Hey there ,
New to the community , been reading the past few days - hopefully i posted in the right place 
Google was starting to do my head in with a lot of contradicting information about value of New Zealand and UK coins and whats to look for etc …
Expecting a baby in a few months and was going through my grandmothers to look for wee things to restore for baby on the way , any who we found a whole bunch of coins , after going through them for a few hours , before i knew it was midnight haha was totally hooked with just researching whats what - but there isn’t a whole lot of information and usually 2 different pages will say different things - hence why im here and hopefully can offer some guidance. I have little knowledge - but it does seem and you guys would be the best to ask is selling any kind of collectors coin etc etc is obviously a lot better to sell privately to a collector rather than to a coin dealer eh ?
So before i go through these coins for a fourth time - anyone have any tips on what to look for etc ?
Also i want to get a few good coins to put in this wee jewelry box im making my expected daughter , and put glass over the top of the coins - ive attached a picture so you can see with a couple of coins i have found that i think maybe of a little value ? i know most of them are not worth much at all and the 1956 penny is strapless , i just want a few nice New Zealand coins in there.
Thanks in advance and any help really appreciated.
Also i put the coins in glad wrap just so they didn’t get anything on them or scratched , will that cause them to sweat and ruin them or will it be fine ? Sorry if these are dumb questions…
No No No, Not Gladwrap and what ever you do don’t clean them as the chemicals often destroy the the coins luster and that’s part of the value.
I also noticed you have a few silver coins in the photo. The first and second websites will show you the compositions of the coins and show you how many were minted. There is also a guide on the value of them. Remember, a coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and a dealer will give you as little as possible. Personally, I wouldn’t sell them. Find out how to look after them and keep them for your kids.
Don’t say sorry for asking… The only dumb question was the one that wasn’t asked.
Hey , thanks for the reply!
Yeah dont want to sell , just wanting to know the value , as one site says one number and then a dealer says another - but i guess as you say they are only as worth as much as someone is willing to pay for them.
Cool will check the sites out. So pre 1947 coins can have silver eh ? taking out of gladwrap now haha 
Probably the most unique item i found , cant find much about it - mind you me and google arent the best of friends.
Hmm - forum a bit glitchy, apologies if multi-posts come through…
There’s up to a few hundred in that Jones and Williamson token.
As Caillean said, don’t clean anything. There’s some nice pieces in the collection.
As you found out though, ask ten sources for a value, you’ll get twelve prices…
Trade Token. Very collectible. In the old days, if you worked for a particular company that just so happened to own a shop as well, such as a mining company that also had a supply store, you would be paid in tokens that you took to the company store and bought the supplies you needed such as bread, flour, milk, etc. As the tokens weren’t cash they couldn’t be spent any where else. A bit corrupt really.
Wow really , interesting , yeah pitty that token isn’t in better condition , still cool story to go behind them.
Ha yes definitely a wee bit corrupt ha - work for the man and pay the same man tehehe.
With the internet being in everybodys pockets nowadays has that taken away finding rare coins cheap from garage sales and the likes ? apart from finding them , its only really leaves buying them. I never thought id have interest in coins , but its cool looking through them and finding different ones , would be amazing to find a super rare one and hand it down to your kids and so on,
The DTA medallion is from, as it says, Dance Teachers Association, circa 1930’s. Not to be confused with the National NDTA which it later became or the International IDTA division. These were given out during the finals that were held every year usually in places like Brighton (England). The blank area beneath the words was reserved for the recipients details. Not sure of the age of this one but looks to be about 1950’s. Hope this info helps.
An interesting source of information detailing why tokens were first issued in New Zealand. A shortage of cash led to the manufacturing of tokens which were issued by various companies especially in Auckland and Dunedin.
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/notes-and-coins/coins/history-of-new-zealand-coinage
Why Dunedin? - Because it WAS the commercial capital of New Zealand, this having come about because of its meteoric rise as the center of the Gold mining industry and for a brief period certainly the Commercial Capital of New Zealand. It might be said that ‘Gold made Dunedin’ - Lots of gold and little cash - tokens became a substitute for that cash.
Perhaps gold bought tokens and tokens bought goods and there would have been situations where people were paid in tokens due to the lack of cash and tokens could be exchanged for goods.
Whether it is public knowledge or not it is known that Johnny Jones of Waikouaiti had his own Pennies made as some were found at a spot near Waikouaiti. This spot was told to me as a wee guy and I always intended going there to look with a detector but have thus far never made it…on my death bed in ninety nine years hence I shall divulge near exactly where these pennies were to be found.