<< <i>Some dialogue about why you chose those coins would be nice. >>
Sometimes I put my rationale in the individual coin threads (just follow those hyperlinks). But sometimes I fear that's too chatty and I'm too much of a windbag. Still, that info is in a lot of the threads, and lots of informational links and stuff like that. This way anybody whose interest is piqued by a particular coin can read a little and perhaps follow along in a similar direction with their own collecting if they so desire.
A nice thing about being "eclectic" is how much I learn about history, geography, and the coins themselves. Some of this stuff I might have never bought, back when I was a "slave to the sets" and leery of spending any money outside my prime focal areas. Now that I'm all over the place, it gives me a good sampling and makes me a bit better-rounded as a numismatist. Hopefully the numismatic greats like QDB would approve.
One possible downside is that by being scattered all over, I risk becoming a "jack of all trades and master of none". But I've always found my numismatic personality more suited to being a general practitioner than a specialist. I do respect those specialists who really know their areas deeply. After all, they're the ones we generalists can go to with questions!
OUT:England: silver Short Cross penny of King John (1199-1216), struck in the name of Henry II, ca. 1205-1207 I'll miss this one. And some will scold me since I used the money to buy a piece of modern NCLT with the funds (see below), but since that modern piece has half an ounce of gold, it will serve as a stepping stone the next time I want another neat historical coin like this. (No, really- there is some method to my madness! Some.)
OUT:Italy (Venice): silver grosso of Antonio Venier, ca. 1382-1400 Another cool medieval which is going off to live with Aethelred. I have converted him to the Box of 20 thing and he is gonna do that with medieval coins, he says. (No doubt he'll continue cracking ancients from their plastic TPG coffins every chance he gets, though.)
OUT:USA: Draped Bust large cent, 1803 (small date, large fraction) Got a later-date large cent in MS, instead- see below. This was a nice coin, but I wasn't happy with the poor pictures of it. (The person who bought it was favorably impressed when he saw it in hand, though.)
IN:French Colonies: counterstamped copper sou, 1767 Sort of an odd addition, perhaps, but it covers both world and US "colonial" (it's a listed Redbook variety that was used in Louisiana). And it has a counterstamp. Why not? Off at PCGS to be graded. (Yes, they grade these, counterstamp and all.)
IN:Canada: gold 100-dollars proof of Elizabeth II, Canadian Unity commemorative, 1978 Not the Canadian G$100 design I've been after for years, but I like it. It'll serve as a nice way to hold a little bullion and will probably later be used as a stepping stone towards something bigger. Besides, I needed something modern in the Box for true "eclectitude". ("Eclecticity"?) Now cracked out and sent off to PCGS for regrading and TrueView image, 3/17.
Newp, maybe IN later:Latvia: gold 5-lati proof, 2003 Again, a little modern for the box, to represent the 21st century. More proof gold can't hurt, either, even if it is small, right? Now cracked out and sent off to PCGS for regrading and TrueView image, 3/17. Yes, I risk losing a point, maybe, but I'd rather have nice images than the NGC 70 slab with the intrusive white prongs.
Additionally, the Hesse-Darmstadt kreuzer has been cracked out and submitted to PCGS.
IN for now, maybe OUT later:German States (Hesse-Darmstadt): silver kreuzer, 1866 Cracking out an NGC MS67 Pop 2/0 coin is a bit risky, yes. But even if it downgrades at PCGS, the highest they currently have graded is an MS65, so it will likely become finest known in PCGS plastic. Besides, it deserves a TrueView picture and I didn't pay a whole ton of money for it in the first place. So I'm crossing my fingers but accept the risk.
Uh-oh... counting the coins in the OP, with the Latvian piece included, I think I now have 21 pieces!
So we won't add the Latvian just yet. I might hang onto a surplus coin until the PCGS submission is done, just in case I get a no-grade or something.
I'm gradually trying to bring everything up above a ~$200-ish/coin minimum threshold, so if I prune another, it will likely be the Japanese 2-bu, the new Latvian 5-lati, or the Hesse-Darmstadt kreuzer. But I already have a potential buyer for the Hesse-Darmstadt after it comes back from PCGS.
I'll miss the little Japanese coin, but it was one of the last few left below my attempted $200/coin minimum value threshold as I gradually try to boost everything upward a little bit. But the two German States pieces (Hesse-Darmstadt and Saxony) are also just barely at the $200 threshold, if not slightly below it. Also that little Latvian gold piece, which is probably not a $200 coin, though I've seen some listed for close to that price on eBay.
With the French 20-franc piece going away and the Italian 20-lire coming in, that's sort of a lateral move. The Italian piece may not grade as high as the French one did, but it's got a higher Krause value, and I got it for a very reasonable price vis-a-vis that catalog value.
The set now looks a bit of a mess, as many coins are away being slabbed (or are about to be), so the array of temporary images throws off the aesthetics a bit.
On the US front, I've upgraded the proof 3cN from a PR64 to a PR65 CAM.
Since this was the first update since the forum software change, I had to fix every single hyperlink in all 20 of the subthreads (and that's a lot)! I've also dumped the practice of pasting the slab labels into the main images, because it was giving me headaches keeping up with all those, when coins got slabbed or crossed over. Now the images are little less cluttered, too, I think. Of course the slab images are still in the subthreads.
True, no Liteside addition this time, but I'm kind of keeping my feelers out for an early US half dollar when I have the money (either a VF-ish Draped Bust with "CircCam" contrast or an AU-ish Capped Bust piece with nice toning and/or luster).
Now that I have a car payment for the first time in 30 years, my small numismatic budget has gotten even smaller, and additions to the coin collection fewer and farther between, but oh, well. I'm still having fun, and it's nice not having to worry about "will I need a new transmission in the car this month?" so much anymore.
How did the crossover go with the 1866 German silver Kreuzer go?
If memory serves, I ended up selling that one rather than rolling the dice and attempting a crossover.
Not because I desperately wanted to be rid of it, mind you- it was a sweet little coin, and amazingly prooflike. But simply because that's how it goes with a "Box of 20" set- one must go out for another to come in. It was a sub-$200 coin and I was trying to pull up the minimum value of all the coins in the box to $200-ish. As of right now, I do still have a few that only just meet that criterion, and one (the medieval Ragusa grosso, aka "my Hippie Coin") which cost less than that, but I really like that one so it has stuck around a bit longer.
I can now officially say that the set has advanced to the point where parting with coins has become a bit more difficult sentimentally, and does require some detachment. But on my shoestring budget, for me to afford to collect coins that cost in the range of $200-2,000+ each, I will always have to sell one first in order to buy another. So the "Box of 20" philosophy suits me well for now.
Comments
Awesome coins, Rob!
Hopefully I will see you this summer and perhaps see them in person...
My YouTube Channel
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
Hoard the keys.
<< <i>Some dialogue about why you chose those coins would be nice. >>
Sometimes I put my rationale in the individual coin threads (just follow those hyperlinks). But sometimes I fear that's too chatty and I'm too much of a windbag. Still, that info is in a lot of the threads, and lots of informational links and stuff like that. This way anybody whose interest is piqued by a particular coin can read a little and perhaps follow along in a similar direction with their own collecting if they so desire.
A nice thing about being "eclectic" is how much I learn about history, geography, and the coins themselves. Some of this stuff I might have never bought, back when I was a "slave to the sets" and leery of spending any money outside my prime focal areas. Now that I'm all over the place, it gives me a good sampling and makes me a bit better-rounded as a numismatist. Hopefully the numismatic greats like QDB would approve.
One possible downside is that by being scattered all over, I risk becoming a "jack of all trades and master of none". But I've always found my numismatic personality more suited to being a general practitioner than a specialist. I do respect those specialists who really know their areas deeply. After all, they're the ones we generalists can go to with questions!
OUT: England: silver Short Cross penny of King John (1199-1216), struck in the name of Henry II, ca. 1205-1207
I'll miss this one. And some will scold me since I used the money to buy a piece of modern NCLT with the funds (see below), but since that modern piece has half an ounce of gold, it will serve as a stepping stone the next time I want another neat historical coin like this. (No, really- there is some method to my madness! Some.)
OUT: Italy (Venice): silver grosso of Antonio Venier, ca. 1382-1400
Another cool medieval which is going off to live with Aethelred. I have converted him to the Box of 20 thing and he is gonna do that with medieval coins, he says. (No doubt he'll continue cracking ancients from their plastic TPG coffins every chance he gets, though.)
OUT: USA: Draped Bust large cent, 1803 (small date, large fraction)
Got a later-date large cent in MS, instead- see below. This was a nice coin, but I wasn't happy with the poor pictures of it. (The person who bought it was favorably impressed when he saw it in hand, though.)
OUT: USA (Syracuse, NY): brass merchant token, A.C. Yates Clothing Emporium, ca. 1850s
This was a cool token, but I still have my nice "Monitor" Civil War token, and have added better pix of that.
And four are coming in.
IN: French Colonies: counterstamped copper sou, 1767
Sort of an odd addition, perhaps, but it covers both world and US "colonial" (it's a listed Redbook variety that was used in Louisiana). And it has a counterstamp. Why not? Off at PCGS to be graded. (Yes, they grade these, counterstamp and all.)
IN: USA: copper Braided Hair large cent, 1851
My first Mint State US large cent. I may send it to PCGS for TrueView imaging and reholdering.
IN: Canada: gold 100-dollars proof of Elizabeth II, Canadian Unity commemorative, 1978
Not the Canadian G$100 design I've been after for years, but I like it. It'll serve as a nice way to hold a little bullion and will probably later be used as a stepping stone towards something bigger. Besides, I needed something modern in the Box for true "eclectitude". ("Eclecticity"?) Now cracked out and sent off to PCGS for regrading and TrueView image, 3/17.
Newp, maybe IN later: Latvia: gold 5-lati proof, 2003
Again, a little modern for the box, to represent the 21st century. More proof gold can't hurt, either, even if it is small, right? Now cracked out and sent off to PCGS for regrading and TrueView image, 3/17. Yes, I risk losing a point, maybe, but I'd rather have nice images than the NGC 70 slab with the intrusive white prongs.
These are off to PCGS as well.
IN: Netherlands (Gelderland): "St. John" type gold gulden (florin) of Arnold van Egmond, ca. 1423-1472
This one should easily atone for the departure of the two medieval pieces that are going away.
Additionally, the Hesse-Darmstadt kreuzer has been cracked out and submitted to PCGS.
IN for now, maybe OUT later: German States (Hesse-Darmstadt): silver kreuzer, 1866
Cracking out an NGC MS67 Pop 2/0 coin is a bit risky, yes. But even if it downgrades at PCGS, the highest they currently have graded is an MS65, so it will likely become finest known in PCGS plastic. Besides, it deserves a TrueView picture and I didn't pay a whole ton of money for it in the first place. So I'm crossing my fingers but accept the risk.
Uh-oh... counting the coins in the OP, with the Latvian piece included, I think I now have 21 pieces!
So we won't add the Latvian just yet. I might hang onto a surplus coin until the PCGS submission is done, just in case I get a no-grade or something.
I'm gradually trying to bring everything up above a ~$200-ish/coin minimum threshold, so if I prune another, it will likely be the Japanese 2-bu, the new Latvian 5-lati, or the Hesse-Darmstadt kreuzer. But I already have a potential buyer for the Hesse-Darmstadt after it comes back from PCGS.
In with the new:
I'll miss the little Japanese coin, but it was one of the last few left below my attempted $200/coin minimum value threshold as I gradually try to boost everything upward a little bit. But the two German States pieces (Hesse-Darmstadt and Saxony) are also just barely at the $200 threshold, if not slightly below it. Also that little Latvian gold piece, which is probably not a $200 coin, though I've seen some listed for close to that price on eBay.
With the French 20-franc piece going away and the Italian 20-lire coming in, that's sort of a lateral move. The Italian piece may not grade as high as the French one did, but it's got a higher Krause value, and I got it for a very reasonable price vis-a-vis that catalog value.
The set now looks a bit of a mess, as many coins are away being slabbed (or are about to be), so the array of temporary images throws off the aesthetics a bit.
On the US front, I've upgraded the proof 3cN from a PR64 to a PR65 CAM.
Since this was the first update since the forum software change, I had to fix every single hyperlink in all 20 of the subthreads (and that's a lot)! I've also dumped the practice of pasting the slab labels into the main images, because it was giving me headaches keeping up with all those, when coins got slabbed or crossed over. Now the images are little less cluttered, too, I think. Of course the slab images are still in the subthreads.
It's been a lot of work but I've enjoyed it.
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
True, no Liteside addition this time, but I'm kind of keeping my feelers out for an early US half dollar when I have the money (either a VF-ish Draped Bust with "CircCam" contrast or an AU-ish Capped Bust piece with nice toning and/or luster).
Now that I have a car payment for the first time in 30 years, my small numismatic budget has gotten even smaller, and additions to the coin collection fewer and farther between, but oh, well. I'm still having fun, and it's nice not having to worry about "will I need a new transmission in the car this month?" so much anymore.
First, one must go out...
So that another may come in.
l
It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.
Sorry to hear the Japanese rectangular coin had to go. It looked pretty neat.
Great looking and fun set!
Sorry to hear the Japanese rectangular coin had to go. It looked pretty neat.
I do miss it, a little, and might need to add something Asian or Islamic to the set one day, for variety's sake.
Those are neat little coins, and quite affordable, really. They've got more silver than gold in them.
U.S. Type Set
LordM.... Cheers, RickO
The Vespasian denarius is still with me. Like the Hadrian sestertius, it hasn't made the trip to NGC Ancients just yet.
Ancient Roman Empire: silver "Capricorn" denarius of Vespasian, struck by Titus ca. 80-81 AD
How did the crossover go with the 1866 German silver Kreuzer go?
If memory serves, I ended up selling that one rather than rolling the dice and attempting a crossover.
Not because I desperately wanted to be rid of it, mind you- it was a sweet little coin, and amazingly prooflike. But simply because that's how it goes with a "Box of 20" set- one must go out for another to come in. It was a sub-$200 coin and I was trying to pull up the minimum value of all the coins in the box to $200-ish. As of right now, I do still have a few that only just meet that criterion, and one (the medieval Ragusa grosso, aka "my Hippie Coin") which cost less than that, but I really like that one so it has stuck around a bit longer.
I can now officially say that the set has advanced to the point where parting with coins has become a bit more difficult sentimentally, and does require some detachment. But on my shoestring budget, for me to afford to collect coins that cost in the range of $200-2,000+ each, I will always have to sell one first in order to buy another. So the "Box of 20" philosophy suits me well for now.