Simonz

Recently arrived from Sincona auction. So much 'character' If only coins could talk! Any interpretation ideas on the graffiti? Damaged 'E' die apparently common. Bit of haymarking, which I think adds to the 'character'. And it's got the wrong crown according to Marsh, should have 4 more pearls?

RM mintage stats, number of commemorative sets each year looks ROUGHLY like... 2022 x 25 2021-2019 no info? 2018 x 18 2017 x 13 2016 x 13 Reporting categories get less consistent as you go further back, and nothing for 2019-21, but 2022 looks like a bumper year. Disclaimer: this is a quick and dirty count as there are all sorts of different things going on, SOTD bullion, Normal proof sovs, etc. Interested to know if there's a more accurate resource out there?

Making me nervous having just ordered my first coin from them! Charles sov, hope it doesn't take 25 years! Although it's got a long way to come and NZ Customs are extremely random! There's no VAT on 9999 gold but there is on 22K so they take ages trying to work it out! Thank God I'm not a flipper!

Is their record that bad?

Wow, another commemorative coin series! When does 'new coin fatigue' set in? How does this year compare to other years for commemorative coin launches? There's obviously going to be a few extra with the 'changing of the guard' but it seems never ending! Also wonder what might cause bottle necks for the mint? Making dies? machine set up time between short runs? materials? despatch? Hope they can deliver in reasonable timeframe...

This is the only other mention I can find of 2015 5th head bullion. https://goldsovereignexpert.com/coins/368/2015-Gold-Sovereign/ Can't find any listed for sale anywhere though, only proofs. Marsh 2021 edition makes no mention of 343, as you say. Most other sites seem to suggest only proofs of 5th head in 2015. I have a BU 2015 SOTD Charlotte which has I.R.B 4th head.

Is it possible to add another topic in photos for Guineas? Realise this is 'The Silver Forum' and I might be in too much of a minority to be of interest?

That's hilarious!!! I won't tell my Maori mates, they'll rip my arms off! Yes they are mostly built like Chewbacca! Oh yes remember Kiaora juice, 1970's-80's?

Thanks for the kind welcome everyone, much appreciated. 'Aurora' is fine these days thanks Lawrence... or has it autocorrected 'Aotearoa'? Would be happier if the ABs hadn't gone to sleep in the last minute at Twickenham yesterday! Half the reason I shifted to NZ was so I could support a decent team! Go "the people's popular front!"

Hi everyone, very happy to be a part of this forum, hoping to learn and contribute. Only recently started collecting due to change in circumstances and have gravitated towards Guineas, so much tactile history! I am ex UK, shifted to NZ in 2005 so don't qualify as a local yet! The one thing I miss about the UK is the history and coins seem a great way to reconnect. Looking forward to it, cheers Simon.

Thanks for your reply. Yes was super happy to win that coin, was amazing to see the prices some of them went for and was losing hope. Doesn't that smack of deliberate deception? They are trying to hide information about an item where knowledge is everything. I passed over several 'details' coins at the auction and now no one will know what 'issue' those coins have. Yes you can see 'graffiti' and basic condition but many problems picked up at grading are much more ambiguous. Also they will presumably lose the letter grade? 'XF Details Cleaned' would have more value than 'F Details Cleaned' and now they will all be lumped together as 'Genuine'!? The email from Spink also mentioned that 20% of the coins have already been collected by the buyers who did not want to wait for regrading, presumably most will be de-slabbed. I do like the design of the Hoard label and am now 80% likely to leave mine slabbed. Impossible to regain the provenance which is an important part of the history if they are de-slabbed. Interested to see into the future, will every coin be slabbed? What 'style' of slab will become more of an issue than the coin. People are already re-slabbing old holders and I see that NGC is now introducing a '10-point NGCX' grading system!

Just joined your illustrious forum so please forgive any newbie faux pas. Recent change in circumstances has allowed me some time and $ to pursue this new hobby so am on a steep but fascinating learning curve. I thought you might be interested to hear about my ongoing experience from a recent purchase, apologies for the length of this essay but I do think Spink have created a serious issue! Found myself drawn to the tactile history of Guineas and after sitting on the sidelines of various auctions (Guineas are very thin on the ground in my location!) I took the plunge and managed to win an Ellerby Hoard coin at the Spink auction. Was initially a bit disappointed that they were all going to be slabbed, they are all had lots of 'character' and none of them were going to get high grades, smacked a little of Spink trying to appeal to US market? They're a business and trying to get the best result, but I think its come back to bite them! I also happened to be in London the week prior to the auction so requested to go and view the coins, "You will be most welcome to view the Ellerby sale this week at your convenience". Arrived at their office to be told the coins were "not really in a viewable state"! Was then further surprised and disappointed when the invoice arrived, post auction, by the revelation that they didn't have the coins! "PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL LOTS ARE CURRENTLY WITH NGC FOR ELLERBY HOARD LABELLING PURPOSES. WE EXPECT THE COINS TO BE RETURNED TO US BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER" It sounds like Spink sent coins for grading prior to the auction and they came back in standard holders, Spink had requested a special 'Ellerby Hoard' label so they were returned to NGC, again prior to the auction. Mid November and no news, so chased them along with an email. Received a very long apologetic reply that was very ambiguous about who was at fault, but one comment seemed to suggest the root cause of the problem; "the conversion of ‘Details’ to ‘Genuine’ is confounding NGC's internal processes" Are Spink trying to tell NGC how to grade coins? Surely this would corrupt the whole concept of consistent coin grading? Will be interesting to see how this pans out, if NGC comply will they still include any details issues, cleaning, environmental wear etc? All the coins were listed at the auction with normal grading i.e. 'details' coins were listed as such, so buyers knew what they were bidding on. I will be surprised if NGC comply as it will set a precedent for other large auction houses to tell them how to grade and erode consumer confidence? I'm 50/50 on whether to break it out of the slab anyway, hate them! if it ever arrives! Interested in your views on grading and this 'battle of the titans'?