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ColonialCoinsUK

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Journal Entries posted by ColonialCoinsUK

  1. ColonialCoinsUK

    The last coin I bought

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    Well it has been a while since I actually bought a coin and 2020 turned out to be the first year in a long time that I didn’t pick up multiple lots at the major European auctions over the autumn. I should say this was not from a lack of trying, it is just that I was outbid on the lots I was interested in – sometimes quite spectacularly – so I was delighted when I picked up a 1809 20 Lire from the Milan mint of Napoleonic Italy in AU58 (although the mintage is 52,640 there are only 27 coins graded at NGC for this date and my coin is tied with one other at this grade with only a single coin finer at MS62).

    Just to complicate things there are two known varieties for the 1809 issue which, like 1808, these differ in the stars on the reverse. For the 1808 varieties there are 3 or 6 stars on either side of the standard whereas the 1809 coins both have 3 stars in the design however it is the star below the crown which is now different and this has either 5-points or 6-points. In some examples the 6-point star looks very much like one 5-point star on top of another and these two interpretations exist in the reference books.

    Corpus Nummorum Italicorum (1913), Pagani (1965), Krause and NGC do not differentiate between these varieties. Gadoury (2019) and PCGS highlight 5-pointed (4@XF45 and 2@AU53) and 6-pointed stars (one each at XF45, AU53 and MS62) whereas Montenegro (2020) describes the second variety as a 5-pointed star over another. Gigante (2021) highlights a total of four varieties, which are a combination of the normal 5-pointed star and one with extra points on the reverse coupled with two obverse dies depending on the position of the M mintmark relative to the 0 in the date, with this latter difference being known for the later dates.

    I find coins endlessly fascinating however it is such details which means that the search is never over and it looks like I need to find at least 3 more varieties for 1809M!


  2. ColonialCoinsUK

    Making progress - sort of

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    For the first time in years I actually had some time over the break and managed to sort through some coins. As I have mentioned a few times my original collection was British sixpences and, in particular Victorian ones (1864 to 1879) bearing die numbers in addition to the date.
    In turns out I had nearly 100 such sixpences scattered through various boxes that I had not catalogued properly. Some of these appear to be duplicates, some upgrades, some are die numbers that I was missing, some are unrecorded varieties and a few are even suitable for grading!
    I just need to deal with these now - the pile of other British and world coins still needs sorting out though. I hope I am not the only one behind with things.
     

  3. ColonialCoinsUK

    That was a good idea while it lasted!

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    Given earlier Journal entries it will be no surprise that I, not only, have an interest in die varieties but have also been looking at the Napoleonic coinage of Italy which is complex to say the least!
    It looks like I was not the only one attempting to resolve this dilemma as another collector has also been working on the gold 20 Lire issues and their collection came up for sale at the recent Gaduory auction in Monaco which took place on 22/23 October (see catalogue pages below and next post). It includes the variations in the number of stars, the points on the stars, the overdates and the relative positions and styles of the M mintmark for Milan.
    I think this should now be the reference work for these coins - just the small matter of all the other denominations to sort out now which are even more diverse than 20 Lire with the Venice and Bologna mints also issuing coins and often reusing the dies from Milan! 


  4. ColonialCoinsUK

    Before Zimbabwe there was ....

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    The area in south central Africa now bordered by Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa went through several reincarnations and amalgamations of territories before becoming Zimbabwe in 1980 - apparently they have inflation problems. I have a number of coins, almost all ungraded, from an earlier period, 1923 to 1953, when the area was called Southern Rhodesia and it was under British control.
    My original target was to complete a full date run for all of the denominations but after 20 years or so this is still not finished and my excuse is that life just got in the way. One of the great things about collecting coins is that you can start, stop and start again at any time and a few years ago I decided on the smaller goal of trying to put together a graded typeset for Southern Rhodesia for both George V and George VI.
    So far my Registry sets for these are still looking a bit sparse although I recently acquired a graded 1939 shilling (PCGS MS62) to make a little progress. As this year has the lowest mintage at 420,000 it is the key date shilling for George VI and at MS62 it is also the highest grade recorded at both PCGS and NGC (when I last looked) so I am very happy with this addition. I should sort through my other coins as some are certainly worth grading, particularly some of the sixpences and threepences and this would start to make the sets a bit more respectable.
    That Great Zimbabwe bird seems to get around quite a bit so it must be able to fly as it can't be sat down all the time!.
     
  5. ColonialCoinsUK

    An extra path...

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    For many years I have not only been following coins, and medals but also banknotes - and with a username of 'ColonialCoinsUK' it will come as no surprise that the focus of this was the banknotes of the British colonies. Congratulations to Alan Collection Malaysia for their Overall Acheivement Award in the 2021 PMG Registry Awards.
    To date I have resisted the urge as I would like to collect everything but the British Empire and the Commonwealth covered many countries, and many years, and I just couldn't pick one area. I was also continually shocked by the prices of high grade examples so sets complimenting my coins of Australia, Canada, South/East/West Africa, Palestine, Hong Kong, Malaya, India and so on was an impossibility. Unforrtunately the prices obtained at the recent January auctions just emphasised this!
    My interest in Napoleonic coinage meant that I have also become familiar with the banknotes of some of the other colonial powers e.g. France, Spain and Italy. Although these were typically more affordable than the British issues they still represented a significant challenge given the coins I would prefer to occupy the final slots in some key sets. I expect this is because I tend to be drawn to the more classical designs from the early 20th century rather than more modern issues.
    @Revenant has made the jump to successfully collecting both coins and banknotes so it must be possible!
    No doubt a Journal entry. or two, may appear over at PMG at some point as I have found what I think is an interesting area and I have even managed to put together a few banknotes to get started.
     
  6. ColonialCoinsUK

    What's in a name?

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    As a collector of British sixpences it is no surprise that on the addition of Napoleonic and Spanish coinage I was drawn to the smaller denominations. Often these are less well documented than crowns and the gold coinage and as such there are often new varieties that remain to be discovered.
    In my collection I have a Mexican 1773 half real coin where the King's name is spelt CAROLS rather than the usual CAROLUS - in this case a well-known variety (Calico 2019: 196, Cayon 11118, it's even in Krause KM#69.2). You will have to forgive the terrible scan, I blame my example being very dark and low grade. Along side is a 1805 half real depicting his son Charles IV as IIII - just to prove that there was plenty of room for the extra 'U'.
    I wonder what the penalty was in those days for making that mistake!
    And people think quality control at some mints is bad today but in the 18th century no one was worrying about MS70.

  7. ColonialCoinsUK

    Dealing with the unexpected

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    I agree with everyone that prices, and certainly those in my areas of interest, seem to be going forever upwards - I think I was a bit in shock watching my selected lots go through at the MDC Monaco auction, the Paramount Collection and the latest Heritage and Stacks sales, needless to say I didn't get anything!! As a result I have bought very little lately, although I did pick up some more Napoleonic medals - in copper/bronze as the more elusive silver strikes are now achieving prices in the thousands!

    My lack of recent Journal entries is a result of my focus being elsewhere following a life-changing diagnosis rather than the lack of new acquisitions (I did try). Although I am functioning again and back at work for now it looks like I am going to get the time to finally sort out, and research, my collection properly, albeit earlier than expected.

    Always have a hobby you can do at your own pace whilst sitting down - numismatics seems a good choice! 
  8. ColonialCoinsUK

    Copper is good

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    Napoleon had a fascination with the Roman Empire and this is reflected in everything he did, most notably on the medals of the period. I have an example of the medal depicting the Vendome column in Paris, this was erected in 1810 as tribute to the Grand Armee and the Victory at Austerlitz in 1805. This was Napoleon's take on Trajan's column in Rome.

    Both columns show a spiral relief of important military events, the major events of the 1805 campaign for Napoleon and in this case of Trajan the Dacian campaign. The similarity does not end there as they also seem to have had the statue on the top changed a few times over the years – Napoleon, originally dressed in Roman garb, did not survive much past 1814 and the fall of his Empire being re-instated as the little corporal’ in 1833. The Vendome column was also demolished in 1871 during the short-lived Paris commune only to be re-erected a mere three years later following the French army regaining control of the area. This is the version that can still be seen in Paris today and is topped by yet another roman reincarnation of Napoleon.

    An extremely rare, possibly unique, gold version of the medal has just appeared at the upcoming MDC Monaco auction (20-21 October, lot 763) with a starting price of 30,000Euros. That means that I will not be able to ‘upgrade’ in this lifetime and have to settle for my example, copper is good.



  9. ColonialCoinsUK

    Napoleon is finished - almost!

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    It has been a while but my graded Napoleon typeset is now complete

    Congratulations must go to @Mac5 who reached 100% first.
    Next challenge will be a Custom Set and will be one coin per mint, only about a third of the way there so that may take some time as most of my Typeset are from Paris - mintmark A.
    A project for the next few generations will be the Sets for Italy, Spain, Westphalia, Holland and all the tokens and medals before even attempting date runs. As we don't have any grand children yet I need to have a word with the kids!
  10. ColonialCoinsUK

    A lot can happen in 200 years

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    As mentioned in earlier Journal entries on Napoleonic coinage the impact of this period was not restricted to Europe, but global. Of particular interest is the collpase of the Spanish Empire in the America's with one country after another gaining their independence from Spain.

    For Guatemala this happened in 1821 when it became part of the new Central American Republic so my tiny Ferdinand VII silver 1/4 Real was an example of the last Spanish coinage struck. This period only lasted a few years until the Central American Civil War broke out (1826-1829) as the constituent territories sought their own paths. Over the next few years various factions, seemly pro and anti the Aycinena family, most notably Carrera, attempted to seize control of the region with the Concordat of 1854 finally providing a formal link between the State and the Catholic church. The 1890s not only saw the US take a larger interest in Latin America, with increased business activity, but also the first civilian President for many decades - Cabrera, revolution again saw a change in the 1920s. In time another military dictator arose - Jorge Ubico (1931-1944) which again culminated in revolution and the installation of Arevalo as President. The military regained power in 1951 and introduced many policies, which caused much suffering for the population, leading to outbreak of the Guatemalan Civil War in 1960 - which went on until 1996!
    Election of Portillo brought a degree of peace to the country however reform of the whole system was required and, at times, this was far from easy. Dealing with embedded corruption lead to the most recent change with both Morales (2015) and Giammattei (2020) being elected to address this specific issue.

     
    Given all the dramatic changes over the last 200 years it is no surprise that coins have changed from the gold and silver of the Spanish Empire to the base metal issues of today. The late 19th century saw the introduction of banknotes (in pesos) which changed to the Quetzal in the 1920's. Unlike many neighbouring countries the currency has been surpringly consistent for most of this period so I couldn't resist adding to my collection the 'paper' commemorative note released in 2021, thus representing the lifetime of independent Guatemala.

    Now to fill in all the gaps
  11. ColonialCoinsUK

    Upside down

    By ColonialCoinsUK,


    Collecting World Coins
    Quite a while has passed since I added a coin to my collection - there are plenty to choose from out there but the prices being acheived at auction are now getting really silly, particularly for quality examples of almost anything.
    Despite this situation it will come as no surprise that the coin in question was Napoleonic  - a 1808 10 centimes from the Paris mint. Why would I do this when, it is the most common issue, and I already have a couple of high grade examples?? (details on my Registry set).
    This mintage is actually made up of two varieities - the normal one and the 'upside down' one. The latter is struck en medaille rather than the usual coin alignment and is by far the much rarer of the two - maybe a few% of the production at best. For years I have been looking at all the 1808A's that have appeared at auction in the hope of finding a good one, I had identified just a few but these had seen extensive circulation and would only grade as Fine at best, so not great and I let them go.
    Recently a quality example appeared and it was already graded. Such a variety is often missed, and it wasn't recognised on the label either - unfortunately the auction house realised what it was and so I decided to just pay up
    Would NGC now recognise this well established variety? There are also clear varieties for some of the other 10 centime issues and I also check for all of those.