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~*~*~ Lord Marcovan's "Eclectic Box of 20" Collection ~*~*~
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,312 ✭✭✭✭✭
In 2013, I decided to pare down my collections and simplify to a 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 "Capricorn" denarius of Vespasian, struck by Titus ca. 80-81 AD
Ancient Roman Empire: orichalcum sestertius of Hadrian, struck ca. 134-138 AD, ex-Boston Museum of Fine Arts
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, struck ca. 997-1003 AD
Medieval Croatia (Ragusa): silver grosso portraying St. Blasius and Christ, ca. 1372-1438
Netherlands (Gelderland): "St. John" type gold gulden (florin) of Arnold van Egmond, ca. 1423-1472
German States (Teutonic Order): silver 1/4 thaler of Grand Master Maximilian of Austria, undated (ca. 1615)
Great Britain: silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
France: silver jeton of Louis XV, "Aurora in cloud chariot", undated (ca. 1740)
Great Britain: gilt proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806
United States: gold 5-dollar half-eagle, Liberty Head type, 1842-D (small date)
United States: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor" type, 1863
United States: proof copper-nickel 3-cent piece, Liberty head type, 1888
Guatemala, silver quarter-real, 1898
Great Britain: gold half-sovereign of Queen Victoria, 1901, from the Terner Collection
Germany (Imperial): silver half-mark, 1916-A
USA: silver commemorative half dollar, Pilgrim Tercentenary, 1920
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 "Capricorn" denarius of Vespasian, struck by Titus ca. 80-81 AD
Ancient Roman Empire: orichalcum sestertius of Hadrian, struck ca. 134-138 AD, ex-Boston Museum of Fine Arts
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, struck ca. 997-1003 AD
Medieval Croatia (Ragusa): silver grosso portraying St. Blasius and Christ, ca. 1372-1438
Netherlands (Gelderland): "St. John" type gold gulden (florin) of Arnold van Egmond, ca. 1423-1472
German States (Teutonic Order): silver 1/4 thaler of Grand Master Maximilian of Austria, undated (ca. 1615)
Great Britain: silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723
France: silver jeton of Louis XV, "Aurora in cloud chariot", undated (ca. 1740)
Great Britain: gilt proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806
United States: gold 5-dollar half-eagle, Liberty Head type, 1842-D (small date)
United States: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor" type, 1863
United States: proof copper-nickel 3-cent piece, Liberty head type, 1888
Guatemala, silver quarter-real, 1898
Great Britain: gold half-sovereign of Queen Victoria, 1901, from the Terner Collection
Germany (Imperial): silver half-mark, 1916-A
USA: silver commemorative half dollar, Pilgrim Tercentenary, 1920
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Comments
BTW- did you dig any of the coins in the pics?
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
<< <i>BTW- did you dig any of the coins in the pics? >>
Oh, no, much as that would have been a thrill. I did manage to dig a 700-year-old silver penny and a few other things in England last November, but my dug stuff doesn't approach the bought stuff in terms of quality.
Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins
Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't an optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.
My mind reader refuses to charge me....
I can't even limit myself to 20 boxes of 20!
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
<< <i>I enjoyed seeing the contents of your box LM and it was educational to read more via the links. Thanks for sharing it here. I must admit, however, that I was disappointed there wasn't a cool Conder token thrown in there somewhere - but it's not my box! >>
Ah, but just wait... The Box is constantly evolving, and I myself was just thinking about its egregious lack of a Conder token just last night.
Thanks, all.
Thanks for sharing.
I love to dabble in Ancients as well.. Such history and variety, not to mention the beauty of certain periods.
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
that 1st one is really something to me anyways
what a neat lil box you have there lordmarcovan and taste
thanks for sharing
<< <i>Very nice and interesting group of coins. >>
Ditto!
<< <i>Nice set. >>
Those are awesome LM
Best Regards,
George
"When the rule of law collapses, civilization can no longer survive." - Martin Armstrong
But it deserves all the endorsements and I wanted to be part of it even though I don't have anything unique to offer.
What a fine collection.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
And Sparky, I don't mind you "piling on" at all. Thanks for the compliments. (You know I eat that stuff up.)
Not my style of collecting. I think I would quit before I would go to this box of twenty thing.
- Jim
JH
Proof Buffalo Registry Set
Capped Bust Quarters Registry Set
Proof Walking Liberty Halves Registry Set
I like the Macedon Drachm best.
<< <i>I can see how it would be hard to choose one to leave the box. >>
It gets harder with every upgrade.
I just did a spreadsheet of my costs for the first time, now that I have a nice manageable sized collection.
I just got all of the "lower end" coins over the $100 mark for the first time. Gone are the $25 ancients in $35 plastic.
I now have seven pieces I paid over $500 for. That was my upper ceiling a few years ago. It's still my functional ceiling, but I suppose I'll be saving a little longer between purchases now.
Only one piece is over $1K (over $2K, truth be told). I am sure y'all can easily guess which one that is.
All total, I just crossed the $10K mark with the contents of this box. So it is a much smaller collection, but nicer coins than I typically have collected in the past. I do think it was worth dissolving and absorbing three or four of my old sets to fill this one small box.
(Some of you whales who have multiple coins worth more than $10K each are no doubt smiling.)
It's kind of sobering to think that the contents of this box are worth as much or more than the dumpy trailer we live in, or the vehicle I drive.
And I actually keep my coins in a safe deposit box now.
Oh, speaking of statistics, I just noticed a page on the eBay seller dashboard that shows one's all-time sales. Well, it says all time but only shows mine back to 2001. I have made over $27K in eBay sales since then. That's not a lot compared to some here, but considering I'm basically just a collector (or in the past, a tiny vestpocket dealer) who only lists a few times a year, it's interesting (to me, anyway). That's a lot of cheapo world coins. Oh, yeah, and a few consignments, but not many.
And new friends are always joining the box, as things get shuffled around.
The double-struck 1782 Irish halfpenny is being returned. Not because I was in any way dissatisfied with the deal, but since it turns out it's an 18th century counterfeit, it isn't slabbable (even though it's still collectible and worth something). So it's not the best fit for my slabbed set, and I'll be exchanging it for something else, possibly another colonial-era copper I have my eye on from the same seller, who has been easy to deal with and offered a no-hassle return.
That's an interesting way to collect coins, and learn something about their times along the way. What prompts a purchase--is it a spur-of-the-moment fancy or more deliberate?
About 4 decades ago, I was doing a similar thing (but not limiting myself to a box of 20). I never did buy an ancient coin, though.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
<< <i>What prompts a purchase--is it a spur-of-the-moment fancy or more deliberate? >>
It's a mixture of fancy and some deliberation.
After 38 years of collecting, I've covered enough varied territory that I can let loose a little and be as eclectic as I wanna be. I'm no specialist in any one thing, but have become pretty well-rounded, if I do say so myself. I've dabbled in US, World (particularly from England/UK/Ireland), a little Canadian, Ancients, Medievals, and for oddball stuff, the holey coins and love tokens, too.
<< <i>Ah, now including the classic draped bust large cent? A wonderful choice IMO. I've always like the simplicity of the obverse, the flowing hair curls, the open uncluttered fields..... A definite keeper, LM!
>>
Thanks.
I do like the Draped Bust coinage for the reasons you mentioned. That version of Lady Liberty is my favorite. I was also looking at a DB half, but it was raw. Knowing there are pitfalls when it comes to condition issues on this earlier US stuff, I thought maybe I should have a little bit of a plastic safety net. I'm reasonably confident, but by no means perfect. (You know what they say about the guy who is "Jack of all trades and master of none".)
That was very interesting! Nicely done!!
<< <i>I think half of those coins could be used to support the theory that extraterrestrials have visited Earth. >>
You mean some of them morphed into coin dealers?
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
<< <i>I think half of those coins could be used to support the theory that extraterrestrials have visited Earth. >>
No, we visited them.
Here is the evidence, on a coin that used to live in this box.
You think the space shuttle flew for the first time in the 1970s? Think again.
Look at the reverse of this coin, which was struck in 64 AD. See it there, taking off behind that lady?
Should I call the History Channel and tell 'em about this? Might be right up their alley.
Then again, maybe not. They don't do many shows about history anymore. Maybe if it were a big redneck monster truck on the back of there, they'd like it.
As of this post, the individual coin threads have not all been brought up to date (with the new pictures, or in some cases, new certification status), but I'm working on that.
This Roman Imperial was added back in November, before I went into hibernation like the Yeti I sometimes am.
The Roman Republican piece got slabbed. I'm gearing up for a small (probably 4-piece) world coin submission to PCGS.
OINK