How long have you all been collecting?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Hi everyone,

Im just curious how long you have all been collecting coins, and what made you become a coin collector. For me it was just the sheer number of varieties and the beauty of coins. I've been collecting coins since I was 7, i am now nearly 15!

[william 0]

Hi Penny Master!

I am 11 and have been collecting coins since I was 6. My little collection started off when my Dad gave me some Belgian coins he had. I started telling people I collected coins and they gave me more coins. A few years later I aquired some predecimal coins and collected those. After that I started to specialise, and chose to collect Victorian coins. And that leaves me where I am today!

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Hi William,

What sorts of coins do you collect and how many have you got?

[william 0]

Well, I collect Victorian coins now. I do still have the world coins which I got when I was younger and have other predecimal stuff(Edward VII to Elizabeth II). I have around 300 world coins, about 260 British predecimal and 33 Victorian. I am starting to get into colonial coins now as well(mine are dated from early 1800s to early 1900s), but I mainly focus on Victorian. What do you collect?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I collect mainly victorian pennies from 1839-1860. Im going to try and get the highest grade possible because I want this to be a long term thing, lol. Have you seen the Dr. Nichelson halfpennies on colin cooke's website. I wish I could have one of those even though I don't collect them!

[william 0]

Yes, they are beautiful, I would long for one of them. Those 1839-1860 pennies are nice, good choice. How many of them do you have?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I only have a few because I've only just started. Where do you buy your coins from? I mainly buy them from collectors fairs.

[william 0]

There are never any fairs near my house, so I buy from this site most of the time.

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Where do you live then? I live in Brentwood in Essex. There are loads of fairs near where I live, and a few decent coin shops.

[william 0]

I live in West Kirby on the Wirral, and my nearest coin shop is in Birkenhead

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Where is that, is it in Scottland?

[william 0]

It is in Merseyside, near Liverpool, and about 50 miles west of Manchester

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Do you keep your coins in a tray?

[william 0]

I keep my coins in WHSmith coin albums. I am hoping to change that though, because I have entered a competition in Coin News to win an Abafil coin case with ten coin trays. Hope I win it...

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I completed that crossword, but I forgot to send my entry off!

[william 0]

That must be a pain. I wonder how many people entered...

[Half Penny Jon 0]

Hopefully not many, if you win you would be getting a beautiful quality coin storage.

[william 0]

Mind you, I suppose loads of people entered when they saw that on offer. How many people do you reckon read Coin News?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

At least 1000, maybe more.

[william 0]

I'm probably not in with a good chance then...

[Half Penny Jon 0]

You might win, people probably couldn't have been bothered to do it. Whats the best coin you've ever had?

[william 0]

Well my coins aren't brilliant, but I do have an Unc Victorian farthing!

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I try to buy and sell coins to raise money to buy coins for my collection. I buy the coins I want to sell from this little antiques shop. The dealer always grades his coins at least a grade lower. Once, I managed to get an EF 1876 half crown for £63!

[Chris Perkins 228]

I think Coin News goes out to over 10,000 worldwide. I wouldn't bother advertising in it if it was just 1000!

[Geoff T 3]

Once, I managed to get an EF 1876 half crown for £63!

I recently got both the 1817 half crowns in EF for £88. See what I mean about bargains on eBay