jaggy

Nice! I like it when the toning is in the hair giving that little bit of contrast.

Looks like there are some interesting coins in the upcoming - Dec 4th - sale.

While I do own some coins that have been cleaned, none of my coins have been cleaned by me. Neither have I ever resorted to AT. Indeed, in my naivety, I didn't know that such a thing existed until the recent thread.

And another ......

I rather like this one

Here is another one that is quite nice:

This is an 1887 Half Crown I bought in May 1990 from Glendinnings. There is a little bit of gold in the toning but none of that rainbow you see in the subject of this thread.

I live in America. My coins tone normally.

Apparently we are "so unaccustomed to seeing toning"

The owner is clearly very defensive of his purchase. The American market is clearly very different to the UK one. From what I can tell - and this is supported by comments on another forum where there are a lot of American collectors - the investment aspect of collecting is hugely important in the USA rather than the intrinsic enjoyment of the coin. This explains why TPG slabbing is so important because it is seen as protecting the investment value of the coin.

Your perspective seems to have ruffled a couple of feathers on the forum you linked to

I started off life with an Excel spreadsheet which I still use as a quick reference, for my buy list and for my grading tables. However, I ended up buying iCollect which I saw on here. It was only $25 and it allows me to store a lot of information about each coin as well as a photo of each coin (obverse and reverse). It has been quite a long process getting all the data in. Fortunately, I am something of a hoarder so I still had my auction receipts from 1984 onwards. It was also a chance to photograph each coin. When I started collecting, it was the pre-digital photography era. So far I have input 273 coins into the system (546 photos). iCollect is far from perfect. In particular it needs a good print engine as well as more ability to customise fields. But for $25, it is very good value for money.

Yep, sixpences. They had an 1821 MS64 which went for $356 plus buyers premium. Nice coin but not uncommon and I already have three of them in EF. So I was interested if I could get it at a reasonable price. They also had an 1853 MS64 which went for $350. Also a nice coin but I already have an MS65. It went for $350 plus buyers premium. My upper limit was $325 plus premium. There were a pair of 1902 sixpences, one a proof. But the proof was so ugly in the photo that I was unwilling to put a value on it. So, it would appear were most other bidders. Again, I already have a nicer 1902 proof and two other 1902s, one of them UNC and the other EF. In the end the pair went for $150. Finally, a very nice lot of four Edward VII sixpences. Nothing I don't already have but nice coins even so and in good grades. That lot went for $500 plus premium. Not a bad price but just a bit more than I wanted to pay especially when you add $87.50 premium. I would rather keep the money for coins I don't already have or for qualitative improvements.

Not surprising. Heritage prices are usually high compared to prices in the UK. They had an auction yesterday in which I bid. But the prices went far higher than I was willing to pay so I got nothing.

Every time I see a coin like this on here it just reminds me of how many desirable sixpences I don't own.

Let me guess. Lot 591. Of course. And I even had reservations because the reverse was off centre, but that clearly didn't matter to the eventual buyer. I'm just hoping it was a bit of a feeding frenzy as the market has been so lean of late. If these prices reflect a new level I'm not sure where the mid- to better end collectors (which is how I think of myself) are going to find material to keep the collection going.. .. I might have to muscle into Scott and Generic's bargain bucket game! DON'T DO IT. RESIST Let's just say 591 went to a member of this forum. I thought everyone was a member of this forum Rob! But if it's a regularly posting member, does that mean we can hope to see better photos of it in the new acquisitions thread? You're talking about one lot. But does anyone know who the majority of these successful bidders are? I mean, this forum is one of Britain's leading coin forums and yet its members are being blown out of the water at major sales. This implies to me, that the buyers may not even be British : they're clearly not dealers, not at those prices, and we have some of the leading lights of the community here (Michael and Neil, to name but two). So WHO ARE THEY? First of all, a great many people, especially older people, are not especially computer literate. And, even if they are, they do not necessarily spend much time on online forums. I am retired now so have the time to indulge. However, when I was professionally active, I certainly didn't have time to spend on message boards. So the fact that they do not inhabit this forum does not really tell us much. Second, price is a relative notion. If you are a successful CEO, CFO, lawyer or Big 4 partner, spending a few grand more to get what you want is not necessarily a big deal and especially if you do not have the time to hunt around. Remember, these are guys who will pay $6k to fly business class rather than $400 to fly in the back of the plane. Personally, I have always had a very keen sense of what I am willing to pay for a coin. But I am also Scottish.

This sale seems to have gone over the top a bit. However, I have been able to buy coins at the previous DNW auction as well as at the last two London Coins auctions at reasonable prices. In fact, one of the lots I bought at this one I think is pretty reasonably priced. Eight coins, but three of them justify the price and two others are keepers. Not great or super rare. But okay. The other lot I really wanted was the 1893 Jubilee head sixpence. I think it went for £2,500. Out of my league right now (I was willing to go to £2,200) but not outrageous given the rarity. It will be interesting to see if these prices represent a trend. Personally, I suspect there is a slight increase in interest as the economy continue to recover. But I also think that this sale might be a bit of an anomaly. Time will tell.

I got three lots too. But the two lots I really really wanted went way above what I was willing to pay.

I thought it went for £470 hammer? That's about half Spink UNC book price (£1000). CCGB has the UNC at £400

The 1863 GVF sixpence just sold for the price of an UNC

...and they are all being hoovered up by one buyer (no 16). Wow