davidrj

Top one CGB, the lower Ebay

I liked the old (sadly PVC) Coindex envelopes - nice space for a decent label that didn't obscure the coin - ie it looked like a modern slab I hate mylar flips but quite like the double plastic envelopes, but not too sure re PVC and cant find a UK supplier

The rise & fall of Napoleon III These two medals say it all Elected Emperor (really a Coup d'Etat) in 1852, and disgraced after his surrender at Sedan in 1870 David

Brilliant!

FEUARDENT F1788 Royal Auditors 1603 (Henri IV) "Apollo & Diana as children on the Island of Delos" "Arms of Henri IV King of France & Navarre" Just love these designs

A couple of recent purchases - French Jetons FEUARDENT F3381 Paris Civil Administration 1583 (Henri III) "A deity conferring favour to the City, whilst riding a chariot pulled by two unicorns" "Arms of the City of Paris David

nice coin, mintage was 4,000,000 and is a common date for this type, sadly you can't retire on the proceeds of this one another

Krause is useful in that most illustrations are actual size. I did a similar exercise to Richard several years ago when I set out to find bronze and copper "pennies" worldwide I too found coins and territories I barely knew existed, and there a few I'm still after like the German New Guinea 10 pfennig (pricey) and others that are very scarce only ever found in crap poor condition like those from Italian Somalia However if you are a copper collector, the 1600s Krause book is very frustrating, most of the minor coins have no illustrations - so sideline collection number 2 - I now have a growing collection of single country catalogues.

This Olympic coin looks a little more interesting 1906 Medal

Picked mine up on Ebay just listed a 1913 still looking for a half decent F175, mine is AF pulled from circulation

French jeton 15th C - made in Tournai (now in Belgium) a similar one here

i don't know any Shetlanders, but my Orcadian friends feel far more Scandinavian than Scottish

Henri de la Tour D'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon Double Liard, 1614, Racourt mint

Now that's a very interesting discussion. What do you make of this catalogue footnote to the sale of an 1874H penny by DNW in 2006: FootnotePeriodically, the Heaton mint struck carefully finished ‘specimen’ coins of varying denominations as an example of what the company could produce; in some instances they were presented as gifts to dignitaries and government officials and in other cases were part of the travelling portfolio of a Heaton sales representative (cf. Gunstone, SNC December 1977, p.545; cf. Tansley Collection, DNW 67, lot 369). Truly genuine Heaton mint proofs of this period (cf. Adams lot 268 = SNC April 2005, 2467) are exceedingly rare; most of those so catalogued in the Freeman sale were in fact ‘specimens’ That's fascinating. Presumably though, such specimens had the H mintmark? None of the bronze minted 1860-3 by either Watt & Co or Heatons had a mintmark Also don't forget Heatons were producing coins for lots of countries, so the "specimens" could have been a cosmepolitan lot, not all these issues had mintmarks

I think the problem is how you define a country - should we have independence for the Kingdom of Strathclyde or Mercia? Many boundaries worldwide have been drawn by politicians without due regard to geography or peoples, most of the horrors in the last hundred years have been based on ideas of nationalism and ethnicity. Having spent time in Kosova in 2001, I'm all for systems that bind humanity together rather than defining differences

How come we in England get no vote anyway? splitting the Union is a major constitutional change

The Birmingham Mint were major suppliers of bronze and other blanks to the RM and other mints worldwide, far exceeding the number of coins they produced 1860-1970 The Birmingham Mint provided 1680 tons of 1p blanks 1968-71 and 460 tons 10p blanks

Record profits for PCGS Whatever we may think of them, slabbing makes shedloads of money for the slabbers

I pick out nice £2 & 50Ps from change, lots of gaps, not sad enough to have bought any though

I think Boulton's ambition was to produce coins for the new French regime, they were however broke, hence the confiscation of bells from churches &c for coinage The only Britts involved in minting the bell metal coins were the Alcock brothers who in 1769 had set up a button factory in buildings leased by the nuns of the Priory of Beaulieu in Riorges. Mintmark a D surmounted by two dots

2nd one

"Déesse couronnant une ville, et traînée dans un char par deux licornes" I translate as a "Goddess crowning the City, while in a chariot pulled by two unicorns" I can understand the obverse reference to the Rebels, this is during the Wars of Religion, Paris would subsequently fall to the Hugenots; Henri III would die later retaking the City, But the significance of the unicorns defeats me Postage costs not to bad for me as bought 2 books at the same time

Trouble with the CGB site is so many nice coins in stock, you always end up buying something, couldn't resist this one for such a wacky design Jeton for the Municipal Administration of Paris 1583, brass 28mm

David Groom in his variety book mentions a 1919 penny with a raised dot where the H would be - is this returned die with the H poorly obliterated? Anyone seen or have a picture of this variety?

Did they? or did the RM provide Heatons & Kings Norton pre-punched dies? Sweeney's Numismatic History of the Birmingham Mint is silent on the subject. However pre-punched were issued by the RM for later colonial coins, this snippet is from "British Commonwealth Coins" by Remick Food for thought