My latest newp (a monster Anglo-Saxon portrait penny) - image updated, finally!!!

EVillageProwler · January 14, 2015 4:19AM

I (and I think others) made mention of this during the NYINC reports. Anyway, during one of my trips around the bourse, I ventured by Baldwin's to see if they have anything for me. It turns out that they had this special monster coin in their about-to-be-listed inventory, so I nabbed it.

I got an email from Steve Hill today saying that he is sending it in the mail today, and that he also has 2 other British customers for this coin. So, here is a lesson that my US dealer friends drilled into me long ago: when you see a truly special coin, do not be afraid to execute.

The image below is a screen grab from a PDF.

JCMhouston · January 14, 2015 4:44AM

Not much of an image showing up. But that's ok, I saw it before and it's pretty special.

How about this.

Aethelstan (924-939), King of all England,

JCMhouston · January 14, 2015 5:06AM

An here's the obverse of the 1799 P-1278 Halfpenny I got from the same list, have to wait for it to arrive to get a decent image.

EVillageProwler · January 14, 2015 5:06AM

JCM - I will take my own image once I receive the coin (in about a week). Hopefully the image will be ok.

BTW, I got an email from my guy at CNG who said that he viewed the online image of the coin, and that is is "a lovely addition". He also told me that since I'm a good customer of theirs, that he doesn't mind giving me free professional opinion of any non-CNG coins in which I may have interest. I know many of you will say "don't be an idiot and don't give him a chance to slam another dealer's coins". But honestly, that is not the vibe I get from him. I've known plenty of US dealers who, once you are in good with them, will be willing to help you out. There are a lot of dealers who are decent folk first, dealers second. Most, in fact, if I were to venture a guess.

EVP

cwt · January 14, 2015 5:10AM

Congratulations! A very special coin and definitely the highlight of Anglo/Saxon section in the Baldwin price list.

EVillageProwler · January 14, 2015 5:16AM

JCM - here is your screen grab:

JCMhouston · January 14, 2015 6:21AM

I don't blame you EVP, I've always felt pretty comfortable with the guys at CNG. They have advised against coins they own at times saying it just didn't fit my set.

Zohar · January 14, 2015 6:37AM

CNG is indeed a trusted source and that is a nice gesture. True numismatists.

Very nice coin.

coinlieutenant · January 14, 2015 8:52AM

Pretty cool. Congrats on the first major purchase of 2015!

Nap · January 14, 2015 9:09AM

Lovely coin with an extremely unusual fully struck portrait.

I bet it looks much nicer in hand. Baldwins needs to work on their photography.

I apologize if you were expecting a book's worth of reading. I don't have much on this one. There are 2 British Museum specimens of the same mint/moneyer in SCBI 34, both appear to be of different dies (and inferior in quality). C.E. Blunt's exhaustive 1974 survey on Aethelstan coins noted 2 portrait specimens of this moneyer and one non-portrait. Spink auctioned a portrait coin of this moneyer in 2007. Yours appears to be markedly finer in quality. I wonder if Baldwin's has any provenance?

Now the question, does this kick old Alfred off his position as your centerpiece? Alfred was 'Great' but Aethelstan was 'Glorious'

EVillageProwler · January 14, 2015 9:47AM

Commander Marburger - thanks, but this is not my first major purchase of 2015.

This is my first major purchase of the year: Cromwell 1/2 Crown

This piece popped up on my radar unexpectedly, sort of. Truth is, at NYINC, I was sure to find something great. In fact, from the Nomos FPL, I had strong interest in two major lots: an E1 1/2 Crown in near EF and Chaz 1 1/2 Pound in full EF.

Nap - I strongly admire your erudition and look forward to your posts. I do not want you to contain yourself. Please. I have learned so much from you. Keep 'em coming!!! You, and so many others here, are what I aspire to become.

As for this coin versus my Aelfred piece, that's a very good question. I've an undergraduate degree in History, specializing in medieval English. Aelfred not only saved his people from being wiped out, but he also encourage government, education and the arts. He commissioned the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in the vernacular. He saved his people in pretty much every way a monarch can ever hope to do. He deserves to be the only GB monarch carrying "the Great" moniker.

BTW, I also have a not-too-shabby H2.

In every series, the Alpha and the Omega pieces are highly desirable. In many ways, I consider Aelfred their Alpha.

EVP

lordmarcovan · January 19, 2015 2:48PM

OK, yeah. That is a sensational portrait and coin.

Amazingly realistic portrayal for the period, too.

I'm quite envious over that Cromwell halfcrown.

EVillageProwler · January 24, 2015 6:16AM

I got my coin today. To say that I am pleased would be quite an understatement. As the image shows, the coin is very sharp, clean and well-shaped. It is also technically lightly toned, but the coin is actually closer to untoned than lightly toned. Not "bright" or "fresh looking" as some dealers like to say, but more like a light translucent hazy patina. There is only two ways that this coin can be improved upon: richer, more vibrant toning; and, I wish the coin hadn't cost me so much.

A further word about the price...

I have a pretty good idea as to the retail price of a coin like this. There is a range that I'd likely be willing to pay, and that range sense is acquired from looking at dealer FPL and auction records as well as bidding on (and, sadly, losing in) auctions. The word on Baldwin's is that they charge "full retail" for their coins. That's fine, but that's also the word on nearly every dealer that sells really nice stuff. Know any dealer selling premium stuff at generic prices?

Comparing what I think I know of how these have been priced versus how this specific coin is priced (modulo the exchange rate from GBP to USD), I thought to myself: "Ouch! But great coins always hurt, and this is only a little bit more than I was expecting (and should pay for itself in the long run)."

Why am I talking about pricing? I guess I have a few reasons for this area of conversation. One is that I just got this coin, am super excited and want any excuse to talk about it.

Another reason is that at the recently concluded NYINC show, I had opportunity to offer my buy-or-not analysis with a fellow board member on an important piece and wanted to share my thoughts on this coin as a follow up on that earlier conversation. Finally, another board member commented how he appreciates the coins that we post on here, but that his current coin budget level is far different than ours and how that affects his coin purchasing calculus. In thinking about that, I think it is also important to admit that any fool with money can easily be parted from it. In other words, it is easy to pay bad money even for good coins.

So, have I paid bad money for bad coins before? Certainly, but I won't offer specifics but will simply chalk it up to "learning curve."

Have I paid bad money for *good* coins? Probably, but nothing specific comes to mind now. Did I pay bad money for this coin? Hope not, but time will tell. (I honestly believe not because Steve Hill told me that he had two other early inquiries for this coin, so there are other fools out there to keep me from being alone.)

EVP

PS I tried to take my own pictures of this coin, and for some reason I lost my mojo.

EVillageProwler · January 24, 2015 6:23AM

<< <i>I'm quite envious over that Cromwell halfcrown. >>

Thanks. I got the coin a couple of days ago and didn't realize (I had forgotten) how flashy and clean the coin was. The slab has a six-digit invoice number, so it was slabbed a long time ago. To my eye, it looks far superior in terms of technical grade as well as eye appeal to a mere 63. I sent it and the Anne (also a 63) back in to NGC for re-grade as well as beauty shots. (The Anne is a setup coin because it is obviously inferior to the Cromwell but both have the same grade. And, a re-grade+photo is only a little bit more than just photo if you add in the ancillary fees.)

EVP

Zohar · January 24, 2015 6:25AM

I believe its better to pay strong money for a great coin than market price for a common coin/grade. Common coins will always remain common and nothing is wrong with that other than you should not pay a premium for an easily replaceable coin. In this case it seems that you are paying top dollar for a coin which is not easily attainable and will remain with you for the long term. Price matters less as you are not looking to resell and have the right coin for your collection.

Who taught me this logic... hmm

EVillageProwler · January 24, 2015 6:38AM

<< <i>Who taught me this logic... hmm

>>

Obviously a fool.

EVillageProwler · January 25, 2015 1:54AM

I finally took a decent picture from my iPhone using the semi-cloudy late morning winter sun... It was close, because I normally like to keep two pictures: 1500x750px for archival, and 1000x500px for posting here. The largest picture I can take of each side while getting nice focus was 800x800px, so I *just* made it.

Below, please find the 1000x500px image, showing the crisp detail of the strike including the weird LoTR Elfin crown that sits atop that extremely successful monarch. You can also see the Roman nose, the thin creepy lips and the signs of metal fatigue and die coarseness. You can even see more detail in the 1500x750px image (just remove the "%20(medium)" from my URL), but I suggest against it because even Charlize Theron can look unflattering if you look closely enough.

BS · January 31, 2015 10:37AM

Another amazing addition, I think I might hate you.

EVillageProwler · January 31, 2015 10:49AM

<< <i>Another amazing addition, I think I might hate you.

>>

Thanks, err, I think.

I found another awesome-looking S-1095, EF and sharply struck, in an recent major CNG auction. I forget what it went for, but I remember thinking that I feel vindicated price-wise. That and my wife being out of the country makes me feel like a happy puppy.

JCMhouston · January 31, 2015 11:21AM

That's a much better image EVP, and a great coin.

Zohar · January 31, 2015 11:50AM

EVillageProwler · January 31, 2015 12:05PM

<< <i>That's a much better image EVP, and a great coin. >>

Thanks. Tomorrow, I will be getting new bulbs (white day light) for my lamps and using a 3 year old Sony DSC-HX9V camera to try to some coin photography. It produces 16.2 mpx images, so that should be sufficient. I hope it will do ok enough for these tiny coins I have, either using 'macro' mode or any other mode.

I believe I failed previously with this camera because I had an issue with either the lighting or not using the right mode. I returned my Olloclip lens add-on for my iPhone 6 today because it was insufficient for my needs.

Wish me luck.

EVP

EVillageProwler · February 1, 2015 7:30AM

My Sony DSC-HX9V proved inadequate for the task. With the new daylight bulbs, my iPhone 6 camera was sufficient for nearly every coin type (small to large) that does not have rich toning. See previous page for my new image. I believe for larger-sized coins with rich color, I need simply to use different (more intense) light bulbs. I've done it before, so I see no reason to think why I can't do it again.

For example, this was difficult for me to image but I did eventually get enough of the coin to derive a fairly accurate image:

The one type of coin that I cannot image are the tiny sceattas that have rich color. The image below was taken by a friend with his DSLR camera:

I am thinking that for those coins that I am unable to image with my iPhone 6 and the set up that I have now, I will simply wait for my friend to come over and do it for me. I see him a few times each month anyway. He works near where I live.

Now, my task for next weekend is to try to image my smaller-sized Anglo-Saxon pieces. This effort is important to me because I can load the images onto my iPhone and look at my coins whenever I need a distraction.

EVP

asheland · February 2, 2015 3:54AM

Cool coins!

My latest newp (a monster Anglo-Saxon portrait penny) - image updated, finally!!!

Comments