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Millimoo

Spink - Coins of England

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I've got the 2004 edition of this, and thinking about buying the 40th Edition 2005.

Is there much new in it, or should I save my cash?

Thanks!

Dave

:)

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It's not really necessary to buy the new edition each year - much of the information remains the same. I tend to sell my old copy a few weeks before the release date of the next edition, and put the proceeds towards the new one.

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Nothing has really changed that much from Spink 2004 to Spink 2005. The prices have only varied by about £5 each down or up, so I would also suggest that you save your money for now.

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I'd buy another book instead... let's see, we've got Collectors Coins, Spink, Coin Yearbook, that Coin Market Values book (never tried it) and a Stanley Gibbons offering that looked terrible when I leafed through it in a bookshop, so maybe avoid that one. That's just for British coins... I collect the world to I have those big Krause books to buy too.

It seems that a large proportion of listings in any one book remain unchanged from year to year. Plus it's good to see the variation in pricing between books. Spink always has higher values than Coin Yearbook for example. Some coins also vary more than others between books... for example there is marked difference for Irish coins between Coin Yearbook and Krause.

Some books will give you different background information too, like mintage figures or snippets of history. If you collect varieties then you'll need them all because they all seem to have some that the others don't!

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Save your money on Spink

All the books have merits and drawbacks (I havent seen the stanley gibbons effort though....although I hear!!!!!)

I do tend to use them all....at some time.

Collectors coins,Coin yearbook,coincrafts catalogue.

As a rough guide I update Spink every 5 years,Coin yearbook every 3....coincraft...I'm waiting for the new edition?

Collectors guide...probably yearly as it looks like its moving in the right direction with additional useful information...only covers back to 1797 though.

They are all just pricing catalogues really.

Books out of print are also worthwhile.

English Silver Coinage (esc) for Silver fans

Freeman for Bronze fans.

Other books you really need to be dedicated like Peck etc...(I am)

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Save your money on Spink

All the books have merits and drawbacks (I havent seen the stanley gibbons effort though....although I hear!!!!!)

I do tend to use them all....at some time.

Collectors coins,Coin yearbook,coincrafts catalogue.

As a rough guide I update Spink every 5 years,Coin yearbook every 3....coincraft...I'm waiting for the new edition?

Collectors guide...probably yearly as it looks like its moving in the right direction with additional useful information...only covers back to 1797 though.

They are all just pricing catalogues really.

Books out of print are also worthwhile.

English Silver Coinage (esc) for Silver fans

Freeman for Bronze fans.

Other books you really need to be dedicated like Peck etc...(I am)

Copies of Freeman are now fetching the same as Peck, i.e. about £100 at auction! I'm hanging on to my first edition though the 2nd ed. is more accurate and therefore more expensive.

I am fascinated by the difference between all the price guides. Spink is basically a definitive catalogue, i.e. every coin type gets its own defined unique number - the prices are what they would sell the coins for if they had them.

Coincraft used to beat Spink on prices but not last time I looked - is there another one due out sometime?

The Blue Pages (Yearbook) is now the one I trust the least. They don't even feature basic varieties like 1957 calm sea halfpennies! and I don't think the listings of what coins they include have changed since the days of Coin Monthly who used to publish it. Coins and Market Values, and the Rotographic guides, always used to be lower than the others but they've caught up recently. Rotographic is best for varieties but Spink aren't far behind now.

What beats me is, why are there so many differences between them?

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Coincrafts work came out in 1995 and then this was updated in 2000.....update every 5 years maybe?

Its a good reference and especially useful with hammered penny's etc.

The pricing in all the books is subjective....the prices are purely a guide and an educated guess.

If I see a coin at a fair,on Ebay or on a dealers site I might glance at the guides but I will have a rough idea how much I'm willing to pay.

Ebay seems to have opened up the market and interest in coins.

There is absolute rubbish making good money,equally there are also bargains to be had.

It also proves that some coins are a lot rarer or common than the various guide books indicate.

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Coincrafts work came out in 1995 and then this was updated in 2000.....update every 5 years maybe?

Its a good reference and especially useful with hammered penny's etc.

Unfortunately, it looks like the 2000 edition of CoinCraft will the be last. I heard that they have stopped publishing the 2000 edition and there are little or no plans for future editions. :(

It's a real shame as it's a great book - one of my favourites in fact.

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Coincrafts work came out in 1995 and then this was updated in 2000.....update every 5 years maybe?

Its a good reference and especially useful with hammered penny's etc.

Unfortunately, it looks like the 2000 edition of CoinCraft will the be last. I heard that they have stopped publishing the 2000 edition and there are little or no plans for future editions. :(

It's a real shame as it's a great book - one of my favourites in fact.

It may be a good time for our Chris to look at the possibility of continuing with it... :D

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I simply wouldn't have the time I'm afraid. There are other books on the way though....Someone wants to do a GB hammered book for me, Conquest - Cromwell. If that one goes ahead it will fill the gap before Sylvesters.

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Unfortunately, it looks like the 2000 edition of CoinCraft will the be last. I heard that they have stopped publishing the 2000 edition and there are little or no plans for future editions.

It's my favorite reference. Surely someone would come in and buy the rights to it so it could continue, much like Chris acquiring the rights to publish Collector Coins?

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I expect Lobel would want a massive sum for it, and it would probably need someone already in the coin trade to do it justice. Is there anyone with the time, money, inclination and suitability I wonder....Possibly not.

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Thats if he would even want to sell it...maybe there will be a latter edition sometime in the future.

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I hope not, there's enough competition for the CCGB!

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