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Athenian Owls

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Anyone here collect Athenian Owls? I've been trying to find an example to buy but can't seem to find one at a decent price point or from a reputable seller. Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for one? Since there are few physical coin shops in my area that deal in ancient coins and no major coin shows nearby I don't want to overpay and kick myself down the road when I realized I paid too much for it. I'd also ideally like to find a Herakleia Owl with Athena on the obverse and an owl on the obverse, but I have yet to find an example for sale and I have a feeling it might be a bit out of my price range.

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Anyone here collect Athenian Owls? I've been trying to find an example to buy but can't seem to find one at a decent price point or from a reputable seller. Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for one? Since there are few physical coin shops in my area that deal in ancient coins and no major coin shows nearby I don't want to overpay and kick myself down the road when I realized I paid too much for it. I'd also ideally like to find a Herakleia Owl with Athena on the obverse and an owl on the obverse, but I have yet to find an example for sale and I have a feeling it might be a bit out of my price range.

Greek coinage discussions are few and far between on predecimal.

I do know the owls are very popular in the USA and getting a real one is an issue.

I would suggest Coinpeople might assist you more.

As Rowan Atkinson once said "as wise as an eel and as slippery as an owl"

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Anyone here collect Athenian Owls? I've been trying to find an example to buy but can't seem to find one at a decent price point or from a reputable seller. Also, what is a reasonable price to pay for one? Since there are few physical coin shops in my area that deal in ancient coins and no major coin shows nearby I don't want to overpay and kick myself down the road when I realized I paid too much for it. I'd also ideally like to find a Herakleia Owl with Athena on the obverse and an owl on the obverse, but I have yet to find an example for sale and I have a feeling it might be a bit out of my price range.

I think I would love one of those! My own favourite ancient is a tiny Ephesos bronze - one one side (obverse? reverse?) there is a quite exquisite depiction of a bee (from above) and on the other, an equally exquisite depiction of a stag. And all on a coin the size of a quarter farthing.

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I saw a few for sale in the now closed York Antiques centre a few years back and if they hadn't had holes in the reverse side I would have bought one!

Really pretty coins for sure, I'd like one eventually!

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Yeah, I went out and bought one from a well-known online internet coin dealer that specializes in ancients, has a punchmark on the reverse and the obverse is almost completely gone, paid $140 for it but I'm happy with it.

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

All right, I confess. Yes. I do. I do have a 1967 penny. I might even have more than one. So there. :P

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

Sorry Peck but I don't like the look of dear old Lizzies Thrupenny bits :D

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

Sorry Peck but I don't like the look of dear old Lizzies Thrupenny bits :D

Pre 1953 they were nifty thrifty's B)

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Hi jacking the thread a bit...sorry.

The Owl seems to have popularity.I have also noticed this for coins with puffins on the reverse.

Is there a coin out there which every collector of British coins has tucked away?

May I suggest a few?

1797 cartwheel 1d/2d

1951 1d

Victorian veiled head 1d

1967 1d :blink:

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

Sorry Peck but I don't like the look of dear old Lizzies Thrupenny bits :D

Pre 1953 they were nifty thrifty's B)

I've always liked the way that the brass threepence feels in your hand, its got a nice weight and thickness. Of course, I'm not British (nor old enough) so I never got to actually use any as currency.

For the coin that everyone owns I'd say its the '65 Churchill commemorative crown, its a shame its the most popular crown though as the design is rather plain and it doesn't have the nice edge lettering like most of the other crowns, even the later crowns seem to have a more attractive design.

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See proved it! :)

So no there is no definate list. I don't own any Churchill crowns either, although I used to have one, unfortunately it was so ugly I had to get rid of it before it traumatised me.

I actually really like the George VI florins too, not necessarily because it's the great design (which it isn't), but because I used to like getting them in change, being born in 1984 I missed the joys of predecimal and thus the florins were the only ones I encountered in their natural environment (strangely I never saw predecimal shillings circulating alongside the old 5ps), and of course the George VI florins were more interesting than the Lizzie florins because they had a different monarch on them.

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The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

I wouldn't say ugly, just unartistic. Reminds me of the day my Dad had a go at flower arranging...

Am I just being a grumpy old git or has coin design been on a slow downward spiral since some point in the early 19th century?

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I've always liked the way that the brass threepence feels in your hand, its got a nice weight and thickness. Of course, I'm not British (nor old enough) so I never got to actually use any as currency.

As an American, you may need a little explanation as to the subtext of John's post. Have you heard of cockney rhyming slang? (apples and pears = stairs, skin and blister = sister etc.). Well 'threepenny bits' is rhyming slang for something (or things), but I'll let you work that out for yourself...

Personally, I couldn't disagree more, especially the 1953 variety!

Edited by Red Riley

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As an American, you may need a little explanation as to the subtext of John's post. Have you heard of cockney rhyming slang? (apples and pears = stairs, skin and blister = sister etc.). Will 'threepenny bits' is rhyming slang for something (or things), but I'll let you work that out for yourself...

To be honest I hadn't actually spotted that, that's not one i've heard before! You don't tend to hear much cockney rhyming slang round these parts. ;)

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As an American, you may need a little explanation as to the subtext of John's post. Have you heard of cockney rhyming slang? (apples and pears = stairs, skin and blister = sister etc.). Will 'threepenny bits' is rhyming slang for something (or things), but I'll let you work that out for yourself...

To be honest I hadn't actually spotted that, that's not one i've heard before! You don't tend to hear much cockney rhyming slang round these parts. ;)

I don't think you can get much further North than John without tripping over Hadrians wall.

It must be a fishing,football thing and like the chap in the office who doesn't buy the Sun but will always take a crafty peek at page three. ;)

and yes I have several Churchills but promise I have NEVER bought one.

I find them inversally proportional to working blue or black biro's.

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The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! :)

I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this;

Elizabeth II florin

George VI florin

Bun Head Penny

Brass Threepence

Wren Farthing

1967 halfpenny

Elizabeth II shilling

And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say.

My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin :D

I wouldn't say ugly, just unartistic. Reminds me of the day my Dad had a go at flower arranging...

Am I just being a grumpy old git or has coin design been on a slow downward spiral since some point in the early 19th century?

Nope :D

Though having said that ...

There are some 'modern' coin reverses which I'd place higher than the over-fussy halfcrowns of George IV (last type), and a few other 19th Century 'villains' : thrifty 3d, ship halfpenny, Liz II shillings, wren farthings, 50p Britannia, 10p lion, £1 dragon, £1 leopards, £1 bridges, £1 shield (1988), silver Britannia, well that's quite a lot to start off with!

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My personal fave is the shield and wreath reverse of the Vicky Young Head (as on sovereigns, crowns and half crowns). Love the gothic coins and the Edward VII florins.

I also really like the overly fussy ornamental shields of George IV! I always thought the Wyon/Baptiste Merlen era of George IV (c.1826-1830) was the pinnacle of modern designs, closely followed by George V's 1910s issues.

The first 50 years of Victoria's reign on the whole was fairly insipid but only because I have little liking for 'wreath with value' reverses.

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My personal fave is the shield and wreath reverse of the Vicky Young Head (as on sovereigns, crowns and half crowns). Love the gothic coins and the Edward VII florins.

I also really like the overly fussy ornamental shields of George IV! I always thought the Wyon/Baptiste Merlen era of George IV (c.1826-1830) was the pinnacle of modern designs, closely followed by George V's 1910s issues.

The first 50 years of Victoria's reign on the whole was fairly insipid but only because I have little liking for 'wreath with value' reverses.

+ Edward florins - NOW you're talking!

+ If you'd said the Wyon/Merlen William IV halfcrowns (swoon).

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There are some 'modern' coin reverses which I'd place higher than the over-fussy halfcrowns of George IV (last type), and a few other 19th Century 'villains' : thrifty 3d, ship halfpenny, Liz II shillings, wren farthings, 50p Britannia, 10p lion, £1 dragon, £1 leopards, £1 bridges, £1 shield (1988), silver Britannia, well that's quite a lot to start off with!

The wren farthings, ship halfpennies and thrift threepences sadly represented a blind alley in the development of our coinage. Since the accession of the present queen, the reverses of our everyday coins (i.e. excluding commemoratives) have all reverted to royal themes which really is a step backwards in my opinion.

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There are some 'modern' coin reverses which I'd place higher than the over-fussy halfcrowns of George IV (last type), and a few other 19th Century 'villains' : thrifty 3d, ship halfpenny, Liz II shillings, wren farthings, 50p Britannia, 10p lion, £1 dragon, £1 leopards, £1 bridges, £1 shield (1988), silver Britannia, well that's quite a lot to start off with!

The wren farthings, ship halfpennies and thrift threepences sadly represented a blind alley in the development of our coinage. Since the accession of the present queen, the reverses of our everyday coins (i.e. excluding commemoratives) have all reverted to royal themes which really is a step backwards in my opinion.

The only everyday coins that have reverse designs that I like are the 2007 Act of Union £2 and the 2009 Charles Darwin £2. Although not an everyday coin, I also really like the 2005 George and Dragon design by Timothy Noad as used on the gold sovereign.

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Well, when compared to the state of American coin designs I have to say that I like a lot of the British designs better, especially since the US mint decided that all circulating coins need to commemorate something, and rather than having a single design for even a single year, there needs to be 4-5 different, yet equally terrible, "commemorative" designs and confusing people into thinking that by filling a folder with every different design (all of them with incredibly high mintages) they will somehow have a collection worth more than face value later on.

While I really enjoy some of the older US coins (even more so than some of the British coins minted during that time period) such as Standing Liberty Quarters, Walking Liberty half Dollars, and the $20 double eagle, our modern coins are some of the ugliest coins ever minted, especially the presidential dollar series and the Susan B Anthony dollar.

I think I'd rather have a crowned lion or the royal shield in my pocket when compared to the recent abominations coming out of the US mint.

....Sorry about the rant.

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I actually rate the Cromwell reverse quite highly. I like the subtle difference in shield shape and the design with its stippled decoration which was a characteristic of Thomas Simon's work. Though for a parliament that had abolished the monarchy less than a decade previously, the reintroduction of a crown above the shield seems a little strange and smacks of hypocrisy. A clear case of "The King is dead. [hopefully people have short memories] Long live the King".

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+ Edward florins - NOW you're talking!

+ If you'd said the Wyon/Merlen William IV halfcrowns (swoon).

Oh yeah I like the William IV coinage (except the shilling and sixpence), the halfcrowns were beauties. The groats were pretty cool too.

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