Some Help For A Beginner Please

Don't do this if you want to get rich quick, there are few around but most dealers aren't rich at the end of the day, no wonder some of them can be so grumpy hahaha.

That being said now depends on your budget as to what you get for this hobby. If your on a shoestring budget and this is something your super passionate about I'll go to your local library (check out a few reference book) you actually don't want to be look at the price of thing just yet, as many books are either out off date or overpriced items, what you should try to understand is rarity (mintages) and why something is so vauble and collectable amount your fellow collector's. Oh you can also try this site excellent collect of free online ebooks. Then try to understand the nuances of eye appeal of a coin it very difficult especially if you want to complete sets and types varieties. So for purchasing bulk I go with pennies or Romans but that's hard work sort through lots however if your passionate about it, it's fun. Note as you start going up the value chain fakes become more common.

I don't use any catalog software at the moment but I believe there are a few packages around that are one cost software with some updates. No recommendations here, maybe some form the Great Britain section might be able to help you here.

@art, first welcome to CCF. Second, as your questions pertain mainly to ancient and medieval coins, I'm going to move your thread there. I recommend looking around on that sub-forum, especially at the sticky threads relating to safe and unsafe sellers. There are lots of useful prior threads to help you educate yourself as well.

Greg;

We like if you post photos of a just a single coin or few at a time but not a large lot. Then we can help you one by one and let you know how we identify that particular coin. So there is no one answer especially if the coins span through the Victorian age from ancient. There are many sources to identify coins, and different things for look for in different coin series that are specific to that coin series. So we look forward to seeing some of your coins.

Now buying coins online, we can get to that later but a person should be an "expert in a coin series" before they buy in my opinion which is not that hard if you keep it really focused. Look up past sales for a particular coin then try buying one at a price you can make money at with 30% going to fees of the sale price. It is best you try just identifying your current inherited coins first and selling those in my opinion.

Finally, I would not buy any inventory software yet. You can do just fine with Excel and a spreadsheet application plus also if you sell ebay UK for example, they track your business and give you spreadsheets of data so depending on the platform you may not need software. Of course that part is far ahead of just the beginning steps of asking about a few coins you post in photos here and as I said we look forward to seeing those. Take care:

I could not agree more

Greg;

You state you mention buying and selling coins so that you can make a small profit so that you can buy yourself some coins of historical significance. Well being in England you are quite lucky then. Below is the current auction of large lots from Roma Numismatics. Find one that has a historical coin you want to own and buy it. Then sell the ones from the lot you don't want and you will easily achieve your goal. If I can achieve that all the way to the USA from Roma so the extra fees you don't have you certainly can as well with home field advantage! Want a silver drachm of Alexander the Great? They have three lots of 10 each up right now. Almost any major emperor in groups mixed of 10 coins each all large. Buy the one with the emperor you want and as I said sell the rest. Easy way to collect if you have enough for the initial purchase and can wait for payments to return to you.

https://www.romanumismatics.com/e-s...view=bidders

Hi Greg and from a fellow British collector!

I agree with all the above comments.

Personally, I use an Excel worksheet to list my collection. I often check Numista to identify foreign coins but I haven't used it to list my collection.

I'd recommend Dei Gratia Coins if you want to build up a collection of different British ones - they send out monthly sales lists and you are invited to 'bid' for the coins.
https://www.dgcoins.co.uk/
I do buy coins sometimes on ebay - I check the seller's feedback and see what other coins they have sold before bidding!

I have similar collecting interests - you will find the Roman period to Victoria covers a vast number of coins, so you might want to pick a few areas you're interested in (Roman London mint; Northumbrian stycas; the Plantagenets; English Civil War; George III emergency issues and tokens).

As mentioned, Numista is good for identification, especially modern coins.

For Roman coins, you want something like Wildwinds http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/i.html or Ocre http://numismatics.org/ocre/identify

If you're looking at medieval coins, you need to get your eye in. This is a good site for identification, and for demonstrating how difficult identification is https://www.rodblunt.com/short-cross-pennies

I think the main problem with selling is that you have to buy very well to make a worthwhile profit. As an example:

You win a Constantine I follis at auction for £50. Add 20% auction fee, and £10 shipping, and that's £70. If you buy at an overseas auction, you might get hit for customs and VAT, which will add at least £12 (the customs handling fee) plus 5% VAT. So in total you've paid nearly £90.

You sell it on ebay. They want 12.8% commission + £0.30 payment fee, and if you sell it to an overseas buyer, another 2% or so. Then there's your postage cost, which second class to the UK is £2.06 (if you can keep it thinner than 0.5cm). And packaging, another £0.50 (although you can re-use the packaging you received it in if you keep it).

With all that, you might need to sell it for £120 to get your £90 back. If the buyer is not in the UK (and you use ebay's Global Selling Program), they have to pay international postage (could be as much as £20) and tax on top.

So you need to find a buyer that will pay £140 for a coin that hammered for £50 and for which you paid £90. Not easy. And that's for zero profit. You might be holding it a while.

And bear in mind, you won't sell on ebay for the same prices you pay on Roma, since Roma is a highly-respected auction house where you can trust the authenticity of the coins, while ebay is a counterfeiters paradise. For that reason, I wouldn't buy anything on ebay unless you find out the seller is trustworthy or you know what you are looking at, but buying from Roma (or DNW, Spink, CNG) comes at a premium. There are good dealers too for British coins (Silbury Coins, Chris Rudd, Halls Hammered Coins) but of course they are trying to make a profit like you, and need to live off it.

Buying a lot at auction might help (as it spreads the delivery cost over more coins) but you have to know how much each coin might sell for, or you could end up with a load of difficult-to-sell coins (which ties up your cash) and still not make the coin you wanted any cheaper. Worse, it might end up costing you more.

To do any of the above, you need experience, which takes a while. Months? Years? Specialising would help a lot, so you can spot fakes and estimate values quickly. I could probably spot a fake Roman London mint follis or a fake Saxon hammered penny, but show me anything Greek and I would have no idea whatsoever (unless it was terrible).

You might not even want to sell the coins you inherited until you know the issue and what makes for a valuable coin. You could lose good profit in haste.

Still, if you're collecting for the fun of it, mindful that your 'investment can go down as well as up', you will have a lot of fun and soon become an expert. If you don't spend more than you can afford to lose, you can't go wrong. And you will learn a lot of history.