What would you do?

Sylvestius

Given a choice of two what would you go for?

A decent grade French hammered gold coin from the 1400s or a 12th century English penny from the reign of Stephen?


Well that's the choice i've got... you know what i'm like with Stephen pennies, but this one is Lincoln. I've been meaning to get a Lincoln mint coin for a long, long time (since it's my favourite city in the whole of England) but more than this Lincoln in Febuary 1141 saw a battle in which Stephen was overthrown for about 9 months. Now that's history one hell of an historical connection no?

Then we have the French gold coin, nice grade, problem free, nice design... gorgeous.


Don't you just hate coin collecting sometimes?

coachleonard

despite the history and rarity factor of the Stephen coin, I would be hard-pressed to pass over a nice
1400's French gold coin

Sylvestius

I know, me too...


I'm gonna have to think about this.

(Although Stephen's aren't that rare you know... North only puts the 'Watford' Type down as Scarce). Lincoln mint only has an 'R' rating (along with Lund and Cant) all the others are 'RR' or 'RRR'.

Sylvestius

In fact embarrasingly as it is, out of the Norman monarchs Stephen is the one that turns up the most. Henry I and William I turn up here and there (quite a few Henry I's out there at the moment), William II is a tough cookie, and Matilda... good luck!

theboz11

I'd go for the one with the lion on it













Assuming a lion is on one The Lincoln would be my choice also.

lordmarcovan

I personally would go for the French gold, but in your shoes with your specialty, maybe not.

JamminJ

I think Stephen would be my choice. It souds like it would fit better with your collection.

Any chance you could sell some stuff and buy both?

shirohniichan

How often do you see a Stephen penny from Lincoln (like the one you've been looking for)? I have found that "not very rare" coins I need are a lot harder to find than others suggested. If there's a good chance you won't see one again for a long time and you like the one before you now, get it!

AuldFartte

I'd rather have the Stephen. All things British, you know

coinkat

Have fun... you may even consider selling something that could possibly be replaced easier at a later time.

sumnom

I would go for the Stephen penny. The French gold is nice but it sounds like you have been looking for this particular mint for some time plus the story is interesting as well. Go for the Stephen penny, I say.

JamminJ

Perhaps a poll would be useful to gauge the forum sentiment.

Sylvestius

Just to clarify the Lincoln mint, initially i was looking for it on an Edward I penny. Having one turn up on a Stephen was a bonus.

Actually the French gold is a shield one. (I do miss my English gold coins) And it wouldn't look that far out of the collection, because i now actively collect French coins. A bit of Louis XVI stuff at the moment, but i do have a Gros of Philip IV struck around 1300 already in my collection.

Steve27

I would go for the French gold, but based on your descriptions of the two coins, you should go for the Stephen penny.

Aethelred

I'd get that Stephen Penny!

Danegeld

Yes, I'd go for the penny as well...

Take Care
Ben

BS

It would depend on the Stephen. If it's well struck I'd buy the penny.

Cladiator

I'd take the gold one.

coachleonard

pass on them both-- and get a set of gold-plated state quarters on the Home Shopping Network

Sylvestius

Here have a look! (and you can see why i'm indecisive)


Charles VI 1380-1422 French Ecu d'Or.





OR


Stephen 1135-54 penny

Sylvestius

<< <i>Any chance you could sell some stuff and buy both? >>



Unlikely, this is something i've done in the past more times than i have fingers and toes to count with. But i'm all sold out.

There's only the Anglo-Saxon stuff, an Austrian coin i'm very fond of, a few cheap hammered pennies and the French stuff left.

The general solution would have been to sell one Stephen and buy another, but in this case my other Stephen is a heck of alot better (Shaftesbury mint and is well centred and problem free...) I feel a cue to post yet another picture of it...


<--- SEE PREVIOUS PAGE FOR PICS OF THE TWO COINS.

GDJMSP

Now you know what I would normally say. But I gotta be honest with ya - unless you are getting a steal on the gold coin ($450 or less) - go with the silver penny.

You also know that I don't know squat about silver pennies - but French gold, well I've looked at one or two of those And much nicer examples of that coin can be had for $525 - $550.

So - not knowing the pricing for the coins in question - you can figure it out from there.

BS

I'd say the penny.

laurentyvan

OK, there maaaay be popular sentiment against the French in this day and age but I say GO WITH THE FRENCH!

Remember, our country went broke financing the American Revolution-it's the least you can do. Swim against the popular sentiment by God, set your own course! Don't be just another Brit-owning member of the mob.

Be the big fish whose forward-thinking acumen steered you towards this coin at this time in history.

Brought to you by NAFCO, (National Association of French Coin Owners)

JamminJ

After seeing photos of the two I changed my mind - go with the gold. The penny, while rare, has no eye appeal to me.

laurentyvan

Being not so flip, the ecu d'or you show is a beauty. There is of course an ecu d'or from Louis IX but it's veddy rare. Your nice piece is one I'd love to own...

From Historic Gold Coins of the World: "The obverse carries the coat-of-arms surrounded by the inscription KAROLVS DEI GRA FRANCORUM REX--Charles, by the grace of God, King of France. The reverse shows a floriated cross within a quadrilobe border. Four small regal crowns have been inscribed in the area of the field called the spandrels. The reverse inscription, used on the coins of many French kings both before and after Charles, reads XPC VINCIT XPT REGNAT XPC IMPERAT--Christ Conquers, Christ Reigns, Christ Commands.

The Stephen penny, on the other hand, looks like a little piece of scrap silver with faded markings.

I know what I'd choose... (with apologies to Stephen penny collectors)

1jester

Well, first (sort of automatically) thought go with the gold. Hammered gold is very difficult not to love, and they're some of my favorite coins in my collection. Then I sort of waffled and thought your reasons for getting the rare penny were justified, since it is your collecting direction primarily, and you've been hunting one for a long time, and you'll probably kick yourself if you don't get it. Then you posted the pictures, and still thought you should get the penny, especially since GDJMSP said you can find a better gold coin. However, I have to agree that the penny has no eye appeal to me either, and I simply can't get excited about it (and I do love 10th-13th century silver pennies!!!! I've got lots of them).

Go with the gold, or ask Civitas or somebody to find you a better gold piece.

Sylvestius

See what i mean!

Eye appeal wise i'd go for gold, history wise i'd go for silver... i guess it's a battle between the two. I'm gonna sit on this one a while and think. If one of them goes in this time then well the decision is made, if both go...

Well i know where there's a very nice UNC 1741 Sixpence...

(If you think i like Stephen pennies, don't get me started on sixpences!)


The problem with this hobby is there's just too much to choose from!

1jester

"The problem with this hobby is there's just too much to choose from!" --Syl

Famous last words....

Sylvestius

<< <i>"The problem with this hobby is there's just too much to choose from!" --Syl

Famous last words....

>>




And here's was me thinking my last words were going to be;

"Okay chaps which State Quarter should i buy..."