Rob

Gulp... Ok I am framing this response for the next time the wife looks over my shoulder at my next acquisition Some people wouldn't pay more than 99p on ebay for a coin or live their lives searching the 50p bins whereas some pay a six figure sum or even more. Why assume this forum is any different? We are a broad cross section of collecting society and it's each to their own. As long as your priorities are to provide the basics for your family and dependants and that is covered, the surplus is disposable income/savings to be spent in any way you or your partner chooses or not. In the case of the above sum, £4500 will buy a nice coin, but there is an ever increasing list of things that it won't. As long as it is within your means, £45.00 or £4500 is irrelevant. Of course you can spend what you wish to, it's your money, it was just interesting to see how different people go about their hobby. Didn't mean to irritate you. Doesn't irritate me, just that some people like to keep their cards close to their chest and might feel the question a little intrusive.

Gulp... Ok I am framing this response for the next time the wife looks over my shoulder at my next acquisition Some people wouldn't pay more than 99p on ebay for a coin or live their lives searching the 50p bins whereas some pay a six figure sum or even more. Why assume this forum is any different? We are a broad cross section of collecting society and it's each to their own. As long as your priorities are to provide the basics for your family and dependants and that is covered, the surplus is disposable income/savings to be spent in any way you or your partner chooses or not. In the case of the above sum, £4500 will buy a nice coin, but there is an ever increasing list of things that it won't. As long as it is within your means, £45.00 or £4500 is irrelevant.

Brilliant. All those who don't believe in spending money on books take note. I presume the problem is the same in Portugal as it is here. No book covers everything, and even within a specialist book there are things missing. That's why you need so many reference books to cover all the gaps.

Wrong question. Most people buy expensive coins out of savings as well as disposable income, so the answer isn't related to earned income. How many people would say "I must spend £XXX more this month, I'm falling behind with my spending"? One, two.. perhaps, but then again, maybe not. Buying something out of the 50p bin is no different to buying a bar of chocolate. What percentage of your income do you spend on chocolate?

Depends on what you collect. If you collect copper as well as bronze, there isn't an alternative.

Sounds interesting Rob, is it for a new publication? I would have thought you are after high res images of the already known coins? as I would have thought these issues can't have many unknown pieces. There is the rough looking SA halfcrown with RR at the moment, but I guess you have seen that. Plus I know someone with a 'connon-ball' halfcrown which as far as I know is unpublished, might be worth trying to gain a picture of this one. Presumably with an unpublished die combination? The Besly SA coin illustrated has Allen die 41 which he didn't record. There must be a few other combinations out there which if they appeared for general consumption would simplify the chronology immensely. A picture would be useful - as I said before, any picture would potentially add something.

Never been in Spink AFAIK. It was in the Coincraft Catalogue and also CCGB but as you say, that doesn't go back far enough. Any copper and bronze weights are in Peck, except for the Irish that is. Woods coinage was struck at 2/6d worth to the pound. Ruding probably has all the info, but would need to be extracted.

Sounds interesting Rob, is it for a new publication? I would have thought you are after high res images of the already known coins? as I would have thought these issues can't have many unknown pieces. There is the rough looking SA halfcrown with RR at the moment, but I guess you have seen that. Plus I know someone with a 'connon-ball' halfcrown which as far as I know is unpublished, might be worth trying to gain a picture of this one. I'm trying to resolve the W, SA, Chester and Hereford problem plus all the minor issues which must impinge on the commission area. I need as many hi-res images as possible to try and sort out the punch movements and chronology. I think I have a solution for over 90% of it based on a radical rethink, but now need to prove my theory wrong. As always, the concept comes in a flash, the basic skeleton takes a day to write down and order, but getting all the corroborative data for, or contradictory evidence against will take ages (a couple years in all probability).ANY images are potentially useful, but the bigger the better. One I missed off the list above is the 1644 dated C H below the horse. The BM's is crap, but does show the date. The one illustrated in Besly's Coins and Medals of the Civil War has good centres but virtually no legend. I want to know the initial mark employed if anyone can help. Another thing that might be useful is to extend the Oxford dates through to the end in 1646. Thanks.

We had three or four inches yesterday and cleared the road this morning. The residue is melting rapidly. If it get cold tonight though, those who didn't clear their streets might have fun because there's a lot of slush out there.

type grains to grams or vice versa into google depending on which you want. A quick calculator comes up at the top. It's easier than remembering the numbers or having a table you can't find. You are unlikely to forget you are using a computer.

All grades or just the best ones? The market is still absorbing Bole's collection with relatively few collectors interested in the denomination.

Anyone on the forum want a copy of Peck 2nd edition before I list it on the website? No dust jacket, but internally clean. £110 + postage if you are interested.

Sensible policy, only buy what you know unless it is obviously cheap and worth more. If in doubt, leave it out.

I have no intention to sell and am on a roughly 30 year project assuming I last that long. I keep the family informed of where the collection is going and of new additions so that hopefully there will be a collective reasonable understanding of what's present if I'm not here to oversee it. It also raises the possibility of passing on the collection to someone who has an understanding and appreciation of it. history is littered with examples where the father or grandfather assembled most of the collection before being sold a generation or two later.

For what it is worth, every coin in my collection has a separate file with pictures of it and any associated tickets together with acquisition details, price, reference varieties, weight, rarity etc. Every coin has a ticket(s) too with details of the complete provenance so far established written on the back. I've already warned them about potential dropped b****cks between silver and nickel issues that look the same and other important differences so that they don't sell a £1K coin for a tenner.

As the usual coin was a penny, so cartwheel pennies (or possibly twopences) or later, not much chance of a rarity methinks.

I have to confess I know absolutely nothing about these. It's definitely 5/4, so where is the mintmark? If Krause is accurate, the only 1754 mint listed is WI (Wien), so any 5/4 is likely to be from here unless other mints had dies cut that weren't used. I suspect Krause may not tell the full story, so does anybody know the definitive volume for Austrian currency?

You can always break them out.

It will always be a case of personal preference. Even I have a handful of slabs in the bank which means of storage is another bone of contention. But that's because they are only type examples and they happened to come in CGS 90 slabs, so may as well leave them not being part of a research project or the main collection. Although I can't speak for everyone, I think for most objectors the dislike arises from the third party opinion tail wagging the collector dog, particularly in the US where many buy the plastic and not the coin.

Being too new to this site to have taken part in the previous heated discussions, and holding back a bit, I would like to say that as a collector I hate them with a passion, for many if not all the reasons eloquently articulated by others. The first one I bought that was slabbed was immediately broken out of it (carefully I might add, with the aid of a hammer and chisel). But I can see the point for sellers, investors and dealers, if their integrity survives ... From a collecting point of view, a slab is just to bulky. You get say 20 or 30 coins in a slab box. That's a lot of boxes for a typical collection. Scott would probably need three figures if his were in slabs! Maybe if you had only the finest known examples you would toy with the idea of slabs based on the preservation argument, but for many people in the US in particular, slabs are a way to play the registry set game. Why anyone would want to submit, and then frequently resubmit a coin in the hope its attributed grade would be increased at the second attempt in a vain attempt to be given the highest average score of third party opinions on a group of coins' grades, and pay someone handsomely for the privilege is beyond me. Selling in the States means almost invariably higher prices for a coin in plastic because many people buy the label and not the coin. It has made picking up decent examples very difficult in this country. A nice coin sells for £100 here, but makes £200 if in a 65 or higher slab in the US. The number on the label often sets the price. A year ago a 1901 penny made $600 simply because it was the only one graded at 65RD. My 1901 penny cost me £2.21 including postage about 8 years ago. Prices have gone up, but you can still get a nice red unc for less than £50 as the date is common. That is a mentality I have a problem with. Investors wouldn't have a problem with slabs because all they want is to make a profit. Dealers don't care if a coin is in a slab or not. If it comes in one, you sell it in the same condition and let the buyer crack it out if they want. One of the great benefits of slabbing is that the US TPGs in particular are crap at identifying the type, year, variety etc. Here the collector can use their knowledge to recognise a good bargain.

Do a search for slab threads on the forum. You will find that a few people like them, but the vast majority don't. Then we all get very heated preaching to the converted. It's not a monthly event, but the same arguments come round at least once or twice a year. Talking of which, we haven't discussed slabs for a few months..........

I think it is a Peck 563, though I would question whether it's a proof as per Peck if Colin Cooke had a corroded example and this one too would imply currency. I don't have a tin example, but do have the double striking from the dies on a Charles II halfpenny (see Peck p.155 footnote), image below. It is rare and even in that condition worth a punt if you collect farthings.

Gone.

It's an evasion halfpenny. Galata437. Obv; S.r BEVOIS SOUTHAMPTON Rev; *NORTH**WALES* I wonder if it was anything to do with the Bevois Castle pub in Southampton? It isn't the commonest of names.