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 Replies: 7 / Views: 2,108 |
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New Member
United States
6 Posts |
Hi, all, I'm a newbie to coin collecting, and my primary interest is in acquiring a wide collection of inexpensive coins, as well as coins that look different (shapes, etc.). While browsing ebay to see what's available there, I noticed one seller has a number of East India Company coins, which are also intriguing to me because my husband and I are history/literary geeks (coins with Hindu gods just seem cool), and also because they're older than anything in my collection to date. However, I've read that these coins are commonly faked, and so I'm wondering what level of caution I should exercise when considering them. FYI, the seller is in India, and the coins all seem to be in the $15-18 range. I'm looking for information on these on the web now, but at this point I have no idea what I should expect to pay for real pieces. Any thoughts? While I'm here... I can already appreciate the wisdom of "buy the book before buying the coin." My newbie question (which could be answered in a FAQ somewhere that I haven't found yet) is *which* manual is a good starting point for world coins if I'm not yet focused on a particular type or region? There's a lot of them, and my first purchase, the Standard Catalog of World Coins, seems to address more recent currencies, which doesn't help me with coins that range from 20-120 (or more) years old. I realize now that was a dumb mistake, but it would help if I could get a sense of what would be most helpful as a first book.  Thanks in advance! Edited by saxdiva
03/12/2012 5:19 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
saxdiva: Welcome to the CCF!
Actually The Standard Catalog of World Coins covers a period which extends back over four centuries in volumes which covers a century each.
Starting out as a newbie, I would try to get a cheaper, old used copy of earlier centuries. They are a very good picture reference of all countries, but especially so for Indian coinage. I managed to pick up a couple of used shop copies from a coin dealer that way.
Coins come in all shapes sizes and metals. I have a collection of over 80 types of square coins, a lot of which are of Indian origin. For a fun part of my collection I have clad coins, bi metallic coins coins with a central hole, triangular coins, a pentagonal coin, hexagonal, heptagonal octagonal and dodecagonal coins, and coins with scalloped edges. Metals include gold silver, bronze, copper, aluminium, zinc, steel, stainless steel, pure nickel and copper nickel, just to name a few.
World coins can be interesting. They are used as source information in archeoogy, and as such are the hardware evidence of history.
What areas of history are you and your hubbie interested in?
Is your hubbie interested in coins?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
645 Posts |
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Moderator
 Australia
16851 Posts |
Hello and welcome.  DCH is correct; there aren't any genuine EICo coins depicting native deities. Earlier EICo coins commissioned by the various presidencies of the Company resemble the "Princely states" coins, with designs consisting of text only (Arabic/Persian, Sanskrit and English scripts); later "uniform style" coins depict the British monarch. See these pages on zeno.ru. As for the books, the Krause catalogues are pretty much the only boat afloat these days. The Krauses have been one-volume-per-century since around 1990. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
Just to add,
It sounds like you got the 21st century coin catalog. That is my least favorite volume of Krause - it has the most "holes" (omissions) and fewest illustrations. Get the 20th and 19th (especially if you are interested in the EICo coins) centuries, those will cover most of the territory you'll ever need.
And welcome to the community!
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New Member
 United States
6 Posts |
Hey, thanks for the info! I'm glad I asked here before I was tempted to bid on those coins. I don't mind tourist tokens, I guess, but only when they're priced accordingly. I'll keep an eye peeled for the other Krause volumes--sounds like that might be a better use of my ebay budget right now. As for what areas of history we're interested in... my husband teaches ancient and biblical literature, so his interests tend generally toward ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Hebrew societies, but he also touches on Hindu works. I'm also a teacher but my field is business--I tend to be sort of broadly interested in economic history and migration. Thanks again, and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. :-) |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
I am currently reading very good senior high school textbook on ancient Greek history, concurrently with the twin volumes of David Sear's 'Greek coins and Their values'.
I am finding it a useful approach into understanding how the coins relate to the history. The time coverage for both is the same.
I am getting a better understanding of the coins, because I am able to connect the historical notes Sear has written in the coin books with the history in the text book.
Having the coins in hand makes the history more real, and less academic.
Roman history is more structured than Greek history.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
709 Posts |
Welcome Saxdiva. Like you I am a relative newbie to coin collecting. I also look for inexpensive interesting coins with a history, and am fascinated by the range of shapes. Here is a typical east India company coin ( not mine - I dont sell on ebay ). http://www.ebay.com/itm/EAST-INDIA-...em4163713427I have a few but as I am using the work computer, pics will have to wait. |
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,108 |
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Posted 03/12/2012 10:11 pm
