Are British coins fun to collect?

It's only happening on posts from V579's higher up this page, and intermittently your Maundy piece in the post before which shows after refreshing. The font on this reply to your post is a bit weird too.

 

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Weirder still, having posted the above reply, I can now see my images on the previous page. Still no sign of V579's image though.

 

Now they've gone again. The thread looks to be corrupted in some way

 

I have always admired British coinage. I started with the big old pennies, toned dark chocolate brown, and very stately looking even if worn. One thing led to another, and now I find myself with 777 of them. Then there is British Empire; I see I have 1145 of them and more on the way. I think one could devote their entire numismatic effort solely toward British coins and never stop seeking more.

 

May as well upload a penny...

 

I have been collecting British coins from the earliest Saxon times to the present. Have been doing it for over 10 years now and I'm still having fun.

I have not started Celtic or Romano-British.

My one-of-each-monarch set is approaching as much of a sense of completion as is possible, with some of the early Saxon kings actually unobtainable. I am now approaching 100 different English monarchs (including the pre-Norman conquest petty kings). I also have the Scottish kings. But I will say that this set is something of a slog, and I wouldn't start with that as your goal, unless you are a glutton for punishment. Find a period of British history that you find interesting and start with that. Or pick a denomination- groats for the medieval period or shillings for the early modern times are fun, or the big halfcrowns which are often less than half the price of the crowns.

The kings and queens will all be there later if you decide to aim for that sort of completion.

 

I got a Celtic coin recently, but not British, I want one, but the nice ones ARE pricey.

It's fun and I do admit to a fondness for Victoria!

 

British (and Empire), German States and Indian States are probably the three geographical areas of numismatics that offer the greatest variety for collectors, though the last one is inherently less attractive for western collectors due to identification issues.

I collect British and always have done. I collected shillings and halfpennies for a long time as specialist areas, but could never resist some coins that didn't fit into either of the two denominations. Today I collect as eclectically as possible, trying not to duplicate designs, though do confess to having a lot of duplicated things that are just too nice to sell. I solved the problem by adding a 'too nice to sell' category.

On a more serious note though, just specialising in one topic offers years of enjoyment. Apart from the aforementioned one of each monarch (well over 200 boxes to tick if you include all the episcopal, Celtic and Roman Britain issues), you could also collect an example of each substantive type for example (several thousand), or an example of each denomination ever struck (130+ if patterns are included). The scope is endless. Examples of attributed engravers/designers offer in excess of 250 names. A collection of mints throughout the past 2000+ years will have over 150 boxes to tick. A collection of privy marks employed will have hundreds of boxes if the overmarks are included.

The list is not exhaustive. Any, some or all of the above offer the collector a hugely diverse set of targets, with sufficient diversity to ensure there is always something relatively unpopular to focus on when bargain hunting.

 

That was great layout. I wish I could save it in my phone

 

I just coinstared this. It’s British right. Keep this thread open Learned a lot today

 

@Paddy54

 

I really like the last 1960 cuz the queen was most beautiful.

 

Here are just a few coins that I like with a bias toward Victoria...

 

I have been collecting British coins for over 20 years now, and there are still gaps to fill. I have steered away from minor varieties, proofs and patterns - there are just too many, but others, including @robp above, I know specialise in these.

I enjoy all the designs and periods right back to the Saxons, and even a few Celtic. I have called a halt on the modern decimal coinage - just too many "made to be collectable" issues from the Royal Mint. Like @lordmarcovan I love the Victorian coins, but recently I have found myself most attracted to the late 17th and 18th silver. Here is one of my favourites - William and Mary Crown from 1692. The 2 is blundered, which is not unusual. The die makers struggled with the unusual layout of the date numerals and frequently got it wrong!

I particularly love the intricate reverse. The entwined W and M was used a lot at the time and when I was small there was a wall in my village with this picked out in dark bricks, making it very easy to date.