Rob

Oooerrr. How does an organ that specialises in fake news, report fake news? Trump was right all along? I hate to think what will be concocted.

They already are.

What? The fifty shillings?

The slabbed world is losing all sense of perspective here. It's bonkers. They would have been better off leaving the coin out and just include the label. $825 + premium and counting. https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/world-coins/great-britain-commonwealth-1-2-penny-nd-1649-1660-ms65-ngc-/a/3089-32681.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Or something you would struggle to get more than £200-250 for.............

I think most of us are on a hiding to nothing when it comes to setting a goal that is remotely possible. I'm happy with my 12 or 1300 criteria covering Roman to the present day as I can't complete it but it always gives me something to go for, even if it is usually not what I had in mind when I started out that day! It means I can happily accommodate cheap and cheerful things alongside out and out rarities without compromising the collection because everything would have a legitimate place based on my eclectic criteria - even a current copper clad penny sat alongside a 5 guineas would have equal merit. The only issue is discipline, as 'too nice to sell' and 'too nice to pass up' frequently divert me.

You'll struggle with some of the hammered even if you get close with the milled. This one isn't going anywhere and the other is in the BM. It's not the only type you will struggle to get.

That would be a perfect example of something to push the boat out on a type collection. Find me another. Type trumps variety every time though. William III silver is riddled with varieties, some of which are very rare, some to my knowledge unique, but unless they are listed in a reference volume are very difficult to shift.

It's difficult to see which direction the market will go, though you can speculate. It is now very difficult to imagine anyone getting anywhere close to completing a denomination. When I refocused from shillings and halfpennies in 2008, I had a list of 1500 and 2200 varieties respectively just from the various references plus a few others I had identified which were not listed. That was already unfeasible. The same would apply to any denomination with the exception of say double-florins, or quarter guineas. Even the latter with just two currency dates plus a pattern wouldn't be easy. There may be varieties - I don't know. Even for the well-heeled, 5 guineas would cause a headache. Murdoch had the most comprehensive collection of these to date with 43 types out of 47 known in the collection, though he didn't collect by variety (assuming they exist). The days when even a secondary collection would have a dozen or more are long gone. The list goes on. You are in the same boat with reign type collections. I would suggest that Edward VII is probably the only realistic chance of completion, because the rare pennies of the later reigns may not be available even if the money is. What does all this mean? I think you will see a greater number of type collections. Maybe there will be an increased interest in foreign coins which are frequently cheaper due to lack of demand. Date runs have always been popular, even for those without reference books (I often get asked for 1961 halfpennies or 1923-5 & 1941-3 pennies etc, so clearly they don't have even a basic guide).

Total for the sale - $2.6m. Plus nearly 700K for the 75 lots in the Sweetnam sale earlier that day. Spink must be happy.

Yes. If concentric then you would have the legend all over the place without restraint, even if it wasn't double struck. The complexity of locking two rings in position for each side and furthermore locating and locking them in the press so that the die axis is maintained is mind boggling. Don't forget you also need a collar, together with a mechanism for introducing the blank and expelling the struck coin. Not a penny, but the same principle applies. https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n51a24.html

Don't forget the conversation I had with Graham Dyer a few years ago as outlined in this thread. http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/12611-an-interesting-conversation-regarding-oddball-mint-strikes/?tab=comments#comment-171284

I know NYINC was cancelled, but thought auction houses may have advertised and that buyers had set aside funds for the week notwithstanding the various lockdowns, just as they try to hype up Coinex week. Money sitting in peoples' pockets is usually restless, which is probably the reason for the recently inflated prices due to the lockdown, with everyone being forced on-line. The only apparent thing is that the world is awash with money.

Question for Vicky or Jaggy here. That was the Spink NY sale which happens at the same time as all the others, Goldberg/Markov, CNG Triton, Heritage etc. This is an established set of sales with a strong following, so was the US interest piqued for this one compared to the usual interest, as the sale also had a larger number of slabbed coins than usual for Spink? Presumably with the US market in mind, the Sweetnam sale a couple hours earlier was partially slabbed. Given his name was on the slab where applicable, I assume that they were slabbed with the US in mind, even though it wasn't originally a US sale being priced in pounds. Was there any hype in the US prior to the sale?

It isn't in the 2000 edition as far as I can see.

I think it has been double struck. There are a couple of anomalies to the centre such as the line on the shield to the right of the trident shaft which is rotated approximately correctly for the legend displacement, and the left trident prong is mangled. The lettering is better formed on the right R of the pair and you can see a colon underneath the terminal A. In fact, all the left letters appear marginally thinner than those on the right, which would be right if they were the first strike, subsequently reduced by metal inflow from the second strike. Same applies to the date where it is the right digit of the pair which is thinner.