LordM BST archive, 9/2/11

lordmarcovan · August 31, 2011 7:18PM

Welcome to my BST Forum "mini store"!

Terms of Sale & Shipping (UPDATED SEPTEMBER, 2011): For simplicity's sake, let's just make ALL SHIPMENTS POSTPAID.
For special circumstances (Registered Mail, insurance, overseas, extra large shipments, etc.), a modest contribution is appreciated.

PayPal is fine, but if you use it, PLEASE add your forum name to the payment so I'll know who you are and what you are buying!

Full return privilege if you are not 100% satisfied. My return privilege is very flexible, mostly because I've almost never needed one. The main thing I ask is that you notify me as soon as you can if there is a problem or concern of any kind, and I'll do my best to make it good.

Contact Info: Should I ever disappear from the forums and the computer for several days to a week or more, as I sometimes do, and you need to reach me, feel free to call (912) 261-8408 and ask for Rob. I check PMs more than I do email, so emailing me in the event of a forum absence won't help much- usually when I am away, I am away from the computer entirely.

I love to swap! I'll even let you haggle... a little. Reasonable counteroffers or trades? Put your best foot forward... I'm listening! If there's "wiggle room" somewhere, I'm OK with letting you haggle me down a few bucks. The operative phrase there is a few. Generally I've got more flexibility in the world coins than the US coins, but of course that varies. Don't be shy- I've been a swapper for decades and hagglin' don't bother me too much 'cause I got my start as a flea market dealer. (Ain't come up in the world too much since then, either, haha.)

A note about pictures: I totally stink at coin photography. Part of that is substandard equipment, part of it is improper lighting, and part of it is just plain inexperience. (I do some pretty decent landscapes outdoors, but my indoor macro work is horrid.) I've recently reverted to using a scanner since with that at least I know I'll get detailed and well focused images, but the scanner doesn't work well on some coins, particularly lustrous ones.

Bullion Info & Misc: I've added a bullion chart from Kitco.com towards the bottom of this thread, should you need it for reference. I'll probably add some other useful links there over time. Also, if you need info on a coin you bought here, I've started archiving these threads- Just do a search for "BST archives" on the Testing forum.

Enough blather, now- on with the COINS!

Roman/Palmyrene Empire: bronze antoninianus of VABALATHUS (266-272 AD), struck ca. 271 AD, desert patina
VABALATHUS was king of the breakaway Palmyrene empire under his mother, Zenobia, ca. 266-272 AD. This was initially with the acquiescence of the Roman emperor Aurelian (who was busy fighting on other fronts), but Aurelian later conquered Palmyra in 273. This bronze antoninianus was struck at Antioch around 271 AD and shows dual portraits of Aurelian and Vabalathus, perhaps in expression of the Palmyrene hope that Aurelian would allow them to coexist. Obverse- VABALATHVS V CRIMDR, Laureate and draped bust right. Reverse- IMP C AVRELIANVS AVG, Radiate and draped bust right. (Which side is considered the obverse and which is the reverse is up for debate on a two-headed coin, but more folks probably use this type to represent Vabalathus in collections.) RIC-381. 20.62 mm, 3.3 g. Ex-Ancient Imports, 05/2007. Nice desert patina on this one. My cost was $69, but make an offer.

Roman/Gallic Empire: bronze antoninianus of TETRICUS I (ca. 270-274 AD)
TETRICUS I was emperor of the breakaway Gallic Empire from circa 270 (or 271) AD until 273 (or 274) AD. (As is often typical of the Crisis of the Third Century,sources sometimes differ on the exact dates). He ruled with his son Tetricus II, until they were defeated by Aurelian and the Gallic provinces were brought back under the dominion of Rome. AE antoninianus. Obverse- IMP TETRICVS P F AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right. Reverse- HILARITAS AVGG, Hilaritas standing left, holding palm and cornucopiae. RIC-80, Cohen-57. 19.6 mm, 2.3 g. Ex-Ancient Imports, 05/2007. My cost was $34, but make an offer.

Roman Empire: bronze antoninianus of CARUS (282-283 AD), posthumous issue struck ca. 283 AD
CARUS, Augustus 282-283 AD. Posthumous AE antoninianus, Siscia mint, ca. 283 AD. Obverse- DIVO CARO PARTHICO, radiate head right. Reverse- CONSECRATIO AVG, flaming altar, A to right, SMSXXI in exergue. RIC-111 var., Cohen-23, Venera-4341. 21 mm, 3 g. Ex-Ancient Imports, 05/2007, Harmer Rooke 1988. Asking $45, but that's flexible. I think my cost was about $55, originally.

Abbasid Caliphate (Medieval Iraq): bronze fals, 753-774 AD
This bronze fals was struck between 753 and 774 AD by the Abbasid Caliphate, under the authority of Al Mansur, the Caliph of Baghdad. I must confess that before going to Wikipedia (God bless Wikipedia!) all I knew about this coin was what it said on the holder. (Let's just hope I at least got it right-side-up in the pictures, haha.) Early Islamic (any Islamic) is not my forte, you see. That being said, I must say that this piece has fantastic "black-and-tan" desert patina, which IS my forte. What's it worth? I haven't the foggiest idea. For pricing, I'll conjure a number out of thin air. If it's worth less than that (or especially if it's worth gazillions more) do please let me know. $12.

India (Delhi Sultanates), billon 2-gani coin of Ala al-Din Muhammad (1296-1316 AD)
I got this coin in a flip that attributed it as being from the (Ottoman) sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566 AD). I was rather at the mercy of that (mis-)attribution until forum member "DCH" was kind enough to set it straight. He says it is in fact a 2-gani coin struck in billon for the Delhi Sultanates in India, under the rule of Ala al-Din Muhammad (1296-1316 AD). I suppose his name is transliterated into English in various ways, for he is listed on Wikipedia under the name Alauddin Khilji. So the coin, while not from quite as famous a sultan, is actually about two centuries older than initially believed. Funny, I had thought it looked more Indian or Central Asian than Ottoman, but as you've no doubt guessed, I'm not that up to speed on stuff like this. In fact, the script is so foreign to me that I didn't even know if I'd gotten it right-side-up in my scans. DCH did provide a link to a similar piece on the Zeno database. It's an interesting little coin; rather thick and chunky, in a smallish way. Price? I have no clue. Let's try $9? Or you tell me.

Australia, silver threepence of George VI, 1943-D, BU
KM37, .925 silver/.0419 oz. Struck for Australia by the US Mint at Denver, under a wartime contract. This Aussie 3d is nice and lustrous in hand. It looks absolutely awful in these scans- I almost shouldn't have bothered. It does have a few little ticmarks I didn't see until scanning it (they're practically invisible to the naked eye and the scanner exaggerated them), but again, in hand, it's a whole different coin, I promise. Catalogs $18.50 in BU in the 2009 Krause catalog. I'll ask less than half that. Trust me- you'll like this one, for $9.

Great Britain: copper halfpenny of George III, 1799, G
KM647, copper. 31 mm approx. A one-year type, KM647 has several subvarieties that have something to do with the number of gunports on the ship (five, six, nine, none, etc.), and whether those gunports are raised or incuse. Which is something of a joke, even on coins in better shape than this, as the ship is but a tiny blip on the horizon. Counting gunports on a piece in this grade? Fuhgeddaboutit- who cares? All the varieties are relatively similar in value, anyway. Just call this another nice, cheap oldie. Yes, there is a rim nick but the scanner exaggerated it- it's not inconsistent with the grade level, if you ask me. The coin has pretty nice surfaces overall. "Just honest wear", as they say. $4.

Great Britain: silver halfcrown of George VI, 1938, BU
KM856, .500 silver/.2273 oz. Nice white UNC with cartwheel luster not seen in the picture. Gradewise, I personally would estimate it to be either a high-end MS63 or maybe even a more typical MS64. There are a few small marks so it's no MS65, but it's definitely one of the nicer 50% silver halfcrowns I've had. $26.

Great Britain: Winston Churchill commemorative crown, 1965, PCGS MS64
KM910, copper-nickel. Subtle cartwheel luster with very faint goldish tone. The previous owner of this coin has been on a quest for "the perfect Churchill crown" for some time now (for reasons known only to the numismatic deities and himself). In this case, "the perfect Churchill crown" would mean a PCGS MS65. According to a 2008 posting he made*, PCGS had certified only one MS65 and none higher. (If he made an MS66, he'd probably wet himself.) To my knowledge, his quest for the perfect Churchill crown continues. This one's just one point shy of "perfection" by those standards. $23.

1901 British empire type set WANTLIST
(Link leads to my collection and wantlist thread.) I am building a collection of 1901-dated coins of the British empire with Queen Victoria's portrait for my daughter, Victoria (who was born in 2001, a century later). A decade after starting it, I'm pretty far along, but I still lack a few pieces, and there is always room for upgrading. Let me know if you have any of these. When this set generates duplicates, I will put them for sale or trade here.

Greece: silver 20 drachmai of Paul I, 1960, VF
KM85, .835 silver/.2013 oz. The obverse of this piece features a left-facing bust of Paul I and the reverse portrays Selene the moon goddess on horseback, riding over waves and dolphin. This is a typical circulated example and there's nothing really special about it, but it's silver, and the reverse design is kind of nice. Asking $7 (Or 10% below spot price- whatever makes you happier.)

Ireland, 1 penny, 1928, AU+
KM3, bronze. A nice brown AU+ coin with traces of red. I'd call it AU55 BN, personally. Only the tiniest hint of rub shows on the top corner of the harp. Catalogs $20.00 in UNC in the 2009 Krause. $15.

Liège: copper 1-liard coin, undated (ca. 1694-1723)
Liège was a bishopric in what is now Belgium (and of course still exists as a modern city). This copper coin was struck undated, sometime between 1694 and 1723, under the rule of Joseph Clement of Bavaria. It appears to be a variant of KM107- the piece shown in the catalog has PRI-LEO-DVX as part of the reverse legend, but this one plainly says PRIN-LEO-DUX (with real U's in the legend instead of V's). Have I misattributed it? Maybe, but KM107 is the closest match I could find. $14.

USA: Indian Head cent, 1867, better date w/VF details but two holes
This coin has full LIBERTY and some veins in the feathers. If it were unholed, this would be a $135 piece by the current Red Book. As-is, well, who knows. What's it worth to you? The bottom hole goes through the 6 in the date but does not completely obliterate it. Even if it were gone you could tell this is a Type 1 Indian (the last feather in the headband points between I and C in AMERICA), which would narrow it down to either 1867 or 1877. Boy howdy, if it were an 1877 that would be a real heartbreaker! Here's a cool semi-key Indian for someone who's not too picky- maybe even another one of you Holeyheads. (I'm not the only nut out there who collects this stuff, haha.) Price? I dunno. Let's say... umm... $4?

USA: Brown Uncirculated 1942 Lincoln cents with nice green-gold toning, handpicked from an old roll
These mellowed over time, so technically a TPG would almost certainly give 'em the Brown (BN) designation, but they picked up some really cool (subtle) greenish-goldish toning which is actually pretty attractive. The sample picture was not necessarily the nicest ones from the roll- just a random, quickie shot taken when I sold most of the roll to a forum member. I thought these were neat, though, so I kept back a few pieces. $4 each (2/$7): 8 AVAILABLE

USA: BU 1944 Lincoln/Wheat cents with nice pinkish toning, from an old roll
These coins are lovely full Red BU pieces- Gem quality in my opinion- AND they have some sweet pinkish pastel toning, mostly on the reverses. The obverses of this batch tend to be mostly Red but the reverses got the majority of the toning, for some reason. The toning is subtle and not "monster" toning, perhaps, but is quite lovely and some coins have hints of lavender, too. The sample picture was not necessarily the nicest ones from the roll- just a random, rather darkish shot which doesn't really do 'em justice. I sold most of these (had a little less than two rolls of 'em originally) but I just had to hold a few pieces back, they were so nice. On a whim, I might later submit one or two of these to PCGS and pay for the TrueView pictures, just to see how it all comes out (if y'all don't buy 'em all up first, that is). $6 each (2/$10) (6) SOLD 9/2/11: (7) STILL AVAILABLE

USA: Barber dime, 1914, VF+
Here's a handsome little circulated Barber dime with strong detail. It would look good in someone's "everyman" Dansco 7070 type set or circulated Barber collection. It's off-white and someone said it looked cleaned in the pictures, but that's a scanner-versus-camera issue, again. I took a 7x loupe to it and it looks just fine to me. I call it VF30 and others have concurred with that opinion. $14.

USA: Morgan dollar, 1881-O, nice white BU
A pretty, blast-white Morgan dollar with ample cartwheel luster. I'd say it's probably MS63 quality. As the previous owner pointed out, this would be a much pricier coin if the obverse were as free of marks as the reverse is. I'd say that reverse qualifies for MS65, easily. $55.

Argentina: attractive and unusual Navy commemorative badge by Bellagamba & Rossi, dated May 25, 1903
According to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, this irregularly shaped 31 mm badge commemorates the peace between the Argentine and Chilean navies. The obverse portrays two sailors in jumpers and caps, one with his arm around the other's shoulder. Their cap bands are inscribed "O'HIGGINS" and "SAN MARTIN", which were ships of the Chilean and Argentine navies, respectively. The reverse portrays a sprig of foliage tied with ribbon, the inscription "25 MAYO 1903", and a small hallmark that says "FLORIDA 152 / B(uenos) AIRES". I have also seen commemorative postcards with this date. (May 25 also happens to be Argentina's independence day). Now what's interesting is that the page I got most of this information from is offering a "silver frosted" reproduction here. Compare its appearance to those of the piece I have for sale. Mine looks older, doesn't it. Is it original? I really don't know. I'm inclined to think it might be, though. I suppose the original badges (and presumably mine, here) were struck in silver. Nor do I have any idea of the value of this piece. It's rather interesting that a museum is producing reproductions of it, wouldn't you say? (Or are they just offering prints for sale? I can't quite figure that out.) Anyway, who wants to take a chance on this, for $16? (Could turn out to be a real cherrypick!)

Seated Liberty dime love token WANTLIST
(Link leads to my collection and wantlist thread.) I am collecting a date set of Seated dimes with love token reverses. If you have any dates I need, let me know! Additionally, if you have any "scenic" or "pictorial" pieces for sale, I'd like to upgrade some of my more mundane monogrammed pieces to pictorials. When this collection generates duplicates, I will list them for sale or trade below.

USA: Seated Liberty dime love token, 1857, with "T" initial
I upgraded to a pictorial 1857 so I don't need this piece for my collection anymore. It's got an Old English "T" and an ornamental border. The old stain might come off with a bit of toothpaste and baking soda- I never bothered. (Hey, it's already been holed, so you're "allowed" to clean it and retone it.) $9.

USA: Seated Liberty dime love token, 1877, with monogram
"H" (or "M"?), "S", and "Y" in fancy monogram, w/ornamental border around edge. $14

USA: Seated Liberty dime love token, 1882, with "EAC" initials
Nice love token with "EAC" script initials and ornamental vine design. This piece was recently in my collection but I upgrade my 1882 to a cool pictorial with a horse head on it, so I don't need this anymore. Perhaps somebody from the Early American Coppers club will give it a home, since it has their initials on it? (Even if it's not an early copper.) $15.

USA: Seated Liberty dime love token, 1885, with "AJ" or "JA" monogram
I upgraded to a pictorial 1885 so I don't need this piece for my collection anymore. It's got a fairly well engraved monogram and a simple border. $10.

USA (Dahlonega, GA) Al Adams/Gold Rush Gallery modern storecard replica of 1838-D gold piece
As I mentioned here, this Al Adams character has one of the classiest modern storecard tokens I've ever seen. We're from different ends of the state, so I've never met him. He must have some classy inventory, too. According to information posted by edix2001 in my discussion, 2,500 of these were struck in goldine over zinc, as mentioned in the Patrick Mint catalog, which I am unfamiliar with. $3. (Or request this as your freebie if you order more than $30 worth of stuff here.)

Four-piece prehistoric fossil lot, mostly megalodon shark teeth, over 1.5 million years old
Three of the four fossils in this lot are teeth of Carcharocles Megalodon. This species was a much larger, stockier ancestor of today’s Great White sharks, and fed on marine mammals like whales. They probably got to be the size of buses or boxcars(!), and are thought to have become extinct in the Pleistocene epoch, about 1.5 million years ago. To put it unscientifically, C. megalodon was basically Jaws' much bigger, meaner great-granddaddy. These fossils were found in dredge spoil material from St. Simons Sound here in Glynn County, GA, by me and a friend of mine. While not monster Megs, these are pretty big teeth, and exponentially bigger than those of any shark living today. The half-piece at top left is not quite 3.5" long. The chunky, mostly-intact specimen at top right I personally found recently (8/9/11). It would be at least 3.5" long if the root were intact. (These are typically measured slantwise along one side). The smaller Meg at bottom left is not quite 2" long. The fossil at bottom right is a little over 2" long and is not a shark tooth. It appears to be the end of a tusk or perhaps a tooth from some hippo-like creature. I have no clue, beyond knowing that it's definitely prehistoric, and fossilized. (I suppose it could also be the end of a rib bone- we find lots of whalebone in the dredge spoil, but it's not usually that rounded.) The three small pieces at far right are not included (I gave them to a coworker), but I will add some other fossils (like whalebone pieces or shell casts) not shown in the picture. Asking $44 for the lot.

Screw-top coin bezels in assorted sizes
The cent-sized bezels are gold-colored while all of the others are silver colored. I would not recommend these for valuable coins, obviously, but they make nice inexpensive mounts for cheap keepsake coins. A few years back I took some of those gold-plated Statehood quarters from my home state and put some in these bezels, and they sold very nicely at my antique mall booth. I gave my lady boss a Peace dollar in one of these as a Christmas gift, and she was happy. Put some common Indian cents, Buffalo nickels, or Merc dimes in these and I'll bet you'll find them popular. Use needle nose pliers to gently open the crown screw, put the coin in, and screw the crown back on. Be careful not to overtighten or you could snap the stem off. $2 each (or 3 for $5)
CENT size (gold color): 9 available
NICKEL size (silver color): 10 available
DIME size (silver color): 10 available
QUARTER size (silver color): 22 available
HALF DOLLAR size (silver color): 8 available
LARGE DOLLAR (Morgan/Peace/Ike, not ASE) size (silver color): 8 available
Keychain attachment (the typical inexpensive kind you see on most novelty key rings): 4 available (just ask for one free if you buy a bezel).

Master index of my collections, treasure hunting tales, and other stuff.