Introduction

[StGeorge 0]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and thought I would introduce myself. I have a coin collection, most of which has been in my possession for a long time. I am sure that it is all common stuff but would appreciate some expert opinions if I manage to get any decent photographs of them. Is there a standard book of reference for Britsh or world coins that would be a must-have for coin collectors?

I have decided to start collecting British gold sovereigns and have purchased Michael A. Marsh's book on the subject which seems very thorough. How would one go about starting a sovereign collection, are the online traders worth dealing with or do collectors tend to use auction houses more?

I currently collect antique swords and I am sure there are analogies between the two hobbies (obsessions?!) but I understand that there must be a lot more differences than similarities. On the subject of cleaning (a subject which seems to be as contentious here as it is in the sword-collecting world) is it acceptable to remove things like ground-in dirt using soap-based products like Vulpex liquid soap from Picreator? This is generally acceptable for use on swords but I understand coins are usually more delicate.

Anyway, apologies for the long post, and if I have made any glaring faux pas please be gentle with me

[Peter 615]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The bible for numisaddicted souls is Spink which is issued annualy and costs £25.

The owner of this site produces an excellent book covering 1797 to present date at about a fifth of the cost.

Sovereigns are worth about £180 as scrap....bearing in mind I was picking these up for £60 to £70 a couple of years back and if you look to history (1970 onwards) the price of gold fluctuates so its possible to make a fortune or get badly burnt.

Soapy water and patting dry dirt ingrained coins is an option but be very careful....I've also had success with a soaked cocktail stick to remove crud.

Upload your pictures and we can advise on value grade etc.

Regards

Peter

[TomGoodheart 400]

Hi and welcome! I'm not familiar with the product you mention. All I'd say is that collector's expectations differ. An enthusiast in 16th century silver might well expect his tea pot to be polished. Whereas I would not expect my 16th century coins to be cleaned other than as Peter mentions. Coins will pick up tiny scratches which the blade of a sword will not. And those scratches will effect value.

As to online dealers the good ones will often prove much cheaper than auction houses. While it is possible to pick up a bargain at auction, gold is always in demand for its intrinsic (bullion) value. You will also have to pay around 20% buyer's premium on the hammer price. More importantly dealers will check 'wants lists' for you, alerting you to when a particular coin might be available and also on the bredth of your collection as well as market trends.

[Peckris 579]

Do be careful - there are (as you'd expect) more forgeries in gold pieces than any other metal. However, with fairly common dates that shouldn't be an issue, except for 1887 where apparently there was a veritable factory turning out gold fakes of that date some years back. It's also very difficult to pick up bargains as the bullion value is considerable and ensures all gold pieces are 'worth their weight in gold' however common or worn.

[Guest brian crawford]

I'm Brian, a banker. Been in San Francisco for the whole 30 years. I work hard and I play hard. I'm glad to be here!

[Peckris 579]

I'm Brian, a banker. Been in San Francisco for the whole 30 years. I work hard and I play hard. I'm glad to be here!

Welcome to the forums Brian

"the whole 30 years" of what, exactly?

(By the way, you'd be better creating a new thread for something like this - just for future reference. But it's no biggie.)

[Red Riley 2]

I'm Brian, a banker. Been in San Francisco for the whole 30 years. I work hard and I play hard. I'm glad to be here!

Welcome to the forums Brian

"the whole 30 years" of what, exactly?

(By the way, you'd be better creating a new thread for something like this - just for future reference. But it's no biggie.)

If I'm wrong I'll apologise but think this might be the prelude to a spam attack...

[argentumandcoins 70]

I'm Brian, a banker. Been in San Francisco for the whole 30 years. I work hard and I play hard. I'm glad to be here!

Welcome to the forums Brian

"the whole 30 years" of what, exactly?

(By the way, you'd be better creating a new thread for something like this - just for future reference. But it's no biggie.)

If I'm wrong I'll apologise but think this might be the prelude to a spam attack...

Tres bien mon amie

[Peckris 579]

I'm Brian, a banker. Been in San Francisco for the whole 30 years. I work hard and I play hard. I'm glad to be here!

Welcome to the forums Brian

"the whole 30 years" of what, exactly?

(By the way, you'd be better creating a new thread for something like this - just for future reference. But it's no biggie.)

If I'm wrong I'll apologise but think this might be the prelude to a spam attack...

Tres bien mon amie

Now you come to think of it ... I was so busy welcoming him to the forum, I failed to see he'd not mentioned our hobby!

[Red Riley 2]

Now you come to think of it ... I was so busy welcoming him to the forum, I failed to see he'd not mentioned our hobby!

What is the world coming to when we can't even welcome a newcomer to our Forum without suspecting he's up to no good.

[StGeorge 0]

Now you come to think of it ... I was so busy welcoming him to the forum, I failed to see he'd not mentioned our hobby!

What is the world coming to when we can't even welcome a newcomer to our Forum without suspecting he's up to no good.

Thanks for hijacking my thread Brian but I don't think you'll get many hits on your websites from this forum

And thanks for all of the replies - I've got myself copies of Spink and Grading British Coins and, no surprise, I don't seem to have any lurking fortunes in my collection. I did manage to take some pictures and have been practising grading my coins. I'll put up a couple with my uneducated guesses and would be grateful if someone could correct me. I know it's difficult grading from pictures but I'm sure you'll all do a lot better than I can at the moment

First up is a 1918 farthing. I think it's around VF for the obverse and a bit less for the reverse. I'll wait to see how close I was before I post any more

[Red Riley 2]

Hi St. George, not certain whether I've welcomed you yet, but take that as read. I would go VF with that, don't think it's worth splitting the obverse from the reverse here.