Peter Nichols cabinets

[1949threepence]

Just wanted to make an interesting point about these concerning the price, as we were discussing them last night in Mrbadexample's thread.

A couple of years ago I bought some old "Coin Monthly" magazines from Rob, and in one of them, from December 1972, I noticed that they were being sold even back then. One of the popular cabinets still going today, called "The Pheon" then sold for £17.50. Today it costs - for the Standard model - £360.00. Over the same period inflation, which has averaged 5.9% per annum, takes it to £208.28, so a big increase over and above inflation. Here's a pic of the ad:-

  Of course, that over and above inflation increase may have something to do with the type of wood being used. Back then it was "obeche", whereas now it is mahagony. Don't know.

 

[Gary1000]

Them being no longer made by Peter Nichols may have also inflated the price. I'm sure they were a bargain when he knocked them up himself in his back shed.

[TomGoodheart]

They are all hand made so won't be cheap. And I got the impression Peter used a range of varnishes that weren't good for your health. The current owners of the business use more environmentally friendly processes.

I had a tray made for my smaller cabinet recently and thought they did a good job at a reasonable price.

Of course second hand cabinets from auction might be a easy of getting one a bit cheaper...

 

[1949threepence]

1 hour ago, Gary1000 said:

Them being no longer made by Peter Nichols may have also inflated the price. I'm sure they were a bargain when he knocked them up himself in his back shed.

I bought mine, a Mascle, in January 2010, and I think it was among the last to be made by Peter himself at his St Leonards on Sea premises. I think it was about £130, certainly nowhere near the £216 now being asked for. Although, annoyingly, I can't locate my old bank statements from about that time, to check.  

[TomGoodheart]

I appear to have paid £93.50 back in 2004, so yes, they have gone up a bit.

Shame the value of my coins hasn't risen as much really!

[Geordie582]

I paid something similar in 2012. Wonderful workmanship. Full now, but having to use plastic trays now. Quite a let down.

[Guest DrDwarf13]

Hi, does anybody know if Peter Nichols is still alive? I have some of his cabinets, including a Coronet, and am interested in seeing if I can date them.

[copper123]

Remember if they are hand made they have to be worked on by a human - there was no minemum wage in 1972 - there is now , also a lot of the costs savings made through mass manufactureing might not apply to these cabinets .

Wood and other costs also might apply

[1949threepence]

9 hours ago, Guest DrDwarf13 said:

Hi, does anybody know if Peter Nichols is still alive? I have some of his cabinets, including a Coronet, and am interested in seeing if I can date them.

I've no idea if he's still alive, but I'd say it's more probable than not that he is still alive. I can say with certainty that he retired in October 2010, and passed the concern on. There is reference to his work in the 2017 Coin Yearbook, which I downloaded. I was going to do a screenshot for you, but it appears you can copy and paste the text, which surprised me. So I hope I'm not breaking any copyright laws by reproducing this small extract for your information. It's from an article on coin storage.
 

Quote

 

Storage
The ideal, but admittedly the most expensive,
method is the coin cabinet, constructed of airdried
mahogany, walnut or rosewood (never oak,
cedar or any highly resinous timber likely to cause
chemical tarnish). These cabinets have banks of
shallow drawers containing trays made of the same
wood, with half-drilled holes of various sizes to
accommodate the different denominations of coins.
Such cabinets are handsome pieces of furniture
but, being largely handmade, tend to be rather
expensive. Occasionally good specimens can be
picked up in secondhand furniture shops, or at the
dispersal of house contents by auction, but the best
bet is still to purchase a new cabinet, tailored to
your own requirements. These collectors cabinets
are hand-made using certifi ed solid mahogany, as
specifi ed by leading museums, as mahogany does
not contain any chemicals or resins that could
result in the discolouration of the collection inside
the cabinet. The polish used on the outside of the
cabinets is based on natural oils and hand applied
then fi nished with bees wax. The trays are left as
untreated mahogany so as not to introduce any
harmful contaminants. The coin trays are available
as single thickness or double thickness for holding
thicker coins, capsules or artifacts.
Peter Nichols Cabinets (telephone 0115
9224149, www.coincabinets.com) was established
in 1967. In October 2010 Peter retired and passed
the cabinet making business on to Geoff Skinner,
Shirley Watts and Ben Skinner-Watts. Now based in
Nottingham, the family run business continues to
provide specialist and bespoke display and storage

systems to suit every need from the seven-tray
Pheon all the way up to the massive 40-tray specials
supplied to the British Museum. All cabinets are
fi tted with double doors. Prices start at around
£80 and go up to about £350 for the thirty-tray
Coronet. They are not cheap, but you have the
satisfaction of acquiring exquisite examples of the
cabinet maker's craft.
An excellent storage option is provided by
a number of fi rms who manufacture coin trays
in durable, felt-lined materials with shallow
compartments to suit the various sizes of coins.
Most of these trays interlock so that they build up
into a cabinet of the desired size, and there are
also versions designed as carrying cases, which
are ideal for transporting coins

 

 

     

[Guest Drdwarf13]

1949threepence - many thanks for the information; greatly appreciated. I was aware of the firm that took over the business as I was on the verge of ordering a cabinet from them, based on the Nichols reputation, before fate intervened and an original Peter Nichols Coronet cabinet became available locally in an auction ?. The two do appear to look quite different (wood; detailing) but I have never seen one of the new cabinets up close. The originals are beautiful pieces, each one obviously handmade and unique, constructed from lovely grained mahogany. As I said previously, my interest is in trying to see if there is any way of dating them - perhaps by the different labels that he used etc? (although some will have obviously lost their labels over time).

Once again, many thanks for taking the time to reply.

[1949threepence]

27 minutes ago, Guest Drdwarf13 said:

1949threepence - many thanks for the information; greatly appreciated. I was aware of the firm that took over the business as I was on the verge of ordering a cabinet from them, based on the Nichols reputation, before fate intervened and an original Peter Nichols Coronet cabinet became available locally in an auction ?. The two do appear to look quite different (wood; detailing) but I have never seen one of the new cabinets up close. The originals are beautiful pieces, each one obviously handmade and unique, constructed from lovely grained mahogany. As I said previously, my interest is in trying to see if there is any way of dating them - perhaps by the different labels that he used etc? (although some will have obviously lost their labels over time).

Once again, many thanks for taking the time to reply.

No worries, pleased to be of service 

From a practical point of view, in the absence of a date of production on each cabinet (which is a pity), you can probably only narrow down the date to certain periods - by looking at such things as the company name and whether the label has an old style telephone number on it. Or maybe even the type of wood used. He did use Obeche in 1972, according to the advert I reproduced above. 

That said, it might be worth seeing if you can contact Peter personally, possibly by seeing if the new owners of the business have an e mail address. He may be able to cast some further light on the dates of each model. I did have an e mail address from when I contacted Peter in January 2010, to order my cabinet, but unfortunately I've long since deleted the e mails.    

 

[1949threepence]

Incidentally, before I leave the topic, I notice from their facebook page, that they now produce a very nice cabinet dedicated to slabbed coins:-

 

  

[Sword]

Very nice. But I bet it will cost a fortune though. I hate those TPG plastic boxes which look cheap and nasty. 

I brought a Lighthouse wooden 3 tray box last year which cost £55. I have since brought another one for Quadrums (or 2x2s) with each tray holding 20 coins.

 

 

 

[PWA 1967]

The big negative of having a few slabbed coins is the amount of space they take up 

[Sword]

A few slabbed coins won't take up a lot of space. But space does become an issue if one were to slab too many ... 

[PWA 1967]

38 minutes ago, Sword said:

A few slabbed coins won't take up a lot of space. But space does become an issue if one were to slab too many ... 

Yes having about two hundred and fifty takes up some space ,fortunately in an old jewellers safe at my daughters .

I have a box of about the same number raw and fit in a box smaller than a lever arch file 

[copper123]

7 hours ago, Sword said:

A few slabbed coins won't take up a lot of space. But space does become an issue if one were to slab too many ... 

more that 1000 slabbed coins  is enough for the uk at least  IMHO

[PWA 1967]

1 hour ago, copper123 said:

more that 1000 slabbed coins  is enough for the uk at least  IMHO

Hat off and a fantastic post 

[Peter]

One of our forum bought one of these and was delighted.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solid-Mahogany-Coin-Cabinet-with-lockable-doors-/112212106277?hash=item1a205cdc25:g:-iIAAOSwh6xTsYcd

[Matteo95]

I can raccommend this italian artisan , his coin cabinets are fantastic and of great quality ..

http://www.albertozecchi.it/home.html

[Peter]

Thanks for the link Matteo.Great stuff

[1949threepence]

1 hour ago, Matteo95 said:

I can raccommend this italian artisan , his coin cabinets are fantastic and of great quality ..

http://www.albertozecchi.it/home.html

They really do look great quality  

[copper123]

yes luv the massive ones for 2000+  coins , bet they would take some filling up

[Gary D]

I know that I've shown you my big'n before. I got this from Peter Nichols when he was still making them himself, I had the stand made at the same time and I think it came to £400 all in. I later took out the two medal trays to fit more coin trays. At the time I had several non standard tray made to fit Crowns down to farthings plus four special trays to hold Maundy sets. Later one Peter also made me two extra sides which I fitted into a flight case to hold the collection when in the bank whilst I am away for more than a couple of days.

[azda]

Very nice that Gary, did it come in the silver case?