An unboxing gallery

[KevinFlynn]

Unorthodox, I know, but I am not one for videos 😉

Following my decision of getting Queen's Beasts silver coins laid out here, I made a couple of orders to get a first impression of these pieces in general and to lay rest my fear of milk spotting and other calamities I heard of...

The first order arrived today, and I am excited - I know I am years late and most of you will just lean back against the walls of Beasts in your stacks and wonder what I am about, but for me these are shiny and new...

(Did I mention shiny?)

 

 

[KevinFlynn]

So, what have we got here?

An envelope from an undisclosed sender to an undisclosed recipient, whose assortement of stamps would make a philatelist proud

 

[KevinFlynn]

A rough cut later, I am pleased that the receipt comes in an extra envelope, and the coins (it will be three) are packaged nicely. So far so well, will order again

 

[KevinFlynn]

Another cut brings me to some tiny, well - not so tiny - coin envelopes, labeled Lion, Black Bull and Black Bull, no surprises left here

 

[KevinFlynn]

Then, in all their glory

 

[KevinFlynn]

And yes, I manhandled those envelopes... ...as I already got the fitting capsules for these...

[KevinFlynn]

Now a closer look - nice, nice coins, no spots or blemishes on first inspection.

The Lion

 

[KevinFlynn]

And the Bulls

 

[silverdocket]

 I'm on the fence at the moment about two oz because of spotting 

will i or won't I that is the question 

nice photos 

[KevinFlynn]

I will try my hand at a critical evaluation, but I just got a call from work...

Watch this space...

[DaveNW]

I quite like photo unboxings as I can have a quick look in work. The problem with video unboxings is that there tends to be a lot of needless waffle, combined with blurry coins. Good job 👍

[blackadder]

2 hours ago, silverdocket said:

 I'm on the fence at the moment about two oz because of spotting 

will i or won't I that is the question 

nice photos 

All mine have spotted up and there kept sealed in capsules with anti tarnish tabs and silicone packets etc etc.Only round the edges mind you 🤣

[FrozenMojito]

Blimey that second picture is a bit mean and moody isn't it? It looks like the poster for a murder mystery or something.

I love the QBs. I'm planning to collect a tube of 10 of each of the whole set of 2ozs. I didn't realise they were prone to spotting. I'll have to dig out my own and have a look.

[KevinFlynn]

I will make sure to either clean the blade, or use a less sinister knife design next time 😉

[KevinFlynn]

So what do I think about Queen's Beasts silver coins, now that I actually handled them?

These two ouncers are large hefty coins. This gives a nice feeling of value in hand. The difference to a one ouncer is as impressive as the difference between a one ouncer and a standard currency coin.

I like the thickness. I am generally more for thickness than for diameter with bullion coins, especially when not alloyed.
I like thin coins with trade coins, though four ducats don't do it for me...

Five pounds is a nice demonination, adding to the perceived value.

The design is nice and clear, the workmanship shows quality, I like it, when the main feature dominates the whole coin side. I am also fond of the crown type chosen on the obverse (royal diadem?)
The 80s and 90s currency coin design was what I experienced when holding my first british currency coins back then and defines the queen for me...

The price for the bullion version is close enough to spot to treat these as two ounces of silver, at least on current coins.

As opposed to the Britannia, which lead a kind of a niche existence over here (no insult intended, it is a nice coin), these are well known and hyped up enough that they will sell easily over here.

The downside is that I will not dare to touch the more expensive pieces with bare hands and they will have to live in plastic.

I think I would encapsulate those pieces set aside for collector's sets (to keep or sell, I'm unsure of that at the moment), and go with tubes on the others.
Disclaimer: I do not jingle non trade coins, but for me there is a huge difference between stacking a tube worth of nice thick bullion coins without capsules of within capsules...

A word on capsules - the capsules I got fit nicely with very little play. The two parts are not closing up tight enough however. With two ounces of weight, I have to be careful to not only lift one half of the capsule when picking these up.
Are the original royal mint capsules really srew on? Would make things easier...

Overall judgement: I like them.

I will dare the dreaded milk spotting that gets up whenever these coins are mentioned. I will be careful on my purchases of Lions and Griffins in that regard. I could live with a tube of current or less expensive designs even if spotted.

[TonyS]

My son thinks I was totally barking mad for paying the price I did for the first and second 2ozt beasts to complete the sets “as of to date”. He does however understand how a complete set will eventually add to the sale price.

 

I didn’t start collecting silver for profit, it was just a cheaper option to collecting vintage champagne as it takes up less room.

 

I’m old enough and daft enough to think I know I’m doing. My philologist may disagree.

[KevinFlynn]

"Sometimes man needs to do, what man needs to do..." 😁

I am convinced that even if only stacking Queen's Beasts, there should be at least a whole set, no matter the cost. It would feel incomplete without that. I turned to more of the collector than the investor on these coins. I still wished, I would have been into these earlier, but I doubt I would have realized their potential in the beginning. I might have thought of them as yet another commemorative coin set...

I also realized I may not be the person for flipping. And I remember with what I read being said about these kind of series', that the worth is highest within the hype, so when the single coins are issued and when the series is finished. It remains to be seen if full collections go the way of a Lunar I. Three of the coins to date are very close to initial price, one is moderately higher, and only two really went up.

So I think within my stack, Queen's Beasts may be a diversifying part of the silver bullion category, with a collection aside.

[TonyS]

Two complete sets so far and hopefully I’ll get the other 2 x 4 coins by 2020.

 In the mean time I’ll stock up with Britannia’s.

[morezone]

We don't have a specific thread for unboxings other than general Youtube videos etc.

If you want to show multiple unboxing pictures of a delivery I suggest that you use the today I received thread and keep them all within a single post.  That way it doesn't get broken up and clutter nor does it clutter other forum sections.

 

 

[KevinFlynn]

This was initialy meant as a follow up to my Queen's Beasts thread, and less of an I received than a product feedback topic. But I understand the reasoning.

[TonyS]

On 08/01/2019 at 20:25, KevinFlynn said:

Then, in all their glory

 

You realise what you’ve done by buying two of the same coin? You’re going to have to buy two sets!

PS, I made the same mistake