Advice Archives - Detecting Finds

Photographing Coins

Paul — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 10:57:28 +0000

Cameras on phones and tablets these days provide good quality images. To take a photograph coins:

Place the coin on a white background (card or paper is fine)
Use natural light – on a window sill is good
Fill as much of the frame with the coin as possible, while still keeping the image in focus. With nothing else but the coin in frame the camera will focus better and probably closer to the coin
Have the phone or tablet parallel to the surface of the coin
If you want to improve the picture by removing the shadow, place the coin on a piece of glass above the white surface. I “borrowed” my piece of glass from a picture frame
Remember to take a picture of both sides of the coin
Before uploading your photo, please rename the file to something meaningful such as “Shilling Obverse by Peter D Spencer”

You can see below, that I’m using a phone which is several years old to take the photographs. The image on paper is fine for me, the one on glass is better as it makes the edge of the coin clearer.

Photographing a coin on paper

Photographing a coin on glass

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How to identify a coin

Peter — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 13:51:30 +0000

When using a reference work to pin down a coin then it is a relatively easy task if you already have some idea of what it is. For example, if you know a coin is a Henry VI penny then you look it up in the section of a book covering that king, or in a specialised publication on the reign. However, if you have no idea what it might be then a number of different stages need to be gone through in order to reach a final conclusion. The stages are set out below.

Stages of identifying a coin

1: Is it a coin? Or, is it a token, jetton, medal or something else?

2: Is it gold, silver, copper, other?

3: Is it cast, hammered or milled?

4: Is it English, British or foreign?

5: If English is it Anglo-Saxon, Norman, medieval or later?

6: If it belongs to a reign or period then which one?

7: What is the denomination (penny, sixpence, etc.)?

8: What is the type/class/variety?

9: What is the mint and/or the moneyer (if both are named) and/or the date?

In the case of some coins, milled gold and silver, for instance, it can be quite easy to work through all but the last stage in the above list.

Gaining experience in identifying a coin

Other coins can prove to be much more difficult and those with little or no experience in identifying coins might get no further than stage 4. I always tell detectorists (and numismatists) that the best way to become more familiar with coins is to see and handle as many as they can. Most major museums have collections on view. Individual detectorists and numismatists are usually willing to let others see their coins. Also, there is a huge range of reference works filled with tens of thousands of illustrations.

Use your eyes

“Use your eyes” I always say, “and see what they can tell you.” Look only at what is there, not what might be there or what you’d like to be there. For example, if the legend on a groat starts with EDWARD then it can’t have been struck for one of the kings named Henry. Of course not, I hear you say. Yet I have seen coins listed as being struck for one king when the name of another – an earlier or later one – stood out clearly on the obverse. So, use your eyes. In doing so you may not always get things right but you will at least avoid some glaring errors.

Free valuation service

If you would like me to identify your coin or artefact then please see our free valuation and identification service

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The Language of Coins

Peter — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 13:28:08 +0000

Almost all numismatic reference works take it for granted that readers already understand the language of coins. This might suit knowledgeable collectors, dealers, auctioneers and researchers but the lack of explanatory detail often leaves less experienced individuals confused rather than fully informed. Therefore, I have compiled a glossary of words and terms commonly used in numismatic reference works. Some are very basic but I make no excuse for including them, as I know they aren’t always understood by those just starting to attempt to identify and classify coins.

Glossary

Here is a Glossary which can be used as a reference on you can scroll through by selecting a word and then using the left and right buttons.

I hope this glossary will prove to be useful to those who are not fully conversant with the language used to describe coins and coinages. If anyone requires any further help or advice then please get in touch.

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Found something special

Peter — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 10:27:15 +0000

If you have found something really special and then plastered it all over the internet then don’t come to me for advice. If it has been on Facebook and other sites then you will have had comments from here, there and everywhere. At least some will have been on the lines of: “A mate of mine’s uncle said he had met someone in the pub who knew of a bloke who had once read in a newspaper a story about a similar item and it was worth loads of money.” If you come to me with something really special then the first thing I would say is: “Apart from those who really need to know (the landowner and the local FLO) don’t tell anyone about it.” Never forget that the copyright on photographs of an outstanding find rest with the person who took them. A really special find will be newsworthy and television companies, newspapers and other publications will all want to report it. Therefore, the story of the discovery of a find together with pictures of it can be worth a lot of money. I’ll give you advice based upon decades of experience and will get you the best possible deal on your find or finds.

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Buying coins

Peter — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:58:17 +0000

It’s not unusual for detectorists, especially those in clubs, to buy finds from each other. It cuts out any middle-men so can be advantageous to both parties.

Some detectorists are collectors and besides buying from their colleagues they also buy from dealers. Today I would strongly advise anyone buying coins and artefacts from dealers to ask for an unlimited guarantee of authenticity. There has always forgeries on the market but they have grown in number over recent years. Some very deceptive copies of Roman coins have been coming from Bulgaria, whilst a very wide range of English and foreign milled silver have been coming out of China. These copies are so convincing that I have no doubt that many will have been purchased as genuine and will now reside in private collections. Therefore, do take care when buying from sellers on some internets sites and places like car boot sales. Real bargains can occasionally be had from the latter but purchases often turn out to be cast copies and the seller might be difficult of impossible to trace.

Besides asking for a guarantee of authenticity, those buying from dealers should also ask for a guarantee that the stated grade of preservation is correct. If a coin is purchased as being in VF condition and it turns out to be only Fine then it would be worth considerably less. For example, if someone buys a VF Charles I half crown for £250 then if the grade is correct the price will be in line with the market; however, if it isn’t VF but only Fine then it would be worth not £250 but £60-70. Always remember that an over-graded coin is almost always an over-priced coin.

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