Rob

I don't think this is going to work to their advantage long term. High end material is booming in all collecting fields, including coins. What happens when the music stops and all the city bonuses dry up. Or when you can get a decent reasonably risk free return on cash deposits following a long overdue return to normal interest rates. Your bottom fishers will still go around hoovering up the 4p scrap copper discs for 3p, whilst the middle market will probably trade up slightly because they are typically only spending a few thousand at the most. This is by far the largest group, which most people on this forum would consider themselves part of, but Spink aren't interested in these people. The stark truth is that there are very few coins worthy of sale by private treaty at any given point in time, so their client base by design will contract to a very limited number of wealthy individuals. It's a pity really because past collectors and their families tended to migrate to Spink as a disposal outlet meaning you could put out feelers for specifics and quickly find out when something came along that matched your needs. Presumably books are going to go the same way. Bet they don't dispose of their library though.

Things have obviously moved on a bit since I last bid & any changes resulting in increased openness will be warmly welcomed.

Were you at the sale, as this would have a material effect on your bidding? It is the absent bidder on the other side of the planet who doesn't have any idea what is going on in the saleroom who is most exposed. I know of several people who get a local to bid for them rather than risk an emailed bid list. A fair reflection of my perception of the situation is summed up by the fact that I have never yet won a lot for my maximum bid at Downies, yet conversely I have never paid less than my maximum for any submitted bid at Noble. A live sale via the web would reduce the number of emailed bids in advance, but would likely result in greater participation on the day than is currently the case. Was this one live on-line? I'm afraid I didn't even bother looking to find out because I assumed it was a case of as you were.

You just have to be aware of how the various houses operate. They aren't alone. A prominent collector was bemoaning to me that he had put in an OTT bid in an attempt to ensure that the lot was won in a US auction. In the actual sale, the lot was opened and the auctioneer said they had a large bid on the book. Nobody from the floor bid, and it was duly booked to this collector - at his maximum which was a couple thousand above what he would reasonably expect to pay. You can't complain that rules have been broken because your bid sheet records the level to which you are prepared to bid for each and every lot indicated. And not unreasonably, that is binding, but does provide a salutory lesson for the gung-ho bidder when he/she eventually gets stung.

The listed sale price is the same as my maximum bid price. I'm not sure how Noble works, but with many auction houses room bidders take priority. So it's possible someone won the coin from the floor. The 'my bids' section of the website suggests I've won and I've emailed for confirmation. We shall just have to see... I suggest you will always win it at your maximum, which is why I will only put in a pitifully low bid or not bother any more. Or to put it another way, an OTT bid to ensure you win it will do just that - at your OTT price. I've never met anyone who won something at less than their maximum, hence the above statement. That also explains the inexplicably high bids questioned by Garrett

Hi folks. Not a clue. I've narrowed down to the right planet, but no further. Indian probably, but as to which area or period I've no idea. Ta.

You can add an update to the article in that I found an example in a 1901 sale, which proves conclusively that they were not commissioned by Murdoch (see article p.189 and DNW 70 lot 194 footnote)

It's on the market, though how much interest there will be before Christmas I'm not sure. If it doesn't sell fairly quickly I'll just let it out instead.

Vol.81(2011) p181-203

I'm actually from over the border in the posh part of Essex. Just come to Haverhill to see if I could find the hub caps off me motor. Been here 15 years now and still haven't found them Here they are. It was a Citroen you were driving, wasn't it? http://associatesmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/300-Movie-Publicity-Still-300-222280_1500_783.jpg

You should also bear in mind that the opportunity does exist for strikes in unrecorded metals. cf my article in the BNJ on the Weyl patterns. Having bought a couple of 'aluminium' patterns in the Adams penny sale in 2003, I then almost cra**ed myself upon discovering that they were over 3 times the weight they should have been. Only after I had sat down and taken a deep breath did logic take a grip when I appreciated that it didn't matter what they were struck in as long as they were genuine - cue nine previously unrecorded varieties. i.e. you cannot rely on weight alone.

Like many wine drinkers, I buy and consume what tastes nice to me, not what someone else likes. If it is considered by certain circles to be nasty cheap plonk then great, there's all the more for me. £3 or £30 doesn't matter if it tastes nice, the same for something undrinkable is not welcome. It's like anything else that's widely criticised in print - all are opinions and nothing else. If the art critic likes something, that's up to him, just as I may not like it, which is my opinion. It's mostly all a load of verbal candyfloss; occasional content interspersed with an awful lot of air which tries to impress on people that the commentator really appreciates what he/she is writing about and that any rational person will have to appreciate it too. More fundamentally, they have somehow managed to generate an income for saying little of any use - nice if you can get it. Personally, if I hear something written about a car for example when someone is waxing lyrical about its performance, the opinion doesn't matter one jot if I have to crowbar myself into the seat with my head jammed against the ceiling - in my view, that's a cr*p car that's neither use nor ornament. End of. Don't get me started on critics, such as the eponymous Mr Commode.

How about a bit of music from Stuart's band? - says he hoping it is ok.

Maundy is one series which often exhibits toning of this nature, particularly if it has been stored in a case. The more undisturbed the set, the more likely it is to see one side more heavily toned from contact with the case. Picking up the coin, even by the edge will inevitably leave minute deposits at the rim which increases the chance of toning at this point, even if we are looking many years into the future.

I don't like dipped coins. As long as the coin isn't black, I think that antique silver should be toned as it will do this as a natural process.

It varies from place to place. You may have noticed that many auction houses offer unsold lots for sale at a certain price. Conversely, when I tried to buy a couple of unsold lots at the Adams penny sale in 2003, Spink wouldn't entertain it. I thought the price at which they passed was cheap, and obvously so did they. The items reappeared in the Circular not too long afterwards. Policies change with time, so I guess it's always best to enquire, as they can only say no.

The low estimate I believe is not to pull in the punters, but rather to cover the auction house in the event of a passed lot. Most rooms will buy in the unsolds at say 80% of low estimate. It is in their interest to keep that number as low as possible. Low enough, then most will sell. They gain nothing from inflating the estimate.

Or even this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yue6Cb5OULM or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzU2owPegHE

This is more subjective than grading! Everything depends on the mood. This. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7VHRyQDMTM or perhaps this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q

On a maintenance grant between £400 - £500 per annum?? It's the same as it's always been. Usefulness doesn't have a unit cost. If you need it, sort it out. Usefulness may not have a unit cost, but if a book costs over 1/8 of your total annual income, it's just not possible economically. Saving for a rainy day? Or thinking ahead as to future expenditure? i.e. not p***ing all your income against the wall. Getting a job in the summer before uni, and every holiday between terms? OK, in my case, my parents and relations always made money available for education, but I still had to save every penny up from any income earned to buy the bike because they refused point blank to contribute.

London Coins do have some things from time to time which give you reason to push the boat out. GC commented to me a few years ago that he was taken aback by the price paid for my Cromwell shilling in the Andrew Wayne sale when he discovered I had bought it. That from someone who isn't afraid to keep going and frequently has a defective stop button. Conversely, I wish my button didn't work so well, as I'm still trying to find a gothic florin to replace a really juicy PCGS MS65 1856 that went through London Coins a few years ago. Silly sod that I am, stopped bidding.

I concur that the premium placed on a slabbed coin is not value for money, but the fallibility of the TPGs is well worth the discount generated by misattribution/bad grading etc. Nobody is forced to buy a coin, raw or slabbed. That people choose to do so is entirely their perogative. Disregard the overgraded coin in the slab with the wrong label just as you would a typical eBay listing. Relatively very few coins are rare such that you can't find another somewhere else. If it happens to be the only example extant you are unlikely to be the only one chasing it whether raw or slabbed. No one system wins hands down, both have their strengths and weaknesses. Play these off according to the individual situation. For example, one day I would like a Peck 1983, but I've never seen one and don't know of any free-range examples.

So long as you maintain a bit of discipline, it doesn't matter what the estimate is. Decide how much you want to bid and go with it. Anyone complaining after the event that the estimate was misleading hasn't got a handle on the market, and arguably shouldn't be bidding at all.

On a maintenance grant between £400 - £500 per annum?? It's the same as it's always been. Usefulness doesn't have a unit cost. If you need it, sort it out.

It isn't a coin, rather some kind of token or medallet. Toy money possibly given the similarity of reverse deisn to that of a crown and halfcrown? What's the diameter?