TeaTime

These were produced by a number of manufacturers (sometimes commissioned from genuine mints) around the time of the inception of the 'euro' (1999+).

Often described as patterns or trials - they were more accurately fantasy coins and have limited appeal.

I confess i bought my set direct from the manufacturer simply because i liked the 'three graces' inspired 5 euro design. 😬

Try 'love token' on Ebay for some examples..... There's one listed now under 'Lords Prayer Victorian Silver Coin 3 Pence 1883'

I went through a phase of collecting engraved coins and have the same one - there is a small but fervent market for them. They were hand engraved and are often referred to as love or sweetheart tokens.

The lords prayer appears to be a common theme. 

he he.... I often search for 'sliver' on Ebay. Another good search is 'glod'

Once in a while it pays off. 

I can't afford to be a flipper !

And that's the reality for most of the people (including me) who object to it. If i really want a particular coin to collect (fondle, stare at, lick, whatever) it may mean going without something else to be able to afford the purchase. Knowing someone has purchased multiples, cutting me out of the option of MRP, is a bitter pill to swallow. 

The biggest difference between a collector and a flipper ? Disposable income 😁

Well, that video convinced me. 

I'm gonna dig out all my old fashioned 70 scale c**p and convert to the 10 point scale. It's the future.

Sponsored by NGCX 

I consider myself a collector BUT with the ultimate aim of selling. I think one difference between a collector and a flipper is that most collectors buy what they like whereas flippers buy what they think others will like. 

As for minting coins to match demand - Why not ? It's the soundest business decision for something as mundane as a coin.  A shortage of a fixed price product will not benefit the manufacturer, only the secondary seller.

It's all down to personal choice - is the original box important to you ? In my case the answer would be yes because a) the NGC slabs are prone to scratches and it is expensive to get re-slabbed and b) the potential re-sale value is reduced without the original packaging. Examples of this are all over Ebay where empty coin boxes are up for sale from anywhere between £15 & £75 🙄 This may also explain why there is no COA/box with the slabbed coin, it may well be for sale elsewhere !

'10 is the best grade' and '70 is the best grade' both seem fairly simple to me - for simplicity alone a whole number rating will always be simpler than one utilising fractions. That's probably why it was originally used. Using 0.1 increments for part of the scale and 0.5 increments for other parts also comes across as a bit lazy - an 'outsider' would assume that a 7.5 rating is a lot lower than an 8 rating whereas it could be the same coin examined on a different day...

I wonder how many people will get coins re-slabbed so that the labels match ?

Assuming the 1-10 scale will be sub-divided (i.e 7.2 or 8.3) then it's really just expanding the 70 point scale into a 100 point scale, not 10.

A cynical and obvious ploy to part gullible people from their money. And it will work.

There were a lot of different sets produced around 2002/2003 - of varying quality - and are curiosity sets only. I rarely see them for sale but would imagine the value is minimal.

My replacement Britannias arrived today (including a reimbursement of postage costs). It took a bit of to-and-fro but in the end a very satisfactory outcome. Communication with this company's customer service was excellent.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank............ Chards 🙂

I always thought it was based on Joely Richardson and it's my favourite Britannia design 😍

The phrase is still on all current banknotes (they've just made it a lot smaller). As for sterling - up until precious metals stopped being used, all coins had an intrinsic value so no promises were required.

To achieve a '70' rating a coin must show no imperfections that are deemed not as a result of the minting process.... 

So the response so far has been - we will accept a return if you pay both the postage costs. Which is basically increasing the total cost of the coins to £72. I have appealed to their sense of fair play and asked if that decision is final. Good that they will accept a return but bad that they are using the tired 'it's only bullion' excuse for sending out defective product....

It's a good question - how many of the QE II version will be sold and will it have a rarity value in the future. My gut feeling is that everyone who wants one (both the 1/10th and quarter oz) will be buying one in the next few weeks. I can't see any long-term substantial increase in value but possibly a short term bump once they stop minting them. Gold stackers won't care whose head is on the coins and collectors will probably have one. So you are basically hoping that at some point in the future there are more collectors than there are right now...

It's an interesting point regarding the RM accepting returns on badly damaged coins. If the actual manufacturer concedes that the product is not of sufficient quality then the secondary dealer really can't say otherwise. Unless, of course, the dealer is treating the coins as second-hand (in which case i want my VAT back) !

My opinion is, and always will be, that i am purchasing a manufactured product that happens to be made of silver. I want the same quality of product as advertised. I don't accept a catch-all disclaimer that basically states we will send you an ounce of silver without regard for the condition of the product. That could work for commodities but not, in my opinion, for coins. And in this case i was purchasing coins, not investment silver. 

This was my first time using this particular dealer - i'll contact them tomorrow and see what response i get (and post it here). 

These were 2023 coins.....Unfortunately i didn't buy direct from the RM but from a dealer. I can sort of understand (but don't agree with) the argument that they are bullion coins so are only worth spot (?) . Surely if they are only bullion then they should be for sale at bullion prices, not at a premium.

Buyers purchasing silver in huge amounts as an investment are one thing, purchasers buying one or two as examples though surely should expect better. I would expect a dealer to ensure that coins sent out in small batches (ones and twos) at least had a cursory check to ensure that they were not badly damaged ?

I paid £59.06 for two brits (inc post) with a scrap value of £33 + 20% vat = £39.60. It feels as though i have just thrown away £20..... 

I don't normally buy 1oz Britannias but decided to get a couple as examples of the last of the queen Elizabeth portrait. I was a tad disappointed with what i received though.  I know this topic has been done to death in the past but i genuinely would appreciate any opinions on whether these would be considered value for money at nearly double spot (inc postage)....

I had a similar issue when i purchased using my credit card (again, the RM website states it doesn't accept credit cards - but it does).

When i checked with my bank (Lloyds) they had just introduced a fee for credit card purchases of 'money' which included travel money, gambling and PMs. I am going to assume that purchasing ANY coins will, as far as the bank is concerned, be treated as a cash advance and charged accordingly.

I got stung for buying $1000 dollars travel cash and a couple of RM sovereigns

My tube of quarters arrived today - i say tube but unfortunately the end was off so i received 20 shiny little loose coins and an empty tube. I suppose the cost of a bit of tape to secure the lid was beyond the RM. Ironic really seeing as the tube was thrown placed in an envelope which was then placed in a box surrounded by packing paper.

I haven't yet decided if it's pure incompetence or deliberate disdain. I'm edging to the latter.

I got thrown out earlier 😶.. Also with Virgin 🙄.

Managed to log back in though so it may have been the RM site.

In my experience 'mint to order' has worked favourably for previous coin runs - mainly because the RM have historically bad advertising and notification budgets/processes*. Most people wouldn't be aware that an item was even for sale before production ceased. Examples being the 2016 silver sixpence or the 2009 'Blue Peter' 50 pence coins. 

This time around the media coverage coupled with a significant historical event has made these items more widely known.  The 3 month production run on the silver proofs makes sense for a company who want to maximise profits whilst maintaining a semblance of 'exclusivity'.

There will be a lot of casual purchases of these coins (simply because they are a hot item) which will end up on the secondary market. I will be getting a silver proof 50p (because i like the look of it) probably around Feb/Mar 2023 and i'm hoping to pay around £20 for it 😁

* I'm still awaiting RM notification of the first King Charles coins !

All i can say is i often see common year proof sovereigns being offered (privately) at a tad over bullion prices. Certainly at way below the cost of new. 

Maybe it's because the RM think charging an extra £200 for a proof sovereign is ok. Yet the extra cost for a one ounce silver proof coin is around a quarter of that. People tend to not be as gullible (at least after-market) as the RM think.

Equally with sets - the majority of buyers are looking at the value of the metal rather than having different sizes of the same coin...

As with any modern proof coins, some will command a hefty premium but most will not.