Somewhere along the line I have lost a post. In fact, I have lost an entire evening. I’m really not sure how I managed that.
The shop was full most of the day. We had people in as we opened (by appointment), Someone rang to make an appointment for 10.30, but I pushed them on till 11.00, which was good, as someone wandered in at just after 10.30, thinking they had an appointment. They had spoken to the owner lat night and he hadn’t bothered to tell us. Then one of the regulars turned up, And another.
So, despite my supposed planning we still ended up crowded. We had several people call in the afternoon too. One of them had coins worth 85 pence. This isn’t quite the record for the week – someone else brought coins worth 65 pence earlier in the week and someone emailed for a valuation on coins which said “New Pence” on them. All coins had that on them at one time, as that’s what they were called. They became “Pence” about ten years after decimalisation. I suppose they were no longer new by then.
In 1983 the Royal mint made a mistake and made a batch of coins which had “New pence” instead of pence, but they only went into sets, not into general circulation. The sets are probably worth £1,500. Coins from circulation dated between 1971 and 1981 with “New Pence” are very common and are worth face value.
We frequently get people enquiring, thinking they have a fortune in their hand, just to find out they have pennies. It shows the power of one inaccurate newspaper article.
We once sold some 1983 year sets to someone who obviously thought that all year sets had the rare coin in. They don’t. Most of them have the ordinary coin in. He was very upset and claimed we had cheated him. Why he thought professional coin dealers would be selling sets worth £1,500 for just £12, I don’t know.
Kew Gardens – expensive coin
The Kew Gardens 50p is a rare coin you might still find in your change. They only minted 210,000 of them instead of the millions they did for other years. No, I don’t know why. This article is a reasonable guide to rarities, but note the prices are mainly for true “Uncirculated” coins, not ones out of your pocket. Note the general downward trend of the prices as coin collecting is less popular now – people don’t use coins as much since lockdown.
The header picture is one we often get calls about – the 2007 £2 with the “upside down” writing on the edge. It’s not true. The coins are fed into a machine and 50% of them end up with the edge inscription “upside down”. I have wasted hours on the phone telling people this, thanks to idiot journalists.
Pingback: The Destroyer of Dreams | quercuscommunity
I am glad that I leave coin collecting to others. My life is full enough of disappointments as it is.
If life has taught me one thing, it is that there is always a little corner here you can wedge in little more disappointment . . .
UGH, I’m sure your job is a constant fight about telling people, who think they have a treasure, that they don’t. I’ve seen enough Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars to know that.
I am The Breaker of Dreams . . . It6’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Goodness, there is a lot to know about coins, whether or not they are valuable. The Kew coin is not only valuable, but very pretty as well. The two don’t always go together.
Two coins are up for sale in auction this week – found near the site of the battle of Bosworth – gold ryals of Edward IV – buried for 525 years. I will post a link when I see the results. 😉
So far my only problems with coins have been one store clerk giving me change, a coin covered with green corrosion and barely readable. When I asked for a replacement, as I didn’t want this coin sitting around in my piggy bank of change, I was told that customers passed them off to the shop, so they were giving them back out as punishment. I got my replacement coin.
Some coins do not do well in circulation – you have to wonder what people do with them. The state of some of the coins they bring in to us after 20 years in a shed, or something similar, can be quite unpleasant.
Fascinating. I hadn’t known the “New pence” anomalies, and anyway I had forgotten what a coin is.
There’s a new set coming out – it may jog people’s memories of coin collecting.
https://www.royalmint.com/annual-sets/2023/definitives/king-charles-iii-definitives-2023-brilliant-uncirculated-coin-set/
Thanks for the link. There seems to variation in set prices
I haven’t really looked at the prices. Often it’s things like the quality of the striking or the type of packaging they use. It was easier when there was just one sort of set, but less easy to sell extras. (Upsell, I think is the new word).