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 Replies: 4,976 / Views: 372,991 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1156 Posts |
You've probably seen lots of these but this is the sterling silver proof, mintage of 30,000. Fencing is one of my other pastimes so I've been working on a collection of coins with this motif. Curiously, almost all of the coins in this collection (about two dozen) have come from countries other than the issuing one. This one came from a dealer in San Marino. ~jack   |
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Valued Member
South Africa
453 Posts |
Why not round? Looks like the coin was hammered 7 times lol
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1101 Posts |
jgenn.... I'm curious to know, approximately how many countries are represented of the 2 dozen coins in your collection with this motif? And what is the oldest? Do you cheat a little and include anything with a sword or dagger, or is it strictly fencing?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1156 Posts |
Thanks for the questions Harry213. My fencing coin collection represents 16 different countries. These are limited to depictions of the modern sport of fencing, so the oldest is from the 1976 Montreal Olympics. A few are posted here. And I'll post more to The 26 Days of Alphabetic Coins! thread, as appropriate. ~jack Edited by jgenn
08/21/2014 10:09 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1431 Posts |
Been looking for a nice 1911 Half-Crown for a while now and snagged this one off of ebay today. At £105, it was my most expensive coin purchase to date. Did I get a fair deal? (at the very least, it makes a nice silver counterpart to the '11 1d in my avatar!) (seller's pictures)  Edited by Kefiroth
09/07/2014 9:26 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Ah, I was following that one Kefiroth! Decent grade assuming the noses on the lions faces are as clear as they seem in the photos and the King's beard and hair is good. However, I'd say you paid .. a decent price for it. The reason I say that is that I was discussing this very coin with a friend. Now this isn't a series I collect so was taken by the fact that it seemed very much better than the usual ' ebay fare' for the type and date. The key details I understand being the noses on the lions, the top of the shield where it meets the crown and the top of the King's ear where the coins wear first. The other factor is that several dates suffered from poor strikes. If the reverse was good the hair detail is missing on the obverse. Vice versa and the top of the shield and higher points look soft. But my friend reminded me that these coins were struck in the millions. Consequently near-perfect examples still exist in reasonable numbers and with time and patience they can be found. I suspect both I (as I only really collect late hammered coins) and you (since fewer better grade examples come on to the US market at UK list price) were both thinking this was a rarer coin in this condition than it is. I can see this seems a bit mean to say this, but that's really not my intent. Just I learnt a lesson talking to my friend and thought perhaps you might appreciate the insight he gave me too. The bottom line is that, had I not got his views I perhaps would have pushed the bidding higher! To my eyes it's still a jolly nice coin, better than I've seen and one I would be happy to own. Tom. Edited by Tom Goodheart
09/08/2014 05:45 am
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
A new acquisition for me. Another Tower mint issued shilling of Charles I. The triangle in circle privy mark dates it to between 15 Jul 1641-28 May 1643.  I'm guessing the earlier part of this as the bust was slightly changed during the use of the mark, initially just the lace and collar but eventually the whole design becoming cruder as time passed. I've not seen many decent examples with this particular 'early' bust so, despite the weakness to the King's crown (the flan appears to be thinner at that point rather than worn) and slightly less-than-bold strike, I think it will do. What I find interesting is that a huge number of similar coins was found in 1987 in the Ryhall Hoard. The hoard was exceptional both in size and the fact that the shillings seem to have been taken almost directly from the mint. Virtually all are full weight with little wear. This coin is 6.1g. Flans all appear to have been prepared by the same person (or persons) as they were cut in a particular way and so are similarly shaped. And only three obverse (bust) dies and six reverse ones were used for all 1703 triangle in circle marked coins! I've yet to confirm that this particular coin does come from that hoard, but the dies used and its state of preservation strongly suggest the possibility.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
937 Posts |
Tom, as always you amaze.
I would like to ask, just to learn and not to be disrespectful. Your coins always look so white, have they been cleaned?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Most of my coins are toned as you'd expect after nearly 400 years Tryna!
But coins that are found in a hoard can be very bright when found and any that aren't are often cleaned by the museums services who catalogue them before they are returned to the finder or sold.
Cleaning in such cases seems to be done chemically and so there are no signs of abrasion. In this case the coin is starting to tone around the edges and I'm happy to let it as I actually prefer them to look as if they have been around for years. Given the choice I'd go for toned rather than 'as struck' but sometimes you don't have the option if you want a decent example.
I understand most of the Ryhall hoard coins were still bright when found. One of the reasons I suspect that this is one of them.
I wouldn't personally clean a coin apart perhaps for a tap rinse to loosen obvious surface dirt or perhaps some acetone if there was a sticky patch. (Yes, I've known people to Sellotape coins to a bit of card when posting them!)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
I dont usually comment on this thread and I consider myself a lurker, but when I see something like this I cant help but to say "thats awesome!" Kudos to you Mr. Goodheart, kudos, a wonderful piece.
Edited by Ancientnoob
09/27/2014 8:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
937 Posts |
Well I am new to the world of Collecting British coins, I have collected U.S. coins since 1971 and started on the British more due to economics. As I researched what at first seemed like a pretty boring homogenous series of look alike coins I quickly became enthralled in the varieties and differences. So anyway, I decided on a type set from William 3 to Elizabeth 2, because I knew anything older would be far too pricey and extensive to ever finish. So the quality and detail of Tom's knowledge and collection leaves me astounded. @ Mr. Tom Goodheart  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1431 Posts |
Quote:Ah, I was following that one Kefiroth! Decent grade assuming the noses on the lions faces are as clear as they seem in the photos and the King's beard and hair is good. However, I'd say you paid .. a decent price for it. The reason I say that is that I was discussing this very coin with a friend. Now this isn't a series I collect so was taken by the fact that it seemed very much better than the usual ' ebay fare' for the type and date. The key details I understand being the noses on the lions, the top of the shield where it meets the crown and the top of the King's ear where the coins wear first. The other factor is that several dates suffered from poor strikes. If the reverse was good the hair detail is missing on the obverse. Vice versa and the top of the shield and higher points look soft. But my friend reminded me that these coins were struck in the millions. Consequently near-perfect examples still exist in reasonable numbers and with time and patience they can be found. I suspect both I (as I only really collect late hammered coins) and you (since fewer better grade examples come on to the US market at UK list price) were both thinking this was a rarer coin in this condition than it is. I can see this seems a bit mean to say this, but that's really not my intent. Just I learnt a lesson talking to my friend and thought perhaps you might appreciate the insight he gave me too. The bottom line is that, had I not got his views I perhaps would have pushed the bidding higher! To my eyes it's still a jolly nice coin, better than I've seen and one I would be happy to own. Tom. I appreciate the insight very much, Tom. I do realize that while it may not be a premium specimen (at least relative to the sizable population in EF+ condition), it's the only collector-grade piece of that type and year I've seen on ebay in the year or so I've been looking that wasn't a way overpriced "Buy It Now" in a third party slab. Aside from various UK dealer websites (whose prices are often higher when compared to comparable pieces on ebay, and invariably entail at least a $20 shipping charge), ebay is seemingly my only recourse when it comes to UK coinage. When I saw that Half Crown, I knew it'd be a good while before one nearly as nice came within reach, so I had to seize the opportunity. I may have overpaid a little, but I think I got a better deal than what I could have got anywhere else available to me. I received it in the mail a couple weeks ago, and it looks every bit as good in hand as it does in the pictures, so I'm completely satisfied. Love those hammered shillings, by the way. I've been browsing the Charles I listings for a while looking for the right one but I haven't spotted it yet. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Quote:
When I saw that Half Crown, I knew it'd be a good while before one nearly as nice came within reach, so I had to seize the opportunity. I may have overpaid a little, but I think I got a better deal than what I could have got anywhere else available to me. I certainly think that if you see something you want that's better than average then it's worth going for it. I suspect we've all hesitated over opportunities and later regretted not buying something. I know I have! As for Charles I shillings, it seems to me from looking at recent auctions and ebay sales that many people are holding onto their nicer stuff. As you've no doubt noticed, the shillings aren't scarce ... but finding one that makes you think 'wow' is more of a challenge! There do seem to be some decent ones still out there though, so keep looking. The one I just posted I found on a Scottish dealer's site I'd not seen before and I'm having to go further afield (internet wise at least!) to find coins I want. So good luck. And of course, when you find one you like I'd love to see it! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17956 Posts |
A friend of mine's father ran a butcher's shop and used to put aside interesting coins that came along - this was over 40 years ago! One day he got a 1918 halfcrown in about the same condition as your 1911 one. It would have been in 1969 just a few months before halfcrowns were demonetised. Perhaps stolen from a collection, or found down the back of a sofa and spent for face value!
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
I was given this coin by Sel when he came for a visit last week   |
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Posted 08/20/2014 10:38 pm
