~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 3/23/15
lordmarcovan
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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 (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: 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
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Great Britain, silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
French Colonies: copper sou of Louis XV, 1767 (with post-revolutionary "RF" counterstamp)
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Great Britain: gilt copper proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806
USA: gold Liberty half-eagle, 1842-D (small date)
USA: copper Braided Hair large cent, 1851
(TrueView reimage pending)
USA: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor", 1863
German States (Hesse-Darmstadt): silver kreuzer, 1866
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Japan (Meiji Era): gold Nibu-Kin (2 bu), ca. 1868-1869
France: gold 20-francs "Angel", 1877-A
USA: copper-nickel three-cent piece, 1880 proof
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, 03/17/15)
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 (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: 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
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Great Britain, silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
French Colonies: copper sou of Louis XV, 1767 (with post-revolutionary "RF" counterstamp)
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Great Britain: gilt copper proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806
USA: gold Liberty half-eagle, 1842-D (small date)
USA: copper Braided Hair large cent, 1851
(TrueView reimage pending)
USA: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor", 1863
German States (Hesse-Darmstadt): silver kreuzer, 1866
(PCGS certification & TrueView imaging pending, 03/17/15)
Japan (Meiji Era): gold Nibu-Kin (2 bu), ca. 1868-1869
France: gold 20-francs "Angel", 1877-A
USA: copper-nickel three-cent piece, 1880 proof
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, 03/17/15)
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Comments
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.)
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.)
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.)
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
I'm sort of 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.