Madness

A Brief Book Review Andrew Crellin. The Coinage of Colonial Australia: Governor King's Proclamation of 1800. Sydney: Monetarium, 2004 There's no question that this book is immediately pleasing to the eye and to the hand: Generously illustrated with images representing the times, places, people and coins discussed within its hard-cover binding. The introduction of ten pages serves to provide some context, including a socio-economic overview of the penal colony. A chapter is then dedicated to each of the eleven coins, which are described, their usage discussed and some tips provided for the novice collector. This is not a work of great depth or scholarship, nor was it intended to be as the primary audience is obviously not the serious numismatist. Rather, it is a welcome diversion that can be comfortably read in a couple of evenings. What qualifies me to make these comments? Well, frankly nothing. This is the first book I've read with a numismatic focus. That said, over the course of the past couple of weeks I've read a number of articles from the British Numismatic Journal on related topics which serve as a point of reference. These have been far more interesting and useful. Perhaps I'll summarise their contents in upcoming posts. The Coinage of Colonial Australia can be purchased here for $50 AUD. I bought my new copy recently from an eBay seller for $10, but they have no more copies left. This is unsurprising given that only 750 were printed.

This is probably the best (non-proof) 1787 shilling for sale/auction that I've seen so far. Auctioned 6-11 September. They list it as MS64, but here are at least five high points on the obverse that appear shinier than the others. Is this due to wear, or reflections of a light source during photography? Do you agree with grading? What do you think would be a reasonable price? McDonald's "Australian Coins and Banknotes" (2014 ed.) gives and estimate of $450 for this coin in uncirculated condition, which equates to about 250 GBP. With the guinea partial-refund I should be able to afford that amount by the date of auction. Edit: It's possibly worth a bit more because of the "no dots on obverse" variation. Source

There are good things about autism, but not a day goes past where I wish I didn't have it. Attention to detail and the ability to focus do not compensate for the melt downs and hypersensitivity to noise.

Do I post too much?

*Madness raises his hand and then quietly whispers that he suspected something similar* I wasn't diagnosed until I was 41.

Bother. I could have put my $200 refund from the guinea towards it.

Did you invoke me, @DrLarry? Some talk of "madness"?

I want this one @jelida. Think you could get it for me for 200 GBP? 😉 Source: Upcoming DNW Auction Seriously I'm interested in this lot as it has a few coins I'm after and gives me exposure to coins from different eras and different denominations. What do you think? Edit: Actually the cartwheel penny is in crap condition. Any comments on the others?

Reading about numismatics is fun. Macquarie University in Sydney has a Centre for Ancient Numismatics, but only for those who already have an appropriate undrgrad degree. I don't think a music degree counts, but the contemplation of a Bachelor of Ancient History is intriguing. Studied two semesters of beginner's Ancient Greek (language) at Melbourne Uni about 25 years ago and then a couple of years of Koine Greek. I've forgotten most of it, but this should help me gain entry. Hmm.... food for thought. They offer the course externally as well as on campus. Would keep the old grey matter ticking over rather than sitting at home staring at the ceiling.

Yes, I noticed that too. However, all three "A"s are slightly different, which lead me to consider the possibility further. The letters were hand-stamped into the punches during the production of this coin, weren't they? Was there a variety of letter "fonts" that these workers had to choose from? Is the variation in the "A"s a result of this, or further evidence of die wear? I looked at more 1787 shillings this afternoon and noticed two others with "clogging" near the base of this "V", but not as bad as this example. I guess they could all have come from the same die with varying degrees of deterioration. There were 122 recorded obverse dies and 125 reverse dies, so the odds of coming across three examples of the same die, in a state of deterioration, in a 90 minute period isn't very high. Alternatively, was it common to have chips of metal coming out of dies at points like this? What caused the chips?

Is it possible that the "V" in "GEORGIVS" is an inverted "A"? Is this common?

Thanks very much for the suggestion, Jerry. Do you agree with the gEF? It seems to have less definition in details on the reverse than some other 1787 Shillings that I've seen graded as gEF. Is this explained by a worn die? I'd like to buy one with as much "clarity" (by which I mean sharp edges and minimal "blobbiness") as I can afford. If there is correct terminology for the laughable expressions I use, please educate me!

I'm two weeks and two days into this hobby. Why did I choose to begin with Proclamation coins? 1. I bought a guinea without any background research simply because of a certain uninformed mystique behind it 2. I discovered that it was part of Governor King's 1800 proclamation 3. Being a fan of Patrick O'Brian novels and having read a little about colonial history, the period intrigued me 4. As an introduction to collecting, it provides me with the opportunity to consider coins of various nations, denominations, materials and production methods Realistically, I'll only be collecting coins with an exchange rate equal to and less than that given by King to the Guinea. The price of acquiring a johanna, half-johanna and gold mohur would just take too long to save. As previously mentioned, I'll also be restricting my collection to those actually on King's list. What's next? Perhaps a single groat of each monarch from Victoria back. Time will tell. There's one thing I can tell you, though: I'll be researching things thoroughly first! My guinea fiasco serves as a cautionary tale.

Thanks kindly, Jerry. Will send you a PM shortly.

@Paulus A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Thanks for posting. Aspirational coin condition for me.

They're great, aren't they. My love of renaissance choral music began with Tallis Scholars. Since then I've come to appreciate other groups, especially The Cardinall's Musick.

I would be very happy to pay up to 200 GBP for a gEF 1787 shilling. Won't be ready to buy for a couple of months though. It would be cool if a trusted member could keep an eye open for me at fairs and give my contact details to a seller of a suitable coin. I would pay that member a reasonable finder's fee as they would be doing me a great favour: My location restricts my search to the Internet. Please let me know.

Beautiful coin: Seller has graded this as gEF and, based on all the coins I've seen so far, I'm inclined to agree with him. He's asking 300 GBP, which seems exorbitant given your comments. It's so beautiful though! What would be a reasonable price to offer? Would the die crack and clogged die (top of garter star) decrease its value? A few months worth of saving here methinks and I don't want to waste it as with the guinea. Thanks

I aspire to delivering junk mail.

Feeling a bit out of place. Once again I have stumbled across a hobby dominated by intelligent professionals.

I love this place. A depth of experience from those who are generous with their advice. Helpful without being patronising. Thank you gents.

Seller agreed to partial refund of $200 AUD (about 110 GBP). Stated that he already spent the money for medical bills and noted that he needed a couple of weeks to come up with the money. I have no idea whether he is telling the truth or not (I can be quite gullible) so agreed to put off opening case until 13 August. Hope that eBay will still let me make a claim within this time frame.