VickySilver

Ah, wish I could tell you exactly but I recall it was early to mid 90s. It was very large and included such as gold strikes of all the "silver" denominations that are attributed to the LONDON mint! Also matte proof sets of all the 1927-1953 years, and BOTH 1922/4 LONDON mint satin specimen/proof sets, and proof sets of many other years (so called VIP record proofs). Even at that time with relatively low interest in proofs of George V and VI, all of these sold relatively rapidly at what today would be bargain prices. I was desperate to pull together funds to get what I could as I knew that there could not be too many such hordes out there. Again what was remarkable is not that many were very rare (which they were) but in some cases represented the sole source of some coins, and these also again London mint issues! Nobody has ever been able to explain to me how in the world that occurred. As far as I know there was no official announcement of these sales and although I can not prove it, am of the understand that these left under somewhat nefarious circumstances with "insiders" walking away with many for but a song. As a side note it is and was very difficult to get sets from the 1928-1936 years that included TRUE Wreath crowns in proof; parenthetically I regret to say that many of the slabbed Wreath proofs IMHO, as well as Steve Hills, and M. Rasmussen are not actually proofs.

Indeed, and IMHO they are cheapening "the Brand". They are really starting to drive me away and there are few bits I order from them, whilst confessing to getting a couple of the Great Sculptor coins. I have even gotten some of their clearance items in the past - which should have remained duly on the shelves of the RM warehouse. I think I was getting not so much as authenticity but on the notion that coins at their auction somehow now have a RM provenance - almost hinting at the buyer at such auctions could be latter day Norwebs & all. A bit of a diversion: of course some of us remember when the Pretoria Branch Mint DID INDEED deaqusition their holdings, or at least a substantial portion & don't think the RM will be doing so....

Which I understand - the clearance of "junque" but please note the last bit I wrote about concerning their endorsement, not to mention the possible deception as to the origin of some lots..

I am surprised this topic has not been broached. I was surprised to read the Royal Mint is to conduct (or would it be Sovereign Rarities) auctions and taking consignments for it, as would an ordinary auction house. This just somehow seems a bit odd, and possibly inappropriate. Or maybe I am just a bit too stuffy? In my humble opinion they have been just a bit to busy, what with the proliferation of recent offerings and now stepping into the auction world. It also seems that if they have accepted a consignment that the piece(s) now have their blessing or endorsement. What say you?

I posted this in the general British coin forum but noted with interest that 2 days ago Noonans sold at auction what is evidently an extremely rare decimal coin. It may be the rarest of all currency from the decimal era! This would be the 2009 10 pence, uncirculated currency piece with the lion reverse of 2007 and earlier. Out of curiosity I looked it up and could only find record of a different piece sold at London Coin auctions about 8 years ago and then vague mention of one other specimen from a 2008 (!) currency specimen set, I think it said for babies born that year or similar. Regardless, I didn’t even know this coin existed - maybe because I have focused on the later milled pre-decimal coins of 1837-1970. Do readers know more?

Noonan's sold this coin yesterday (the 2009 10 P mule) and wondered if anybody knows more of it. This is not heralded the way the 1983 2 New Pence "error" has been but evidently is much rarer - at least I believe this to be so. Do any readers know differently? When I googled it, I found only the London Coins specimen which had a scratch and one other reference that I have now forgotten. Was there any alloy change or other way of descriminating the 2007 vs. 2009 mule coins? And what would be the explanation for the mule, becuase I would have thought there would be more specimens out there if it had been a wrong reverse die. I think I remember reading that one of the 10 P coins had been found in a specimen currency "Anniversary" set or some such. I would think this coin would get a lot more attention or "play" as kids say these days...

Indeed. The currency are possibly the hardest when rare, the "ordinary" proofs, and finally the patterns IMHO. So relatively perhaps patterns are rather less & this is something some of us have taken advantage of over the years.

I know about a set that might qualify which would be the 1922/1924 Satin Specimen Set. I have always wondered if the mintage is really 2, and why or how did the Pretoria Mint get hold of these two sets...

Ah, a few might be reluctant to post.

Bit high after all the tariffs....I would imagine lustre is rather better than pictures. Also as I have noticed, some of the bag marks on devices seem to get accentuated on photos, much to my chagrin. Also, IMHO the "edge nibbles" are largely the result of planchet treatment after the upset process. This is probably why even mint states have this quite frequently. Great that you look at the edges which I highly recommend as well because that sometimes tells you something else about the strike vs. wear on other areas such as devices on the coin. BTW, I think the 1915 when well struck is a somewhat better date although certainly not rare....

Yes, sometimes I think that...If I had seen that in hand chances are I would not have minded going a fair bit up the scale.. My others are MS63 but that looked excellent. No, I did not buy the 1839 2/6 at 38k. Mine I bought for 2500 and is the pictured coin on the PCGS pop reports that graded Deep Cam 63; of course it is mine but think it would have a good shot at 65 or above these days...Never got the Gothic crowns even when they were relatively cheap as I actually liked them on the florin size which as may guess I have a number of. But the bank account is not so great these days so probably good from that standpoint. In the good olde dayes I would have had an agent bid for me....

Yes, maybe I can generalise to the "we". I confess I am addicted as I already have TWO mint state (at least by TPG standards) 1904s but this coin looked superior and somehow I missed it at Colin Cooke 20+ years ago when it was sold despite having a good customer relationship with CC. Ah well, you win some and lose others... I miss out on minor lots on ebay all the time, LOL. I have been the beneficiary in the past of well healed buyers being caught off-footed and me getting coins I simply should not have been able to compete for.

Well no secret I live in the US and so 10 AM London auctions mean 5 AM start time here on the East Coast. So I got myself up in time and had a target of the 1904 Halfcrown and to "spy" on results on a few others (the 1839 currency and proof halfcrowns) that I already have but curious as to how they might do So the auction was going on possibly a bit slow & grabbed 1/2 hour more quick sleep, checked the auction progress and saw I could grab another 1/2 hour - which I did. Unfortunately, I slept on through to Lot 326 (non-consequential). Damn! Missed the '04 which looked good from the pictures! Don't know if anybody got that one (closed at 2200 plus commission) but was wondering if anybody held it in hand; the obverse bust of Eddy appeared to be very well struck with few or nearly no marks & the reverse very pleasant By recall the two 1839s went for I think 4k and 3.8k plus commission.... Oh well, just a bit of a rant....(and I saved 3k or so quid!).....

Hmm, not sure of that and think it is the small copper residual. These chemically reduce in mild redox reactions like the one with baking soda, aluminium and vinegar....

I rather like gold and some good results on proofs with their obnoxious red spotting on some with copper alloys....

If the coin is valuable enough (possibly 5k pounds or above) they may not charge any at all - which is customary for many larger auction houses. I sold one of those "big ticket" coins, well two of them, and got back 105% of the sales price. In other words, they paid ME 5% of the buyer's commission. Contact them and ask what they might do for you.

Yes that is what I did. However, thanks to John I filled in enormous date runs of 20th C. Minor silvers in decent grade at reasonable cost. There were a couple of denomination date combos that never did work and still have 3-4 1908 shillings that weren’t up to it as examples. But he did notify me of some very rare patterns which sold at sensible prices that would not be possible to replace nowadays and for these also I have been grateful. And for some reason (chance?) he would occasionally find the odd exceptional piece similar to the OP that would have me wondering at the source and oddly not particularly favoured in his catalogue descriptions or priced higher than other lesser pieces.

Very nice piece there. I confess that I would be tempted to "conserve" the surfaces a bit. I rather like these nicer early '20s silver and especially the HC and florin.

Yes, I did not see the 1841 penny as proof with a less than desirable (or acceptable IMHO) strike. I do confess to getting the 1958 Halfcrown in proof however....LOL

If I can remember correctly, this coin came from the late John Welsh who some may remember. Always funny getting coins from him as a good number had enthusiastic grades or preservation (LOL) but on the other hand coins such as this or a number of patterns he managed to get for me were also had. I am not absolutely positive and perhaps some know more but I think he got hold of a couple of the ex-Pretoria mint collection coins [somehow]....

The reverse photo just does not demonstrate the matte-like surfaces.

I got this specimen about 20 years ago and have treasured it since - 1920. Not quite as nice as the satin specimen “duck tailed” but pleasant nonetheless. I am challenged by posting decent photos let alone two or more. I will try to show the reverse in a subsequent post.

Maybe, though George himself not overly possessed of such....LOL

Although I somewhat agree, I think my point was that there was a big rise that seems to have tapered in the last year or two. I say that because I bought the Terner specimen of the 1937 Sov in 65CAM and so followed it as a test case & that is what I have seen. Frankly, with regards to this set, I do not understand the interest or rise in these except from a speculative sense...