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OldCurrencyExchange
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Posts posted by OldCurrencyExchange
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With the amount of "switching sides" by the leading protagonists in this complicated series of wars, there is plenty of scope for deliberate and accidental blundering of legends.
The small quantities of finds does generate substantial debate.
Hopefully, future finds will yield ore info + potential for "changes of numismatic opinion" for the future.
Getting back to your coin ... its a beauty !
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There is a huge backlog of archaeological finds lying in private warehouses in Ireland - from both sides of the border! There are literally tons of materials that are not accessible to academics or the public ... and it is not being stored in ideal conditions. If any of these private companies go out of business this legitimately found material will end up in skips!
To clear this backlog + go some way towards helping genuine detectorists go legal in Ireland, I have suggested a series of free MPhil / MSc degrees in numismatics at Irish universities + paid internships for unemployed Irish archaeology graduates + Irish numismatic enthusiasts from the government.
To display this material to the public, I have suggested a series of numismatic exhibits at county museums. To pay for this, I am suggesting sponsorship, crowd-funding and/or grants from the national lottery.
The doc is at
https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2016/12/28/irish-archaeology-opportunity-lost/
I would welcome any constructive comments.
Happy Christmas & Prosperous New Year to all at Numista,
James
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· As expected, 95.5% of the respondents in this survey were male.
· Surprisingly, the age cohorts were spread fairly evenly with a small uplift in the 66+ cohort
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· Surprisingly, my primary research results suggest that collectors do not use social media for their hobby but this does not mean that they don’t use Social Media for other purposes.
o Facebook (40%), YouTube (13%), Google+ (10%), Twitter (8%) and Instagram (8%) were the most popular social media platforms in use by survey respondents
· In contrast, almost 80% used online numismatic forums to do so
o Numista, Predecimal.com and Reddit/r/coins were the most popular
However, this influence has recently been stunted by the Facebook group of social media platforms[1] when they suppressed organic reach and, effectively, forced social sellers to advertise. This has also affected hobby groups and ‘not for profit’ organisations.
· Facebook states that organic reach now = 16% of an account’s fans / friends but the consensus online is that is it more like 1%
[1] Facebook and Instagram generated $16.29 billion and $600 million in 2015, respectively (Marketingland.com). WhatsApp will be monetized when the user base reaches 1 billion.
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· Collectors tend to be very private about what they collect and who they talk to [1]
o Irish coin collectors have been subject to aggravated burglaries in the past [2]
o Coin collectors and museums are now a target for organised crime gangs
§ There is a global market for ‘looted’ coins and artefacts [3]
§ Dealers and collectors have to be very careful about where they buy [4]
· Predictably, the Numismatic Society of Ireland was non-responsive to all digital communications since the National Museum of Ireland has been engaged in a very aggressive policy towards coin collectors and metal detectorists (not mutually inclusive) in recent years[5]
[1] Mary Madden & Lee Rainie. 2015. Americans’ Attitudes About Privacy, Security and Surveillance. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/05/20/americans-attitudes-about-privacy-security-and-surveillance/. [Accessed 26 February 16]
[2] Garda Confidential. 2011. Appeal to the public - Buglary in the Kilcolgan area of Galway, Aggravated burglary in Rathmines and Collectors coins that were stolen in Kildare. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=6998&Lang=1. [Accessed 24 February 16].
[3] vox hiberionacum (Early Irish Christianity and Early Medieval Ireland). 2013. Treasure Ireland: On the Recent Recovery of Looted Irish Antiquities. [ONLINE] Available at:https://voxhiberionacum.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/treasure-ireland/. [Accessed 03 March 16].
[4] Jim Cusack (Irish Independent). 2011. Gardai suspect gold coins from looted treasure trove. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-suspect-gold-coins-from-looted-treasure-trove-26712970.html. [Accessed 03 March 16].
[5] Michael Green. 2013. Looted Irish Treasure Recovered in Britain. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ireland-information.com/blog/?p=539. [Accessed 01 March 16].
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o The USA is the largest market in the world for collectible coin and banknotes [1]
§ The ANA[2] lists 1,637 dealers (incl. overseas dealers)
§ The BNTA[3] lists 83 dealers (incl. overseas dealers)
§ There is no Irish numismatic trade organisation
[1] Chris Stokel-Walker. 2013. The 10 Most Expensive Coins and Banknotes in the World. [ONLINE] Available at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53557/10-most-expensive-coins-and-banknotes-world. [Accessed 22 February 16].
[2] American Numismatic Association (https://www.money.org/)
[3] British Numismatic Trade Association (http://www.bnta.net/)
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The first part of the survey was aimed at estimating how many people collect Irish coins and where they are located on the map. Although the users were anonymous, I could tell what countries they were based in. Unsurprisingly, the most common locations were USA/Canada, Ireland and the UK - with 30%, 25% and 23%, respectively.
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I conducted a survey on coin collecting recently and, it suggested that 67% of collectors spend £50 or less per week on their hobby. This, in turn, might imply that above £50 = a different type of collecting, i.e. investment + profit comes into play.
In addition to financial gain, famous coins seem to attract trophy hunters, i.e. people with pots of money, limited numismatic knowledge and a desire to own something famous.
Something similar occurred in the 90's when the Queen sold off some of the royal collection resulting stamps that usually sell for £50-200 selling for £500-5000 simply because they were formerly part of a royal collection (originally) put together by George V and George VI.
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There is a very nice chap I follow from London - he regularly publishes (extremely well researched) eloquently written articles on 17th C tradesmens tokens of London. He might know someone on Lincolnshire that he would put you in touch with.
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Yes, I have a few EF's + a lot of coins that look like they've either been dipped or, as you say, crap strikes.
I also bought a few albums recently with coins that were kept in an attic (presumably a damp attic) and many of the silver coins are beginning to sweat in the plastic holders and have a light sheen of pale green (verdigris)
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Nope, not looking for clicks - just feedback, e.g. in this instance, to see if anyone is searching for a 1991 Irish 5p coin.
No one in Ireland seems to be discussing or debating this question, so I was hoping there would be some feedback here.
Several collectors in Ireland have told me this is a good forum for Irish topics.
Best regards
J
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Hello and thank you to all those who completed the survey.
I needed 50 replies to each question, in order to have any statistical confidence in the results. This forum membership certainly helped!
The results were formatted in a way more suited to a business paper, as opposed to a numismatic paper. However, I will publish the results and findings for a numismatic audience soon. Some of the findings were very surprising, e.g. there is a huge security issue, with evidence that criminal elements are using digital technologies to map and track collectors/dealers to the homes and, subsequently, raiding their homes while they are there (aggravated burglaries and even several murders in the USA).
Apparently, mobile phones with cameras + the Google Maps app are the culprits here.
I was attempting to estimate the size of the market for Irish coins - both in and outside of Ireland with one survey + assessing what digital technologies are used by coin collectors in general in the other. The latter was easy and I had a good response. Getting in touch with Irish collectors was much more difficult - ironically, particularly in Ireland. They seem to have gone underground !
There's a lot of data, so I'll publish it bit by bit, if that's ok with you guys.
Should I place it here, or put it on my blog?
Which would you prefer?
PS - my blog is a resource that will, hopefully, attract people who are interested in history and encourage them to collect Irish coins. It is also a resource for junior collectors looking for more info on their coins. So please do contact me if you spot any errors.
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Yes, I know about the mintages but it just seems that I am finding a disproportionate amount of 1925 and 1926 halfcrowns.
I would expect to find fewer, so I am wondering if there is a high survival rate for these dates (because, in the past, people have put them aside and did not spend them)
They also catalogue (value) higher, which suggests they are more difficult to find - which is not my experience (of late).
I was hoping a few halfcrown specialists might have an opinion on this.
Regards
J
PS - love the title (Forum God)
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To date, none have been found.
A small sample of the new coins must have been produced in order for engineers to calibrate + test phone boxes, parking meters, and vending machines.
Could they have done this work in the first five months of 1992, or was there 1991 five pence coin?
Is this the Holy Grail of Irish numismatics?
O’Brien Rare Coin Review: Does an Irish (small) 1991 5p coin exist?
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Are there "individual" folders for GB decimal coins with spaces for all denominations 1971-2000 ?
If yes, where can I get them?
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In the USA, collectors can buy folders for 1c coins right up to $1 coins.
My point is that, in the UK and Ireland, there are no folders or albums for the decimal coins, i.e. from ½p upwards.
This is a disincentive for collectors to collect.
On the plus side, there are still plenty of old Whitman folders from the 60's available for the pre-decimal series.
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There is only 1 Irish 1938 penny in private hands.
The only other example is held by the National Museum of Ireland, so in effect, the other coin is unique in terms of its availability.
Of course, rarity alone is not an indication of value - demand is the most important factor !
For background info on the 1938 Irish penny, see
https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2014/08/21/rare-coins-the-1938-irish-penny/
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What a great story and a lesson to all, i.e. if we do not encourage and develop young collectors, the hobby has no future.
While the mints of the world focus on producing money-making, shiny over-priced crap, it is up to the dealers and collectors to show the way forward.
The US state quarters and presidential dollars + the availability of cheap coin folders to house them has created a huge amount of interest in coin collecting in the USA and guaranteed the future of American numismatics. Likewise, the euro coins + cheap folders/albums available these issues has guaranteed a surge in coin collecting in the Euro Zone. Likewise, the special commemorative €2 coins are also hugely popular.
The lack of available folders has definitely stunted the interest in decimal issues for Ireland and Britain. That said, I do applaud the issue of the Olympic 50p's and other thematic 50p's by the Royal Mint. It's just a pity there isn't special folders to hold them.
The key to the future is youth ... and, in my opinion, the key to youth participation in numismatics is the availability of cheap folders for current pocket change.
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According to the catalogues, the British 1925 and 1926 halfcrown had relatively low mintages.
This would suggest that they are relatively scarce when compared to other dates.
Is the survival rate better than average?
I seem to have found a disproportionate amount of 1925's and 1926's in the attic finds over the summer here in Ireland.
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Last Friday, a British 1933 penny was sold at auction, by Heritage Auctions, in Anaheim, California at the ANA World’s Fair of Money for US$ 179,000
This equates to €174,411.06 or GB£151,920.22
I cannot help wondering if this coin might have sold for more money if offered for sale in a British auction.
What was the logic behind selling it via an American auction house in California?
Did the post-Brexit dip in the value of Sterling adversely affect the bids from the UK?
For more info on this extremely rare coin, see https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2014/08/20/rare-coins-the-1933-british-penny/
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Looking for feedback re huge backlog of archaeological finds in Ireland
in British Hammered
Posted · Edited by OldCurrencyExchange
emoticon replaced my b)
Thanks for the indepth response Peter. :-)
By way of an explanation, this is really a topic for Irish collectors and detectorists in Ireland and I know there are quite of few of them are members here - which is why I posted here.
We have a real problem with the new laws re metaldetecting in Ireland.
It has had several effects - not all of them good !
a) it has driven all detectorists (good and bad) underground and, consequently, a vibrant black market has developed
c) collectors are terrified they too will be raided and have to prove when/where they purchased each coin in their collection
Ironically, there is a huge stockpile of legally excavated artefacts being stored by private companies who can ill-afford to do so. Meanwhile the NMI and its northern counterpart are showing no signs of classifying and storing these artefacts properly. I'm guessing that there might be a lot of medieval coins in these storage depots, so I am proposing a new scheme to get some work started.
I would welcome any thoughts the Irish collectors in this forum may have and will amend my proposal accordingly.
I hope this explains the reasons for my post.
Best regards,
James