Coins

Overview

I started collecting coins when I returned from living in Europe for a few years with a boxful of coins and banknotes from different countries. But over time, because of my interest in history, I began to appreciate coins as a tangible link to the past – a point of reference you can actually hold in your hand. Aside from the boxful of spare change, I have been more actively collecting coins since around 2006 and have been a member of the American Numismatic Association since March 2009.

My numismatic area of interest has always been world coins, particularly from Great Britain and Europe, and a few from Africa. I generally prefer gold coins – while they can be a bit more expensive, their intrinsic value makes them a little more forgiving when opinions on a given coin’s condition (grade) differ. Early British hammered coins are very interesting, but difficult to identify even for an experienced collector. Finally, I have some US coins, but as a rule I find them to be overpriced and overanalysed.

The Collections

Like most collectors, I have lots of odds and ends, but my principal and favorite collection is of English sovereigns from the early years of the reign of Queen Victoria.