Newps. A (long) tale of two shillings and a reminder: Tempus Fugit
Weiss
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I have been fortunate recently, moving out of a very, very long position and treating myself and my family to a few of the perks I put off over the years (member Russ's passing played at least a small part in that decision--Tempus Fugit).
For at least a short time, for the first time in many years, I'm not chasing tomorrow and instead I'm enjoying right now.
I was flipping through a recent Heritage auction, enjoying window shopping made sweeter by the thoughts that hey, I could actually buy that one or that one, when I saw a coin that struck me like a bolt of lightning. Just the smaller icon at the top of the scroll bar, but I immediately clicked on it.
It's not a series I collect--those who've seen my box of 20 know I'm drawn to coins that speak to me rather than the pursuit of a complete set. But it fits in well with some of the other things I collect outside of numismatics. And it definitely has that je ne sais quoi element that attracted me.
William III Shilling 1697 MS65 NGC, Royal mint, ESC-1091.
I ignored the auction listing at first and just focused on the coin. The portrait is not for everyone 
But it is bold. And the striations (planchet flaws the Brits call "haymarks") made me think of the fabric of medieval tapestries or the grain of the marble in ancient statues--the beauty of the material playing a part, perhaps unintentional, in the aesthetic of the finished design.
But the color.
The color. Holy crap. I profess not to care too much about toning. But how can you not stare at tone like that?
And when I finally read the auction listing (which is pretty poorly written, to me at least), I'd already decided to try for a coin I felt would land well outside of its high estimate. So that's what I bid. And then over the next week or two, I came back to the listing just to look at the images. And bid. What's a few more dollars gambled at the off chance I might actually win? So up went my max. And again. And again. I had to have it or had to know I'd tried way outside of my comfort level.
And then I waited. And bit my fingernails. And hoped.
And then, CRO came out with their Early Bird email.
In that listing, there was a coin I've always dreamed of owning but felt it would be frivolous. A waste of resources and a hazard to long term goals. But as I said, this time it was different.
What drew me to it was how well centered it was in a series I was used to seeing off-center, clipped, or both.
So I called John @ CRO and asked if it had sold (probably a minute after the email arrived 
) . Nope. I asked him to describe the piece, if the images were accurate, etc. It wasn't cheap. But it wasn't "elite level" like some of the pieces in this series I've seen. And in my 40+ years as a collector, I've learned that you often have to pay for quality. And John's eye for coins runs parallel with mine. So I bit the bullet.
1652 Pine Tree Shilling. Noe 8.2. PCGS VF30 CAC
But ah, now the dilemma! I'd already bid on the William III shilling and at a huge premium over even the high estimate. So it was a little pins and needles until the William III piece closed. I was pleasantly surprised. It closed at over the high estimate (including the BP), but nowhere near my highest bid.
Accurately depicting the William III piece is beyond my photographic abilities. It is a jaw dropper in hand. The obverse tone is everything it appears amplified by 100%. The reverse tone would steal the show if not for the obverse, because it has mint-bloom prooflike fields beneath the blues, yellows, reds, and sea green:
Here's a short video that gives you a tiny idea. I tried to show the proof-like fields on the reverse, you see where it turns white to black:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnJDI5CNwxM
And my first attempts to capture in photographs: 
And now the Pine Tree dream coin is in-hand, too. And it's everything CRO said it was. Dripping with history, beautifully centered, nice pink and gold highlights here and there, and at 70.1 grains with full denticals (?), it appears to be original, unaltered, unclipped, and worn just where you'd expect a ~450 year old coin would be. And much bigger than I had expected! Barber half shown for scale...
--Severian the Lame
Comments
Wow to both. That comparison image of the shiling and the half is awesome.
nice coins weiss
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/oqym2YtcS7ZAZ73D6
Very beautiful pine tree indeed.
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Two nice coins! I set myself up for a "tale of two shillings" a while ago when I bought a British 1652 shilling. One of these days, I'll get a Pine Tree to keep it company.
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Man, I am truly jealous!
Awesome coins, both of them! Good for you treating yourself like that. I would do the same!
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Thanks, guys. The comparisons are stark. It's neat to see how these two coins, struck perhaps as little as 15 years apart, could be so dramatically different.
--Severian the Lame
Those are both amazing coins.... just unbelievable history, and to be side by side in a collection (yours) is really great.... Thanks for the pictures... Cheers, RickO
i like the pine tree shilling a lot.
Beautiful Pine Tree Shilling - an amazing coin with so much history. The half dollar comparison was very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice!
Great write up and movie clip.
Congratulations!
Very nice, Weiss. Congrats!
Terrific post! A pleasure to read and watch. Sweeeet newps. That PTS is something else.
really good post. Very well done Wes. I love both coins but sure liked the the information about the Great Britain 6 pence the haymark effect and the bust styles are interesting. The remarkable thing is one can buy a coin like that for well under a grand how many in such grades can exists? Both are remarkable coins.
Great coins, Weiss. Being a W&M alum I find the William III piece especially nice! But the pine tree shilling... Wow! I often drool over the CRO offerings. Someday....