Got my SB newps today

EVillageProwler

The first coin is in a PCGS slab, graded AU50. I haven't decided if I will keep it, but it is a scarcer non-portrait type. I still need to get an EF-ish S-1066 (the most common of the Alfred non-portrait types) some day. If I decide to keep this (likely), then I will liberate it from its holder. I feel the slabbed grade (AU50) is a bit generous, which usually translates to a British grade of Good VF. In this case, I feel a solid VF is more appropriate.

Below is what I wrote for this coin's tag:

ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Wessex. Ælfred the Great. 871-899. AR Penny. Non-portrait type. Canterbury mint; Ethelstan, moneyer. +ELFRED REX DORO, small cross pattée, legend around / EDELSTAN MO in two lines, pellets between. SCBC 1069. VF, lightly toned.



This second coin is a far cry from the first: a Scudo of 140 Soldi from Venice during the rule of Duke Francesco Erizzo; Bernardo Balbi, mint master. 1631-1646. Dav-4249.

It is, surprisingly, a very attractive coin. It is lightly toned in delicate champagne hues. The coin was struck from dies that are both polished and rusted; I guess the dies were either very badly rusted, or the die polishing job was done terribly. In any case, the resultant combination of striations and rust pocks gives this coin a very flashy appearance. This coin is a pleasant surprise.

bronzemat

Lovely stuff.

Zohar

Nothing wrong with a nice original Scudo. Is the Ælfred scarce or commonly available?

EVillageProwler

Z - in this series, coins are being found all the time. No Ælfred penny is common, but the S-1066 is the most commonly seen of all his pennies. Mine, an S-1069, is just like S-1066 but with DORO, signifying Canterbury.

Btw, his pennies have been found in hoards but not in huge quantity.

EVP

Zohar

This is the EVP coin

EVillageProwler

That is the S-1066 that I tried to buy in 2012 from York but the timing was wrong. Too bad for me.

Zohar

Ha! Didn't know that.

EVillageProwler

<< <i>Ha! Didn't know that. >>



He had it priced at $5500, I think. At the time, it was bad for me but I still could've bought it. That was actually an AH-HA moment for me because since then the only time I ever didn't get a core piece in my sights is when I lost out (like that gorgeous H2 penny in a CNG auction in 9/2013).

EVP