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Hayden lay low for 2 days and sold a Puffin :+)
canadacolornut
Posts: 995 ✭
Our friend Hayden Tubbs has been dangling a beautifully toned Lundy Puffin out there for several weeks now.
Trying to save a few bucks I shot him an offer a few days ago but he lay low :+) and I finally caved in and bought it for his offering price.
The Lundy "Puffin" coins have fascinated me ever since I started collecting coins, mainly because of the origin and the history of the series.
If you want to learn a little about one of England's real characters, although not quite of the Guy Fawkes stature, check the write ups below on one Martin Coles Harman.
In any case, I am now committed to building a complete high grade set, not easy, but not really that expensive either since there were only 4 coins in two denominations-the Puffin and the half Puffin- issued in the original sets.
The problem, however, is that there were only 3,000 of the sets issued, which makes them scarce enough; let alone trying to find them in high grade. The copy below indicates that 50,000 of the coins(tokens) were struck, but most of these were circulated or long gone so the only real hope for high grade uncirculated coins is in the sets which are very scarce.
The first coin I'm buying-the One Puffin-is graded MS 64 RD, one point below gem but the toning was the grabber.
From various sources.....
"The puffin and half-puffin "coins" of Lundy are probably the most famous example of what I call "diplomatically-challenged coinage" - coins issued by a "country" that was not recognized as a real or separate country by the rest of the world.
Lundy is a small island off the south-western coast of England. In 1924, a fellow by the name of Martin Coles Harman purchased the island. He reckoned that, since he owned the entire island, he could rule it as if it were his own mediaeval-style feudal state, and issued coins, denominated in puffins and half-puffins, for use by the islanders - Lundy would have had a population somewhere around 100 people.
These coins would have remained obscure little novelties had it not been for the British government, who decided to sue Mr Harman for making illegal tokens.
Mr Harman's defence was that Lundy was not a part of England but a separate dominion, with it's own laws - an assertion evidenced by the fact that islanders had to pass through customs when they landed on the mainland. Though the courts consented that he had some valid points, he was nevertheless found guilty, fined £5 plus legal expenses, and ordered to withdraw the coins. They have been sought-after collectors items ever since..."
"The first issue was issued in 1929 by the self-declared 'King of Lundy', Martin Coles Harman, who was an English businessman, born 1885, Steyning, Sussex, who bought Lundy in 1925.
There were two coins - the Half Puffin and the One Puffin[2], which were rated at the same nominal value as the British Halfpenny and Penny. The obverse of the coins depict a portrait facing left with 'MARTIN.COLES.HARMAN'. The edges of the coins are lettered with the inscription 'LUNDY LIGHTS AND LEADS', a reference to the island's two lighthouses.
The reverse of the Half Puffin coin depicts a puffin's head. The reverse of the One Puffin coin depicts a puffin facing left on a rocky ledge. The unfussy and strong design of the coins is regarded as more than competant with significant modernist touches which foresee the high 1930s design school. The currency was called the puffin because the islanders had a long history of bartering puffin feathers for food and other commodities. The coins were made of bronze, and landed Harman in trouble with the British authorities in 1930 for unauthorised minting of money.[3][4][5]
Visitors from the island could exchange any remaining 'puffins' at the banks in Bideford, who then returned the Lundy coins to the island (Coin News 1999). The coins were struck in Birmingham by Ralph Heaton's Mint, Birmingham Ltd. The currency saw real, if limited use. Martin Coles Harman died in 1954.
50,000 bronze tokens about the size of a penny were minted by Ralph Heaton & Sons, Birmingham in 1929, together with a similar number of articles about the size of a half-penny. The price was 50/9 per 1000 for the larger and 26/6 for the smaller, and there was a £100 fee for preparing the design and sinking the dies.[5]
Bronze pattern coins of the 1929 issue exist with a thicker flange and the lack of an edge inscription. The details on the obverse and reverse also differ slightly. The coins remain highly collectible to this day.."
Trying to save a few bucks I shot him an offer a few days ago but he lay low :+) and I finally caved in and bought it for his offering price.
The Lundy "Puffin" coins have fascinated me ever since I started collecting coins, mainly because of the origin and the history of the series.
If you want to learn a little about one of England's real characters, although not quite of the Guy Fawkes stature, check the write ups below on one Martin Coles Harman.
In any case, I am now committed to building a complete high grade set, not easy, but not really that expensive either since there were only 4 coins in two denominations-the Puffin and the half Puffin- issued in the original sets.
The problem, however, is that there were only 3,000 of the sets issued, which makes them scarce enough; let alone trying to find them in high grade. The copy below indicates that 50,000 of the coins(tokens) were struck, but most of these were circulated or long gone so the only real hope for high grade uncirculated coins is in the sets which are very scarce.
The first coin I'm buying-the One Puffin-is graded MS 64 RD, one point below gem but the toning was the grabber.
From various sources.....
"The puffin and half-puffin "coins" of Lundy are probably the most famous example of what I call "diplomatically-challenged coinage" - coins issued by a "country" that was not recognized as a real or separate country by the rest of the world.
Lundy is a small island off the south-western coast of England. In 1924, a fellow by the name of Martin Coles Harman purchased the island. He reckoned that, since he owned the entire island, he could rule it as if it were his own mediaeval-style feudal state, and issued coins, denominated in puffins and half-puffins, for use by the islanders - Lundy would have had a population somewhere around 100 people.
These coins would have remained obscure little novelties had it not been for the British government, who decided to sue Mr Harman for making illegal tokens.
Mr Harman's defence was that Lundy was not a part of England but a separate dominion, with it's own laws - an assertion evidenced by the fact that islanders had to pass through customs when they landed on the mainland. Though the courts consented that he had some valid points, he was nevertheless found guilty, fined £5 plus legal expenses, and ordered to withdraw the coins. They have been sought-after collectors items ever since..."
"The first issue was issued in 1929 by the self-declared 'King of Lundy', Martin Coles Harman, who was an English businessman, born 1885, Steyning, Sussex, who bought Lundy in 1925.
There were two coins - the Half Puffin and the One Puffin[2], which were rated at the same nominal value as the British Halfpenny and Penny. The obverse of the coins depict a portrait facing left with 'MARTIN.COLES.HARMAN'. The edges of the coins are lettered with the inscription 'LUNDY LIGHTS AND LEADS', a reference to the island's two lighthouses.
The reverse of the Half Puffin coin depicts a puffin's head. The reverse of the One Puffin coin depicts a puffin facing left on a rocky ledge. The unfussy and strong design of the coins is regarded as more than competant with significant modernist touches which foresee the high 1930s design school. The currency was called the puffin because the islanders had a long history of bartering puffin feathers for food and other commodities. The coins were made of bronze, and landed Harman in trouble with the British authorities in 1930 for unauthorised minting of money.[3][4][5]
Visitors from the island could exchange any remaining 'puffins' at the banks in Bideford, who then returned the Lundy coins to the island (Coin News 1999). The coins were struck in Birmingham by Ralph Heaton's Mint, Birmingham Ltd. The currency saw real, if limited use. Martin Coles Harman died in 1954.
50,000 bronze tokens about the size of a penny were minted by Ralph Heaton & Sons, Birmingham in 1929, together with a similar number of articles about the size of a half-penny. The price was 50/9 per 1000 for the larger and 26/6 for the smaller, and there was a £100 fee for preparing the design and sinking the dies.[5]
Bronze pattern coins of the 1929 issue exist with a thicker flange and the lack of an edge inscription. The details on the obverse and reverse also differ slightly. The coins remain highly collectible to this day.."
No,no- the kids and the cat are all right honey.
It's just that I got my PCGS grades.
It's just that I got my PCGS grades.
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Comments
Gary
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
How much, may I ask, did it cost?
Slabbed by NGC?
It's just that I got my PCGS grades.
and I enjoy dealing with you.
Regards.....
It's just that I got my PCGS grades.