Calling the pharmacist!

[Colin G.]

The bad thing about multiple coin lots at auction, they have mixed up the coins/tickets

Now I have to try and match the coin with the ticket, which would not be too bad if I could read Rev Rogers' tickets!!

Rob, you said you should have been a pharmicist due to the fact you could read such handwriting. Image 1 shows the tickets for 5 x 1860 farthings, I can read the "5 berries in wreath" bit, and one appears to have "beaded edge" and another possibly "dot circle" so I am assuming these indicate beaded border varieties if I am reading them right.

The others seem to say "serated? edge" so I am assuming implies toothed, but I may be reading this wrong.

Images 2 & 3 show the backs of the tickets which I assume indicate where they were bought(illegible)and the price of 6d or 1 shilling as shown in image 3.

Finally I can say he certainly had an eye for a nice strong strike!!

[Colin G.]

[SionGilbey]

I have illegible handwriting myself, so I can sympathise with the Revs ticketing (I do all mine printed out or in block capitals)

From what I can read on my tiny iPod screen:

Top left - Dot edge.

Top right - 5 berries in wreath.

Bottom left - Beaded edge.

Bottom centre - serrated edge 5 berries in wreath.

Bottom right - serrated edge 5 berries

[Rob]

I agree with the translation so far offered.

I think you've done a bit better than you realise. It looks to me like the reverse says Gantz and the price. A quick check of the Gantz catalogue for 23-7/6/1941 shows that the Rev. W L Gantz of Stanstead Abbots, Herts (d.1940) had only a handful of coppers in the Glens sale, but Manville and Robertson say that a portion of the collection was purchased by Seaby in 1926 and other coins sold privately in addition to the two sales in 1941 (the first sale was Ancients). If I am correct in deciphering the scribble, the price of 6d each suggests a private transaction with Gantz, though it could equally have come from Seaby. Rogers was quite heavily into small coppers in the 1920s as he wrote an article on the Chas.1 rose farthings in the BNJ vol.18 (1925-6), though the base coinage in general was his main sphere. I note that lot 1481 had a 1799 farthing, though at this time I doubt if anyone worried about the number of berries in the wreath when cataloguing as it is part of a lot of 14. The difference in style compared to my ticket could be accounted for by 20-30 years between the two styles which as a gift from Peck in 1957 was obviously written near the end of his life.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Rob

[Colin G.]

I agree with the translation so far offered.

I think you've done a bit better than you realise. It looks to me like the reverse says Gantz and the price. A quick check of the Gantz catalogue for 23-7/6/1941 shows that the Rev. W L Gantz of Stanstead Abbots, Herts (d.1940) had only a handful of coppers in the Glens sale, but Manville and Robertson say that a portion of the collection was purchased by Seaby in 1926 and other coins sold privately in addition to the two sales in 1941 (the first sale was Ancients). If I am correct in deciphering the scribble, the price of 6d each suggests a private transaction with Gantz, though it could equally have come from Seaby. Rogers was quite heavily into small coppers in the 1920s as he wrote an article on the Chas.1 rose farthings in the BNJ vol.18 (1925-6), though the base coinage in general was his main sphere. I note that lot 1481 had a 1799 farthing, though at this time I doubt if anyone worried about the number of berries in the wreath when cataloguing as it is part of a lot of 14. The difference in style compared to my ticket could be accounted for by 10-30 years between the two styles which as a gift from Peck in 1957 was obviously written near the end of his life.

Fascinating stuff Rob thanks!! I have a couple that have different names on the reverse of a couple of others, I will put them up for deciphering!!

[Nick]

The 5 reverses all seem to show the same word and to me it looks like Elendry or Glendry. I wondered whether it could be a contracted form of Glendinings.

[Rob]

The 5 reverses all seem to show the same word and to me it looks like Elendry or Glendry. I wondered whether it could be a contracted form of Glendinings.

Glens were an auction house and not a dealer, so you wouldn't expect to get tickets from them for individual coins. The other sides of the tickets show the letters B, C, D & F. Ignore VICTORIA which is printed capitals, the joined up writing is the relevant bit.

On the top left ticket, the first letter after the capital looks to be an a. The last letter has to be something with a tail i.e. g, q, y, z. Seaby ends in y, but I'm struggling to make the first letter an S. The last two letters fit tz well with the cross of the t starting the top of the z. That is my reasoning.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Rob

[Nick]

On the top left ticket, the first letter after the capital looks to be an a. The last letter has to be something with a tail i.e. g, q, y, z. Seaby ends in y, but I'm struggling to make the first letter an S. The last two letters fit tz well with the cross of the t starting the top of the z. That is my reasoning.

What you say makes sense. I was just struggling to see the first letter as a G.

[Nick]

On the top left ticket, the first letter after the capital looks to be an a. The last letter has to be something with a tail i.e. g, q, y, z. Seaby ends in y, but I'm struggling to make the first letter an S. The last two letters fit tz well with the cross of the t starting the top of the z. That is my reasoning.

What you say makes sense. I was just struggling to see the first letter as a G.

It's late. That should have said I was struggling to see the first letter as a G without the second letter being an L.

[Rob]

I have a couple that have different names on the reverse of a couple of others, I will put them up for deciphering!!

Any use? The left says Baldwin 1948. The next three Briggs(sic) - M A Brigg sold his gold & silver in May 1939 and the coppers 4 years later. A really nice collection. The last says Spink. All three were popular sources for Rogers.

[Rob]

On the top left ticket, the first letter after the capital looks to be an a. The last letter has to be something with a tail i.e. g, q, y, z. Seaby ends in y, but I'm struggling to make the first letter an S. The last two letters fit tz well with the cross of the t starting the top of the z. That is my reasoning.

What you say makes sense. I was just struggling to see the first letter as a G.

It's late. That should have said I was struggling to see the first letter as a G without the second letter being an L.

The second letter can only be an L if the first letter is a C, but the style of the C after Dot on the first ticket is not the same. The initial loop starts on the curve of the C in this instance and on the ticket below. The first letter on the other sides all start with the initial loop consistently to the left of the curve which would suggest a different letter. Taking the left curve down and through to the top of the upstroke and back to the base again as a letter would be a good fit for a G in my opinion.