No! 138 is the number of idiots you hope will buy this, Simon! - Grafito on Limited Edition Certificate

[LawrenceChard]

No! 138 is the number of idiots you hope will buy this, Simon! - Grafito on Limited Edition Certificate

Our star photographer commented "Nice design though - shame about the sentiment".

It can be rather frustrating when people sell us proof coins or sets, and the certificate has been lost, damaged, or written on.

In this case, I think it is hugely entertainng and amusing. I don't know the back story to this, but I imagine its recent owner must have done this in annoyance at the resale value compared with the original price.

It is also likely that the original buyer was some old person with too much money and nothing else to do, or spend it on, who may have given it to grandchildren or other relations. The coin is only dated 2021, so is very recent.

This was the full certificate, with the grafito Photoshopped off:

The "Simon" on the grafito obviously being Simon Mellinger, Managing Director, Hattons of London, whose name and "signature" appear on the certificate.

The actual coin is probably less interesting:

Only now have I discovered that the coin fails to mention Covid, and is simply a "GEORGE AND DRAGON SOVEREIGN". A pleasant design by Jody Clark.

Obverse:

Which reveals it was issued in the name of Alderney. with another Jody Clark portrait of the queen.

No mention of "Britain Conquers Covid" on the coin whatsoever, only on the certificate.

Finally, I have just seen what is on the brass(ish) plaque proclaiming

"Struck on March 8th 2021 the beginning of the end of Britain's lockdowns"

Could all this have just been a marketing gimmick?

Before I posted this, I did a Google search for a "Britain Conquers Covid" gold sovereign, and failed to find one.

I also searched Hattons website, and failed to find any trace of one.

I did find:

THE 2021 GEORGE AND THE DRAGON 200TH ANNIVERSARY GOLD SOVEREIGN

£799.00

Which looks identical to the so-called "Britain Conquers Covid" sovereign, but with an issue limit of 1399 "Limited to just 1,399"

Is that misleading advertising?

Or is there some other subtle difference which I have missed?

😎

 

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by LawrenceChard

[pricha]

Spot on. The target for this stuff is the elderly. I've seen it many times. Absolute c**p.. I remember one old neighbour,  he's poor wife was going round the bend because he kept buying commemorative coins that were just garbage . Of course you can't explain to them as they won't listern.  Sadly he passed away and I doubt the family got a 10th of what he paid for them. The "" Covid "" coin could have been written for the adult comic Viz  , if anyone remembers that. They had full page adverts that took the piss out of these firms selling old commemorate tat. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by pricha

[pricha]

[LawrenceChard]

13 minutes ago, pricha said:

Spot on. The target for this stuff is the elderly. I've seen it many times. Absolute c**p.. I remember one old neighbour,  he's poor wife was going round the bend because he kept buying commemorative coins that were just garbage . Of course you can't explain to them as they won't listern.  Sadly he passed away and I doubt the family got a 10th of what he paid for them. The "" Covid "" coin could have been written for the adult comic Viz  , if anyone remembers that. They had full page adverts that took the piss out of these firms selling old commemorate tat. 

Yes, so did "Mad" magazine before it.

😎

8 minutes ago, pricha said:

Great!

I thought it was a real advert at first!

😎

[SemolinaPilchard]

27 minutes ago, pricha said:

could have been written for the adult comic Viz  , if anyone remembers that. ...

I keep Roger's Profanisaurus in my upstairs bog and Viz issues 112-121 in my downstairs bog   

[MonkeysUncle]

Hmmmm, think this has all the hallmarks of a "dodgy dealer limited edition" special...

In my youth I was a dogsbody for a dealer of what was then Austin Rover motor cars. Stuff that really wouldn't sell usually ended up with me and another bloke putting those stick on go faster stripes, a pair of front fogs screwed to the bumper and a sticker with some BS limited edition name to make mug punter think the car was special. Oh, and usually a few hundred quid on the sticker price which could be immediately taken off by the friendly salesman so the mug punter was enticed further along the path to getting his wallet out.

Who could resist the limited edition goodness of an Austin Maestro 1.3 peasant spec. base model in rattan beige, set off by front fogs, a go faster brown stripe and a Warrior badge? Form an orderly queue now...

[SidS]

3 hours ago, MonkeysUncle said:

Who could resist the limited edition goodness of an Austin Maestro 1.3 peasant spec. base model in rattan beige, set off by front fogs, a go faster brown stripe and a Warrior badge? Form an orderly queue now...

Well I'm in, where can I sign up for one?

[Smiler999]

Just out of curiosity @LawrenceChard did you

A) buy this in

if so is it just for scrap? I can't imagine you'd resell tat like that 

 

[Britannia47]

How about this one? It’s a must have!  I saw it on TV last week…..

 

[LawrenceChard]

19 minutes ago, Smiler999 said:

Just out of curiosity @LawrenceChard did you

A) buy this in

if so is it just for scrap? I can't imagine you'd resell tat like that 

 

I don't know exactly what we paid, but this is a proof coin, so it is unlikely that we bought it for scrap.

The coin itself is very nice, IMO, just the marketing and certificate stating it to be something it is clearly isn't, which is tacky.

The original Hattons price looks to have been at about 100% premium at the time. 

If it was a UK issue, it would probably still sell for close to the original price, if not the original premium, but because it is Alderney, there will be less interest and demand.

It is still a desirable coin!

😎

 

[LawrenceChard]

4 minutes ago, Britannia47 said:

How about this one? It’s a must have!  I saw it on TV last week…..

 

Thanks for posting that. It don't watch much TV, and even less of the commercial channels. When adverts appear, one of several things happen:

I disappear

I flick channels

I turn the TV off

Most TV advertising seems to be aimed at morons, and I can only assume those from Hattons and other Coin Marketing Companies are some of the worst.

I also dislike "one gram" coins, which seem to be produced to fill a marketing price point. This one is not an unreasonable premium, at anout 50%. Although  at least "one gram" coins are better than "half gram" ones.

We get people who have seen tiny gold coins, at similar or lower prices, who then seem to think it is scandalous when told a gold sovereign will cost them about £360. "But I've seen them on TV for only £50!"

😎

[Petra]

2 hours ago, LawrenceChard said:

Thanks for posting that. It don't watch much TV, and even less of the commercial channels. When adverts appear, one of several things happen:

I disappear

I flick channels

I turn the TV off

Most TV advertising seems to be aimed at morons, and I can only assume those from Hattons and other Coin Marketing Companies are some of the worst.

I also dislike "one gram" coins, which seem to be produced to fill a marketing price point. This one is not an unreasonable premium, at anout 50%. Although  at least "one gram" coins are better than "half gram" ones.

We get people who have seen tiny gold coins, at similar or lower prices, who then seem to think it is scandalous when told a gold sovereign will cost them about £360. "But I've seen them on TV for only £50!"

😎

This one’s already been doing the rounds in various publications 🤔🤮

[MonkeysUncle]

4 hours ago, Britannia47 said:

How about this one? It’s a must have!  I saw it on TV last week…..

 

Think I'll stick with a beige Austin!