damian1986

Yep. That's what I had set aside for it. Only one other Ed Conf Langport penny has gone through salerooms since WW2 and that was the ex-Lockett and Elmore-Jones expanding cross. Given there are only 9 or 10 coins of the mint in private hands and most of these are Cnuts, I'm just amazed at the lack of interest in what is a significant rarity. The Shrewsbury pyramids sold two lots later went for 1900. That's a relatively common type for the mint and did have a super portrait, but at 60% of the price there isn't much difference between the two. How's this one got through then? British buyers didn't bother to read the German description? Erm... Crazy as you say in comparison to what the other coins went for. I'm going to start collecting paper clips I think.

Does that mean you'd have gone to 5 or 6 Rob? Nice coin. That 1727 shilling was a bit high at 1400 EUR I thought though the estimates were pretty low for a lot of these I'd have said. Oh and this 1754 farthing. Its very nice but the best part of a grand for a 1754??

I spent most of this year figuring out my exact goals and what it's likely to cost - When I put everything into perspective it makes sense to offset costs wherever possible as some wants are unavoidably expensive! So I suppose it depends on what your goals are overall. Where I'm able to I'll have a rarer example of a type to keep things interesting. E.g. my George IV first issue farthing is an 1825 D/U and I have a nice 1895 young head farthing for that particular type. I just couldn't part with them and the commoner dates of the types went. But then I have a 1910 shilling for Edward VII and wouldn't touch the 1905 at 20x the cost. Considering that some shillings such as Cromwell, Philip and Mary, Northumberland, James II, milled Charles I, ..., are going to cost an arm and a leg if I can ever justify buying them, then I'm inclined to take the cheapest option when it's available. There is something to be said about value though. E.g. it may only cost a little more for an Anglo-Saxon penny from a scarce mint than it would for one from say London or Lincoln.

I never know with your sense of humour Peter. £3.6k for the William I penny...

I want them all to be this good. £3,600 plus commission Below is an E1 penny 1c/1a mule. Quite a bit of wear and the edge chip but overall decent and I'm really happy with it, but still got pushed quite a bit on price to get it. 1. When's a nicer one going to come into auction? 2. A real gem is gonna cost what, 400 / 500 quid? Well it shouldn't but anything real high quality seems to be getting caned in the auctions at the minute. So we don't have much choice

Which macro lens do you use? I have a Nikon DSLR but it would appear that there are several macro lenses available from 40mm all the way up. We use at present a Tamron 90 mm Macro lens Regarding the light source, is that a single source at as-close-to vertical as possible or multiple sources? I've heard good things about the 5500k 'daylight' bright white bulbs; also the Jansjo lamps which I have used but always struggle with silver and the light being too reflective.

I did manage to find a couple realised in auction: 1. http://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=752&category=16734&lot=747955 Estimate £200, Realised £1,000 (May 2013) 2. http://www.noble.com.au/mobile/lot?id=109784 Estimate $300, Realised $400 (in 1997!) More than I could do for a medal but if one ever slips through the net maybe.

Just wondering if anyone has any information about the Powers of the Soho Mint medal? In particular number struck, how often they come on to the market and realised prices. I anticipate an answer equivalent to not many, hardly ever and a lot. But curious nonetheless... Taken from The Copper Corner (http://www.thecoppercorner.com/history/bw_photos2a.htm)

I collect a bit of everything. My idea of getting one coin of each ruler is just a part of it:) 1888 half crown is my girlfriends birthday +100:) Thanks The last woman I had any interest in made casual references to Jimmy Choos and wasn't the slightest bit interested in coins so you're doing well there

Neil (Colin Cooke) has one in his September list. May have gone now but worth asking him. Just a thought but since you're collecting by ruler wouldn't 1887 be the better option? Actually a quick scan of the 1887s listed on eBay and am not endeared to any of them but generally should be able to pick a nice one up cheaper than the 1888. I dealt with the seller of the second coin before and he's alright and good descriptions. Incidentally I have no idea what's going on here.

Cheers Rob

Just wondering what you think about this one. Nothing wrong with the coin really just very pricey. Edward the Confessor, Hammer cross type, Worcester mint. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anglo-Saxon-Silver-Penny-Coin-of-King-Edward-the-Confessor-1042-AD-/390843443166?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276 I could see maybe just over a grand in it for the mint but not close to the ~ £3,000 being asked for. Only a handful of examples recorded in SCBI / EMC, all in museums, but then I am not finding this to be a particularly good indicator of rarity as many coins aren't submitted.

I like a good moan about the prices of coins. The same way I like to moan about the over-valuation of online businesses, the recklessness of the banks pre-2008 (here have a mortgage, have a re-mortgage, have a credit card, have a nice new car, oh no all the mortgages have defaulted), supply-and-demand in the context of Jedward or whichever other idiots are being paid a healthy living by virtue of having accomplished nothing - It's a real market and warrants discussion as such. But few people have a problem with people putting their money into gold or silver for investment so why the quibble with numismatic coins?* Criticisms should be leveled at the market and not the wealth of an individual or what they choose to do with their cash. * I do have a slight problem with gold and silver investment actually. There are some horrible suppliers who prey on people's fears and vulnerabilities (the world is going to end so stock your cupboards with powder food and buy guns and lots of gold so that when everyone is crawling about on their hands and knees you'll be sitting pretty). A story for another day though. I collect halfpennies. I did look at die varieties initially but the Victorian bronzes are tough in the higher grades and I collect other things now so I want a small but representative sample by type. This will include some of the proofs that came out of the Soho mint. I missed a good one that Rob had up not long ago I have one nice halfpenny that belonged to C. W. Peck and that pretty much does it for me for all later Victorian bronze. I want them all but if I do my research properly I can be just as happy with fewer individual coins and still the collection as a whole. This comes back to what's financially viable. My collecting is dictated by desire in the context of what's financially realistic. If I had more or less money my focus would be adjusted in line with what's doable. Another little soliloquy.

Was he buying most of from the currency sets / presentations packs? I have struggled to find anything in circulation that is mark-free, even if from a sealed bag. I'd be interested in decimal but the problem is that they introduce so many new commemoratives each year that when I do the maths I could buy something better for that same amount of cash. I'd like one of every type by design, this year we have: 2 x floral £1 = £18 in presentation pack; 2 x WWI £2 = £20; 1 x 50p commonwealth games = £10; or the full set for £50. There were 3 commemorative £2 coins last year. Adding up a few year's worth of these and it becomes really expensive. I did buy a few from Michael Gouby whose prices for currency issues were more reasonable. I think most were from mint-sealed bags. A quid or two at most may work though

Rob, I get the brain, eyes and heart bit. But in fairness to CGS I don't think they have told us we must like it. Isn't the whole idea to present a consistent numerical grading system. Now that's where I think it falls down in terms of eye appeal etc. For my liking it's just a little to clinical. I would like to know do others think it's working? In other words are three graders or whatever achieving the consistency they are aiming for? Mark I was being sarcastic about Wings. The very existence of Wings is testament to the inadequacies of the TPGs in my opinion. I wouldn't buy a coin unless someone had stamped unc on it at one point, even though it could well be an ugly little thing with hairlines and allsorts. And I've bought slabbed coins pretty much on grade alone. Probably why I'm a bit of a cynical b* now. Technically Wings exist to validate the grade except there's this implicit "oh it's Wings so I'll buy it". It's all a bit impersonal. Putting coins that are 1000+ years old in a slab of plastic and then saying it's worth X is all a bit contrived for me. The rarities, the gems, yeah they're going to do even better in a slab but I do wonder if for many coins it's worth it. What is the point of reference for these guys? Sheldon's original scale says that any 'mint state' coin should so absolutely no signs of wear, but there are tonnes of mint state coins showing wear. And I mentioned that people will continually re-submit coins to the TPGs in the hope it comes back higher, so they're obviously not that consistent. You can't beat a good description I find some dealers will be honest in their descriptions, even if the photo doesn't reveal faults they may still mention them. Not always the case though, although if the coin actually makes it past CGS (I'm sure lots do) they aren't going to tell you that it looks a bit shit in hand or has an unsightly edge knock they they felt didn't detract.

The problem is that an independent view could be different from one day to the next so while you aren't wanting to bias their decision making there are no guarantees in any resultant analysis. This is why dealers are re-submitting an MS64 five times in the hope it comes back MS65. Probably often it does. It's all besides the point anyway.. And remember that all equally graded coins are not equal. What we really need is for CGS to form a relationship with WINGS so we can be sure that we're buying a coin we like. That CGS 85 just ain't doing it for me unless it's got a WINGS sticker on it mate. No. I'm learning. Nowadays I'd much rather get "A couple of minor weak areas but well centred and full flan, good very fine" than CGS 50. Together with a decent picture it's then just a matter of taste and whether the funds are available. And thereafter I don't really care; I made a personal investment. I'm pie-in-the-sky hoping that someone will be around to show the same level of appreciation for the coin if I ever do decide to sell it, in lieu of a magic quantifier having been assigned, but then it's not unreasonable to assume that the market will be receptive to the thing-in-itself. Incidentally starting a thread with "don't read this" ...

I guess that's a nice way to focus your spending. It feels like every coin I want now is inexpensive, so it will help to be more selective. Can't leave the penny token there in that case then can you!? I hope you treat us to the image in this forum if you do decide to keep it. I bought a couple of rare ones last month and so have put a halt on spending. It feels like much longer than a month though so your token must really be something. Interesting to hear that you used to collect by date, I started off in that vein a couple of years ago but I'm always refactoring. Time / knowledge sorts all this out I suppose. If you buy the more difficult ones as a priority do you put off smaller purchases then? See I collect some German and French coins and wouldn't mind picking up a whole bunch (prices mostly in the region £20 - £100) to 'complete' a modern type collection but then all the smaller purchases would add up to one or two really nice and more numismatically interesting coins so I've been holding off on buying them.

Thanks Brandon. I'm a mixed bag between ticking boxes and having interests that are too diverse (and funds too limited) so I'm always looking to rationalise what I collect without feeling compelled to buy something just to fill a gap. Except any rationalisation of goals inevitably leads to gaps. Or a coin doesn't "fit" so then I invent new goals. I have my eye on two tokens right now so it's figuring out how they'll fit in with what I have and then what to buy next. I guess I'm a bit odd! Certainly though the copper coins and token produced in the late 18th and early 19th century are awesome pieces of work. And with tokens you get some real bang for your buck. But I also have my eye on a couple of the Droz proofs right now, and Neil's farthing list just came out, and it's DNW in a month, and ... Deep breaths.

These tokens are becoming increasingly appealing to me. The scope for collecting is a little overwhelming though. Do you have any particular collecting goals Brandon or just whatever pieces take your fancy?

I'd expect to pay £65 for a gem but then the price curve to fall pretty sharply. e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1929UNC-KING-GEORGE-V-BRONZE-PENNY-/400740606633?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item5d4e0062a9 is not a £50 coin even relative to Spink's £65 in my opinion.

I was remarking on the quality of the hand-made ones compared to the mass-produced plastic-handled stuff you'd normally find down the local shops... the attention to detail, craftsmanship; by all accounts these guys were close to going out of business but the media coverage they've had lately has seen a big bump in sales which is good to see.

You mean you viewed it last night and it's now different? The video on the BBC website by following the link is a nice interview with some shots and then the embedded one was created as part of an art project documenting Sheffield.

I love things like this. Can't get a pair of scissors like those out 'the pound shop. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28581597 Here is the original video by Shaun Bloodworth:

Once a day whether I need it or not

Does seem harsh that. Did you think you'd done okay at £230? Why would anyone bother to send it off for someone to read the legend for them? The ten or twenty quid would be better spent buying a reading for dummies book. Double that and you could have the reference book for posterity. I suppose he meant he doesn't speak as an authority on the matter and would rather let the slab do the talking but it boils down to being able to ask a bit extra for the coin. On slabbing in general I'm currrently looking at an MS64 "WINGS APPROVED" coin. Tempted, but expect it will go too high. Anyway the WINGS guys have a slogan: "All equally graded world coins are not equal". This is silly.