It was a day just like any other day......................
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
......................and then the phone rang. I answered and the woman on the other end of the line asked if we bought foreign coins. "Yes" I said, "We buy foreign coins, bring in what you have and we'll look things over." About half-an-hour later a middle aged couple shows up and explains that they have had these coins in the bottom of their dresser and just want to get rid of them. As they sat down and pulled out what was a drawer from an old school Coin Cabinet I explained that what they had weren't coins but were Medals. I called my boss over and we removed the plastic sheet covering the drawer and started to examine what they had, then I left to help another customer at the counter.
When we were both free I approached my boss and we compared notes on what was in the tray which is when he informed me that there were a few other medals, I should go take a look. The one below is what struck me; as improbable as it might seem our little shop in Northeastern Ohio had just purchased a George III Gold Coronation medal from 1761, the same wonderful tyrant embattled with the fledgling American Nation!!! Included in the group of approximately 25 medals are others dating back to the mid-16th Century, an accumulation which is just staggering. I have spent the past few days trying to identify them---learning a little Latin along the way!!---and the search has been exhilarating.
We grade it XF/AU or perhaps only a VF depending on how medals such as this are graded by our European cousins. I can say that some of what looks like heavy rub/wear is really just strike weakness and the color, particularly on the reverse, is wonderful. Overall, the group contains some medals that I cannot find at any of a few good auction venues and several of the ones I have located are not nearly as well preserved as our group. On a few I have had to rely on the British Historical Museum for identification and they don't show pictures.
I am awe-struck!!
Al H
When we were both free I approached my boss and we compared notes on what was in the tray which is when he informed me that there were a few other medals, I should go take a look. The one below is what struck me; as improbable as it might seem our little shop in Northeastern Ohio had just purchased a George III Gold Coronation medal from 1761, the same wonderful tyrant embattled with the fledgling American Nation!!! Included in the group of approximately 25 medals are others dating back to the mid-16th Century, an accumulation which is just staggering. I have spent the past few days trying to identify them---learning a little Latin along the way!!---and the search has been exhilarating.
We grade it XF/AU or perhaps only a VF depending on how medals such as this are graded by our European cousins. I can say that some of what looks like heavy rub/wear is really just strike weakness and the color, particularly on the reverse, is wonderful. Overall, the group contains some medals that I cannot find at any of a few good auction venues and several of the ones I have located are not nearly as well preserved as our group. On a few I have had to rely on the British Historical Museum for identification and they don't show pictures.
I am awe-struck!!
Al H
0
Comments
bob
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
My War Nickels https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/nickels/jefferson-nickels-specialty-sets/jefferson-nickels-fs-basic-war-set-circulation-strikes-1942-1945/publishedset/94452
<< <i>So how nice of a check did that couple walk out with? >>
50 rupes??, 1,000,000 dinars?
Looks like a neat collection.
Sounds like this couple did no research? I thought everyone now did a internet check to find out there collection is worth 100 times the actual amount. Peace dollars with trust misspelled, rare ikes, steel cents and the like.
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
RIP "BEAR"
--Severian the Lame
I knew it would happen.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
why do so many insist on knowing specifics such as this??
In the course of your investigation, I think that you should be asking the couple to fill in as much of the background info on the medals as possible before the recent history is lost to time.
on its face this may seem like a logical and innocent approach but you need to realize that it isn't.
<< <i>So how nice of a check did that couple walk out with?
why do so many insist on knowing specifics such as this? >>
I really don't care to know down to the penny/cent. It's sort of useful to what they're worth in case someone runs across one. How do you decide what is a fair offer to make for something like that?
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
on its face this may seem like a logical and innocent approach but you need to realize that it isn't.
Well, you've lost me on that one. I don't need to know. Never mind.
I knew it would happen.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
1) Please sell me the old coin cabinet.
2) As for assistance with the Latin, there are a few online tools and with a little digging, you will find them. I believe that Notre Dame has an online Latin parser that is useful in conjunction with other tools. There's also a compilation of Latin phrases used on coins/medals. Doing a search on the exact Latin inscription will not always help. Often the legends are abbreviated, or are a variation on the proper Latin, etc. That's were the list of commonly used legends will come in handy. Bottom line is that will usually have to piece it together.
3) There are also some books (or parts of them) found online that can help with medal identification. Brown is best for British medals. Eimer is another excellent reference. Both are hard to find, although I do believe that both are free online via scanned copies.
Years ago I bought small groups of old auction catalogs here and there. These included a long run of old Stack's and Coin Galleries catalogs from the 1960s through the 90s. I have had good luck finding information on obscure medals there, although it is time consuming. Too bad the old catalogs are not digitized and online! That would make things easier. As an experiment, I have had a couple of catalogs digitized recently, and I can search for things by keyword, since the scans were converted to real text. But that's a topic for another day.
Have fun with the new acquisition. Maybe we will see some of the medals at auction soon?
<< <i>So how nice of a check did that couple walk out with?
why do so many insist on knowing specifics such as this?? >>
Because the collectors here are hoping that the kindly couple didn't get hosed.
no.
K
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
The more you research the more you realize you need to research more.
<< <i>That second pair is awesome. >>
kaz, I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you are correct--those buttocks are sublime.
What a day!
The entertainment can never be overdressed....except in burlesque
<< <i>
<< <i>That second pair is awesome. >>
kaz, I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you are correct--those buttocks are sublime. >>
I knew it would happen.
Wow! That Eimer-280 is exceptional! A rare medal that is underrated.
Very beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.
Mercury Dime aficionados get a double bonus. Fully split and rounded tuchis . . .
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
K
yes, they are, about 21-22 total with a sprinkling of what actually were foreign coins.
Beautiful pieces of art.