Let's see what you have to share!

1693 Henneberg Thaler, Dav 7481. This coin arrived yesterday and joins my flock of 3 other Henneberg Thalers.

The Tyrants of the Golden Horn Collection

Dan “The Tyrant” O’Dowd began his collection with U.S. coins before expanding to ancient and world coins, securing coins from history's greatest empires.

Over 250 coins from his esteemed Tyrants of the Golden Horn Collection are now authenticated and graded by PCGS, including the legendary Mezezius solidus. The Tyrants of the Golden Horn collection will be on display at the 2026 American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money.

This historic collection marks a major turning point for PCGS and ancients. At the ANA World's Fair of Money, we will share more about our impending launch of new ancient coin grading services.

Watch the full video on the collection, where the Tyrant introduces us to key coins from the Roman and Byzantine empires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E39qC_ZFacc&t=1s

One of my coins has spend more time in Newport Beach over the past 1.5 years than home.

Have you ever seen a company that leaves so much money on the table?

Here’s my most recent addition. Not even a coin but it’s my latest pickup…..and let’s get things started here . Not gonna lie, I lobbed a low bid on this one on HA just to bookmark the result more easily. Did not expect to win it, but happy to add it to my stash of esoteric toners.

1935 King George VI coronation medal (silver)

What do you think the date is? What rationale did you use to arrive at your conclusion?

It’s fun! Eventually I’ll probably submit it to see if I can convince PCGS of my belief.

*Hint——acsearch is your friend

(Seller’s pics)
What say you?

Does anyone know anything about this piece? It appears to be a trial piece of some kind. I believe it is white metal or lead and measures 31x 37mm. It is not magnetic. The obverse features a bust of what appears to be a Greek or Roman ruler bust with a laurel wreath on his head! This bust is framed by an oval wreath the reverse is blank.

Below you will find the obverse and reverse of the piece.

To start, here is some circulated coinage I picked up at bullion a few years ago...

This thread is about education. Feel free to post pics, that's very welcome, but if you know anything about the coin, that's even better. I'm trying to expand my own knowledge and hopefully the knowledge of anyone who reads this also!

I fully realize this may turn into a thread that I alone post on, and that's ok, lol!

The first style Bolivar head is produced from 1827-1840. All dates are available with a some patience, though some assayer's marks are much more uncommon than others. In higher quality some are exceedingly hard to come by, if you're just trying to do a date set and if grade isn't an issue, most can be had without too much trouble.

Here is my first post, it is an 1838 8 Sol, LM assayer. Graded AU55 by our host. This one is a bit of a looker, some blue toning and a well above average strike. Any time you can see the sideburns and design on the lapel, it means you have a decent strike. This isn't the most powerful strike out there, you can see a few weaknesses, especially on the reverse llama on the left, but it's pretty good. Frequently you'll find strikes that make the coin look like a VF when it's actually a full MS coin, the strikes can be that bad, and it isn't an uncommon occurrence. If you want a type coin, hold out for a really nice one, they come to market with some regularity. If you're putting together a set, sometimes you just gotta take what you can get.

This thread is about education. Feel free to post pics, that's very welcome, but if you know anything about the coin, that's even better. I'm trying to expand my own knowledge and hopefully the knowledge of anyone who reads this also!

I fully realize this may turn into a thread that I alone post on, and that's ok, lol!

So here's my first pic. This is a coin from the La Paz mint. 1855 1/2 sol, it's a little guy, Graded AU50 by our host. This is frequently referred to as the "Ugly Head" because, well, it's ugly. This is deemed "rare" in Krause, but I don't think it's quite rare enough to deserve that appellation. It is certainly quite uncommon, this isn't the highest graded one out there, but it is quite a nice example. They don't come up all that often. There is a another version of this date from the La Paz mint, which is a little more common, sometimes referred to as the "Paz Head" (as seen below)

Hi guys! Haven't posted in a while. Just started collecting again in retirement. Anyone else like Straits Settlements?

The tokens were made of brass and other cheap metals, so have little value. But there seems to be a lot of history in them. Anyone collect them?

As per the last single-owner collection sale I attended (Bruun in March 2026), the majority of the lots (80-90% in this case) were purchased by one floor bidder using at least 4 bidder numbers. While I was not physically present at today's sale, I presume this bidder was the same person as the Bruun bidder who purchased 90% of that sale.

The last big collection of Mexican Republic minors was in March 2011, so over 15 years have elapsed since that sale. (There was a smaller sale of Mexican Republic minors since 2011 when Rick Ponterio sold his personal collection, but nothing on this scale.)

The differences in prices over the last 15 years is amazing. There are now a few whales back in the field and prices are up, particularly for the rare stuff, but still not as high as the heyday in the 1980s-90s when many folks were forming DAM collections. Despite the high prices, I still don't feel Mexican minors are a profitable endeavor. Challenging, yes. Profitable, no. Menczer must have been working on the collection for 30-40 years. It surely kept him busy, and his heirs will be getting a large check, but I'm sure he would done better financially elsewhere.

As I’m predominantly a pattern collector, there wasn't much for me. I did pick up this lot which neither NGC nor Stacks Bowers identified as a pattern. I believe this to be an uncatalogued Paris Mint pattern (KM-Pn42 var silver), indicated by the assayer's initials and the medal rotation. While the coin is not UNC, it matches my UNC white metal example perfectly. My hypothesis is that the silver patterns were just thrown into circulation as what else would they do with them. Why melt them? (Maybe a mint official took it as a free sample to be spent?) None of the other Paris patterns were struck in silver. Only white metal (for the silver denominations) and brass (for the gold denominations). Had this had a coin rotation, I might think it was struck in Durango.

NGC called it AU55, but from the photos it appears to be a details coin to me. Once I receive it I will send it to our hosts for a proper attribution and grade.

Anybody win anything?

2026 thus far has been a very productive year. If the year ended today, it would be a great year.

Key coins added:
1819 Chile Portales Pattern

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1122499/the-1819-chilean-portales-pattern-peso

1881 Haiti Proof Gourde

1800-So CROLUS 8R

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1122214/1800-crolus-chilean-error

1811-P Colombia 8 Reales

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1123700/the-spanish-colonial-popayan-census-a-review-of-the-extant-population#latest

Chilean Patterns
I added group of Chilean patterns and trial pieces from the Henry Christensen estate via Heritage. These are rare and likely won;t show up again for decades.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1122718/the-christensen-estate

Projects undertaken or underway:
- The Portales Pattern census which was picked up by PCGS and became a blog
- The Popayan Portrait 8R census linked above
- Working on a refresh of the Krause catalog for Chilean patterns with images and unlisted coins
- Working on an article of the 1867 - 1868 Chilean patterns, their connection to Longacre, and new information on provenances, the gilt coins, local Chilean manufacturing and more.

Here's to a great back-half for all! Share your first half progress.

I sought to answer four questions:
1. How rare is the type in an absolute sense and how rare is each date?
2. What is the distribution of quality across the issue?
3. Which examples are noteworthy or of exceptional quality?
4. Are the undiscovered facts to bring to light from viewing the data as a large set?

Questions 1 & 2: How rare is the type and how rare is each date? What is the distribution of quality across the issue?

I identified 119 individual coins across the 7 dates.

For comparison, my Santiago Pillar census identified about 60 coins, depending on accuracy of attribution from images and accounting for noted examples without pictures.

Overall, I was surprised by the number of coins extant for the series, as I had expected something closer to that 60-coin figure.

The following table shows the observed examples, broken out into those which are clearly "details" coins versus what I perceived as reasonably problem-free, followed by a table of the combined NGC and PCGS graded population.

From this table on the left, a few observations stand out:
1. ~64% of the observed coins were clearly problem coins, with issues ranging from counterstamps, holes, and major planchet issues to graffiti and cleaning.
2. The 1814/3 is by far the most available date, with 45 observed examples, representing 38% of the population.
3. The 1816 has a surprisingly high population but also the poorest surviving examples, with 78% problem coins.
4. The 1811, 1812, and 1816 all have roughly the same number of surviving coins that are reasonably problem-free. The 1813 is the most difficult date to find without issues due to the overall lower population.
5. There are three 1820 8 reales likely extant. Various sources quote two, perhaps three. All are impaired with the Norweb coins being by far the most acceptable (currently the NGC details coin).

Looking at the NGC and PCGS populations, the distributions largely hold to my observations, with one notable exception: the 1813 has a lower number of graded or details coins than my own observations would suggest. As one would expect, the grade distributions skew toward the lower end of the spectrum, and I'd note that the graded examples are generally very poor for their assigned grade.

Question 3: Which examples are noteworthy or of exceptional quality?

The Lissner 1814/3 NGC62 is by far the finest coin for the type extant and the only MS coin. It sold in 2014 and was sourced from a 1998 Superior sale

There are five AU coins graded. The first being an 1814/3 from Stacks 2018 Eldorado sale. It is graded AU58 and was sourced from Clyde Hubbard.

The third coin, also graded AU58, is an 1814 also from Eldorado which originated from the Carlos Elizondo Jr. collection. It appears less original than the previous example but still found its way into a straight graded holder.

The fourth coin is one that has appear on the market several times in the last decade. It is graded AU53 and I tend to like it more than the previous AU58's. It surfaced in the 2002 Numismatica Ars Classica sale 22 which was a part of the collection of Don Canaparo. The coin was later in the Millennia collection (2008) which probably suggests that it didn't;t sell in 2002, Canaparo held it and sold it to the Goldbergs as he did with many other of the Millennia coins. It showed up in a string of 2018 & 2019 auctions before disappearing from the market.

The fifth coin is a 1813/2 which has been attributed as an 1813. The 1813/2 is now beginning to be attributed but historically has not been noted. The under type is less clear on most examples than the clear 1814/3 and the with lower surviving population of the 1813 overall, it has gone unnoticed. The reality is that every modern image I can find of an 1813 is of the 1813/2 type. It's likely all are 1813/2 and the low grade of the coin makes it difficult to see. This coin is graded AU50 and also from Eldorado. It is the Restrepo plate coin and first appeared in the 12/1990 Superior sale, later in a 2014 Sedwick sale.

The final AU coin for the issue not surprisingly also came from the 1812 Eldorado sale. Graded AU50, it has a good planchet and reasonably attractive appearance making it exceptional for the type.

Other examples that I find especially appealing:
1811 in VF-35, the MrEureka coin. Sold originally in an Aureo sale, then Heritage. Very pleasing VF with great eye appeal.

The 1812 in EF-45 in the upcoming Heritage sale of the Grundy collection appears to have a nice planchet and decent surfaces.

This 1813 in VF-35 which appeared in a few sales starting with Cayon in 2012 is reasonably wholesome for the type.

This 1814 graded EF-45 and has appeared in two 2011 sales before disappearing for a decade and recently reappearing in a 2022 Heritage sale.

The 1814/3 which sold in Tauler y Fau in 2023 and a few prior Cayon sales I found to be especially attractive.

Lastly, this 1816 in EF-45 is likely the finest for the date appearing in a 2011 Heritage sale.

Question 4: Are the undiscovered facts to bring to light from viewing the data as a large set?
1. As noted, the 1813/2 is now being recognized as a distinct issue. Every modern image I have shows the under type 2. The historical images are impossible to see the under type.
2. If all 1813's are actually 1813/2's. That makes all 1814/3's actually 1814/3/2's.
3. A 1816/4 exists (maybe even an 1816/4/3/2?. NGC has graded 2 examples. I have found two examples in the observations out of the 23 observed.

4. Three 1820's are documented but with notable variations which cause one to be in question. The Norweb coin is assayer M.F. with an overall style which follows the previous dates in the series. The other two coins are assayer F.M. with odd spacing between the date and "GRATIA" in the right obverse legend. These are legitimate issues as evidenced by a documented Brazil 960R with the identical undertype. The Norweb coin is suspect.

**Upon reflection, it is difficult to appreciate just how poorly this issue comes **from simply viewing the six coins shown above and not viewing the 119 coins observed as a whole. The vast majority of coins are significantly impaired and even the graded coins leave much to be desired. To try and demonstrate this, here is a view of the extant population of the 1811. ##

One thing I really enjoy in collecting coinage is the history involved. Roman history is incredibly rich, as is English history.

My main area of focus is Spanish Colonial pillar coinage, especially Guatemala and Peru, but also Bolivia and a type set of Mexico. That isn’t bound to change anytime soon.

I also collect Bolivian republic coinage.

Over the last year or so adding a new piece is rare, and it seems likely to get even more difficult, because upgrades are almost nonexistent for many of the dates. Point is, I started dabbling elsewhere…. Scary I know.

I started two sets that aim to fulfill my collecting nature. One, Roman coinage (one per ruler) from Julius Caesar though Constantine. The other is British coinage, one per monarch. Recent coins will be shillings, stretching back to Henry VIII when it will shift to any silver coin (usually silver pennies.)

Planning on trying (trying) to keep this a budget set. Decent coins in mid-grade that don’t get too expensive. A few will challenge that notion for sure.

Here are some of the coins and history I’ve been collecting of late:

The group I have at the moment

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/27/style/buried-coin-collection-auction-scli-intl/index.html

At the top of the obverse of one coin is a rim cud, with the reverse showing a lot of flow lines and cracks. The other coin shows what appears to be catastrophic die failure or a shattered die state, with rim-to-rim cracks, heavy flow lines, and cracking all over the reverse, and a few hairline cracks on the obverse.

I'm thinking this may be a good candidate for certification, perhaps even as a die progression set or a shattered die discovery pair, with request for a pedigree.

Knowing the RCM is a little fussy about their dies and QC on their gold and silver commemorative series, and with a mintage of 20,000, I think it might be a significant rarity.

I'd appreciate it if you guys could take a look and let me know what you think. I'd like opinions on where to submit it, an approximate possible value, and where you would go with a pair like this to find the right collector, if you wanted to sell it. Thanks!

First is Coin 1:

1697 6d- Not rare but it has color that I thought was pleasing enough to submit

1811 3 Shillings Bank Token- Not rare but it has vibrant color that others might find a tad suspicious. I thought about posting this coin on the US forum mainly because some might find an AT v NT discussion entertaining- not to mention the trueview image.

1746 LIMA 2/6- At first blush, it seems to be nothing special... However, take a closer look at V in GEORGIVS. It is the V over U variety... a variety that is interesting. How interesting? I am not sure. There already is a 1746/5 LIMA which seems to be more common

At the August 2025 ANA sale, the Eternal Collection was sold and within it contained the finest documented 1819 Chilean Pattern Peso, often called the Portales Peso, named after mint super intendent Jose Santiago Portales. I underbid this coin, being caught off guard by the price it achieved and immediately regretted the decision not to chase further. For the set which I am building it is an essential coin and with five known, a very rare opportunity.

A collector friend happened to know the person who bought the coin from the sale. I made an offer and was able to purchase the coin, taking delivery at the CSNS show. Thank you to both @Scubafuel and the collector for helping me to add this coin.

In 1817, the newly independent Chile adopted the iconic Volcano design for its new coinage. Immediately after issuance, the design was aesthetically criticized and often counterfeited. The mint super intendent J.S. Portales struck a proposed replacement with the Volcano and Globe icons featured on the circulating coinage, with a significant more elaborate design and elaborate lattice border. The design was never adopted, perhaps due to the impracticality of the elaborate design and complexity of engraving given the simple technical resources available to the mint at the time. The simpler (and still beautiful) Volcano peso design in circulation remained unchanged until 1834.

The Portales Family
The Portales family had deep roots in the numismatic operations of Chile. J.S Portales was the second in his family to hold the title of Mint Superintendent. His father, Diego Portales also served as Superintendent until 1799 when J.S. Portales took over the role, holding it until at least 1826 when he was sworn into the National Congress as Superintendent. The son of J.S Portales, also named Diego, was an assayer at the mint from 1817 to 1821, adding the “D” to the “FD” during the period.

Census
Today, there are five examples of the Portales pattern documented. The Leonardos coin (1929 J. Schulman auction) shown below is either an image of another documented example, or a sixth coin. Carlos Jara suggests that the coin is the same as the Santiago coin sold by Christensen in 1986. Given the near 60 year gap in images, it is very possible.

https://coinsnantiques.com/collection/umayyad-al-walid-i-ar-dirham-surraq-mint-ah-93/

Shah Jahan even put the statement on some of his coins.

Mughal Mohur, Shah Jahan, AH 1045 (AD 1636) Year 9
Gold, 22 mm, 10.87 gm, KM 260.3
Struck at the Allahabad Mint

Obverse: Square with two lines inside it and four lines around it
Square upper: Badshah Ghazi (Emperor and Fighter for Islam)
Square lower: Shah Jahan (King of the World)
Square top: Shahab-ud-Din (Star of the Faith)
Square right: Muhammad Sahib (Lord Muhammad)
Square bottom: Qiran-e-Sani (Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction)
Square left: Zarb Allahabad (Struck at Allahabad)

Reverse: Square with two lines inside it and four lines around it
Square upper: There is no god but Allah
Square lower: Muhammad is his messenger
(The four Caliphs below are the first four Caliphs of Islam)
Square top: Caliph Abu Bakr
Square right: Caliph Umar
Square bottom: Caliph Uthman
Square left: Caliph Ali

The year "1045" is on the reverse bottom. AH 1045 is around AD 1636.
The regnal year "9" is on the obverse bottom.
It equates to AH 1037+9-1 or AD 1045.

A conjunction is an astronomical term meaning that two planets are close to each other in the sky.

The question of "how close is a conjunction" has had many answers over time but is usually within a few compass degrees.

One compass degree is about the width of two full moons.

Planetary conjunctions are important in Astrology as planets close together can combine their energy.

The "Auspicious Conjunction" was a name given by ancient astrologers to a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Venus occurring when someone was born. It meant that the person was destined for greatness.

Shah Jahan was born on January 5, AD 1592 and a Jupiter-Venus conjunction occurred around September 24, 1591. Was this close enough for government work?

Shah Jahan called himself the "Second Lord" as his ancestor Timur also called himself the "Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction" and was thus the "First Lord".

Another coin of Shah Jahan with his title, this one a silver rupee:

Mughal Rupee, Shah Jahan, AH 1038 (AD 1629), First year
Silver, 22 mm, 10.47 gm, KM 222.1
Struck at the Agra Mint, later the site of Shah Jahan's famous Taj Mahal.

Obverse: Four horizontal lines of text
Line 1: Badshah Ghazi (Emperor and fighter for Islam)
Line 2: Ahad Muhammad Shah Jahan (First year of reign, King of the World)
Line 3: Shahab ud-Din (Star of the Faith)
Line 4: Sahib Qiran Sani (Second Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction)

Reverse: Three horizontal lines of text
Line 1: There is no god but Allah
Line 2: Muhammad is his messenger
Line 3: Zarb Dar-i-Khilafa Agra (Struck at seat of capital Agra)

The year "1038" is on the reverse left side. AH 1038 is around AD 1629.
The coin has no regnal year but the word "Ahad" which means "first year".

By the way, a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus will occur this weekend early in the mornings of April 30, 2022 and May 1, 2022. The planets will be one-half a degree apart, about the size of a full moon.

Something to look forward to.

https://coinsnantiques.com/collection/greek-coin-macedon-neapolis-ae-drachm-circa-375-350-bc/

Full Detail:
https://coinsnantiques.com/collection/qajar-naser-al-din-shah-qajar-silver-coin-herat-mint-1278-ah/

Frankly this looks to be one of the uglier coins I’ve ever purchased in my adult life……but I love the pronouncement/obviousness of the undertype. First sun face I’ve come across and excited to have it in my undertype collection.

NGC AU 58

Today, roughly 20 exist, 4 noted in museums, placing this coin on par with other notable rarities of the new world.

I recently acquired the Lissner coin, graded MS63 from the Schulman auction with the help of @MrEureka. Prior to Lissner this coin was in the (Freeman) Craig Family Crown Collection before selling directly to Lissner.

I endeavored prior to purchasing the coin to create an updated census of the issue. When roughly 20 coins exist, and its rarity has been documented for generations, completing a census is possible. In doing so I learned a few valuable thigns prior to acquiring the coin which helped me to establishing my bidding.
1. The vast majority of these coins are poorly struck, giving the appearance of an AU coin. A full head is incredibly rare and I find only 2 which I would deem "full head", this coin being one.
2. There are two 64's graded, one is clearly over-graded, which the other may be on par to the Lissner coin.
3. There was a coin in Stacks 2001, prior Schulman 1975, which may be the best extant. It is currently not graded to my knowledge and may be in the Rudman collection, to be confirmed shortly.
4. The Ray Byrne coin was incorrectly attributed to the wrong coin. I was able to clear that up with the grading companies and the owner.

In the next post I will share the census