~ LordM Box of 20 main thread update draft

lordmarcovan · October 3, 2014 3:03PM

In 2013, I decided to pare down my collections and simplify to just one single "Box of 20" for everything, hopefully to focus a bit more on quality than quantity. Still, pursuing quality is an ongoing challenge on my budget.

The idea is a freestyle "Box of 20" collection with no parameters or restrictions except that the coins must be certified and the collection is limited to twenty pieces. (When one comes in, another must go out.) Otherwise, anything goes. In a way, I have narrowed my focus by limiting myself to just twenty slabbed pieces, but on the other hand, I've opened up my horizons to pursue whatever catches my fancy, be it ancient, medieval, modern, or even some tokens and medals. It sort of feels liberating to be freed of the constraints of collecting "sets"- now I can collect what I like and not be a slave to any predetermined "structure". But as the coins get nicer, I suspect it will become more and more difficult sentimentally for me to stick to the "one in, one out" rule.

Ancient Greece (Macedonian Kingdom): silver tetradrachm of Alexander III ("the Great"), posthumous issue, ca. 205-200 BC

Ancient Greece (Thessaly), silver "Rhodian Mercenaries" drachm struck by King Perseus of Macedon, ca. 175-170 BC

Ancient Roman Republic: silver denarius of moneyer L. Furius Brocchus, ca. 63 BC

Ancient Roman Empire: orichalcum sestertius of Hadrian, struck ca. 134-138 AD

Ancient Roman Empire: silver denarius of Septimius Severus, ca. 193-211 AD

Ancient Byzantine Empire: gold tremissis of Justinian I, ca. 527-565 AD

England (Anglo-Saxon): silver penny of Aethelred II (978-1016 AD), struck ca. 997-1003 AD

Netherlands (Gelderland): "St. John" type gold gulden (florin) of Arnold van Egmond, ca. 1423-1472

Great Britain, silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723

French Colonies: copper sou of Louis XV, 1767 (with post-revolutionary "RF" counterstamp)

Great Britain: gilt copper proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806

USA: gold Liberty half-eagle, 1842-D (small date)

USA: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor", 1863

German States (Hesse-Darmstadt): silver kreuzer, 1866

(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending)

USA: copper-nickel three-cent piece, 1880 proof

Italy: gold 20-lire of Umberto I, 1882-R

(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)

Great Britain: gold half-sovereign of Queen Victoria, 1901, ex-Terner Collection

German States (Saxony) silver 3 mark proof, Battle of Leipzig centennial commemorative, 1913-E

USA: silver commemorative half dollar, Pilgrim Tercentenary, 1920

Canada: gold 100 dollars proof of Elizabeth II, Canadian Unity commemorative, 1978

(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending)

lordmarcovan · March 3, 2015 6:00PM

In 2013, I decided to pare down my collections and simplify to just one single "Box of 20" for everything, hopefully to focus a bit more on quality than quantity. Still, pursuing quality is an ongoing challenge on my budget.

The idea is a freestyle "Box of 20" collection with no parameters or restrictions except that the coins must be certified and the collection is limited to twenty pieces. (When one comes in, another must go out.) Otherwise, anything goes. In a way, I have narrowed my focus by limiting myself to just twenty slabbed pieces, but on the other hand, I've opened up my horizons to pursue whatever catches my fancy, be it ancient, medieval, modern, or even some tokens and medals. It sort of feels liberating to be freed of the constraints of collecting "sets"- now I can collect what I like and not be a slave to any predetermined "structure". But as the coins get nicer, I suspect it will become more and more difficult sentimentally for me to stick to the "one in, one out" rule.