TomGoodheart

It was Chris actually, in his new listings. Quite a few of the shillings (the nice ones!) are ex-me. Gotta pay for these old scraps of silver somehow! Victorian and hammered? Why not!

Hmmm... maybe that's why Chris didn't take them with the rest of my stuff (see newsletter!) So do you think I could convert you to going for hammered in a few years?

Fraid not Edward. I got my info about the initials from the Coincraft catalogue! Can I be cheeky and ask what amount of capital we are talking about for the Charles shillling? (Or point me in the right direction!?) I don't know of any written descriptions for grading hammered. I think there's a degree of subjectivity that would make it difficult. Particularly those coins that are well struck in one bit and poorly in another. Tone is also really important of course. I subscribe to Spink's Numismatic Circular which I use as a reference work to compare grades (as well as a sale catalogue) and also occasionally buy aution catalogues. I have noticed Spink use the term 'for this issue' which basically means '.. it's not a VF but for this coin you won't find much nicer..' so it's kinda imprecise.

And the reverse

Thank you Will. Here's one I like better which I just got. BTW. If anyone wants a GeoIII Northumberland or Chas II 1663 shilling I have them on eBay (only a day to go and no bids yet!). (Oops - sorry Chris - I hope there isn't a rule about not advertising on this site?)

I have to say I LIKE the anonymity of an avatar, although SOME of us seem to have gotten a wee bit carried away... Having met Chris I can confirm that.... a) I suffered no petrific side effects nor burst into flames as a result of his gaze c) He is not TOTALLY unlike his avatar but d) he IS totally unlike Peter Morris and e) his car is nice. I hope that helps!

E: Tom, is that the other side of the Chas shilling I saw on here before? I don't think so.. I am getting so old I can't remember exactly what I've posted but I only recently got this one! This is one of the last ever coins issued for Charles I and is very difficult to obtain with a nice striking. I have called it 'weak but VF' if that means anything. You can see that where it is struck up it is very crisp so I guess it's good for this issue but it's a bit disappointing the face is so weak. North's English Hammered Coinage lists it as scarce, so it is likely to be a while before I can upgrade it. The light patch is actually silvery - maybe due to it's being a hoard coin it toned irregularly. W: I think he only comes on here certain days of the week, don't know why (??) I work from 2.30 pm to 2.30 pm, so an a 'bad' week when I don't have any days off (like this one) I am only at home every second night. Hence the eratic postings...

Everything has its price. The question is, how much money would you need to have in the bank to feel able to part with a sufficient some to pry those suckers loose. Do you mean the guys with the rare coins or my wife and child?

I think I've raised this before but... most gradings are only really useful for modern coins. That's because there are really fine examples out there that one can compare with. With the older coins it's much more subjective. I see no point in a fifty (or whatever) point scale with hammered coins. You get a coin 'as struck' that has perfect lettering but a weak bust and another with a strong bust but with weak lettering. Despite being as close as one gets to in 'mint' condition they could grade just good VF. How would you grade this for example?...

Hmm... I'm not sure a million would help me much. It's less the cost of the coins I collect that's the problem than the availability. There are a couple of guys I know who have pretty much the only known examples of some of the Charles I shillings and I'm not sure they would part with them! I'd probably just use the money to retire so I can spend (even more) time looking for examples I don't have. I think my wife may have different ideas however!

I don't use padding. The colour balance I just fiddle about with. The detail is determined by the dpi setting. Trouble is the higher the dpi, the more memory the file takes up. I find a setting of 300dpi adequate. I have gone up to 800 but you can't email 10 or 12 MB without people whinging! If you scan several coins on high resolution, I find you can cut out one you want with someting like Paint. This cuts down on size and it can then be posted etc. That Will IIII in Fave coins was scanned at 300 or 400dpi along with my other shillings and then edited like that. Oh - I find I can do more with the pics if I save as JPEGs. I'm sure some young'un can tell me why. (No, no, that wasn't a request, I'm happy not to know!)

i dont know...but a sovereign as a pound seems strange... I think you're thinking of a Guinea, which was 21 shillings. George III introduced the Sovereign to replace the Guinea in 1817. I like the table EO. Very colourful!

So you're not on the Times Rich List either...?

Thank you! It may soon be on the market too! (Gotta finance my hammered addiction somehow!)

Ah well, I gather they were rather different characters! Pistrucci wasn't the type to hide his light behind a whatever by the sounds of it.

Whereas this is a good VF (Spink told me to say that..)

Aha! I have learnt to attach (you'll all learn to regret that!) Dificult to see but WWP in centres of shamrocks and WW initials in border three notches up from the end of the serif of A in ANNO. Sadly not a perfect coin else it would be clear as er... something or other.

Sadly ther'e a dint on the rev.. Sold to me as good EF.

I was going to post my 1834 but it doesn't seem to like BMPs, lets try this...

Mint Mark has the right idea. We can all agree what makes a good EF George IV shilling because we know the degree of detail that they were minted with. (Some chap called Wyon put his initials into the border and those of William Pole, Master of the Mint into the shamrock leaves - that's pretty good for a coin the size of a shilling! (you'll need a decent lens to see it!)) And if you can't lay your hands on one at that grade, Spink's yearly catalogue normally features the best examples they can find. It is however virtually impossible to find a perfect example of every hammered coin to compare. I have to refer to old sale catalogues (useful because they tend to state grades) and books cataloguing major collections (If someone like Brooker who amassed 1,356 Charles I coins could only find a weak example of something and you find a better one there's a good chance you're on to a winner!) If I lived near a major museum then I could make friends with the curators but that isn't too practical out in the cultural void I inhabit! (OK - we do have a gallery and a few other nice things but no museum with coins..)

And on hammered coins, you just gotta go by the detail!

I used to be paranoid and only carefully handle coins by the edges. I never used tweezers, I'd worry I'd drop the coin! Now most of my stuff is 360 years old and I think it seems a shame not to handle a piece of history like that. I obviously would'nt stick my fingers all over the thing or pick it up while eating jam sandwiches. I'm getting one of those Nichols cabinets soon so I'll probably play with my coins more once they are out of the coinholders they currently reside in. Course, my Ed VII matt proof will stay protected!

I heard that Richard Lobel (the Coincraft guy) bought a whole set some time back. I have never heard that they came onto the market but I did ask him once how much he wanted for the shilling and he just quoted the Coincraft Catalogue price. You could always phone and ask him!

Mine would have to be 1) a Charles II merk. Sold to me by a dealer who said 'here, this is the same as a shilling' I paid £40 but two years later saw some in Spink's Numismatic Circular with unusual obverse/reverse die axes. A quick check and it's upped in my records to more like £250. 2) A Charles I shilling I didn't buy! I was outbid on eBay but was later contacted by the buyer. A few chats later I was offered several coins, one of which had passed through the hands of three well(ish) known 20th century collectors.

OK - this may or may not work. I have found sometimes that slightlywetting a coin (just use tapwater, though on a coin that worn it probably doesn't matter) allows you to read the details a bit better.