coin watch

I put a cheeky bid on lot 17, but my limit was pipped at the post unfortunately, It may well still turn up on a dealers tray soon!?

Rob did you not get lot 28 the BRIT FRAN to go with your other of same legend but with ground?.....Some very healthy auction prices I agree!!

Hi fellow coin folk, I'm after a bit of info regarding the Spink standard catalogue, I'm sure someone here will know. I believe the current colour format of the Spink Standard catalogue started with edition 42 in 2007 and they have used the same illustrated coins for each type since, my question is about the black and white format immediately before which ended with edition 41 in 2006. Can anyone tell me how long that format lasted and how long were the illustrated coins used for in that run? so it would be ????-2006 I have a couple of early 90's editions and the coins used in those were different again so the change must have been late 90's or early 00's ? Appreciate any help.

After a bit of research I see the first Spink (from the old Seaby) was 1998, so I'm wondering if anyone knows if the same images were used from 1998-2006?

What edition/year did Spink take over from Seaby? I guess from that first Spink edition the same images were used until 2006?

I have bought from Martin Roberts on a number of occasions, he's a very honest fair dealer!

Brilliant, thanks for that Paddy, just what I was after!

Hi all, I'm after some info on this attached 17th century token, any info would be appreciated as I know nothing at all about these intersting little local means of exchange? Thanks in advance!

Could it be that this image has been 'photoshopped' where each coin image was taken out of the case and then each one superimosed back in? To get the best colour/light etc, then maybe someone made a mistake and left out the English Shilling image? the Scottish one looks to be the exact same coin to me?......could be wrong though!

BTW, I have seen the starting thread coin (This Brooker D6) in the hand and it's pretty rough! but really so are some of those American and Australian 'scarce' coins that go for a small fortune, all it takes is a larger following!!

I take the Spink guide with a 'pinch of salt' these days, to me they seem to pick the prices out of the sky! not all "rarities" have gone up equally over time, for example how can one type increase in value and another stay stagnant when both have not seen a sale in the same time frame?........Eye appeal is the key these days, and rightly so I think as a top grade common coin is just as rare as the 'book rarity' in most cases. Having said that I still like to think like an old fashioned collector and rate rarity as equal as condition!!....it's what makes me tick!

It seems many production processes were used during the mint mark tun 1636-8. The sequence relating to the portrait type is probably not definate, but if considering the likes of Sharp E1-5 the relative relation to the pre-prior designs it must be close to what the issue order was. As said above the early 'tun' coins seemed to be carried over from ealier portrait/mint mark issues as seen in the E1/E2 bust which are evident in 'D' seires coins, and likewise the latter E5 (and a recently discovered E6) portraits which were later carried over under the F1 and F2 coin with inner circle, coins which give further evidence to the relation to the Aberystwyth mint which used the Tower F2, F3 and F6 designs.....A very busy couple of years!!

Sounds positive that, and would probably make good sense as being so close. Thanks Rob, I'll look into that.

After a recent purchase of a Charles I Shilling I have been searching around for the coin hoard which it apparently came from, but so far no joy. This hoard was suggested to be the 'Stamford hoard'.....?? Anyone know of this hoard? when it was found? what was in it?.......Or even if it existed!!.... Obviously I asked the seller but unfortunately no knowledge was known of it, only that the coin was from this hoard .....I have asked a few knowledgeable collectors but so far no one knows of it? plus a web search came up with nothing...... Any help is appreciated. Oh and Merry Christmas to all on this great forum.....

Crikey, just read through the ebay rules involved in this scheme.....what an over complicated load of old toff, a prime example of squeezing more money out of sales!.......Trust ebay!!

Blimey I can't say I know much about new coins but is this the 'normal' price for this sort of coin?

This is an interesting (and to me, slightly worrying) question. I say this because during the last few months I have offered some dealers a couple of very rare Charles I shillings. Both were quite acceptable examples of coins that will perhaps only come onto the market once every five years. In each case I was told the equivalent of 'not for me, thanks'. It seems to me that the market for rare but not top grade coins (or those I collect, at least) has either evaporated or dealers are not willing to take a chance unless they have a buyer in mind. This is in contrast to most dealers' sites where they are crying out for 'high grade' and 'top quality' material. So where is the market heading I'm wondering? Surely an 'only the best will do' strategy is unsustainable; there are after all only a limited number of 'top' coins (particularly with hammered) and when they have been bought, what will dealers sell then? Plus what happens to the collectors like me who are interested in the varieties that can only be found in 'mid-grades'? If dealers start to feel that buying anything below the top 10% in terms of quality is a risk, will it become increasingly difficult to source new material other than from other collectors or eBay? Well, firstly I have to say I think the current 'trend' of quality is simply that, a trend, which will eventually change, maybe overnight, maybe over time, but it will alter to accommodate in time. When it comes to rarities of a particular area it is most probable that an offer to sell is rejected in most part because the 'quick' profit is blinded by the buyer simply not knowing what is seen. My prime example for this would be a rare Tower crown I offered to a 'once very reputable coin business, soon to merge' (at a fair) a few years back for which I got an answer "sorry not the grade for us"....this 'snap' decision was made because (I hope) of the 'look' of the coin (and not the look of me) without asking it's history or even looking at the tickets, I eventually sold the coin on to another main London dealer who had a bit more time for me. I noticed this coin was with another dealer around a year later for DOUBLE what I sold for, and it sold! so the rarity and provenance was recognised because someone see the potential!....... So really I would say, as a true collector, I am not worried with this current trend, it has to change, the 'collector' has the upper hand with a much lower risk of fingers being burnt in time, and on a larger scale very reputable businesses 'most probably' going backwards!! The 'gap' will narrow in time, even if the 'top' end stays high..................IMHO.

Now that sounds like a plan................bring it on

Well, I think I know a very local person to you who would be able to state which 'Sharp' ref for each coin is, plus if you really want to get to the point every subtle little 'nitty gritty' micro detail too!!!.....I'm chomping at the bit!!

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with collecting any sort of coin, everyone to their own choice. Of course some coin types/issues attract more interest than others and as a person with a deep interest in a certain late hammered theme with much variation I can see what a Victorian penny collector is attracted to, I almost got into these myself at one point! Halfpennies too surely also have their place, it's down to popularity and demand in the end as to what is interest, and for what I can see this trend varies as time passes. As to investments, well, it has certainly made it's way into the numismatics world over the past decade, a good or bad thing I'm not sure yet, but I hope it does not damage the collector base as time passes, investors interests I'm less worried about, I say this purely because investing into something like numismatics has to be a chance for an investor who has no knowledge of what they are putting money into. It should, as it has always been a bonus for the collector in the long run! I agree gold and silver investment, and the like, are another story and especially of late have been fed by fear mongering, but I can think of much worse misleading financial dealings in recent years (in fact the past 100 years!) which have been much more damaging to the 'investor' and, well, the public in general..."a story for another day though"...............

Less than 200 posts? Newbies! I post and post and post and post and post, so how can I possibly be a spammer? Size is not everything! I've been on here since 2006, so I'm certainly no newbie! I just like to stand in the shadows! ................A great forum which I'm more than pleased to have a 'small' part in!!...

Please don't remove me Chris, although I rarely post much I am a regular reader and always have my 'eye' on the forum. Plus I find the site a very useful tool should I need it.............

Oh great, the only two I was after and............oh, nothing again! Oh well, more money for Christmas!

Beaten again on just one lot, but well beaten, so onto DNW.......and probably will be well beaten again!!

Nothing for the collector one mintue, then when it's all dumped a flooded market and lower prices, sounds like a housing bubble! I'm getting bored trying to find upgrades, for me I don't seem to look forward much anymore with new dealer lists, and come to think on it the coin fair too recently with very little to see other than the same old 'tray warmers'....So that leaves the auctions with the rare hope of getting a bargain! ok....But then there's ebay!........Nah!!