What do you like to buy and collect?

Old coins!

That was one of our childhood obsessions.  Back in the 1960s and 70s when we still had old money.  We were trying to collect all the years of the old penny's, three pence, six pence, shillings, florins.

We had penny's back to the 1880s,. They were filthy and worn out.

Just thinking about the dirt on these coins makes me I'll.  Then we spent hours cleaning and getting them to shine with copper cleaning products.  More dirt and the smell!!!.

Good old days!

That was one of our childhood obsessions.  Back in the 1960s and 70s when we still had old money.  We were trying to collect all the years of the old penny's, three pence, six pence, shillings, florins.

We had penny's back to the 1880s,. They were filthy and worn out.

Just thinking about the dirt on these coins makes me I'll.  Then we spent hours cleaning and getting them to shine with copper cleaning products.  More dirt and the smell!!!.

Good old days!

No, I don't. But when I teach business English I do teach about the topic of money. 

I see from your profile that you teach English as a foreign language.  Do you teach your students what the phrase 'old money' really means?

I found the magic of getting old coins in change too. 

I could not really collect decimalised coins now either as I don't live in the UK, haven't for over 20 years. I sometimes use my UK coins as realia with my students, where this comes up in a lesson

Unfortunately I stopped collecting these coins after decimalisation.  Part of the fun was getting coins as part of the change, in shops.

Explicitly buying them in antique/second hand stores is something I won't do.  Although I enjoy visiting antique fairs and flea markets.

More recently, while taking holidays in Scotland and Northern Ireland, I tried to get a full collection of notes issued by the various banks.  Again I tried to get them naturally as change in shops.

I still have my coin collection, which started from discovering an ancient, worn Victorian penny. One with her in a bun. The old head took up more space on the coin. I had a fairy sixpence, 1918 (tooth pillow), and an aunt even had a coin from 1986 that she let mebhave

Decimalisation did change all that, though I notice that the earliest ones of Elizabeth. now, also look somewhat worn, except for mine, which have retained their original copper sheen. 

We had an acquaintance who originally encouraged us, he first told us about the rare years, when monarchs died and how to look up the value of the rare years, I think these were 1935, 1952/3.  

1971 spoiled all this, then the shilling & florin disappeared as the 5p and 10p were downsized.  Even the 50p got smaller.  It's no fun when there are less than 100 years to collect.

Now I just pay contactless.  No coin collection of any kind.

Robert, soak them for a while in vinegar and then rub very gently with a soft cloth; never scrub or scrape them.

I collected pennies, ha'pennies, thru'penny bits and sixpences (tanners). One for each year, displayed in cardboard folders sold for the purpose. I also had some farthings, but they were withdrawn when I was very young. I still have them all but no longer in display folders. I don't think they are worth much.

There were small books for sale called 'Check Your Change' price half-a-crown (2/6d), these listed the number of coins minted each year and their rarity value.

The old coins had character, history, size and weight, not like this toytown stuff we've had for the last fifty years (since Feb 1971 ).  You're right about Queen Victoria,  I remember coins bearing her head in circulation in the sixties, most of them very worn. Also all the kings from 1902 until Elizabeth, except Edward VIII. It made it easy for us kids to learn the succession of the monarchs and their dates.

Ben

They call that dirt patina and you should never clean an old coin it takes most of the value away.