mr1030

I had these beauties arrive yesterday, for the kids' Christmas treasure hunt. My dismal photos do no justice to how gorgeous these coins are!
 
Now I need to find the funds for the full set for myself!

Stunning India Queen Victoria Jaipur Gold Indian Mohur 
Gold Mohurs were first introduced between 1540 and 1545 by Sher Shah Suri, as a way of uniting the different tribes in India under a single form of currency, thus encouraging trade and peace.
When British rule in India commenced in 1858, it was decided to build on the heritage of the Gold Mohur, but to also include reference to the British Monarch.
The design of the coin  is very interesting with its legend in Persian translating to ‘Victoria the Sultan of Inglistan, the great Queen of England’.
The coin also shows that the Maharajas of Jaipur accepted the protection of the British Raj and they would remain at the side of British even during the revolt of 1857 and in return was allowed to maintain some independence by the British Government of India.
10.8grams of magic authenticated by the Royal Mint and certificated 
Big thank you to @TheShinyStuff who helped me with this coin a true gent 
 

Another dozen maybe, from the 1.2oz 900 gold Mexican 50 pesos to the Canadian 99999 Elk. Just love the Buffalo, with its non reflective surface (easy to photograph). Nice pic of the Double Eagle JunkBond! Wish I had one.
 

Agreed on the Buffalo, I love mine.
Every collection should have a St Gaudens Double Eagle I reckon, however it's not quite an ounce at .968oz fine weight.
 
 
 

The way I see it with older sovereigns and half sovereigns is that there was a period until relatively recently ( maybe 8 years ago ) where most gold coins sent to bullion dealers e.g. HGM were simply melted. Since then bullion buyers saw the opportunity to gain a few extra percentage points over scrap metal by selling back their coins. The market for gold coins rapidly grew and dealers started advertising on TV and forums like this spread the word. More suppliers came on the market and with on-line shopping these coins were deemed more valuable than just their weight in precious metals. Therefore the loss of older coins essentially ended say 5 - 8 years ago and few are now sent to their grave.
Who has all the coins ?
Dealers want to shift inventory so I assume the bulk is with private investors like us.
Governments, banks and any other institutions tend to hold good delivery bars so coins aren't of interest.
Private investors will fall in to several categories -
(a) older wise savers and investors probably well past retirement and holding their loot for their 'middle-ageing' kids or grandchildrens' inheritance.
(b) middle aged people who are about to inherit their treasure and will most likely sell to get a quick return. Most will not know any better than to sell to 'we buy any gold' and I guess these buyers of gold will sell on to the bigger bullion dealers who in turn will keep the coins for the resale market.
(c) others e.g. forum members who believe the slow ramp in scarcity will ensure not only growth in value due to demand and rareity but also a steady increase in spot of gold.
Personally I believe there are not as many Victorian sovereigns as later era based on the assumption that category (a) has already seen 2 generation cycles and maybe also (b).
Looking at the prices being asked by most sellers, a higher price would definitely attract more sellers from (b) and sometimes (c). Many dealers seem unable to shift their often overpriced coins so maybe (c) is sitting on the fence.

Looking back the best time to have purchased reverse shields was 8 - 10 years ago before the bullion dealers saw new demand for collectible coins rather than just any piece of old gold.
Figuring out the numbers will be impossible I'm afraid.
 

2021 Mexico Bicentennial of Mexico's Independence .925 Silver Proof

 

2021 Mexico 700th Anniversary of the Lunar Foundation of the city of Tenochtitlan .925 Silver Proof

2021  Mexico 500th Anniversary of the Historical Memory of Tenochtitlan .925 Silver Proof

Mexican Gold Shrapnel   Three attractive little fellows, courtesy of @DHD2020   Dos y Medio 1919 & 1945 and 2017 1/20oz Tad.

Back from the graders - a nice PF70 silver Completer. Still annoyed though that the set of 10 QBs became 11…but I will get over it. 😳
Lindeman 

Small delivery but beautiful coins!!

what can I say 🤣 first RM release I've loved. took some persuading lol but glad I listened to my coin Guru 😀
20211029_181525.mp4

First purchase for over a year, I have been waiting for £900/oz gold again but got fed up.
Half sovs.
 

And these landed too courtesy of @StBeesSilver beautiful work.

Just received these very nice bars courtesy of @FFposh and @BackyardBullion very nice indeed 👍 

Just received these. Gorgeous coins. Thanks to @matt1r and @SilverMike for sending these out quickly. 

Santa brought these babies this morning courtesy of StackSellRepeat. Stunning pieces and consecutive numbers too! Always loved Germania bars since BYB showcased some!! Very happy indeed👍
Ps. Digging the green plastic jiffy bag!! Never seen one before🤣

Arrived today.  2021 Snowman 50p in gold and x2 in silver.

Filled a hole in my ATB collection and a couple of single specimens from series I like.  2013-P Fort McHenry 5 oz silver ATB, and 2019 Perth Emu and Dragon & Dragon.

Arrived today.  2021 Snowman 50p in gold and x2 in silver.

Looking at graded coins, both CAC stickered and those that are not, you can easily see that CAC stickered coins are usually of a better quality then an equally graded coin without CAC.  Looking at two MS66 Seated Liberty Half Dollars of the same date and mint mark for example, both will have the same number of surface blemishes and other criteria to qualify for the numerical grade.  But one will have unappealing toning and several stars around the circumference that are not fully struck, and the other will have beautiful eye appeal and all stars fully struck.  Yet both coins will have the same numerical grade.  CAC will sticker that superior coin.  If I see a coin has been noted with a CAC sticker, then I certainly would give it a closer look.  Sure, the grading service might give a superior coin a + or * designation, but I personally haven't seen that given on a consistent basis to coins that probably deserved it.  

Very nice coin.  My LCS has one in the shop that I have been seriously considering picking up.  For anyone who has not seen one in person, they are ridiculously tiny.
My personal opinion on the raw vs slab debate, I prefer raw coins.  I love handling raw coins (with appropriate care), and putting coins in albums.  For display purposes, I find it much more satisfying to see coins in albums in close proximity to each other, rather then slabs racked in a slab box or in bulky 3-ring binder slab pages that only hold 6 to 9 slabs per page.  I can appreciate the confidence that graded coins give to buyers that either don't have the necessary experience to grade coins accurately themselves, or have to seek their coins thru online purchasing.  
But part of me regrets the irreversible impact grading services have had on the hobby.  I'm attempting to complete a U.S. Type Set which I want to display in an album.  My goal is to buy coins in XF to MS condition (based on budget constraints) to complete a set with very nice eye appeal.  Here in the U.S. grading is so pervasive, that it is extremely difficult to find older problem free higher grade raw coins.  Most all such coins are sent in for grading, and what raw coins you can find in store inventories are those deemed unworthy that would get a details grade because of cleaning, scratches, other problems, etc.  I also think the explosive rise in prices for higher graded coins has been due in large part to deep pocket collectors who are simply looking to raise their registry scores a fraction of a point, regardless of quality of strike or eye appeal of the coin.  The score is all that matters.
But that is what the hobby is now, and railing against is as effective as pissing into the wind.  Grading services have good points and bad points.  But coin shopping just seemed a more personal affair 30 or 40 years ago, and I miss that.

This is another reason for joining the forum as a premium member and building up feedback- I'll use myself as an example. 😇
Let's say I need money fast and wish to liquidate some silver, but it's 11pm and a weekend or my silver is in storage.
If I advertise it here for spot price, it will sell immediately and the money could be in my account within minutes. The buyer can 'trust' that I will post the silver at the earliest opportunity and that they will receive the item(s) that they paid for.
No dealer 'insults'.
Likewise, I am happy to pay for items that I will receive at a much later date. I do it all the time, it's all about building relationships and understanding TSF feedback system. Your reputation is everything where trade is concerned.

Never say never. I picked up some 1g gold bars from CPM last year because they were £1 or £2 over spot price at the time. I very much agree the premium of fractionals normally makes them stupidly overpriced but exceptions come up from time to time.

As for these bars... its a great idea but they are generally silly over priced. I was given a strip of the silver ones some time back and broke them into individuals which was easy to do. Again I think its a great concept and could have its uses but the price point definitely means its more a novely than anything actually useful.
Edit - I thought it worth adding that the RCM did a bullion product a couple years ago called the MapleFlex which was the same principal but the 2oz bar split down into various sized fractionals. I liked this idea more as it provided more flexibility when breaking down the bar but unfortunately like the Valcambi ones it was grossly over priced. I managed to get one for a deal at near spot price but generally they were selling at the time for silly money considering what they were.

Received these absolutely stunning additions today, photos don't do them justice. Fantastic condition as usual
Thanks  @DuncanWylieWilson

Came in yesterday a lovely example of a 1887 double florin, roman 1 variation. The only issue is the mark on Victoria's cheek