Friday 29 March 2013

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!

Sunday 24 March 2013

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!

Friday 22 March 2013

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!

Monday 18 March 2013

The history of money

Just updated my book review page - check it out! The main change is the addition of 'The History of Money' by Jack Weatherford - a great little read!

Friday 15 March 2013

2013 coins circulating?

When are the 2013 coins arriving in circulation? I know some £2 tube commemarative coins have been circulating 'down south'. But where are the rest and why are there none up here? This time last year we had seen a few of the new steel clad 5 and 10p's already - this year: none!

It's quite a serious issue because for the low budget amateur, the quick plucking of new coins from circulation is one of the greatest thrills! Hopefully there will be some soon!

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Coin Collecting Essentials

I've put together a list of the basic equipment I think you need to be a successful, serious, AMATEUR COIN COLLECTOR with the emphasis on amateur! On the right you will find a link to the page of the site, please feel free to write to me with any suggestions or comments: essential supplies.

Tuesday 12 March 2013

More on British £5 coins

You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted about a colleague asking me about the value of her inherited £5 coins. Well, today while we were quiet and I was counting the till with another colleague, were counting the till at work, I got talking about the Olympic 50p and Victoria cross commemorative coins in the till then the Brunel £2 coin, about how I find it exciting to find these coins, though not that rare!
I don't know if she was humouring me! But she seemed to be interested - I don't think she had ever really paid attention to the coins in her hand. Next thing she asked me was "I wonder why there aren't £5 coins when there are £2 coins and no £2 notes". Good point I thought - why don't the royal mint issue circulation £5 coins these days?

British five pound coin 2009 accession of Henry VIII reverse.pngWhat really surprised me was that she was actually shocked that there even existed £5 coins! This is not a stupid girl by any means. I have promised to bring some from my collection in to prove to her that they exist! Some of them really are works of art I think like this Henry VIII example. That's why I would recommend them as a great and reasonably affordable way for the amateur coin collector to progress from the coins they find in general circulation but still stay well within their comfort zone! Both Ebay and the Royal Mint website are great for buying these coins in mint condition and as far as I know (I stand to be corrected!) are not subject to counterfeiting on a great scale.

Thursday 7 March 2013

Sacagawea dollars



Why are the Americans not taking to these beautiful coins?!

The United States Mint has been producing some excellent new designs over the past decade or so such as the state quarter series and of course the Sacagawea dollar but for some reason unintelligible to me, the state quarters have been widely collected by, according to the US treasury webiste ~140 million people! Meanwhile, the equally attractive Sacagawea dollar wasn't even minted from 2002-2008 and again last year due to low public acceptance and demand.

Please don't misunderstand me, I like a lot of the state quarter editions too (indeed I have a small and growing collection) but I can't understand why the contemporary dollar coins have been so poorly received?
I'll concede that the first design (up to 2008) wasn't the most spectacular, but since then there have been lovely designs featuring peace pipes, arrows, horses and the lady herself planting a field.

Tuesday 5 March 2013

Olympic 50p coins

I bet almost every collector up and down Britain is collecting these fun looking little coins when they find them in their change! What's puzzling me though is the fact that although the numbers of each design minted are broadly similar, there seems to be an abundance of Boccia and Handball coins up here but i have yet to come across any archery or wrestling coins for instance. It's got me wondering if there is a regional plan for where they are distributed? I'll be looking into this and I'll post a blog about it when I have done some more research.
Goal Ball edition