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1949threepence

Peter Nichols cabinets

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1 minute ago, Sword said:

2 months is not a long time to wait for a decent piece of handmade furniture.

LCGS can take more than 3 months to grade a coin... 🙂 

Excellent point.

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You must be chuffed with that Mike, it looks beautiful. :)

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27 minutes ago, mrbadexample said:

You must be chuffed with that Mike, it looks beautiful. :)

That was the very word I used, Jon, when he delivered the cabinet yesterday afternoon "chuffed to bits with it".  

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I'm also running out of space - I might have a closer look at a cabinet - for now I've moved half my collection to a secure facility elsewhere (this also spreads the risk - I'd rather have a 1% chance of losing half the collection due to fire/burglary etc than a 0.5% chance of losing all of it).     

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I think that these two cabinets may be the Mascle (standard) by Peter Nichols. The (rough) size and number of trays (14) look right as do the hinges (sometimes he uses long piano hinges and other times two normal small hinges per door), lock and brass door edge.  Or could they be cheap copies? Does anyone have an opinion?

2408-2302.jpg

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1 hour ago, Coys55 said:

I think that these two cabinets may be the Mascle (standard) by Peter Nichols. The (rough) size and number of trays (14) look right as do the hinges (sometimes he uses long piano hinges and other times two normal small hinges per door), lock and brass door edge.  Or could they be cheap copies? Does anyone have an opinion?

 

A photograph of my Nicholls Mascle (bought 2010 direct from Peter Nicholls). Mahogany. The wood is slightly darker than yours, but the cabinet looks otherwise identical.

 

nicholls 1.jpg

 

nicholls 3.jpg

Edited by 1949threepence

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19 minutes ago, 1949threepence said:

A photograph of my Nicholls Mascle (bought 2010 direct from Peter Nicholls). Mahogany. The wood is slightly darker than yours, but the cabinet looks otherwise identical.

 

nicholls 1.jpg

 

nicholls 3.jpg

More interesting to me is the clock. My grandparents had an identical one many years ago. Who is the maker and do you know the model?

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38 minutes ago, DaveG38 said:

More interesting to me is the clock. My grandparents had an identical one many years ago. Who is the maker and do you know the model?

The maker is "Smiths". No idea what the model is, but it says "Smiths 30 hours" very faintly on the clock face. 

I actually bought it from a jumble sale many years ago. It came with a receipt, which unfortunately I've long since lost. But I do remember some of the details on it. Dated 10.5.35 and I think the name of the shop was Frank Mason, certainly something Mason: address was definitely Carrington Street, Nottingham. I wish I still had it to hand, as it might well have had the name of the model on it. 

Sorry I can't be more helpful.     

Edited by 1949threepence

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1 hour ago, 1949threepence said:

The maker is "Smiths". No idea what the model is, but it says "Smiths 30 hours" very faintly on the clock face. 

I actually bought it from a jumble sale many years ago. It came with a receipt, which unfortunately I've long since lost. But I do remember some of the details on it. Dated 10.5.35 and I think the name of the shop was Frank Mason, certainly something Mason: address was definitely Carrington Street, Nottingham. I wish I still had it to hand, as it might well have had the name of the model on it. 

Sorry I can't be more helpful.     

That's really helpful. My grandparents died in the late 1970s/ early 80s and I have no idea what happened to their clock. I was just immediately struck by it when I saw your picture of the coin cabinet, especially so given the date in the mid 1930s, which would work very well with their ownership of one of these. Many thanks for the information about it. Sorry for the digression from coin related matters!

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3 hours ago, Coys55 said:

I think that these two cabinets may be the Mascle (standard) by Peter Nichols. The (rough) size and number of trays (14) look right as do the hinges (sometimes he uses long piano hinges and other times two normal small hinges per door), lock and brass door edge.  Or could they be cheap copies? Does anyone have an opinion?

2408-2302.jpg

They look exactly like my Mascle cabinet bought from Nicholls' in the 90s.

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Thanks guys!

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Has anyone purchased individual trays from Peter Nichols? I may need to swap some of mine out for different sizes.

Edited by Coys55

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9 hours ago, Coys55 said:

Has anyone purchased individual trays from Peter Nichols? I may need to swap some of mine out for different sizes.

Take a look at this post from 2017. Upthread.

 

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On 3/17/2019 at 5:56 PM, 1949threepence said:

So anyway I did decide to order a new cabinet from Rob Davis. I ordered a single door cherry wood version with small trays. Rob actually delivered it in person today. I have to say I'm really pleased with it, and it immediately solves an increasing space problem. Somewhat irritatingly, I've misplaced a coin I bought recently - the 1913 F174. Christ knows where that's got to.

Anyway, here are pictures:-

 

      

cabinet 1.jpg

cabinet 2.jpg

cabinet 3.jpg

That is a very nice cabinet. Is mahogany? How is built quality compare to Nichols?

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3 hours ago, Taikonaut said:

That is a very nice cabinet. Is mahogany? How is built quality compare to Nichols?

The drawers are mahogany, but as I've already said in the post you quoted, the rest is cherry wood.

Build quality of this cabinet is better than the Nichols cabinet I've got. But that's just comparing one individual cabinet with another. 

You only ever seem to post about cabinets. What type of coins do you put in them? 

Not that there's anything wrong with posting about cabinets, but it would be interesting to know your coin interests as well.

Edited by 1949threepence
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Not have many coins but I have many cabinets. I have view them as furniture 🙂

Nichols cabinets the St Leonard era was a bit of a mix bag. Maybe its the quality of mahogany became inferior after 2004 when there was a worldwide ban on big leaf mahogany. Could also be because of Peter's health just before he sold the business? His best cabinets seems to be from the 90s but I also think the price Peter was selling them for plus the demands influence the quality. I have a medal cabinet from around 1990 and it must be the time when Peter paid attention to evolving his design and it was very well made and the wood was stunning. The Nottingham family version I have not owned one but it looks like QC has been tightened now.

Recently I was deciding what sort of coins I should put in my antique cabinet. I suppose it was'nt too hard, it screams "Roman". This is an auction photo when I first had it, its now cleaned up nicely and I treat it with Renaissance Wax due to the glossy varnish of antique furniture. It is between the size of Nichol's Crozier and Mascle so it is intimate in size but big enough to house many coins. In reality it does not matter one bit but for me I think a cabinet should suite the coins it houses like fine wine should be drunk with the finest glass and not from a paper cup. Imagine an antique cabinet steep in mystery and when you open the tray it reveals rows of Peter Rabbit 50p😱 Victorian and Edwardian cabinets take on a character of its own and for me it should house coins that date either around or before its time. Obviousely I won't lose any sleep havng modern coins in my old cabinet, I still do, but this one is strictly ancient only.

 

 

cabinet.jpeg

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A cabinetismatist, lovely piece that🤤

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10 hours ago, Taikonaut said:

Not have many coins but I have many cabinets. I have view them as furniture 🙂

Nichols cabinets the St Leonard era was a bit of a mix bag. Maybe its the quality of mahogany became inferior after 2004 when there was a worldwide ban on big leaf mahogany. Could also be because of Peter's health just before he sold the business? His best cabinets seems to be from the 90s but I also think the price Peter was selling them for plus the demands influence the quality. I have a medal cabinet from around 1990 and it must be the time when Peter paid attention to evolving his design and it was very well made and the wood was stunning. The Nottingham family version I have not owned one but it looks like QC has been tightened now.

Recently I was deciding what sort of coins I should put in my antique cabinet. I suppose it was'nt too hard, it screams "Roman". This is an auction photo when I first had it, its now cleaned up nicely and I treat it with Renaissance Wax due to the glossy varnish of antique furniture. It is between the size of Nichol's Crozier and Mascle so it is intimate in size but big enough to house many coins. In reality it does not matter one bit but for me I think a cabinet should suite the coins it houses like fine wine should be drunk with the finest glass and not from a paper cup. Imagine an antique cabinet steep in mystery and when you open the tray it reveals rows of Peter Rabbit 50p😱 Victorian and Edwardian cabinets take on a character of its own and for me it should house coins that date either around or before its time. Obviousely I won't lose any sleep havng modern coins in my old cabinet, I still do, but this one is strictly ancient only.

 

 

cabinet.jpeg

Superb inlay. Bet it looks really good now you've got it polished up.

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I kept the brass fittings untouched to allow it to look its age. The trays with complete original green felts are in almost new condition I would even say no evidence it has housed any coins before. The mahogany used for the trays are of higher quality and better finish than Nichols with some having a beautiful grain pattern iridised effect. It has a "Spink & Son" ivorine plate on the base. I think they are very similar to "Turton" and would not be surprise if they made these cabinets sold by dealers in the same way Rob now makes cabinet sold by Royal Mint to the public. 

 

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The original Peter Nichols of St Leonard has officially retired and his "Stamp & Coin Shop" has closed. In his prime Peter's cabinet were exceptionally made and also benefitted from the use of higher quality mahogany that was available

https://www.facebook.com/PNCabinetMakers/photos/a.442053142533613/4434241153314772/?type=3&theater

 

119287839_4434241159981438_8474394882268

 

https://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/photos/54746481

a6b79c449dd4db88097bcdddd1ca828997d6cde4

_65653018_dsc_0167.jpg

Edited by Taikonaut
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I've just ordered a 4 tray drop door mahagony cabinet from Rob Davis - specifically for patterns and proofs. Just £165. 

All recesses 45mm, need a decent size. 

Will be quality, I'm certain.

link

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On 6/10/2023 at 10:06 PM, 1949threepence said:

I've just ordered a 4 tray drop door mahagony cabinet from Rob Davis - specifically for patterns and proofs. Just £165. 

All recesses 45mm, need a decent size. 

Will be quality, I'm certain.

link

Are the trays thick and double recessed? I like trays that are thick especially if the recesses are larger to cater for larger coins and make the coins more secured. 

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1 hour ago, Taikonaut said:

Are the trays thick and double recessed? I like trays that are thick especially if the recesses are larger to cater for larger coins and make the coins more secured. 

No they're just normal trays with bog standard recesses.

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