Leo

Indeed, Numis relates more to the specific dimensions of the album being a bit more snug than the optima. There may also be a difference in materials but I'm not very sure of that. I suppose you have purchased a set of classic-style sheets, where you insert the coins in the slider? I think it's the best option for the beginner as it gives you great flexibility. Make sure to place cardboard separators between the pages so the coins don't hit each other when you flip the pages. You won't regret havind spent a bit more than what you initially expected; coins are heavy and albums and plastic sheets take a fair amount of stress when being manipulated.

I suggest you look at the Lighthouse catalogue. Whether you go for this brand or a cheaper one, they all follow the same principles. Numis and Optima are pretty much the same thing, I think the Optima is a bit bigger so it's capable of taking slightly bigger sheets. You buy the sheets separately so you can choose which pages suit you better. In the 'classic' type of sheet, the coins go into strips of pockets that slide in the pages' bays. it's great because you can always get the coins out and re-arrange them again and again. The bad thing is that the level of protection is not great, and the pages have quite set sizes so you can't mix big and small coins in the same page. The other system is put the coins in 2x2 carboard flips and then place these in special pages K50. The advantage of this is that the coins are permanently protected from the atmosphere and fingerprints, You can also arrange coins of different sizes in the same page. The bad thing is that once you put a coin in a carboard flip, you can't take it out unless you break it. All my low value collection is in Numis albums with K50 pages, therefore in 2x2 flips. Better coins demand fancier solutions - Quadrum capsules in Volterra box for instance.

Like any hobby, coin collecting requires a small expense to start with. You can get a good, solid, made in Germany lighthouse album and an assortment of pages for £40. And it will last many years. If you are starting with the hobby you will want to show your collection to friends and family; do it in a proper good album that won't break apart the second day. I know the price of that album you have found may be tempting, but I can see straight away it's not fit for purpose. It's very thin to hold more than 3 or 4 full pages of coins - it claims 120 coins but I doubt you will fit more than 50, bulging open - and also it has no separators so whenever you flip a page the coins will hit each other and get damaged. The size of the pockets is probably a problem as many pre-1900 coins are quite large so you won't fit anything bigger than a penny.

September is going to be hard... So many auctions!!

The countermarked Guatemala 8R is just amazing... Rare and lovely Totally out of my budget zone though

Isn't that one reason why guineas were used for certain things, rather than pounds, even after they were taken off circulation? 'Certain things' being auctions, architect's or lawyer wages I.e Non-every day's stuff

Perhaps that is the same one of the article. Freeman gives it R20, 'unique', but maybe one or two more escaped the melting pot completely unnoticed... Otherwise they would have popped up in auction, surely?

That coin had some life!

The ones on the cheek, left of the ear seem mechanical. Now with the better photos I can see some slight wear on the edges of the veil, so it has circulated some

One good thing of quadrum capsules like the ones in Sword's photo (I have the same box) is that you can combine coins of very different sizes in the same tray, which makes it ideal if you collect many different denominations. There is also the possibility of inserting them in albums if the box is too cumbersome:

It is very interesting... Chris Perkins' book says one was sold in 2006 for £37,500, which adjusted to today's prices is just below £50K

Looks uncirculated or near so... I would need a loupe

I just don't see the necessity of changing the design every year - there must be commercial reasons to do so but it degrades the brand, particularly with infantile designs like this one, which looks rushed in. Silver eagles, silver maples, etc don't change. I loved the 2001 Philip Nathan's design though.

eBay is OK for cheap pieces, unless the seller is a proper reputable dealer. There is just too much risk buying a coin from photographs, even if you are an expert on a particular series you need to have the coin in hand to tell. We are all at first obsessed with grabbing 'bargains' but these do not exist - unnoticed and latent defects do.

Yes the 8R is fake. Lot 174, if the two American were real it would be a few grand!

It does look too bright. If it's a real one, its value will be greatly reduced by a harsh cleaning. In my opinion the bust does not look right, but the photo is very small res to be sure. Get some high quality photos of Mexican 8R from that series and make sure it matches it. Most fake 8Rs fail at matching the edge design, which is an intricate chain of a motive that overlaps at two positions on opposite sides of the coin. In any event, the 1775 Mexico F.M. is a very common one.

The shape around the arms of Castille reminds of silver pieces from the Segovia mint, but the shape should be raised unlike your 'coin'. In any event, there are no coins with the same design on both sides. That must be some sort of experiment

and off his tie! It surely is some bling

You're very welcome, I hope he/she is reasonable. Good luck

Ah, I didn't read the date on the title and thought it would be a colonial cob, which weights were all over the place... But being a relatively recent Madrid piece, it should definitively be standard, so all alarms ring with the underweight. Take a look at acsearch - all examples are around 6.60 - 6.68g I am no expert at this, but the king's portrait and tie look wrong, on the soapy side. More importantly your coin's rim is not right. It should show raised indentations more clearly. I can't see the actual edge, there should also be a chain of diagonal grooves all around the edge that overlap at some point, most fakes fail in this area. So it looks fake to me, but I'm only a collector with limited knowledge of gold coins of that period. Is the dealer still active? Maybe he will give you a refund without much fuss. I paste a couple of examples for your comparison. VF: EF:

7% is clearly underweight - although all coins lose a bit when they circulate a lot, and especially gold which is very soft. Is it very worn? However this doesn't necessarily mean that it's a fake. In the past it was common practice (and illegal) to file or scrape gold coins to obtain free gold. Also, there were cases of some american mints and assayers (Potosi more often) when the purity was altered. Gold being so dense, that could explain the underweight. I suggest that you publish some good photos in a specialised forum.

I suppose putting a screen to block hitting the lens? I have this morning. It makes sense, but I can't really tell yet... Of course! Now I need to photograph again ALL of my coins

You could try with attenuating the light source a bit, I use tracing paper on a custom box The effect is quite notable: (on the left is direct light attenuated at source, on the right is with the tracing paper screen between the light and the glass) Unfortunately I don't own any coins like yours to compare; all my proofs are modern bullion which combine frosty and mirror devices. However you look at it, they are a nightmare to photograph. This morning I've been trying with an australian dollar, which is polished like stupid, and is just impossible to make it look attractive! Although it's an ugly coin, let's face it. Like 99% of bullion pieces

The groat is fantastic

Thank you! I am pleased with the results but it has taken me more than a year to get to it. I love that penny. One of my favourite coins and I'm delighted that finally I've managed to get a photograph closer to what it looks like.