GB Silver Three-Halfpence

O’Brien Coin Guide: GB & #Ireland Silver Three-Halfpence

The 1½d was the smallest #silver #coin to circulate in the 19th C but it was intended for use in colonies such as SriLanka, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Trinidad, Jamaica and British Guiana.

https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2018/01/09/obrien-coin-guide-gb-ireland-silver-three-halfpence/

 

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Nice page

Also, that's really cool that the hashtags work so well in search results.

 

I bought one of those last year. I did not even know they existed until I saw it for sale. Mine is not high quality but it was the only British denomination I did not have so I had to buy it.

 

I have a Victorian one. Very cool little coins they are.

 

Thank you

 

I bought a load of small silver recently and, in among what I thought was 100% threepences, were a few 1½d and 4d coins. Their history is interesting.

 

The fractional farthings are interesting too. It shows how low cost some of the colonies really were.

 

Interested that your page, in line with Spink and other publications, does not give a great premium to the 1837 Three Halfpenny. The mintage is low, it is the last one I need for a complete set and in 5 years of having an alert search on Ebay I have not seen a single one come up!

 

An interesting suggestion - based upon solid collecting experience.

Pricing is usually based upon survival rates ... and demand (not mintage alone).

I'll do a bit more research on pricing and revise.

As a collector looking for said item,
I am sure you don't want me to go too high

 

I had quick look at my inventory ... and I do not have an 1837 !

I also re-checked my prices and the 1837 is substantially higher than the other William IV. It's the highest priced of the lot !

 

First I heard of this one, so of course I now want a few...

 

Wonderful content. The "about" tab on your says that you sell coins. I do not know how to locate coins you have for sale.

 

I am not selling coins at the moment.

My (former) shop was broken into by my landlord and a large proportion of my inventory stolen. Even though he was caught selling some coins online, below cost and using my name, the police did nothing.

I am in the process of:
a) locating a new premises
b) building up another inventory
c) building an informative website that will help beginners and improvers
- the experts know more than me, so its not for them
- the emphasis is on the history, politics and economics behind each coin issue
- I am also trying to keep jargon to a minimum (but have a glossary of terms)

When I open my new shop, I will offer a monthly email sales list.

 

The 1½d and the fractional farthings are really interesting.

All were produced for the low wage colonies and weren't meant to circulate in GB & Ireland ... but I did find two Irish newspaper articles from 1842 that suggested the half-farthings "might have" circulated in Ireland.

https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2017/08/12/gb-ireland-half-farthings/

 

Great thread!

 

Ah ha! I just found a picture of mine:

 

I know this is going to sound "a bit odd" coming from a dealer
but I am of the opinion that

... if prices go too high, collectors stop collecting !

95% of my inventory is priced below €50
80% of my inventory is priced below €10 (and it flies out)

I'd say most of my customers spend between €10 and €50 per week on their hobby.
And they all like to chat about their coins ... I often sit back and listen to 2/3 of them chatting to one another and asking questions. It's fascinating ... and educational

 

That's interesting to hear. I've often wondered about whether "small mark up and high volume" could be a winning business plan for coin dealers and antique dealers. I've been to too many coin shops and antique dealers where the merchandise is the same month after month (even year after year). It goes stale and then people aren't interested in coming anymore, because "it's all the same stuff all the time".

I think it could work on retail seller's side, but I would worried that resupply would be difficult to source sufficiently. "You make the profit when you buy".

If you had the coins I like, I'd be a regular customer of yours if those are your price ranges.

 

Small markup doesn't work
... it simply doesn't cover costs, unless volumes are very high + stock turn is fast.

It's all about buying well.
- collectors have the advantage for single coin lots at auction
- astute dealers know how to break down larger lots
- it is very expensive when collectors buy a large lot for just one coin, i.e. wastage.

 

Cheap coins become very expensive when P&P is added,
i.e. it is best to buy cheap coins in person.
e.g. if a €1 coin costs €1.50 to post, it increases its cost by 150% if bought online

Expensive coins don't have this problem.