The first book review of Collectors' Coins GB

[Chris Perkins 228]

This is what Ted Fletcher or the UK metal detectorists magazine Treasure Hunter had to say about Collectors' Coins Great Britain 2005:

BOOK REVIEW

Collectors’ Coins Great Britain 2005

ISBN: 0-948964-42-1

Publisher: Rotographic

I can think of one or two hard-backed and rather pricey books on collecting modern coins that fail to provide their buyers with so much as half the useful knowledge served up in a slim A5 paper-back titled Collectors’ Coins: Great Britain 2005 that has just crossed my desk. This should not surprise me, bearing in mind that the publishers, Rotographic, can trace their pedigree back to those halcyon pre-decimal days in the early 1970s when anybody with a spirit of adventure and an eye for a bargain carried a copy of the miniscule Check Your Change in his/her pocket or purse; when bank clerks suffered all-day harassment to change pound notes for two-hundred-and-forty-pennies in hope that one of them might be a scarce 1918KN or even a legendary 1933.

For non-detectorists those days are gone forever; but weekend searches on any clay soil site still hold the possibility of Treasure Hunter readers finding at least F-grade examples of almost any coin from the past two hundred years. So if you missed the chance to buy the previous edition of this little book when I reviewed it about a year ago, here’s the very latest opportunity to add a fact-packed and extremely useful publication to your reference shelves for just £4.95. You’ll get 90-odd pages crammed margin-to-margin with information on every non-gold coin issued in Britain between 1797 and 2004. You’ll also get considerably improved illustrations, and a wealth of numismatic erudition served up in bite-sized snippets that make each turn of the page a minor revelation. Better still, you’ll have at your fingertips crucial price data culled by the editor and his researchers from a range of sources to ensure that prices quoted are accurate and up-to-the-minute.

I’m aware that a lot of Treasure Hunter readers bought the 2004 edition, but let me offer a few reasons why it’s worth investing a modest fiver (with 5p change) in this year’s edition: a stronger spine and hardier cover means the new book should stand up to a lot of heavy use as you tug it from your pocket to check on that nice Viccy shilling you’ve just detected; the sharper, brighter clearer illustrations will provide speedy identification of your finds; the improved layout means quicker flicking to the very page where your discovery will be identified; you’ll know at a glance the current value of any British coin find from 1797 right up to last year. Go ahead, invest £4.95 and pocket a constant reference to rarity and value in modern money.

Coming soon: ancient coinage given the same treatment! Watch out for my review of Collectors’ Roman Coins Part 1.

If your detector retailer or local coins shop doesn’t stock these book go to www.rotographic.co.uk or phone 0871 871 5122.

Ted Fletcher.

20 November 2004

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Those of you that have stumbled upon this post and are not in the know, the book written by me and reviewed above is available from Predecimal.com:

http://www.predecimal.com/books/ccgb2005framed.htm

[Emperor Oli 0]

Splendid, I'm sure we all echo his words!

[Sylvester 15]

Oh yes!

[Unknown 0]

Because I have the book and I know that what he says is true... otherwise, I may have thought that the review is biased... or that you yourself wrote the review… but as I have found exactly the same conclusions as he has, I cannot do anything but agree and recommend the book… I already recommended it in another coin website, were Sylvester is very well known…

[Sylvester 15]

You'll find Sylvester is well known where ever he goes...

[kuhli 0]

You'll find Sylvester is well known where ever he goes...

Even if he is known as Sylvestius there!!!

[Sylvester 15]

You'll find Sylvester is well known where ever he goes... 

Even if he is known as Sylvestius there!!!

That too!

[Master Jmd 88]

That review sums the book up quite nicely ...good work

[custard1966 1]

As an example of how NOT to do it, take a look at Stanley Gibbons British Coins 2004 - the first edition.

I spotted one for the first time today.

Some of the pictures are appalling and as for the content...

The copper victorian pennies are covered by a one line entry

Penny (1841-1860) from F £5 VF £10 EF £75

and it's the same for every reign/denomination

It's the most useless, pointless 'catalogue' I've ever seen.

[Chris Perkins 228]

Oh dear, I can see how perhaps someone who wasn't into coins might think that an average price for a range of coins might do the trick in some cases. I don't think any coin collector would think that though!

Keep it quiet a, leave them to do it how they want. I don't want any more adequate competition!

By the way, Coin News won't let me advertise my book in their mag, because it will compete directly with the Coin Year Book.