A fresh set of coins

This week I will be immersed in the Euro coins rather than Her Majesty's pound sterling. They are probably the most boring set of coins in the numismatic world in my opinion but at least they are different. Its been a barren few weeks of finding new acquisitions both in circulating change and by purchase - I have found no suitable purchases in my budget recently and only a few olympic 50p coins to add to my set. I will let you all know how I get on scanning my Euro change over the coming 10 days!

Scottish Currency

The Scottish independence debate has escalated a bit recently. As a Scot, I am undecided on the best response to the referendum question but as a numismatist, I am intregued by the issue of Scotland's coinage should we become independent (I doubt we will but for the sake of arguement lets continue). It appears that today the chancellor of the exchequer has implied that Scotland would not be able to continue using the pound sterling as we know it - this raises many questions for the numismatist up here. Mainly, what will the new currency be if not the pound? Lets look at the other choices as I see them.

1.  The Euro - as a coin collector, I hope this is not the case and in the current economic climate, my gut feeling is we would not go down this route. We already have plentiful access to euro coins through holidays and from our Irish friends who bring them over - so much so that this would be nothing interesting to us. The Euro coins are spectacularly boring to collect too!
2. The Pound Scots - this is a serious option. It is beyond me to examine the complex issues involving the resurrection of a 300+ year old currency and setting an exchange rate, deciding on debt apportionment etc but it does intregue me. For example, will we have the romantic old names like Bawbee, Hardheads and Pistoles? Will Her Majesty grace the obverse of the coins? What new designs should we have? Would it even be decimal?
3. Dollars - would we even develop a brand new currency and coinage such as a Scottish Dollar and cent structure? In many ways this is the most exciting (and probably least likely!) option. Imagine the scope and potential in this concept!

And on that note, I shall leave you for tonight!

Cupronickel dollars

At the risk of sounding like a jaded and cynical old numismatist, I have to write about a friend who asked me the other day how much their "really old silver dollar coin" was worth. I must admit to being intrigued initially, however, she then informed me that it was "really old, something like 1977 or '78"!

She didn't seem too impressed when I advised her that in slightly worn condition it was probably worth a pound or 2 at best!

I do enjoy passing on my knowledge on such subjects but I must admit that it is always slightly sour pleasure when one has probably disheartened a potential new collector with honesty!

The future of coin collecting in America - a response

One blog I enjoy reading a lot is Dave Harper's 'The Buzz' and I highly recommend you take a look if you haven't found it yet. I must take issue with one paragraph he writes later in his article entitled "New coin age coming". He states that it is certain that the future will not 'be bound by' the collection of coins from circulation.

My experience is that increasingly, in the UK at least (or perhaps just in Scotland!), younger collectors ARE picking up the slightly unusual coins they find in circulation and collecting them - indeed a large part of what I write about involves this hobby. Perhaps things are different across the pond but I believe this is a point that requires more balanced thought!

He is a very knowledgeable man so please read his blogs!

A quiet week

It's been a quiet week for me numismatically. I have been away on business in England this week and had hoped to come across some patterns of Olympic 50p or £2 coins that seem to be rarer in my neck of the woods but alas - no success. I didn't even get a chance to visit any local coin shops - there are some here unlike where I live and work! I'm sure coin shops are a great place for the amateur coin collector to learn but I have yet to visit one!!!

A good week!

It's been a good week! On Wednesday, I found, in good circulated condition £2 coins of both the 'Mary Rose' and the London Olympic Handover! Yesterday, 87 lucky and I'm sure deserving pensioners received the silver Maundy coins from Her Majesty the Queen!

Amateur numismatics - the two sides of the coin

The term "Amateur Coin Collector" is a particularly difficult one to define. As I see it, it refers to those of us who collect coins but neither make a business out of it nor take it too seriously - again not defined but at least a concept!

To me there are two large subgroups of Amateur Coin Collectors. Namely the Investors and the Hobbyists.

The investor is, I'm quite sure, going to be disappointed as often as he is rewarded. The Hobbyist collects purely based on the enjoyment and interest they gain from coins.

Investing in coins is a very respectable activity and has some merits. It is however far too complex for me to write about in depth. The point of this post is to offer some support to the Hobbyist. The Hobbyist is constantly being told by fellow collectors, 'experts', textbooks and catalogues that the only coins they should be collecting are those in certain minimum grades. I disagree with this fervently - if a coin interests you and you want to collect it then it is no business of ANYONE else no matter how experience or condescending they may be whether you collect it or not! It may not fetch much if anything should you wish to sell it, but that's not the point is it!

My advice - collect what you like!

Where do I fit in? Truthfully, I do hope that one day my hard work and expenditure will at least break even should I wish to sell my collection, but I am first and foremost a proud Hobbyist!

Cyprus and the future of physical cash

For years, it has been ostensibly the considered opinion that the future of money lies in the gradual but inevitable march towards electronic and intangible money. Clearly, this is a poor omen for the amateur coin collector who usually begins his hobby career with the gathering, collecting and organising of the coins he finds in his change.

Recent events in Cyprus have raised doubts in my head whether this is quite so inevitable. Let me explain. The cypriot economy is in trouble, they must raise something in the order £5,000,000,000 in the next week or so, otherwise they will not receive the £9,000,000,000 or so in emergency funding to their banks that they so badly need in order to prevent their collapse. Despite an apparent reprieve earlier in the week, it seems again that the depositors in Cyprus' banks are going to have stump up some of their savings to contribute to this sum.

Consequently, savers have been doing their level best to withdraw as much cash as they can and reduce the amount the government can take. Even some large supermarkets are reported to be forced by their suppliers to buy in stock with physical cash - unheard of normally! Cyprus has essentially been rapidly moving towards a cash economy. One is left wondering if this is a blip or an indicator of things to come in the wider European or even world economy. If it is a sign of things to come, then as horrendous as it is for the economy at large, it should at least mean more coins are around again!