Rob

Two years or so ago I received a notification that I had won a lot - three months after the event. As it transpired, I had filled the order in the interim, so complained at the delay which I reasonably assumed had been won by another bidder (at my maximum) and they didn't require me to pay for it. Credit where due for that as mistakes do happen, but the winning bid at my maximum meant that was the last time I bid with them. I have always given instructions to bid as cheaply as possible up to a maximum figure. Unfortunately it appears that cheaply as possible and maximum are synonymous.

Yuk yuk and yuk again, whatever the grade ANYONE dreams up, that coin has zero eye appeal for me! That's ok then, no problems for you as you're not being forced to buy it. Beauty is as always, in the eye of the beholder. Full marks to the person listing it. Cac rainbow is about right - 40 shades of brown.

Looks like an almost perfect fingerprint on the obverse.

And you choose the reign with the greatest diversity of silver coinage denominations (Civil War oddities aside) - then go for the only one that doesn't exist. Doh.

Yes, but the important question is whether it is a field in Northampton or Durham?

The Fitz has an excellent selection didn't you know.

No idea. I emailed bids and had a weekend in N Wales. Just come back as it's dark now.

A copy of London Coins sale 128 catalogue that they don't want. I have a customer for one. Also needed are S&B lists nos: 33, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 46, 49, 51, 52 & 71 Thanks.

Just what I was thinking. As far as I can remember I first went to Seaby's in 1963 as my father's runner, he bought much of his stock from them. They regularly trusted this spotty teenage oik with largeish parcels of coin to take back on the tube to West London, and then return days later with grubby pound notes in exchange. Collectors in their late 50's - 60's will remember when quality coins were relatively cheap in the context of everyday living costs, even gold sovs were fairly reasonable. It seems now that a well presented coin, say VF or better, fetches disproportionately more than 40 years ago; even coins with a large well attested mintage. Five years ago I decided not to play any more. I still have my Gun Money and Thaler collections, but for fun and profit I now choose to play with tokens and medals. Nothing on the web about Seaby beginnings, unfortunately. But I thought I remembered (maybe wrongly) that the original Seaby began as a Spink employee? And Spink themselves claim to go back to the 17th Century as coin dealers. H A Seaby worked for Spink in the decade prior to setting up his own business in 1926. He was helped in doing so by Ryan who was his main customer.

and C1 HC are also more affordable too... Agreed, I love mine, it isn't perfect by any means but clear enough and I find myself transported back when I hold it, since I have read that they would be a typical weekly wage for a soldier at the time During the Civil War, a halfcrown was the daily rate for a cavalryman who had to keep his horse as well as himself. A foot soldier was paid less, but variable depending on the weapons supplied. At the beginning of the war he might have been paid more than a shilling (Byron is noted as paying 1s3d in the early days), but as time progressed that rate came down to either 8d or 9d. It was always a case of supply and demand and business-like once the initial euphoria of raising troops to fight for the just cause had subsided. The troops were not however paid on a regular basis as shown by the troops returning from Ireland in the winter of 1643 who had not been paid for two years. Pay arrived when you found a suitable opposition supporter's house to plunder, or the local population acquiesced to the levy imposed - never a foregone conclusion.

Thank goodness I'm not the only one then! From Rob's comments above, it seemed that the 'average' 'middle ground' collector would casually spend £1k per coin. From what I've seen, there are members here who would and do, and good luck to them, but we're not all in the same boat. No, I'm being taken out of context here. The middle ground covers those who would spend more on a coin than as if they were just buying a packet of fags or a bottle of Coke. i.e. spending more than just pence on washers, but not in a position to spend as much as it takes to win the lot irrespective of cost. The bit above didn't say they would always spend £1K on a coin, just that they might do so in the normal course of events. You don't spend hundreds if you can get something for £50, similarly you don't spend thousands when hundreds will suffice. It's also allowed to spend pence on a coin. If you spend a hundred or two rather than thousands, it still puts you in the middle ground - after all, you are spending ten, twenty, thirty times or more than someone who will only spend a few pounds or less on 'principle'. Frequency of purchases also comes into the equation. 10 purchases of £100 by a 'poor' middle ground person is no different to a single £1K purchase by a 'rich' person of the same group, just they have different priorities.

I've only bought 26 coins this calendar year compared to 45 last year. Like you, I find the pieces I want are going way over what I am prepared to pay - in some instances probably double what I would have paid a year ago.

It is. On their last FPL they had sold about 90% within a month or so. That was with a list total of over £1m. Nice if you can get it.

PER COIN???? No, as a general limit. Five or six years ago there seemed to be a psychological limit of about £3K where a lot of bids on individual coins topped out. It was the limit where someone who normally spent say £1K on a coin, found a particularly desirable example and went for it. This has increased to around the £5K all in level in the past two years and broadly represents the upper limit of most middle ground purchases for individual pieces. Of course they spend less than this on many items, but in general, an occasional spend of up to a few K on either a single lot or multiple cheaper ones is something that many middle ground collectors are happy to contemplate. These people are typically reasonably well off, retired and in need of something to fill their day. They are the sensible ones who will take an interest in the hobby. At greater risk is the retiree who has a pot of money and goes to places like the LMO. They spend the same amount and get little or nothing for it.

I don't think this is going to work to their advantage long term. High end material is booming in all collecting fields, including coins. What happens when the music stops and all the city bonuses dry up. Or when you can get a decent reasonably risk free return on cash deposits following a long overdue return to normal interest rates. Your bottom fishers will still go around hoovering up the 4p scrap copper discs for 3p, whilst the middle market will probably trade up slightly because they are typically only spending a few thousand at the most. This is by far the largest group, which most people on this forum would consider themselves part of, but Spink aren't interested in these people. The stark truth is that there are very few coins worthy of sale by private treaty at any given point in time, so their client base by design will contract to a very limited number of wealthy individuals. It's a pity really because past collectors and their families tended to migrate to Spink as a disposal outlet meaning you could put out feelers for specifics and quickly find out when something came along that matched your needs. Presumably books are going to go the same way. Bet they don't dispose of their library though.

Things have obviously moved on a bit since I last bid & any changes resulting in increased openness will be warmly welcomed.

Were you at the sale, as this would have a material effect on your bidding? It is the absent bidder on the other side of the planet who doesn't have any idea what is going on in the saleroom who is most exposed. I know of several people who get a local to bid for them rather than risk an emailed bid list. A fair reflection of my perception of the situation is summed up by the fact that I have never yet won a lot for my maximum bid at Downies, yet conversely I have never paid less than my maximum for any submitted bid at Noble. A live sale via the web would reduce the number of emailed bids in advance, but would likely result in greater participation on the day than is currently the case. Was this one live on-line? I'm afraid I didn't even bother looking to find out because I assumed it was a case of as you were.

You just have to be aware of how the various houses operate. They aren't alone. A prominent collector was bemoaning to me that he had put in an OTT bid in an attempt to ensure that the lot was won in a US auction. In the actual sale, the lot was opened and the auctioneer said they had a large bid on the book. Nobody from the floor bid, and it was duly booked to this collector - at his maximum which was a couple thousand above what he would reasonably expect to pay. You can't complain that rules have been broken because your bid sheet records the level to which you are prepared to bid for each and every lot indicated. And not unreasonably, that is binding, but does provide a salutory lesson for the gung-ho bidder when he/she eventually gets stung.

The listed sale price is the same as my maximum bid price. I'm not sure how Noble works, but with many auction houses room bidders take priority. So it's possible someone won the coin from the floor. The 'my bids' section of the website suggests I've won and I've emailed for confirmation. We shall just have to see... I suggest you will always win it at your maximum, which is why I will only put in a pitifully low bid or not bother any more. Or to put it another way, an OTT bid to ensure you win it will do just that - at your OTT price. I've never met anyone who won something at less than their maximum, hence the above statement. That also explains the inexplicably high bids questioned by Garrett

Hi folks. Not a clue. I've narrowed down to the right planet, but no further. Indian probably, but as to which area or period I've no idea. Ta.

You can add an update to the article in that I found an example in a 1901 sale, which proves conclusively that they were not commissioned by Murdoch (see article p.189 and DNW 70 lot 194 footnote)

It's on the market, though how much interest there will be before Christmas I'm not sure. If it doesn't sell fairly quickly I'll just let it out instead.

Vol.81(2011) p181-203

I'm actually from over the border in the posh part of Essex. Just come to Haverhill to see if I could find the hub caps off me motor. Been here 15 years now and still haven't found them Here they are. It was a Citroen you were driving, wasn't it? http://associatesmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/300-Movie-Publicity-Still-300-222280_1500_783.jpg

You should also bear in mind that the opportunity does exist for strikes in unrecorded metals. cf my article in the BNJ on the Weyl patterns. Having bought a couple of 'aluminium' patterns in the Adams penny sale in 2003, I then almost cra**ed myself upon discovering that they were over 3 times the weight they should have been. Only after I had sat down and taken a deep breath did logic take a grip when I appreciated that it didn't matter what they were struck in as long as they were genuine - cue nine previously unrecorded varieties. i.e. you cannot rely on weight alone.