coinsandmedals

I agree, it truly would be a shame. I don’t even collect U.S. coins at the moment and I find myself window shopping commemoratives after I read your posts here. I think your books would fill an important void. Not to mention it would be a crying shame to not be able to share all of the hard-earned knowledge you’ve acquired. 

8 hours ago, Just Bob said:

I have this mental picture of these guys standing around the parking lot, wearing t-shirts and black leather jackets, slicked back 50's hairdo, (feather-do?) matchstick hanging from the Bald Eagles beak, whistling at the Sparrows as they walk by.

This is priceless. 😂

10 hours ago, Conder101 said:

Nice copy of Denton's, all I have is a reprint.

Thanks, Conder101! To be honest these mostly sit on a shelf. I would use a reprint for reference. I would hate to damage these thumbing through them.

Thanks for the kind words Tom. Sounds like quite the sight. Bob’s post made me laugh pretty hard. Now that is all I can picture when I think about all of those giant birds in one area. I was very pleased to add those two volumes to my collection. I think they slipped through the cracks at auction because I got them super cheap with only one other bidder in the mix. I wish I had the entire set. 

Haha well Tom, I apologize for putting a don’t in the budget, but I am very honored to know that I had some influence on both of your collections. The copper bug can be pretty severe. I used to trim my nose up at “copper people” when I was younger. I never understood why someone would pay good money for a cent. Now Copper is the only thing I collect. I have no doubt that you both will greatly enjoy the process. I obviously do not have any pointers/extras for the ancient coins but I may have some decent duplicated around if Candice is on the hunt for anything particular. 

I think I’m making progress with the Shakespeare books. She’s a Shakespeare scholar so it is right up her alley. She has a nice little collection of about 20 books that’s I’ve found at antique stores. The leather spines also look really good in the bookshelves in the living room so I suppose I have that going in my favor as well. It’s awesome that you were able to get Candice into coins. I can completely understand why a nice Victorian crown would do the trick. I mean who could resist a big well-designed piece of silver? Add some nice patina and luster and you’ve knocked it out of the park. I just haven’t found the Victorian crown equivalent for Madison. I have our entire lives to figure it out though!

Yeah, I agree she’s definitely a keeper. I am still amazed she can put up with me sometimes. Expensive might be an understatement. I suppose that was one of the good things about Marion’s reluctance to collect coins. The bookstore was amazing. It was 2 stories and full to the brim of antique books. Madison found a first edition of Pride and Prejudice for £1800 ($2284). That would be an awesome find! I had hoped I would stumble upon an original copy of Montagu’s The Copper, Tin and Bronze Coinage and Patterns for Coins of England: From the Reign of Elizabeth to That of Her Present Majesty. I found a copy in the states but they wanted north of $200 for it. I always try to add antique reference books to the collection. She has a small collection of antique Shakespeare books that I’ve purchased for her during the course of my travels but she doesn’t really collect anything. I’m determined that I’ll eventually get her to collect coins. 

No worries my friend. I honestly didn’t notice until you said something. 

Just for fun, here’s one of the older references I have in my collection. 

12 hours ago, Mohawk said:

Man, how rude of me!! I'm so sorry.....happy belated birthday, Don!

Haha, thanks, Tom! I originally put the bit about my birthday to brag on my wife a bit for being patient enough to go to 5 coin stores with me. I think she secretly enjoyed one of them. In fact, the second shop was above an antique bookstore. She found some cool stuff in there but it was all very expensive.

12 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Happy late birthday, and welcome back to the hot, muggy, South. Love the new coin!

Thanks, Bob! The hot muggy south for sure. It was cold and rainy in London. I joked with my wife that we went from the freezer back to the oven when we got back the south.

We had such a great time in Europe. Looking back on our trip I am amazed by how much we managed to do in just under two weeks. Working with Chris was a real treat. It was nice being able to talk the “language” with him and not wonder if we were on the same page. It was for sure a very different buying experience. I have no doubt you will end up being the Chris of Faustina the younger coins. I appreciate the kind words, my friend. It was one of about 3 coins I was considering but the eye appeal of this example made the choice easy. It looks much better in hand. Haha, it would have been a Shakespearian level tragedy to have not been able to add a nice English copper piece while in London. Well, when you do have your birthday trip please let me know and I will make a few suggestions! 

Well from everything I can tell, you certainly have a great eye for quality coins. All of the ancients you have posted have been exceptionally nice. I have no doubt that your collection will be nothing shy of amazing. I find the green patina bit very interesting. I can see the allure. I look forward to checking out your first copper addition. 

Thank you for the suggestion. That is a very interesting coin and the fact that the RCM actually took the time to get the details correct. I will have to check this thing out and see if I can use my amazon vouchers for it. I know eBay has restrictions on the use of gift vouchers and I suspect Amazon may be the same way. If I can use the vouchers for a coin this would be an excellent opportunity to start the Dino collection.

23 hours ago, Mohawk said:

Wow.....that's just awful Don.  Delta sounds like they've really taken the *spoon* prize here.  My mom loathes Delta.....she's said that's the worst one for her as well.  I've never traveled internationally by air, though I have been to Canada and Mexico on buses, but I know many people who have and they've all said that some of the American airlines are the worst they've traveled on.  A friend of mine from an old job about 10 years ago undertook her dream trip to Australia.  She flew on an American carrier (I actually think it was Delta), British Airways and Turkish Airways on the trip.  She loved British Airways and Turkish Airways but she said the American carrier was an absolute nightmare......they couldn't find her reservation in the computer system, they lost her luggage....you name it, they messed it up.

You have indeed inspired me to get into coppers for my two Augustae......and it is very difficult to find well preserved ancient copper.  Fortunately, the large output of coins for Faustina make it easier to find nice copper from her than other empresses.  Now, Lucilla......Lucilla is a different story.  In their coppers, you really see the difference that having 30 years to mint coins in makes as opposed to having about 4 years.  But for both of them, nice coppers are a lot tougher than finding nice silvers.  But that sestertius.....that's really got me sucked in!  I figure that I should be able to at least have a decent run of coppers for Faustina with a couple of nice Lucilla pieces.  I also hear you about a narrow focus.....most shops around here that I've been to have ancient stock mostly consisting of emperors, with maybe a couple of lower grade empresses here and there.  Because Faustina's coins are so common, they often have at least a couple of her coins but they're usually in atrocious condition!  So there are some similarities between our pursuits there.  But, yeah, my coppers will never be as nice as yours....but ancient coppers have their own charm.  I really like them when they have green coloration. 

I, too, am looking forward to seeing your new additions as well! 

I never had an issue with Delta until this trip. I will do my best to avoid them in the future. I love British Airways. They have always been more than accommodating when they make a mistake.

Wow, that is a great honor, Tom! It means a great deal to me that my collection was able to serve as some inspiration for you. I can not imagine how difficult that hunt must be. It can be hard enough to find nice examples of the coins I collect and your focus is centuries older. I bet it will be so cool to have the copper alongside the silver. I really hope I get the opportunity to see your collection in its entirety someday. Delta gave me a few Amazon gift vouchers as compensation for the trouble. Given our prior conversations, I am strongly considering adding my first dinosaur coin to the collection. Do you have any relatively inexpensive recommendations? 

As some of you know, my wife and I just got back from a trip to London, Paris, and Edinburgh. As a dedicated collector to early English and Irish copper coinage, I had set aside June 20th (also my birthday) as a day to explore the handful of coin shops in London. Before arriving I had “the coin” I wanted to purchase. I went to the store and asked to see it only to be told that it had sold on June 13th. I was very disappointed but it obviously wasn’t meant to be so I checked out the dealer's other coins. The quality of their stock was phenomenal; however, the coins were well outside the realm of my collection. I was upfront about my budget after I realized the caliber of their stock. The dealer was very patient and even took the time to pull out coins I obviously could not afford (£5,000+). We had an awesome conversation about the pieces and I came to find out the dealer was a fellow collector of British patterns. The dealer didn’t become rude or discouraged by my inability to purchase anything and instead seemed to just enjoy showing me stuff. I left the shop empty handed but amazed by the personal touch they added to the process.

Realizing the limits of my budget in relation to the caliber of the larger company stocks I decided to check out some smaller shops. Most of these dealers were not nearly as receptive and showed little interest in trying to help. I left those shops a little discouraged but I had one last option to check out. I knew Baldwin’s was located in London, but I had also heard that their prices were usually on the high side. I set aside that idea and decided to check it out anyway. I walked into their shop and started looking around. At first, I was very disappointed because their showcases were full of rather generic coins. At some point, a salesman walked up and asked if I needed help. I told him what I was looking for and he told me that I would need to go upstairs and talk to one the specialist. I was a bit hesitant but decided to do so. I am so glad I did.

Upstairs I had the honor to meet a gentleman named Chris Tyrimos who pulled several trays of coins for me to inspect. As it turns out he too is a copper guy. We had a very good conversation about the coins and some of the subtleties that are likely not appreciated by collectors of non-copper English coins. We talked about the difference between the US and U.K. markets and the impact of TPGs. In the process, I got to examine a few exceptional pieces and have a personally tailored buying experience. I found that the prices were a bit high on certain pieces but others could be had a decent price. Chris was willing to negotiate with me and I eventually ended up purchasing the 1807 Proof halfpenny pictured below. I was really trying to hold out for another pattern piece for my collection but he didn’t have anything that really caught my eye in that category. It’s a bit dark at first glance but tilting it slightly in the light shows brilliant reflective fields that exude a bright blue hue. The devices are distinct against the field but not quite to the point of a cameo. The coin is mostly clean with just a handful of very minuscule hairlines. Otherwise, this coin is essentially as struck. Although this isn’t the coin I had my mind set on, it is a nice addition to my collection and fills a gap that was previously empty. Plus, I really did not want to leave London without adding a piece of English copper to the collection.

Tom, I have flown more times than I care to admit for conferences (domestic and international) on more airlines than I can remember but this has been the absolute worst experience I have ever had. In my book, Delta has really earned the top prize for the biggest screw-up. Five delayed flights, lost luggage, damaged luggage....you name it they messed it up on this trip. We spent nearly 5X longer in delta lines on the flight to London alone than we did in security across 9 airports combined. 

I’ll be posting a bit on my coin shopping experience when I finally get a chance to examine and image my new addition. The quality of stock was amazing at the two major stores I stopped at. The ancient selection was very extensive from what I could gather but I don’t know enough about them to speak intelligently about what was available. Overall I found it very difficult to find anything to add to my collection because my focus is so narrow. Almost every dealer I talked to said I would have to focus most of my buying efforts on large auction houses. 

I really did think of you when I looked at that coin. I recognized it based off your posts but I had to read the label to confirm. Seeing one in person I can fully understand why you enjoy them so much. Wow sounds like you’ve been busy my friend. I look forward to seeing the new additions. I am so honored to know I may have influenced you to explore copper!! I can only imagine finding well-preserved copper examples is nearly impossible. I look forward to seeing what you add in that realm.

Thanks Farthing! You have been super helpful. I am a bit puzzled though. It appears the attribution is incorrect on the slip from Baldwin’s. The coin is in fact a proof halfpenny, but it is dated 1807. I suppose I will just have to wait until I get back home to explore any further. Somewhat surprised Baldwin’s misattributed this piece. Pictures to follow when I get back home sometime tomorrow. 

Hey Tom! I suppose layovers are just part of the misery of traveling. This has been by far the worst flight experience going to and from Europe. Delta managed to really mess up our trip. On any note, we are back in the Tennessee area, but we won’t return to Mississippi until tomorrow so I still have some time to wait until I get back to my reference books. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I checked out wildwinds but I had no luck with 1380. Nonetheless ,it is still a very impressive source of information. I am excited to research my new purchase and I will definitely post some pictures when I can. I need to catch up on posts. I can only imagine some of your new purchases have arrived by now. There is no shortage of ancient coins in London. I actually found a Faustina sitting in a tray and thought of you! Looking over some of the displays I could not help but realize my general lack of knowledge on the subject is astounding. Even though I didn’t entirely know what I was looking at I still enjoyed browsing. 

Does anyone have a copy of Peck handy that would not mind looking up 1380 for me? My reference is back in Mississippi and I am currently stuck at JFK in what seems like a never-ending layover. I added a new addition while abroad, and the wait to look it up is killing me! If it is not too much trouble a picture of the page would be so helpful. 

This coins just exudes character. Nice new addition Tom! 

5 minutes ago, B.L.21 said:

Is there a free app of software you’d recommend to take cleaner photos? 

Try VCSO if you have an iPhone.

22 minutes ago, Mason254 said:

Really! So uncirculated business strike! I was reading an article in coin week and pcgs pertaining 1900 P Morgan apparently the1885 0 and the 1900 P may not be so common in gem quality!So what is gem quality?I noticed while searching HA and Stack's just to name a couple out of many I've searched is a contradicting topic!

Hmmm, I think there may be some confusion here. Mohawk was saying that the coin is mint state in that it is not a proof. To be clear, do you know the difference between a business strike coin and a proof? No harm if you do not, but I am sure just about anyone here will be more than happy to help clarify the difference for you. Secondly, mint state is simply a term used for a coin that reflects an uncirculated state of preservation (i.e. MS-60 to MS-70). A “Gem Uncirculated” example is usually considered to be a coin grading MS-65 or better. With that said, I would personally grade your coin around an MS-63. If you do not already have one, I would consider picking up a Red Book. It has some very good information for someone just starting out. 

It appears that we have stalled out. I know this breaks the rules, but maybe if I change the country it will revive the thread. 

I will have to check it out! Welcome to the boards! 

10 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Well, I discovered that there is at least one other piece in existence, which also has the die crack, but not the clip. It is on the National Token Collectors Association website, but it is listed as a maverick - no town, no country. Sorry,I could not be more help.

Well you’ve already found more than I was able to. As always, thanks for your help Bob! 

To spearhead some the “I found this on eBay” posts, I just received this item in the mail today from a seller on eBay. I usually try to avoid buying oddities that do not fit in my collection, but this was pretty cheap and interesting. The first thing that caught my eye is the odd denomination. I have never heard or seen a “modern” 8 Ore coin or token. That is not to say they do not exist, I personally have just never seen them. The other thing that caught my attention was the fact that it is uniface which is somewhat odd. I also am a sucker for die cracks and the reverse has a decent looking die crack. I did an initial google search to see what I could find and had very little luck. I did stumble upon a wiki page about “Foreningen Norden” which makes me believe this may have been a token issued by them; however, I could not find any evidence to substantiate that idea(Link to Foreningen_Norden Wikipedia page ). Given my limited knowledge about the subject area, I wanted to see if anyone here has any other ideas that I could explore.

The coin/token is roughly 23.76 mm in diameter and less than 1 mm thick. The fields are reflective and it appears to have been struck in brass. Any and all help provided is greatly appreciated! I did not have time to use my typical setup so please excuse the crude photos. 

25 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Thanks for the kind words, my friend!  I can't wait to get her home.....she's coming from the Czech Republic, so it'll be a few weeks.

I am all too familiar with that agonizing wait game. It will be worth it in the end though! There's nothing quite like coming home to a much-anticipated package in the mailbox. 

5 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Well.....I did pick up my first Lucilla denarius.  I'm pretty psyched about it, though it is nowhere near the grades of your new pickups......but that's the ancients game  

I just went over to that thread to check it out. You have truly added some spectacular coins to your book. Congratulations on the new purchase, it’s a real beauty! 

On 5/2/2019 at 9:44 PM, Mohawk said:

I picked up another Faustina the Younger denarius today.  This will be my fifth one:

I've been having good luck with coins of my new numismatic muse lately  

Wow, it looks like you’ve added some really awesome examples to your collection Tom! I especially like the look of this one. I may need to stay away from this thread to avoid being enticed to start yet another collecting journey. All of you are bad influences on my coin budget.  

19 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Looking good, Don!! Those are some very nice new pickups!  I especially love the Victoria pieces.....as you know, I have a fondness for empresses   Thanks for sharing those!

~Tom

Thanks, Tom! I am aware of your fondness and I can relate. I have been meaning to go explore the Ancients thread to see your new purchases. I can only imagine you have added some spectacular examples.