kimchi

It's been a long time since I went to university. I was aware things had become very tough for students, but I am beyond shocked, that is absolutely outrageous 😮

12% interest for higher earners, but  lower-earning graduate will see the interest rate increase from the current 1.5% to 9%. 
If a household in England has 2 adults with student loans, eat's food, dare puts the heating on or puts fuel in the car are going to be decimated, and all this is before interest rates rise.  

Some of these coins might be available because on Sunday night I cancelled £8,500 of coins I had in open orders due to RM being unable to post out coins they already have in their possession and already minted (apparently). So either they are liars, inept or both 🤷‍♂️ 
I’m done with them. I didn’t even get a reply from my account manager but I know they got my email because the orders have been cancelled.
Still wait for a card refund now from December 2021!!! Fuming 😡
Likely to send them a Chargeback request if not refunded before Friday. 🤦‍♂️ 
How not to run a company.

Interest rate on my student loan rose to 1.5% but strap in if you live in England. Rising to 12% in the Autumn. 🤒🤒🤒
BBC spokesperson saying won’t really affect you guys in the long term 😐

For the record…a list of the privy (1oz) kooks I’m aware of:-




That’s up to 2020 anyway…
 

So was I!
Despite this, I have ordered two of the F15’s , 2021 and 2022. Even with postage of $70CAD and Uk VAT, they are half the asking prices of the few that turn up on eBay. Drop me a line in a few weeks is you want one of each…(I will do them for you at cost to me).

I'm still expecting a 'regular' (!) piedfort in the summer, what do others think?

Okay so here’s my promised reply…
As some here have said, the simple answer is that pattern coins are exactly that - patterns - and therefore not legal tender. 
The stories behind them are however much more interesting, and also not very straightforward, if one cares for such things.
Usually pattern coins were “pre production patterns” stuck when new coinage / designs were to be released, to test various aspects about them, not least how they actually look and feel.
Remember that back in the day coinage didn’t change all that much. It typically changed for special occasions like coronations and jubilees, and commemorative coinage was issued only for very special events - certainly there was no weekly/monthly commemorative coinage like we have today.
So the pre production patterns were struck in limited numbers, usually less than 10 or so, and once their job was done, they were either melted down or retained and presented to important people and organisations as prestige pieces and sets (such as the British Museum, the Royal Collection, the Royal Mint Museum itself, and in some cases to privileged and important individuals).
Today, we have new designs every other week, and pattern pieces for these are common. We saw the recent Royal Mint Die Trial / Pattern Pieces Auction. You can read about die trial pieces here:
https://www.royalmint.com/collect/auction/what-is-a-die-trial-piece/
Now, coming to this 2022 Piedfort Pattern Sovereign set... 
As the Die Trial Pieces auction shows, the RM already made and auctioned off the pattern pieces made for the 2022 Sovereign.
So it seems this Piedfort pattern set is more of a prestige set made specially for privileged people, like in the old days. It is extremely limited and unique (being plain edge and piedfort). I believe this set marks the first time ever the other Sovereign denominations have been struck as piedfort coins.
The ebay listing is, I think, referring to the 1937 pattern coinage set made for Edward VIII, who of course abdicated and therefore his coinage was never released in the UK. So those pattern sets are not only rare but also among the most desirable m and expensive because they’re the only way collectors can ever own British coinage of Edward VIII. 
Here is a nice little article about these pattern coins: 
https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/collection/coins/the-coins-of-edward-viii/
The Australian pattern coinage of Edward VIII is also fascinating, and rather gorgeous too: 
https://coinworks.com.au/The-1937-Pattern-coinage-of-Edward-VIII
The 1937 George VI 4-coin Proof Sovereign set also consisted of pattern coins - they are all plain edge.
As did the 1953 4-coin Elizabeth II Sovereign set - however these are milled edge.
Finally, I find it especially difficult to comprehend that these ebay sellers are selling their pattern sets even before they’ve received them or had the chance to enjoy them. It’s as if they don’t even care about what it is they’ve been offered - to be a part of history. This is the first ever platinum jubilee, and the last we’ll ever see for generations. It is so historic.
What a shame to just turn them over for a quick profit. If ever there was a definition of flipping coins, this would be it.

So I am a long way into completing the 1oz proof and bullion editions.
Its a fairly large collection with a lot of annoying niche coins (expo coins, Privy coins etc).  There are some excellent threads on the forum that try and document all known Kooks.  
Via Aussie connections, I have heard that there may be some other Kook oddities so can’t comment on these but suspect there are some super rare varieties not yet Known
 
 

All very subjective I'm afraid but I will give you my opinion based on what I have seen sold for and have seen available recently. 
1oz britannias ( say 2018 until now) £25-27 each ,maybe a slight reduction for full tube.
1oz maples £25-£27
1oz krugerands £25-£27
1oz American eagles type 1  £27-£30
Standard ( non proof or special years) kookaburra and koalas £25-£30 varies a lot
Chinese pandas £27 up to £45 depending on rarity 
Kilo bars will vary depending on brand but £730 seems current average posted ( £12.15 postage cost)
250gram bars £190-£210
100gram bars £78-£100
10oz bars will vary massively but are around £260 average depending on brand/minted/cast etc
5 oz bars and coins £130 average 
1oz bars depending on brand £25-£32
 
 
 

No need to wait until tomorrow for my input, @Foster88, same day service, even at weekend! (Although rarely concise).
Have a look at any ancient coin, for example:

Britannia, Seated on the Reverse of an As of Antoninus Pius
Notice, it does not have a denomination shown on it.
Then you could have a look at this page:
Gold Coins
Four millennia of gold coin production and use - a brief history.
ttps://taxfreegold.co.uk/goldcoinsbriefhistory.html
Although it deals with gold coins, similar principles also apply to silver coins, and base metal ones.
You might also find this page interesting:
https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/brief-history-of-british-coins/464
Some coins of Elizabeth I had "value marks" on them, for example, this shilling had a rose to distinguish it from a shilling or groat (fourpence):

Although there may be some earlier examples of denominations shown on coins, it became more important under Elizabeth I because of the huge expansion in coinage and the number of denominations.
The pages I have linked also answer a number of other points raised in this topic / thread.
🙂
 

This I think is key, it frightens me seeing people not using coins and notes, and even more contactless (could this have something to do with covid and pushing the idea of dirty money). I do believe both an uncentralized crypto and gods money will break the back of fiat.

It depends very much on the set, but generally I would say that you'll get the best prices by splitting up sets unfortunately rather than selling as a whole. E.G. the number of people willing to pay top price for one coin will be much larger than the number of people willing to buy a whole set they don't need most of just for one or two coins.
The QBs on the whole did very well indeed but I personally do not expect the same from the Tudor Beasts and am not touching them.
Maybe the Monarchs could buck the trend (?) but not inclined to find out!

Ohh my!

He must have a big nozzle

Do you want to be again close the schoolyard by Teacher ChrisSilver?

He must have a big nozzle

He must have a big nozzle

Im due to buy an oz next week  

It depends very much on the set, but generally I would say that you'll get the best prices by splitting up sets unfortunately rather than selling as a whole. E.G. the number of people willing to pay top price for one coin will be much larger than the number of people willing to buy a whole set they don't need most of just for one or two coins.
The QBs on the whole did very well indeed but I personally do not expect the same from the Tudor Beasts and am not touching them.
Maybe the Monarchs could buck the trend (?) but not inclined to find out!

It depends very much on the set, but generally I would say that you'll get the best prices by splitting up sets unfortunately rather than selling as a whole. E.G. the number of people willing to pay top price for one coin will be much larger than the number of people willing to buy a whole set they don't need most of just for one or two coins.
The QBs on the whole did very well indeed but I personally do not expect the same from the Tudor Beasts and am not touching them.
Maybe the Monarchs could buck the trend (?) but not inclined to find out!

It depends very much on the set, but generally I would say that you'll get the best prices by splitting up sets unfortunately rather than selling as a whole. E.G. the number of people willing to pay top price for one coin will be much larger than the number of people willing to buy a whole set they don't need most of just for one or two coins.
The QBs on the whole did very well indeed but I personally do not expect the same from the Tudor Beasts and am not touching them.
Maybe the Monarchs could buck the trend (?) but not inclined to find out!

This is the reverse design that should have been used for the sovereign in my opinion, it looks great.

He was right to highlight it imo and did so in a reasonable and constructive way. If he hadn't then people wouldn't have necessarily tested their bars. The producer tested 3 of their bars so showed they took it seriously (quite rightly) - again I agree with him that this sample size is far too small.
It's highly likely to be a batch problem. You don't get just one (say) .958 bar in a run of thousands, with all the rest being .999. Everyone should be testing their bars and imo the company should be contacting everyone who bought one.

if anyone is looking for the Completer, our Canadian member/dealer here (Art in Coins) is selling it for Cdn $2,500 (approx £1,462.45) before shipping.