JeffM

The more I see these coins, the more I like them.  I think Martin Jennings did an absolutely fantastic job on the effigy of King Charles, who not only approved but praised the design. 

The more I see these coins, the more I like them.  I think Martin Jennings did an absolutely fantastic job on the effigy of King Charles, who not only approved but praised the design. 

As I mentioned, I buy coins for the joy of collecting and not to sell quickly for a profit.  As such, whatever the RM (or U.S. Mint) were to do to make it easier for me to buy the coins I like without succumbing to chaos, I'm in favor of it.  Here in the U.S., we have gone through hell at times purchasing from the U.S. Mint - pure bedlam on sale dates.  The U.S. Mint solved a lot of problems by instituting coin subscriptions while still maintaining limited mintages.  The only thing with these QEII memorial coins is I wish we knew in advance that they are mint to order so I would not have had to wake up at 3 a.m. yesterday.  I recently purchased a Netherlands Golden Ducat, which was mint to order only for the month of May.  Before May 1 and after May 31, you could not order the coin.

As I mentioned, I buy coins for the joy of collecting and not to sell quickly for a profit.  As such, whatever the RM (or U.S. Mint) were to do to make it easier for me to buy the coins I like without succumbing to chaos, I'm in favor of it.  Here in the U.S., we have gone through hell at times purchasing from the U.S. Mint - pure bedlam on sale dates.  The U.S. Mint solved a lot of problems by instituting coin subscriptions while still maintaining limited mintages.  The only thing with these QEII memorial coins is I wish we knew in advance that they are mint to order so I would not have had to wake up at 3 a.m. yesterday.  I recently purchased a Netherlands Golden Ducat, which was mint to order only for the month of May.  Before May 1 and after May 31, you could not order the coin.

You probably know that we at @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer do try to offer new RM products at competitive prices, and have been doing so since about 1999.
What you may not know is that the RM have flip-flopped between direct sales, where they can control the prices, and using distributors, where it is more difficult to do so.
As they have a de-facto monopoly in the production of UK coins, it is too easy for them to use and abuse this monopoly, and really should have ethical long-term policies in place to ensure they do not illegally or unethically restrain trade and competition. 
For many years, the Royal Mint chose not to supply our business directly. I firmly believe that one factor in this was that some of the RM management viewed us a competitors, which is fair enough, but that they also applied policies, and made decisions, to restrict our ability to compete with the Mint, and that those decisions were anti-competitive, and probably illegal. Proving this would not be easy, but I do have evidence of it, some of which I have aired on previous occasions.
As we now deal directly with the RM for bullion products, I have recently been slightly more reserved in my criticism of them. In theory, their commemorative coin department appear to have agreed to supply us, in principle at least, but have been too busy to complete our onboarding process. Otherwise, our prices for certain high value issues could and would have been sharper (lower) for many years. One result of this is that many collectors, stackers, and investors have paid higher prices than they otherwise might have been able to for their coins.
😎

I have a feeling they were hacking into my computer to view my porn.  Some world-class stuff in there.  Let's just say that I have a full hard drive.

I have a feeling they were hacking into my computer to view my porn.  Some world-class stuff in there.  Let's just say that I have a full hard drive.

While waiting in the queue, I got a nasty message that they detected porn on my computer and won't let me in.  I wrote back and told them that this is my wife's computer.

While waiting in the queue, I got a nasty message that they detected porn on my computer and won't let me in.  I wrote back and told them that this is my wife's computer.

They're not struck yet.  They're supposed to be sent out in January.
Thanks.  These numbers are a bit shocking since I know the dealers order a lot of these.

While waiting in the queue, I got a nasty message that they detected porn on my computer and won't let me in.  I wrote back and told them that this is my wife's computer.

While waiting in the queue, I got a nasty message that they detected porn on my computer and won't let me in.  I wrote back and told them that this is my wife's computer.

I buy coins as a collector because I like them.  Pure and simple.  I have never sold a coin in my life and I don't plan to.  When I drop dead and my extensive collection goes to my heirs, they can do as they please, but it's not my problem if the value goes down.

While waiting in the queue, I got a nasty message that they detected porn on my computer and won't let me in.  I wrote back and told them that this is my wife's computer.

I buy coins as a collector because I like them.  Pure and simple.  I have never sold a coin in my life and I don't plan to.  When I drop dead and my extensive collection goes to my heirs, they can do as they please, but it's not my problem if the value goes down.

I buy coins as a collector because I like them.  Pure and simple.  I have never sold a coin in my life and I don't plan to.  When I drop dead and my extensive collection goes to my heirs, they can do as they please, but it's not my problem if the value goes down.

I buy coins as a collector because I like them.  Pure and simple.  I have never sold a coin in my life and I don't plan to.  When I drop dead and my extensive collection goes to my heirs, they can do as they please, but it's not my problem if the value goes down.

I buy coins as a collector because I like them.  Pure and simple.  I have never sold a coin in my life and I don't plan to.  When I drop dead and my extensive collection goes to my heirs, they can do as they please, but it's not my problem if the value goes down.

I really appreciate that this is mint to order.  It allows everyone who wants something to order it over the next 3 months.  Sure, the value will not be as great as a strictly limited edition.  But, this takes the flippers and high-profit dealers out of the picture until the end of December.  We won't know what the mintages will be until January.  I really don't care because I just want the coins for my collection as a part of history.  I wasn't collecting coins in 1951, so I wasn't able to get QEII's inaugural coins.  (I was more concerned with what was in my diaper than in my piggy bank! 🤪)

I really appreciate that this is mint to order.  It allows everyone who wants something to order it over the next 3 months.  Sure, the value will not be as great as a strictly limited edition.  But, this takes the flippers and high-profit dealers out of the picture until the end of December.  We won't know what the mintages will be until January.  I really don't care because I just want the coins for my collection as a part of history.  I wasn't collecting coins in 1951, so I wasn't able to get QEII's inaugural coins.  (I was more concerned with what was in my diaper than in my piggy bank! 🤪)

Because most of these coins are minted to order (which I agree with), I woke up at 3 a.m. Chicago time (9 a.m. BST) to order the coins when I could have waited.  But who knew these would be mint to order?  Oh well, I did get what I wanted except a full night's sleep.  Now, I'm grumpy and keep missing my mouth with my coffee cup.  This is tough, guys!

Because most of these coins are minted to order (which I agree with), I woke up at 3 a.m. Chicago time (9 a.m. BST) to order the coins when I could have waited.  But who knew these would be mint to order?  Oh well, I did get what I wanted except a full night's sleep.  Now, I'm grumpy and keep missing my mouth with my coffee cup.  This is tough, guys!

Because most of these coins are minted to order (which I agree with), I woke up at 3 a.m. Chicago time (9 a.m. BST) to order the coins when I could have waited.  But who knew these would be mint to order?  Oh well, I did get what I wanted except a full night's sleep.  Now, I'm grumpy and keep missing my mouth with my coffee cup.  This is tough, guys!

Don't imbibe too quickly or you will emit a four-fart.

I got the 1 oz. and two piedfort silvers from a dealer at less than RM price.  And no queue!