kimchi

I haven't contacted them about it.

Received an email from RM regarding the 1991 Proof Sovereign(s) they have for sale.  The listing claims it has a mintage of only 4,713 coins, however looking at the information from Spink this was for the single coin set only.  The 1 sovereign was also included in the 3 and 4 coin sets with a total mintage of 7,201 coins (including the single coin sets).
Royal Mint listing here: https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/ranges/historic-coins/historic-sovereigns/elizabeth-ii/1991-Elizabeth-II-Proof-Sovereign
 
 

For anyone interested, I was just on phone to RM and asked them to check the stock on a couple of things including this,
They had three in stock, I wasn't greedy and only ordered one, so there are two left - if anyone wants to do the same the product code is PJ22STD 

My favourite coin from the RM in many years.  I bought mine direct from Sovereign Rarities.

My lovely coin

Oh yes, they seem to make such huge 'stupid errors' (which discredit police investigations) when it comes to 'innocent' people, but never the guilty ones who work for them...
I still haven't forgiven them for (among other things) NOT naming Lord McAlpine on TV, and then paying him half a million odd of our money as compensation. Philip Schofield of course being the culprit for ITV. McAlpine never did sue me (or anyone else) for publicly calling him as a paedo...just the BBC and ITV gave him a fortune for not mentioning him at all.
I'm sure many of us remember Jill Dando's murder, and anyone who knows the case knows that Barry George had nothing to do with it, it was a professional hit. 'Rumours' are that she was about to expose a paedo ring at the BBC and, funnily enough, had confided in her friend Cliff Richard (I of course imply nothing but a coincidence). Meanwhile, post-Savile her co-presenter on Crimewatch Nick Ross came out and said that he'd probably look at child abuse images 'to see what the fuss is about' 🤮 🤮 🤮
All just an 'unfortunate' set of circumstances because the BBC is totally inept, I'm sure...

He must have a big nozzle

Absolutely. Get a practical skill under your belt and get blooming good at it asap, you'll do better than anyone else.

Uni loans for most will now never be paid of..  its basically 1 to 2 per cent more tax forever on your earnings..  
I advised both my kids to leave school asap and get jobs at big firms to get a few years graft on their CV's  ..
they both did and as with any big company there is always free training, courses, the lot ..  apply for everything..
my son got his HGV for free at Network rail ..
then you can bat on and do your own thing,  or stay there as people will always be leaving big companies. there are always openings and networking opportunities ..
id give the same advice to any kid leaving school now.   unless you are academically gifted in something 'academic' then swerve Uni completely  

I can, and I don't mind going without anyway, but who's looking after the folks in their 80s like this?
(I know you were joking pal but it's getting very serious!)

The small business owners I know can barely afford to stay open at all, let alone give their workers a pay rise. They will simply go bust

I was 'laughed off' by some Youtubers last year for saying that interest rates should have been much higher, and should have been gradually raised to much higher levels for years - 'oh they can't do that, it'll break the economy'. Well wtf else are we looking at now?
And they hammer the students first with where interest rates should have been at least two years ago? WTF?
Outrageous.
But there will be no salary correction in the public sector (those in Government who give their mates billions to develop useless Track and Trace, or millions per day to store useless PPE, which also cost billions from their mates). Small businesses on the whole cannot afford to raise salaries at the same time costs are increasing (or have already increased) up to 100%. Hammered by Covid mandates our PM flouts with barely an apology, many of our last (remaining) small businesses are on their knees already...

I was 'laughed off' by some Youtubers last year for saying that interest rates should have been much higher, and should have been gradually raised to much higher levels for years - 'oh they can't do that, it'll break the economy'. Well wtf else are we looking at now?
And they hammer the students first with where interest rates should have been at least two years ago? WTF?
Outrageous.
But there will be no salary correction in the public sector (those in Government who give their mates billions to develop useless Track and Trace, or millions per day to store useless PPE, which also cost billions from their mates). Small businesses on the whole cannot afford to raise salaries at the same time costs are increasing (or have already increased) up to 100%. Hammered by Covid mandates our PM flouts with barely an apology, many of our last (remaining) small businesses are on their knees already...

Cuts some spuds up ya lazy sod! 😁

@FlorinCollector it’s an insane prospect  not a case of whinging about the odd price hike, it’s criminal what most families are facing impossible for people to try and absorb hundreds of pounds more per month.  My neighbour has a good job but commutes 130+ miles a day and he’s wincing at fuel costs, and I know they both have student loans outstanding. 
There is quickly going to be a point of no return where people can not re budget, earn more or absorb these insane prices for any sustained period of time without a serious salary correction. 
 
 
 
 

oh. I never knew higher earners had a different rate. Another thing was I thought the plan in Scotland was always calculated differently but I am now on plan 4 which is RPI or BOE interest rate + 1% whichever is lower. So in September mine will most likely be going to somewhere around 2-3%. I have been overpaying but I think I better start paying a good bit more. 

Is the rest of you 88% Roman catholic then? or buddhist?

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.