THE COIN STARTER KITAn Introduction to Coin Collecting and Its History

NUMISMATICSWelcome to the world of

People collect coins for many reasons. It is achallenging and rewarding hobby that canlast a lifetime, and connect you with othercollectors around the world. Numismatics isthe study or collection of coins and currency.

Collecting coins and other historical itemswill teach you about history, the culture andcustoms of distant nations, and the value ofcurrency itself.

Some collectors spend decades seeking thespecific items they want, while others find itmore rewarding to find common coins fromplaces they have been, or that remind themof something in their past.

Others collect coins for their appearance andthe art stamped on them, for their rarity, orto trade with other collectors to makemoney.

Obv./Obverse The front of a coin, usuallywith the date and main design.

Rev./Reverse The back of the coin,opposite to the obverse. InCommonwealth coins, this is usuallydepicts the head of the reigning Monarch.

Choice A nice coin at any grade. Not anofficial designation, but used to show thata coin is attractive or interesting.

Dull A boring or lacklustre coin, made lessimpressive by the environment orcleaning.

Circulated A coin which shows signs ofwear from being used as currency.

Commemorative A coin issued incelebration of a person, place, or event.Often these are not legal tender.

Legal Tender Coins which must beaccepted in exchange for goods orservices.

Contemporary Counterfeit A coin struckusing crude metal and dies, created topass for legal tender at the time it wasmade. Some people collect counterfeitsalongside their real counterparts.

Denomination The assigned value of acoin, for example 1, 2, or 5 dollars.

Face Value The denomination asoriginally displayed on a coin. This is notthe coin's actual value, which may bedifferent due to its metal composition,

rarity, or whether it is currently legaltender.

Key Date A coin which is difficult to obtainfor the given date, sometimes limited to aspecific grade or coin series.

Token A privately issued coin, usually withan exchange value for goods or servicesat a specific business, rather than beingissued by a country's Government.

Mint A facility which manufactures coins.

Set A collection of coins in a series,usually from the same mint.

Mint SetMints will periodically releasegroups of coins produced for a particularyear as a set, usually displayed in a coinalbum.

Mule A coin with a mismatched obverseand reverse, caused by an error duringproduction.

Overdate A coin where one date hasbeen marked over the top of anotheryear.

Prestrike A coin produced earlier than theyear displayed on it.

Wear The abrasion on a coin’s surfacecaused by handling and circulation.

BC/AD Before Christ/Anno Domini- BCrefers to years before the birth of Christ,and AD the years after.

c. Circa indicates a date is approximate.

Coin Collecting Lingo

HAmmered Coinage

Trussel and pilefor producing

hammered coins.Right An anvil dieused for mintinghammered coins

MILLED COINAGE

Ancient coins were made by pouringmelted metals into moulds, or bystriking a design into the coin face byforce using engraving dies.

The oldest coins were cast in moulds,and one side stamped using a die anda hammer, leaving the other sidemarked only by the surface of theanvil. Later methods involvedheating blank coins until red-hot andstriking them between two dies andcreating an image on both sides.

By the Middle Ages coins were beingcast in sheets and cut out to increasethe rate of production.

Screw presses were introduced in1553 by the French engineer AubinOlivier.

This method was used alongside rollsto flatten metal bars, and machines topunch discs from the resulting metalsheets. Initially powered by a team ofmen working in shifts, animals andwater powered machines were laterintroduced.

In 1560 English Queen Elizabeth Idevalued previously minted coins,encouraging their replacement withnewly milled coinage from the RoyalMint in the Tower of London.

Elizabeth the First 1575 Sixpence, hammered coin

British 1656 Silver Shilling showing partial date, anotherhammered coin

1558 French Testoon celebrating the wedding of Mary,Queen of Scots and Francis II, an early mill-produced coin

A Spanish Dollar, also known as a ''Piece of Eight' from the1600s. These hammered coins were popular with pirates

The Roman historian Suetonius mentions inhis 1st century record De vita Caesarum(Latin, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars)that Emperor Augustus would present oldand exotic coins as giftsto friends on specialoccasions.

Augustus' great-uncle,the Roman dictatorJulius Caesar wasassassinated on March15, 44 BC after enactingchanges transitioningthe Roman Republicinto the Roman Empireunder his control.

Augustus' rule beganthe era known as thePax Romana (Latin,Roman Peace), a time ofinternal peace andexternal expansion forthe new empire. Duringthis time Rome tookcontrol of large areas ofEurope and North Africaduring this time, rewards for Augustus'successful military campaigns.

In 31 BC Augustus defeated his rival MarcAntony, who had previously helped himgain power, and the Egyptian PharaohCleopatra, the last ruler of the PtolemaicKingdom in Egypt.

Prior to his victory over Marc Antony,Augustus had been known by his birthname Octavian. Following the defeat of hisrival and the Egyptian Pharaoh, he was

granted the additionalName Augustus - "TheIncreaser".

Roman coins from thisera include theDenarius, the standardsilver coin of the Empireand a days pay for aRoman soldier, and theSestertius, a small silvercoin, later changed tobrass and often melteddown by forgers.

Augustus died in theyear 14AD in Nola,supposedly poisonedby a fig given to him byhis wife, Livia. Thecalendar month ofAugust is named forAugustus - until his timeit was known as Sextilis.

Coins from Ancient Rome make a greatstart to a collection. Roman coins arewidely availableare of great historicalsignificance!

Caesar augustus 63BC-14AD

Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome.Inset Silver Roman coin, called a Denarius, featuring Augustus

Coins of the Roman Replic and Empire - from Cassell's History of England,

c. 1525 print of AugustusBy Italian printmaker Giovanni Battista de'Cavalieri

Rare Roman Aureus featuringAugustus (Known at the time asOctavian) and Roman Generaland Politician Marc Antony.

41BC

What's in here?The Coin Starter Kit is an introduction to theHobby of Kings, with short biographies ofsome of it's famous devotees, their lives andthe times they lived in. Each page focusseson a different historical figure who collectedcoins, as well as pages on the manufactureand collecting of coins. Notable inclusions:• Caesar Augustus• Thomas Jefferson• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle• Louis XIV• George II• Farouk I• Johnny Cash• Jack BlackIncludes high resolution images of coins,maps, portraits, photographs and collectingadvice.

Your Local Coin Dealer

PhotoCredits: Romulus &Remus - Jastrow onWikipedia, Jordan - Jeremy Liew, Colosseum -Dario Veronesi, Augustus - Till Niermann,Johnny Cash in Bremen - Heinrich Klaffs, James Earl Jones - Eva Rinaldi, Darth Vader - Quarax on Wikipedia, Nicole Kidman - Gage

Skidmore, Jack Black - Eva Rinaldi, Machinery used in the Royal Mint. Engraving after J. Farey - Wellcome Collection CC BY.Coin images courtesy of Australian Numismatic Co. Further credits at coinstarterkit.com/credits.pdf. Other images public domain.

Booklet design, layout and text by B. Mortonwww.coinstarterkit.comv1.0.0 Copyright 2020

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