Colonial Collectors

Just as I thought ... this thread has stimulated more competition!

My favorite colonial paper notes are the ones that replicate the Fugio cent design, ala Franklin. It's interesting to research the signers.

Love colonial paper! Not enough discussion of it on the paper money forum, though. And if you'll excuse me, ExoGuy, it was the Fugio coppers that "replicated" the Continental paper notes, not the other way around!

I don't actively collect currency but do have a 1777 3 shilling PA note. I just posted pics of it in the currency section. I actually don't know anything about it so if anyone can provide some info that would be great!

NJ Bob: Absolutely buy the Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins first...

After you decide what you like, start to buy the individual specialized books.

As for dealers, my opinion is to attend a coin show as there will likely be several colonial dealers there. This seems obvious, but there is always ebay.

For anyone just starting out in colonials, I would recommend buying the following for under $100 total for 3-4 coins:

-George II or III halfpenny from the 1730s to 1775. A decent example on ebay should be about $25. Do not bother to buy these slabbed. The good thing about these is that even if you accidentally buy a counterfeit, they are actually more collectible than genuine (regal) pieces and are still considered colonial coins.

-Spanish silver: Coins minted in the Spanish colonies that traded in North America. Any denomination but specifically Half, 1, or 2 Reales. Probably easiest to find Mexico City mints. You can find these on ebay for about $25. Even if they have a hole, they are still collectible and some people say that just adds to their charm and intrigue. Again, counterfeits are just as collectible as genuine pieces (if not more so)!

-Low grade state copper coinage such as NJ or CT. You should have no problem of finding a low grade example often with environmental damage and/or corrosion on ebay for under $50. These are not often counterfeited so buying a raw example that "looks old" is often good enough to ensure you are buying a good piece. Most replicas sold at Williamsburg are marked "copy".

Great responses ... I will add that after collecting for a few years I find myself selling off many of my originally collected coins to purchase from the colonials. They are a different animal - they grow on you :) Half Cents are my favorite. I hope and expect to expand.

This is a good one.
http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/

Then there is the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4)
http://www.colonialcoins.org/

If you really get really into it I have the first 142 issues of the Colonial Newsletter in PDF format. That is all but the last 11 issues.
(The index is available online at http://numismatics.org/wikiuploads/...index154.pdf )