advice needed!

[deelcee 0]

hi all

i am a total beginner to numismatics

after reading a few books i find i am drawn to hammered coins...especially the stuart period

is it possible to go down this line of collecting on a budget of say £300 per month? or should i look at another area to collect!

any advice please on where to buy,what books to read,whether or not to join a club/s,how to store a collection etc would be greatly appreciated

thanks deelcee

[Rob 3,152]

hi all

i am a total beginner to numismatics

after reading a few books i find i am drawn to hammered coins...especially the stuart period

is it possible to go down this line of collecting on a budget of say £300 per month? or should i look at another area to collect!

any advice please on where to buy,what books to read,whether or not to join a club/s,how to store a collection etc would be greatly appreciated

thanks deelcee

£300pm is more than enough to get the small denominations, though if you want the larger pieces it will cost more. It all depends on what grade is acceptable to you. Small hammered pieces are notoriously difficult to pick up in high grade (for this and other periods) because they were used for everyday transactions, whereas the larger pieces did not circulate so freely and so are easier to find in higher grades, but with a price tag to match because of the demand from collectors. As a rule, the larger pieces have a greater number of people collecting. Shillings, half crowns and crowns are all quite popular and gold is always in demand. Shillings and half crowns to a lesser degree would be well within the budget, but you would be unlikely to get a good crown for £300. On denominations of 6d and below it will be easy to acquire examples up to good fine. Very fine or better and you will have to look a bit harder and pay a bit more.

If you are new to collecting I would avoid ebay except for small value items. Instead I would seek out dealers who offer a good selection of hammered coins in your chosen area and have a chat with them.

As you are interested in Stuart coinage, a good book to acquire would be the Brooker sylloge which can be picked up for £25 or less. He had the best collection ever of Charles I and it covered all denominations, so you would be able to see what looks attractive to you. There is no real comparable collection of James I and hammered coinage production ceased in 1662 after the first three issues of Charles II coins. Also get a copy of the annual Spink tome - Coins of England and the United Kingsom. 42nd edition, the current one, costs £25. This would give an indication of prices, but bear in mind that these are fairly volatile depending on the piece offered.

I don't know how active the Nottingham area numismatic society is, but details on the BANS website are given as follows. Nottingham Society.

As you are going to collect hammered and if you become a serious collector, then a wooden cabinet would eventually appeal. Otherwise you may wish to consider stackable trays, available in various sizes. Albums, coin envelopes or plastic holders are also possibilities. The beauty of hammered is that you can handle them and so storage is not such a serious issue as with proofs or copper.

[deelcee 0]

hi all

i am a total beginner to numismatics

after reading a few books i find i am drawn to hammered coins...especially the stuart period

is it possible to go down this line of collecting on a budget of say £300 per month? or should i look at another area to collect!

any advice please on where to buy,what books to read,whether or not to join a club/s,how to store a collection etc would be greatly appreciated

thanks deelcee

£300pm is more than enough to get the small denominations, though if you want the larger pieces it will cost more. It all depends on what grade is acceptable to you. Small hammered pieces are notoriously difficult to pick up in high grade (for this and other periods) because they were used for everyday transactions, whereas the larger pieces did not circulate so freely and so are easier to find in higher grades, but with a price tag to match because of the demand from collectors. As a rule, the larger pieces have a greater number of people collecting. Shillings, half crowns and crowns are all quite popular and gold is always in demand. Shillings and half crowns to a lesser degree would be well within the budget, but you would be unlikely to get a good crown for £300. On denominations of 6d and below it will be easy to acquire examples up to good fine. Very fine or better and you will have to look a bit harder and pay a bit more.

If you are new to collecting I would avoid ebay except for small value items. Instead I would seek out dealers who offer a good selection of hammered coins in your chosen area and have a chat with them.

As you are interested in Stuart coinage, a good book to acquire would be the Brooker sylloge which can be picked up for £25 or less. He had the best collection ever of Charles I and it covered all denominations, so you would be able to see what looks attractive to you. There is no real comparable collection of James I and hammered coinage production ceased in 1662 after the first three issues of Charles II coins. Also get a copy of the annual Spink tome - Coins of England and the United Kingsom. 42nd edition, the current one, costs £25. This would give an indication of prices, but bear in mind that these are fairly volatile depending on the piece offered.

I don't know how active the Nottingham area numismatic society is, but details on the BANS website are given as follows. Nottingham Society.

As you are going to collect hammered and if you become a serious collector, then a wooden cabinet would eventually appeal. Otherwise you may wish to consider stackable trays, available in various sizes. Albums, coin envelopes or plastic holders are also possibilities. The beauty of hammered is that you can handle them and so storage is not such a serious issue as with proofs or copper.

thanks rob!

very helpful

[TomGoodheart 403]

Hi deelcee. Welcome! I think Rob has put in a lot of the info I was going to offer, particularly the Brooker book - I borrowed it from the local library before buying my own copy and I'd recommend this.

Charles I coins are generally cheaper than James or Chas II because they were issued and circulated in larger numbers. I collect Chas I (Tower mint rather than 'provincial' issues) shillings and would be happy to answer any questions you might have about this area.

The coins I have pictured in the gallery cost me from £30 to a few hundred. Your budget should therefore be quite adequate for this type of thing, although as Rob mentioned, (silver) crowns are pricier and gold more so.

My only 'words of wisdom' are, firstly chose coins you like to collect and secondly, take your time! There is a great temptation (which I didn't resist!) to spend, spend, spend at first. So many coins!! After a while however you start to get an idea of the grade ('quality') of a coin. I certainly recommend buying better condition coins because I find you get more pleasure from them (plus the identifying qualities are all there!). I have several what I thought were scarce coins in low grade I paid over the odds for in a fit of enthusiasm to regret it later! The more different denominations of coins you collect the less the minor variations will matter (at least at first!).

If you can resist the temptation to 'fill gaps' too early, a study of the main dealers websites willl give you an idea of what's available. Feel free to pm me and I'll send you a few recomendations of dealers I have bought from and have a reasonable selection if you like.

And welcome again to the coin collecting fraternity!

[TomGoodheart 403]

Oh, and as for storage, I'd recommend a tray system at first with a variety of different sized holes, from crown size (around 45mm) down. (By the time you buy your first silver Pound coin you'll be looking at something fancier in terms of storage, so I'd say so don't worry these won't fit yet!) See Chris' main Predecimal bit for storage ideas.

Remember hammered coins are rarely exactly round so don't bother with dozens of exact sized holes cos they won't all fit! Like this one that's practically square!

You'll also need to record information about your purchases. Although it's a bit redundant with computer records etc I still like to use a circular paper 'ticket' with each coin as it's traditional and nice for any future purchaser as it's part of the history of the coin. While you can buy these, I have so few coins I just cut them out myself!

Lingford Collection (1891-1950) (Blue Ink) and ex Thomas Bearman tickets from Antony Wilson's York Coins site.