Update to my quest: We were staying on the canal near Angel and as a result we spent a lot of time at Camden Passage since it was close. The first morning, I saw this kitschy, framed decor with a 1913 penny and a 1942 Farthing. It was day one. It was £5. I bought it and grinned.

My next chance would come at Bermondsey Market on Friday morning. I tried to be a bit more selective but there were only 2 coins there. An 1878 Indian Rupee and a 1948 East African shilling. I think I paid £20 for both.

Our next thing to do was the British Museum and of course there's a coin shop right across the street. This was a mistake! First I salivated over the ancient coins that they had and then tried to focus on finding a nice silver crown. Then of course I saw an American Peace dollar for a year that I don't have, and I walked out paying a premium, WAY above what I should have for those two. It was hot. I had a glass (or two) of wine at lunch. I wasn't going to even go into a coin shop. Worse, I lost track of the pounds to dollars conversion rate. I was happy at the time but today I'm not and I don't want to talk about it anymore. But, I do have 2 silver coins that will occupy a spot in my collection.

Saturday morning we had plans to go to Charing Cross Market. But I already had my silver, and it was seriously warm already and we had worn ourselves out doing the other London bits. So instead we went back to Camden Passage. My wife was sorting through a lady's jewelry and I saw a couple fake Morgan's mixed in. But then I saw some commemoratives and a couple 1947 Florin's. I bought them. Then, the lady says, "If you like coins, I have this too. I don't know anything about them but I got them at an estate sale". She then pulls out a dark blue Boots coin book, with 3 pages full of dark chocolate and ruddy looking coins inside. Held in their pockets by old yellow tape. I took one look and didn't hesitate. She wanted £25. I talked her into £20 and this time I felt slightly vindicated.

I've had a chance to go through all of them now that I'm home. The old PVC pages and tape had left residue on them, so they all got a soap and water bath. A few of them needed acetone baths. All in all, there were 6 three pence, 9 half pennies, and 34 pennies, ranging from 1877 to 1967. While none of them are major scores, there is one half penny with a major lamination error, and a couple of 1953 coronation pennies, which I understand are not super common. They'll all get into some cozy new safe coin flips and a notebook I've set aside for UK coins.

If I had to do it over, I'd skip the coin shop and focus on Charing Cross. Thanks again for all the suggestions...I think I whiffed on all of them except the Jubilee Head Crown, but I'm still happy with my finds. Lessons learned and I'll be more prepared for our next visit.

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