pence which were still in use but didn't didn't have their original values. So its kind of like taking it backwards from their.

Thanks for all the help so far, I read back through a load of post on here and found someone suggesting getting all denominations from 1967 then working backwards, don't know how long I can keep that up for, but am going to give that a try to start with until I really find a favourite. So after trawling the internet and visiting the two coin shops we have here in Newcastle (one great and helpful, the other not so much) I have bought my first 15 coins for the princely sum of £15 and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. Now I need to know how to store them. While I like Copper123's suggestion about the Lidl coin boxes, I don't think I can wait until Christmas. Any suggestions? Also I am not very good at visualising so links or pics would be great. I used to just have a folder with plastic pouches in, but if I am trying to find the best quality coins I can will this type of thing still do? Cheers in advance. Jason