Guide to Coin Collecting
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Q:
How much will it cost me to collect coins?
A: This may sound a slick response, but the answer is
‘As much or as little as you like’. Coins are available from
literally a pound or two to many thousands.
Q: Why such a wide range of prices?
A: Rarity to one side, the most significant single factor
in determining a coin’s value is its exact state of preservation.
See How much is a coin worth?
A coin in perfect condition may be worth £1000, while an identical
piece that is very worn may not even be worth £1. Collectors are
prepared to pay significantly more for a coin that is in choice condition
compared to one in an average or lesser grade. The reason is quite simple:
the choice pieces are rarer than worn ones.
Q: Why don’t dealers clean-up
coins before putting them on display? Our local dealer has some very badly
tarnished silver and copper coins in his window. I feel I want to offer
to give them a good polish.
A: The surest way to reduce a coin’s value is to
polish it or immerse it in a proprietary cleaning fluid such as a silver
dip. The golden rule is don’t clean coins.
Q: How much does polishing or
cleaning a coin reduce its value?
A: Generally a severely cleaned coin will be worth less
than half the value of the same coin that has not been polished or subjected
to a proprietary cleaning fluid.
Q: So cleaning reduces a coins
value and the better a coin’s condition, the more its worth. Is
there anything else that will affect the value of two otherwise identical
coins?
A: Just as one may refer to a musical instrument having
a ‘rich tone’, so a coin that is deepened and enriched in
colour by the passage of time may be said to be ‘toned’. While
collectors prefer modern copper and bronze coins to have their original
mint lustre, it will be appreciated that even coins in mint condition
may develop a patina if they have been exposed to the atmosphere. Although
such coins do not command as high a premium as a specimen with full mint
lustre, if the patina is even, they will realise more than examples with
a ‘patchy’ toning or a partial lustre. Many nineteenth and
early twentieth century silver specimens are found with a light golden
tone which gives the coins a delightful glow. The patina can also be darker;
sometimes even black. Coins with a dark damson tone with a hint of olive
green are particularly attractive. This is especially so when the field
(i.e. the flat part of the coin between the inscription or edge and the
design) is of a deeper tone than the relief design. Look a little closer
at a coin with a tone like this and the bust may be speckled with red
and gold lights. While toning is a matter of personal taste, a pleasing
tone does increase a coin’s value.
Q: Are coins a good investment?
A: Buy coins for interest and enjoyment, selecting the
best you can afford. If you follow these criteria, history has shown that
they are likely to increase in value as time passes. However, the quest
for financial gain should not be your primary objective and dealers generally
do not advise on this basis.
Q: What’s the best way
to display coins?
A: The traditional way to house a collection is a coin
cabinet. Usually made from mahogany, they contain a number of shallow
drawers – known as trays – with circular recesses containing
a circular piece of felt. Secondhand examples are available at auction.
Sizes vary from desk-top to standalone pieces of furniture. Modern equivalents
made from durable materials are available that are designed for easy transportation.
Coin albums are also available. The least expensive way is to place the
coins in transparent envelopes specially made for coins and to store them
in a specially designed box.
Q: I’m interested in collecting
English coins. Can you recommend a comprehensive book, please?
A: The Spink Standard Catalogue Of British Coins: Coins Of
England 2004 is the only single-volume reference work that
features every major coin type from Celtic times to the present day. Retail
valuations are given for every coin type listed in two grades for hammered
and three for milled coins. However, this is not just a priced catalogue.
It is profusely illustrated throughout; each section or reign begins with
a useful general outline; there is a topical ‘Markets Trend’
for the previous year; a general guide to coin collecting and grading
plus an English translation of the Latin legends found on the coins. It
the essential guide for beginners and serious numismatists alike. It is
a hardback volume and it retails at £18.
Q: Proof coins are often advertised
in the press. What exactly is a proof?
A: Just as in printing, a proof is a trial impression of a page, a proof
coin is a trial striking of a coin. In the 18th century proof coins were
just very carefully struck. Since the 19th century proof coins have been
carefully struck from specially prepared dies on to specially prepared
blanks. Normally the end result is a coin with a mirror-like surface,
though occasionally one encounters proofs with a matt surface. They are
of a superior finish to a currency coin.
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