jaggy

I am very pleased to announce the birth of my first granddaughter and second grandchild, Victoria Luisa. I had nothing to do with the choice of name but I am sure we can all imagine what one of her christening presents will be. Mother and daughter are doing well.

Looks like I got two out of three of the coins I bid on, both close to the high estimate.

Well done Jerry! I didn't bid on any penny lots so very happy for you.

There is a 1853 groat - MS64 - coming up for auction at Heritage ...... https://coins.ha.com/itm/great-britain/world-coins/victoria-4-pence-1853-ms64-ngc-/p/3057-69004.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

Yes, a small scratch but nothing major in my opinion. It is certainly as nice as my own example. I shall be interested to see what it fetches as I got mine from Glendinnings in 1990.

I'm going to leave you a free run - free from me at least - on the DNW sixpences. There is nothing there that is a must buy for me and I need to husband my funds for one of the upcoming Heritage auctions. As the DNW sixpence offerings go, The 1821 looks nice but I bought one at the last DNW sale. The 1831 also looks nice. The 1675/4 is a nice coin. A bit nicer than my own but not 500 pounds nicer. The other Charles II sixpences are good but not great. The George II, 1750 also looks nice. I shall be watching what it goes for as I have a similar one. I also like the 1829 but the 1852, 1853 and 1856 look like they have some contact marks, the 1855 has a die clash and a scratch on the reverse and I don't like the look of the 1885. If there is one sixpence I would bid on then it is probably the Commonwealth 1649. Lovely coin.

I have bids in on three items. There is one I want more than the other two so if I get that then I will be happy.

There are a number of patterns around this period both by Droz and Pingo. I have the 1787 Pingo and the 1788 and 1790 Droz patterns. ESC gives a pretty comprehensive listing of the patterns. I think the main significance of the patterns is the use of the new steam presses to produce them. In terms of their appearance (size and weight) , they are very much a continuation of other 18th century sixpences and they have very little in common with the new generation of sixpences which appeared in 1816.

Looks like one to me.

Not so much "inability' to add to my sixpence collection but already having many of the examples I want means that my 'buy list' is somewhat shorter now. For that reason I have branched out into a couple of type sets. It is enjoyable to have a slightly changed focus. I think that when one likes coins, even if an interest area is quite focused, it isn't hard to find other areas to enjoy.

Here in the USA, I have bought a couple of coins from Atlas. Now, I know that they are generally on the pricier end - though not always - but postage is included in their price. What you see is what you pay. Personally, I find that policy to be very attractive.

I have also spotted a couple of coins but, sadly, relatively little there for me.

Personally, I don't see the added vale. But from a TPG perspective, why not? It is business, revenue and virtually no risk.

It isn't the TPG that is getting silly, it is the collector that submitted the coins for grading and slabbing in such a fashion.

I had a look on their site and can only see an auction for May 9th. Tried to download the catalogue and nothing happened.

Agreed. As I am in the USA I have the problem the other way around when I buy from DNW or LCA.

I was tracking a 1741 sixpence graded MS62 at a Heritage auction and Atlas also had a 1741 in MS62 for sale. Both were nice looking coins per the photos but the Atlas one had, in my opinion, nicer toning. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the Heritage one sold for $540 including buyers premium. Add postage and you have $555 approx. I bought the Atlas one for $495 including postage and saved at least $60 and possibly more as I hadn't entered the bidding. By way of comparison, a "better than EF" example sold at DNW last year for £340. Add the buyers premium and postage and the price is comparable. I do accept that Atlas can be expensive but so can auctions. But my point is the same one that I made above. You have to look at it on a coin by coin basis and make the comparison between other sources for a coin of similar quality. The other coins I have bought from them have all been competitively priced compared to what an auction might cost. And, I might add, their service has been outstanding.

I have bought three or four coins from Atlas. First, they are not always more expensive than coins at auction and especially when the buyers premium is taken into account. Second, the service is outstanding in my experience. The coins I have bought have always lived up to, or exceeded, expectations. It is like everything, you have to look at it on a coin by coin basis.

I didn't bid in this auction as there was nothing there for me. Like it or not, online bidding is the way of the world now and having a good system is a competitive advantage. Spink's system isn't as good as DNW or Heritage but at least they have one, unlike London Coins. While the catalogue photos are awful, using the My Spink feature does give access to better photos which is a plus. I can't really comment on prices but, looking at other auctions where I have participated - not always successfully - prices do appear to be strong. And if it is that coin that you just want an that somebody else just wants then that can easily push the price.

The problem is that the photos have different lighting which makes an accurate comparison difficult. Just from those, the Obverse on the second looks better but the Reverse on the first looks better. Also, the Obverse on the second coin seems to have more marks on it and a couple of minor edge dings. That could be the difference between a 62 and a 63.

Good point! I thought the 1884 sixpence I bought recently (MS62) was a nicer coin than the grade suggested. I got it for $45 plus juice and postage with other buyers, no doubt, put off by the grade. I was watching three lots in the Heritage sale, none of which were on my buy list. The first, a 1905 AU58 Florin, went for $550, a full $200 below the low estimate. The second, a 1918 KN MS61 penny, did not sell. The third, a 1928 Crown sold for $500, right at the low estimate. Unfortunately, there were no 'must haves' for me in this sale so I am keeping my powder - and money - dry for when the right coin shows up.

I tried to have a look at the St. James catalogue but it won't download for me. From memory (I don't have my reference books with me) there are no varieties listed for 1838 and I was certainly not aware of a plain edge currency piece. For my own purposes, I have trawled both ESC and Davies and listed the Victoria sixpence varieties (mainly for my buy list) and a plain edge 1838 isn't one of them. I'm not really a proof collector although I do have a plain edge 1839 proof so not sure if there is an 1838 proof which would fit the description. Who slabbed the coin and is there a certificate number we could look up?

Milled edge. There is an 1839 plain edge proof, however.

I bought 8 lots and only missed out on one lot that I really wanted because the price got silly.

It was slow getting on but seems to be working now.