New member introduction

[KevA 0]

Evening folks! Just a new member here that wants to pop in and say hi...

I've been collecting coins off-and-on since I was a kid, when my grandfather would give me handfuls of his duplicates (I remember being confused about why Queen Elizabeth wasn't on them...). Canadian, U.S., "world" - you name it, it would go into one of my binders of 2x2 pages. But just recently I've (ruthlessly) pared down my "accumulation" back to Canadian silver coinage, Roman silver coinage from the Severan Dynasty, and have branched out into UK pre-decimal silver coinage. For the moment, I've started building up a small collection of 20th century half-crowns, with the intention of moving backwards and eventually acquiring a decent example of a hammered half-crown. I heard from a member that I'd learn a lot here, so here I am...

Because I love good reference books (I've yet to meet a collector that doesn't), I'd like to share a book list that was suggested to me as a starting point for the specialization I've picked. I haven't gone shopping for them yet, still trying to assess the merits of each before spending money on them - but I'd like some opinions if you wouldn't mind:

Coins of England and the United Kingdom (Spink)

English Silver Coins Since 1649 (Rayner)

British Silver Coins Since 1816 (Davies)

The Identification of British 20th Century Silver Coin Varieties (Groom)

Coincraft's' Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins 1066 to Date (Lobel)

Collectors' Coins Great Britain 1760-1970

Also, if anyone can suggest any good auction catalog or museum collection catalogs (for the older stuff, obviously) it would be appreciated.

Thanks very much! I'm off to do some reading on the forum...

[Rob 3,152]

Hi. Welcome.

All of the above books would be suitable. Depending on the degree of specialisation and the proposed time period you want to cover, you will prefer some publications over others, but mostly they will complement each other.

As regards auction catalogues, the list is endless. If you intend sticking to halfcrowns, then Adams is the most comprehensive collection compiled to date with a few smaller sales to back this up. If you intend collecting both hammered and milled halfcrowns you have over a century's worth to build a library from, so a short list would not do the question justice.

[Garrett 76]

Welcome Kev !

You will finds lots of interesting threads here.

don't forget to stop and eat once in a while....

cheers Garrett.

[TomGoodheart 403]

Morning! And welcome Kevin. Hopefully you'll find it both fun and helpful here.

Chris, the forum owner, published Collectors Coins GB. You might find that a reasonable start as it can be bought as a download (see links at the top of the page). Saves on postage and readable from a mobile device so some people find that convenient. Myself? I like real paper and ink!

Quite a few members here are also dealers. Most have links to their sites in their signatures. Again, worth a browse to get an idea about grades and prices ... Grading? As you know UK and US grading differs. There's a book about that too! And of course .. we love pictures of coins and giving our opinions here. So don't be shy to ask!

Edited February 6, 2015 by TomGoodheart

[Coinery 1,157]

Welcome aboard, Kev! My own personal preference between Raynor and Davies is Davies! Davies only goes back to 1816, however, but I do find it a gem from that period on. Groom has added a few extra varieties to the pot from 1900 onwards.

Either way, get some pictures up as soon as you see anything interesting, as that's where it all begins! Nothwistanding the fact that these forum pages are probably the best education you will get in coins! Staggering amount of information!

[Peckris 579]

Welcome Kev - you certainly made the right choice of forum! If someone here can't answer a question or "knows a man who can.." then no-one can!

On your reading list:

Spink - a general catalogue and price guide brought out annually. You can find every coin and MAJOR varieties in there, but not a lot of further information.

Rayner - long out of print but still an invaluable reference for early milled (i.e. pre-1816)

Davies - covers most varieties and micro-varieties from 1816, invaluable if that's your "bag"

Groom - does for 20th Century silver what Davies does for 1816 onwards, but unearths more micro-varieties than Davies

Coincraft - again, out of date, but its strength is the introduction to each type which contains a lot of useful extra information including minimum grades to collect

CCGB - a price guide like Spink, published annually, but much better value for money, and covers a lot of varieties too

[Peter 615]

Hi Kev and welcome to the asylum.

I am the Coin community recommender.

Do have a good delve into the forum,raise old topics and fire any question in.

None of the books mentioned are over £30 and start from just over £7.

You might be able to pick them up cheaper on Amazon/ebay.

With regard to 20C forgeries we only have a few dates 1905 half crown&shillings and wreath crowns 1927-34 these are live and kicking on ebay

Enjoy

[Colin G. 147]

Welcome to the forum, there is a great wealth of knowledge on here. I am more of a bronze/copper collector, so I cant really offer much in the way of advice on the literature.

In fact my only real advice would be forget about halfcrowns and collect farthings

[azda 979]

Willkommen

[Paulus 1,975]

As you can see, Azda is one of our Scottish members! Welcome Kevin

[KevA 0]

Wow, thanks very much for the warm welcome folks!

The advice on the books is appreciated - I'm certain that I'll acquire most of them as time progresses, but the question of where to start is always a tough one. I'm thinking CCGB as a general text and Groom as a collection-specific text to start (since what I have at the moment is 20th century) - but I don't imagine it will be long before I start dipping my toes in other centuries...

forget about halfcrowns and collect farthings

Don't tempt me! I have several non-silver pre-decimal coins given to me by my grandfather - the only reason I settled on half-crowns is that they're the only silver pre-decimal I owned already. As an outsider, it's a bit daunting to consider the long history of issues and varieties in every denomination, especially since Canadian coinage is relatively young...

[Coinery 1,157]

Dave Groom's a member of this forum, and I know he openly offers a discount for members here. It would be worth sending him a message.

CCGB belongs to Chris, the owner of this site and forum, as you probably know, so you can also get that direct from his homepage.

Happy hunting!

[Colin G. 147]

And they are two books that I would definitely recommend

[Coinery 1,157]

And Davies!

[azda 979]

You can also download CCGB if you have kindle or the ipad/phone app for kindle, that way you're not waiting on a delivery

[TomGoodheart 403]

Best to warn you now, that if you get into hammered half crowns then Maurice Bull has written an epic tome (well six actually, given there is a Price Guide To Hammered Half-Crowns (1526-1662) as well as a five-volume set on the half crowns of Charles I) on the series.


(I say that because I started collecting British and World shillings but for the last 10 years have bought little except the Tower mint issues of Charles I. Hammered coinage can be addictive!!)

Edited February 7, 2015 by TomGoodheart

[Rob 3,152]

Just get the lot, then you are suitably equipped to deal with any or all the options.

[KevA 0]

Just get the lot, then you are suitably equipped to deal with any or all the options.

That will the end result anyways, I don't know who I'm kidding - library-building is another hobby of mine.

Best to warn you now, that if you get into hammered half crowns then Maurice Bull has written an epic tome (well six actually, given there is a Price Guide To Hammered Half-Crowns (1526-1662) as well as a five-volume set on the half crowns of Charles I) on the series.

(I say that because I started collecting British and World shillings but for the last 10 years have bought little except the Tower mint issues of Charles I. Hammered coinage can be addictive!!)

Yeah. I've been doing a bit of research into the hammered half-crowns over the last couple of days - I find them very appealing, and the metallurgy/technology behind their manufacture is one of my "pet" interests (being a metalworker). I can tell it's going to be a slippery slope, although the high grade ones are quite beyond my means at the moment... so books it is!

Edited February 7, 2015 by KevA