The BLS Coin Collectors Club

It's a good question: why the particular focus on coins of England and the United Kingdom?

The first answer to that question is: well, why not? The original Coin Club was founded and operated in south-west England, so the most readily available coins for peoples to obtain, trade and discuss were British ones. We never turned away collectors of non-British coins however and there was at least one regular member through most of the Club's history whose main interest was European coinage.

Now as the Coin Club moves online and goes global, we of course welcome members from all over the world with a wide array of interests and specialisations within the hobby; however, as a Club, our main focus will remain on British pre-decimal coinage, for one very important reason: the vast majority of online numismatics associations and sites are based in the USA and focus on coins of the USA. As a result, non-US coinage seems to occupy somewhat of a niche online and it is a niche we are interested in bringing to the forefront. The history of coinage in Britain stretches back over 2000 years and is a fascinating and in-depth topic for any numismatist: from copies of Belgic staters to early Anglo-Saxon sceattas; from the silver pennies of the High Middle Ages to the gold, silver and copper coinage of the early modern era; and beyond. Many British coins are available at very reasonable prices from online and brick-and-mortar coin dealers such as Coincraft or even on eBay, and even the older issues are often fairly plentiful. For example, Coincraft is currently (August 2023) selling several specimens of thirteenth-century silver pennies in decent condition for between £100 and £150 sterling: these are coins that are well over seven hundred years old!

In summary, British pre-decimal coins are a wonderful field of study and one we would love to give a greater online presence to! So if you haven't already, sign up to join the Coin Club and register on our Forums and start your journey to discover the amazing world of English and British coins.