Dan O'Dowd The Tyrant UK £300 Million Coin Collection

[LawrenceChard]

Today's Daily Telegraph carries a news report on page 11, headed "Secretive collector has more coins than the Royal Mint"

While I was more than interested in hearing about this for the first time, I have already spotted three typical journalistic errors, and I have not yet finished the second paragraph.

Doing a Google search for "coins" under "news", shows only one relevant result, so kudos to the Telegraph for being the first in the UK to report it. Just a shame it can't get simple facts right, but that's about normal for most newspapers, and other media.

I very much doubt that he has more coins than the Royal Mint, which produces about a million pennies a day, besides many other denominations and coins for other countries. It therefore throws the Telegraph's claim into doubt. In fact it is plainly ridiculous.

It also says in a caption under a 1957 gold sovereign:

In 1957 gold sovereigns were issued for investment for the first time during Elizabeth II's reign, and were the only gold sovereigns produced for circulation between 1932 and the introduction of British decimalisation in 1971...

In one sentence, it contradicted itself, first saying they were issued for investment, then saying produced for circulation. It slao ignores the fact that sovereigns were issued and dated 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968.

The online version says

"Billionaire ‘Tyrant’ unveils collection of coins minted by every English and British monarch
Secretive collector reveals identity after completing 17-year mission to assemble a hoard that surpasses even that held by the Royal Mint"

By Craig Simpson 12 March 2022 • 7:00am

A tech billionaire known as “the Tyrant” has finished the first coin collection spanning the entirety of English and British history, with an array of currency more complete than that of the Royal Mint.

Coins minted by every monarch – all the way back to 7th-century Anglo-Saxon kings – have been compiled by the secretive collector to form part of a £300 million set known as the “Tyrant Collection”.

The mysterious figure behind the set, until now known only as “the Tyrant” in the numismatic community, has been unmasked as a US tech billionaire who has spent the past 17 years assembling the most valuable coin hoard in the world.

Dan O’Dowd kept both his identity and his ambition to own a coin featuring every English and British monarch secret to avoid being held to ransom on the price, but the designer of software for fighter jets has revealed himself after completing his dreamed-of collection.

He said: “Bill Gates builds a house, Jeff Bezos builds a yacht, everybody has something they want to do. I didn’t really want to buy a yacht because I get seasick. I collect coins.

“It’s my hobby, it’s my release. It’s completely separate from everything I do in business. It’s just something that’s always fascinated me.”

The founder of Green Hills Software, which provides technology for nuclear bombers, is worth around £1.5 billion, and has been collecting the world’s rarest coins since 2005. His 1,000-strong collection of coins minted by this country’s rulers has examples dating back beyond the Royal Mint’s 1,100-year history, and includes currency issued by obscure 7th-century Kentish king Eadbald, and Mercian ruler Offa.

Encompassing currency from the nine-month rule of Harold Godwinson, and surviving pieces from the brief reign of abdicant king Edward VIII, the Tyrant Collection is the largest in private hands and rivals that of institutions such as the British Museum. 

Mr O’Dowd, who ordinarily keeps a low profile because of his military and government work, has managed to keep his passion for coin collecting equally secret. He said: “When you build a coin collection, if you’re too big, and people find out what you are doing, they can hold you up.

“If anyone knew what I was doing, the collection I was trying to build – they could charge me whatever they want. They could extort me on every coin because they would know I needed that coin or I wouldn’t have the complete set. I did it completely in secret. Nobody knew there was even a collection being built, so I managed to get it without being taken advantage of.”

Both the print and online versions include some nice colour photos, including a 1957 sovereign which is undoubtedly a proof version. I was aware that 1957 proofs existed, and have seen at least one previously.

I will now finish reading the print version, to see how many other boobs I can spot. There are more than page 3 of The Sun so far.

 

[HerefordBullyun]

AH BUT he may allegedly have more coins than RM but certainly not more than @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer😁 and I bet he hasnt one of your mystery boxes!

Edited March 12, 2022 by HerefordBullyun

[LawrenceChard]

10 minutes ago, HerefordBullyun said:

AH BUT he may allegedly have more coins than RM but certainly not more than @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer😁 and I bet he hasnt one of your mystery boxes!

I think you should tell him!

😎

[HerefordBullyun]

1 minute ago, LawrenceChard said:

I think you should tell him!

😎

Im not in the millionaires social circles the only circles I am is the ones I go round in as my one leg is shorter than the other. Ask king @James32 as hes on millionaires row the human gold hoover inventor

[Griffo]

2 hours ago, LawrenceChard said:

I think you should tell him!

😎

What's a mystery box, or is it a secret as well as a mystery 🤔

[motorbikez]

@LawrenceChard certainly has it in for the dumb press re coins lol, I have it in for them & the BBC for all the woke s--te they come out with.

[dicker]

Ludicrous comment from The Telegraph.    

Might I humbly suggest that there may be collections that exist in private hands that exceed his in terms of quality and scope and are simply not known other than to a collector or family.

Some people who have made a lot of money like to show it off, the smart ones don’t.

Best

Dicker

 

 

[LawrenceChard]

20 minutes ago, Griffo said:

What's a mystery box, or is it a secret as well as a mystery 🤔

You had to buy one to find out!

😎

Actually, there is a link on TSF, and also a few unboxing videos on YouTube, some of which may also be linked on TSF.

[LawrenceChard]

13 minutes ago, dicker said:

Ludicrous comment from The Telegraph.    

Might I humbly suggest that there may be collections that exist in private hands that exceed his in terms of quality and scope and are simply not known other than to a collector or family.

Some people who have made a lot of money like to show it off, the smart ones don’t.

Best

Dicker

 

 

Are you suggesting Dan O'Dowd is not one of the smart ones?

🙂

[dicker]

Smart enough to make money.  But, like oligarchs likes the cachet and the reputation.

It is not always a good idea to make yourself a target (IRS, HMRC, and other more honest organisations like the mafia)

Best

Dicker