A comparison of two auction houses

[A comparison of two auction houses]

Surely , adding 30% by mental arithmetic isn't very difficult to do. One can also produce a conversion table in advance if necessary.

[Fred Jeffries Coin Dealer token, Melksham 1972]

There is quite a bit about him on the net. This is on the Noonans website: "Frederick James Jeffery (1907-78), who styled himself as ‘England’s leading provincial coin dealer’, started dealing in coins in 1932. Popularly known as ‘Uncle Fred’ (though not to be confused with Fred Baldwin who also shared the same sobriquet), Jeffery was the first English dealer to regularly attend the American Numismatic Association’s annual convention. His open-style marketing methods and his vast stock ensured that he was well known and he was a fervent supporter of local numismatic societies, often travelling vast distances to a meeting with an estate car laden down with coins and sets to sell to members. His metallic tokens commemorate his 40th year in a business that is carried on today by his son, Richard Jonathan Jeffery; the tokens themselves were struck by Toye Kenning & Spencer in 1973, a decision prompted by the same manufacturer having struck the Wessex Numismatic Society’s Silver Jubilee medal earlier that year, Jeffery being then a prominent member of that Society. Fred Jeffery’s wooden farthing, of which 5,000 were made, was distributed at the 1966 ANA convention in Chicago"

https://www.noonans.co.uk/auctions/archive/special-collections/1032/401807/?sort=Hammer

He has some humour it seems and one of the tokens in the link has the legend "illegal tender for any amount".

The business is still in Yell.

[Origins Elizabeth I pencil/charcoal picture?]

You can right click the image and select search with Google. Then Google will search for the image on the web and give you the sites.

[Origins Elizabeth I pencil/charcoal picture?]

You probably have seen it. There is more information here:

https://ladyjanegreyrevisited.com/2021/05/12/the-paine-miniature-is-it-elizabeth/  

 

 

[NEW 2023]

It's a bit like buying an ice cream. You satisfy the want of a moment but your money is gone afterwards.

[Rookie Penny question!]

Hi,

Unfortunately, 1967 pennies are extremely common (mintage of at least 164 million) and are worth very little. E.g., this dealer is asking for £1 each and is inviting offer if anyone wants to buy a bag.

https://www.chards.co.uk/elizabeth-ii-penny-uncirculated/9204

Don't use Brasso as the value will immediately drop to scrap. 

[English King Coin Discovery]

Very interesting. But the usage of the word "king" in the article is a bit strong considering he only ruled the "western Thames basin".

[NEW 2023]

I think the shield designs are quite clever but each coin doesn't look great on its own unfortunately. Non collectors looking at their change wouldn't even know they can be put together to form a shield.

[NEW 2023]

Indeed. But prices are so high these days that £30 doesn't go very far. I wouldn't worry when spending that sort of money on an impulse spend. (But the RM is not a place I go to for impulse purchases though.)

[NEW 2023]

23 hours ago, mint_mark said:

I think these designs are great... I wonder if we'll have the chance to collect a full set of 2023 dates from our change?

I imagine so, particularly if you go to a bank to get some bags of coins. Otherwise a UNC set is £33.

[NEW 2023]

I have never been a fan of the current £1 design and am rather glad with the proposed change.

[NEW 2023]

Is it the new 2023 coinage? Here is the link to them. https://www.royalmint.com/annual-sets/2023/definitives/king-charles-iii-definitives-2023-brilliant-uncirculated-coin-set/

I rather like the 1 pound and 2p designs. 

[USA proof sets]

Even the sets from the 1950s can be picked up relatively cheaply. I guess it is a change from collecting British coinage as the obverse portraits are all different.

[Coin cabinets]

The cabinet was once housed the Deane collection of Eighteenth Century Conder tokens. There is a good story on the Baldwin website.

https://www.baldwin.co.uk/the-deane-collection-part-ii/

 

[USA proof sets]

When I first started collecting coins as a teenager, I particularly liked my USA proof set. Out of sentiments, I have just brought a 1992 silver proof set on eBay. I am a little surprised that the older proof sets are so unloved and my cost me £14.50 + postage. Is the excessively high mintage (well over a million) the only reason for the lack of desirability? The designs are generally rather nice. 

[Coin cabinets]

Did they actually take over Peter Nichol's business or just the name? If the later, I don't feel that strongly about it.

It's a bit sad less and less people train to be craftsmen these days and opt for more lucrative jobs. Certain crafts will unfortunately die out with time. But I think the demand for coin cabinets will enable at least one or two to make a decent living? Surely there must still be quite a few cabinet makers around?

[2022 silver five pound mule]

On 8/26/2023 at 6:07 AM, Mr T said:

This got a mention in the last issue of Coin News I think but there were no pictures.

I don't normally keep track of decimal stuff but it looks like a 2022 five pound was struck with a two pound obverse. Only one known so far.

I wonder how many were actually made. If they discovered the error after a test, then surely only a few examples would exist and I find it hard to believe that any would have escaped. 

Maybe the RM should be sporting and allow unintentional errors to be released to generate a bit of excitement?

[1567 REGNA LION 6d]

I honestly think it looks rather nice. The face details are clear and the shield is well struck. Interesting N over I which you pointed out. It certainly wouldn't have been a freebie if it wasn't for the gash at the reverse! I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

The Independent, Guardian, local papers, BBC news etc. are free. That's enough for me. 

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

I think they will ask you to subscribe if you have read a free article previously.

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

A good thing that Covid has done for me was to to stop me from eating breakfast and dinner out so often. I have saved a fortune eating at home now and have managed to lose a significant amount of weight.

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

On a different note, I hope that independent retailers will grow in any High Street revival. The give so much more character and soul to a town. I was sad to see Hanningtons, a very large independent departmental store in my home town of Brighton closed in 2001 after nearly 200 years of trading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanningtons. Boswells of Oxford (first traded in 1738) sadly closed during the COVID pandemic. 

 

[Charles I Angel and medallions]

His majesty might have a "spare". 😄 Great items to collect! 

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

13 hours ago, Kipster said:

The whole issue of paying with cash will become obsolete with the generations that follow us, in the same way that music tapes, betamax videos and polaroid cameras did. I was behind a bloke in B & Q the other day and saw him pay for his stuff with his watch. I couldn't believe it, but it'll be second nature to kids that are weened on ipads and mobile apps. Cash money will die eventually with the generations that used.

Quite. Technology is almost second nature to the young. I have thought about putting cards on my phone so that I don't need to worry about carrying a wallet when exercising but just don't feel comfortable enough to do that in the end. A relative has suggested that I get a smart watch which can do a great number of things like paying and health management but I don't want trade my (vintage look) classic watch (which I am proud of) for a bit of plastic. 

I imagine that cash transactions might not last beyond two more generations. 

[Will we ever become a cashless society?]

I visited a noodle house recently and they were cash only. Haven't had that experience for as long as I can remember. I am old fashioned and always carry some notes with me and so it wasn't a problem. 

It's unlikely that we will become completely cashless during our lifetimes. But I do think there are financial benefits to larger shops and supermarkets when people pay contactless. You need just one staff to look after a dozen self-checkouts (which are much more reliable with cards). People pay much faster and so queues are shorter.  They don't need to count money at the end of the day and take cash to banks etc. True, banks do charge a fee and are making a lot of money that way. However, they can find other ways to keep up their profit margins if necessary like giving lower interest rates for savings, account fees etc. 

For departmental stores, the fees are priced in already and you don't get a discount if you pay cash. So people pay by the most convenient way. I reckon I now pay for more than 80% of the things I buy online as I have supermarket deliveries. Even if I buy a piece of electric in a shop (if I don't want to wait for delivery), paying by credit card gives extra protection, extended warranty, etc.

Evolution will happen naturally in its own timescale and cash will hopefully still be around for a long time. According to the Bank of England, there is over £70 billion in notes in circulation. They are claiming that it is only relatively recently (2017) that "debit cards overtook cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK." I think that includes credit cards as well. (Most frequently used payment method is also not the same as the actual amount spent).

But buying on Ebay or Amazon when the seller is selling cheaper on their own site is a bit silly. It's a bit like paying an extra 3% commission to placing an absentee bid with a platform when you can do that directly without fee directly with the auctioneer.