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Cheap Roman purchase with British hoard pedigree

I regularly donate coins as promotional giveaway prizes to David Crowther's History of England podcast. We just gave away a hammered silver Edward I penny and a medieval book mount.

So it was time to buy the next giveaway, and it had to be something that said "British history". What better than a coin with archaeological provenance, pedigreed to a known hoard from Roman Britain?

Say what you like about the seller ("centsles") and NNC, but for the money (maybe about the same as the coin would've cost without the plastic and the historical pedigree), I thought this was a neat pickup, and it will make some giveaway winner happy later on. Though the "MS62" (sic) grade seems ridiculously optimistic, and the font on the reverse label looks really cheesy, I give 'em full marks for having someone attribute this and put the hoard details on the label, including the date and place it was found. That makes it pretty cool in my book. And nobody but diehard numismatic geeks would object to the plastic, anyway. The original expert's handwritten coin envelope (maybe from 1967?) also comes with the purchase.

This is one time I'm actually happy for a piece of NNC plastic, and I won't be instantly cracking it out like I did the NNC Trade dollar I once had.

It should make some noncollector's day when he or she wins the drawing.

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Comments

  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    LM, you know I agree in this instance. I think the seller is pretty funny, with the NNC grading that is like me when I estimate how long it will take to drive somewhere (30 miles in Chicago traffic? Hmm, 35 minutes should cut it.) I look at his Gallienus coins because they pop up in search results and I bought one coin, by fluke from him a few years ago. I guess throwing stuff in a slab of any kind and starting coins at $.99 will get you some attention and loyal followers. And if people are happy, great.

    In your case, I think you probably got a relative bargain on what is realistically a solid VF coin. I saw a bunch of these Rockbourne Hoard coins recently for sale and even threw in a bid or two myself. The plastic will be a good way for a non collector to display it hopefully and have something really cool to chat about. I almost want to say a fair warning like "this is not the coin that will make you rich" should be sent the winner's way, but why ruin the excitement? Hopefully someone listening to that sort of podcast is a pretty intellectually inclined person anyway and would realize that he is not getting a $1,000 coin as a prize.

    Nice of you to contribute to the program and random excitement of strangers. Good job, buddy.
  • bronzematbronzemat Posts: 2,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Obverse is well centered, tough for him.
  • ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭
    LM, I think that it is a great thing you are doing on your part. However, I do not think that keeping the coin in this particular slab will do anything positive for the hobby. This guy was an opportunist who took advantage of the slabbed coin genre. This man tried to dupe people to purchase problem coins, generically slabbed, only to sell them at a higher grade and price to benefit from his initial investment. He made a profit selling crap that he intentionally misrepresented the value and grade of. I do not see anything redeeming in this tactic. Anyone you give this to or sell it to will not understand the drawbacks to owning this coin in the future. It is deceptive in nature, and it can only be resolved by someone who actually knows what he/she has in hand. I personally feel that any newbie who receives this coin will only be dissapointed to find out that it is overgraded/damaged/cleaned later on in their life and would only cause animosity towards you, the person who gave it to them. Basically, it makes you the bad guy in the end.

    If it were me, I would remove the coin from the slab. JMHO.

    -Dan
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'll probably leave it in the holder but send disclaimers about the slab company and its grading. Most of the potential winners won't have any clue what "MS62" means anyway. And if I made it my personal mission to destroy every NNC or other "third world" slab, I'd rapidly lose my mind from such a crusade.

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  • SwampboySwampboy Posts: 12,876 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Way to go Rob and if the recipient gets as half as much enjoyment from that piece as I do from my
    Llandonna Hoard Longshank's penny you'll have admirably accomplished your mission. image


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  • ZoharZohar Posts: 6,629 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lord - looked at your box of 20 - very nice stuff! Well done.
  • PatARPatAR Posts: 347 ✭✭✭
    Coordinating the giveaway with a history focused podcast is a great way to promote the hobby.

    And I'm sure that ancient coin will make someone's day!

    Well done Rob.
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Lord - looked at your box of 20 - very nice stuff! Well done. >>

    Thanks, Z.

    While I'm happy with the compliment, I'm also a bit embarrassed, because the Box of 20 is WAY overdue for updating and a bit of a mess right now. Much overdue housekeeping to be done.

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
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