Tuesday 23 April 2013

Scottish Currency

The Scottish independence debate has escalated a bit recently. As a Scot, I am undecided on the best response to the referendum question but as a numismatist, I am intregued by the issue of Scotland's coinage should we become independent (I doubt we will but for the sake of arguement lets continue). It appears that today the chancellor of the exchequer has implied that Scotland would not be able to continue using the pound sterling as we know it - this raises many questions for the numismatist up here. Mainly, what will the new currency be if not the pound? Lets look at the other choices as I see them.

  1.  The Euro - as a coin collector, I hope this is not the case and in the current economic climate, my gut feeling is we would not go down this route. We already have plentiful access to euro coins through holidays and from our Irish friends who bring them over - so much so that this would be nothing interesting to us. The Euro coins are spectacularly boring to collect too!
  2. The Pound Scots - this is a serious option. It is beyond me to examine the complex issues involving the resurrection of a 300+ year old currency and setting an exchange rate, deciding on debt apportionment etc but it does intregue me. For example, will we have the romantic old names like Bawbee, Hardheads and Pistoles? Will Her Majesty grace the obverse of the coins? What new designs should we have? Would it even be decimal?
  3. Dollars - would we even develop a brand new currency and coinage such as a Scottish Dollar and cent structure? In many ways this is the most exciting (and probably least likely!) option. Imagine the scope and potential in this concept!
And on that note, I shall leave you for tonight!

Sunday 21 April 2013

Cupronickel dollars

At the risk of sounding like a jaded and cynical old numismatist, I have to write about a friend who asked me the other day how much their "really old silver dollar coin" was worth. I must admit to being intrigued initially, however, she then informed me that it was "really old, something like 1977 or '78"!

She didn't seem too impressed when I advised her that in slightly worn condition it was probably worth a pound or 2 at best!

I do enjoy passing on my knowledge on such subjects but I must admit that it is always slightly sour pleasure when one has probably disheartened a potential new collector with honesty!

Sunday 7 April 2013

The future of coin collecting in America - a response

One blog I enjoy reading a lot is Dave Harper's 'The Buzz' and I highly recommend you take a look if you haven't found it yet. I must take issue with one paragraph he writes later in his article entitled "New coin age coming". He states that it is certain that the future will not 'be bound by' the collection of coins from circulation.

My experience is that increasingly, in the UK at least (or perhaps just in Scotland!), younger collectors ARE picking up the slightly unusual coins they find in circulation and collecting them - indeed a large part of what I write about involves this hobby. Perhaps things are different across the pond but I believe this is a point that requires more balanced thought!

He is a very knowledgeable man so please read his blogs!

A quiet week

It's been a quiet week for me numismatically. I have been away on business in England this week and had hoped to come across some patterns of Olympic 50p or £2 coins that seem to be rarer in my neck of the woods but alas - no success. I didn't even get a chance to visit any local coin shops - there are some here unlike where I live and work! I'm sure coin shops are a great place for the amateur coin collector to learn but I have yet to visit one!!!