coinsandmedals

Thank you! So you're the one who bid me up on the medal? Yes, the Virginia piece is a 25M. I had a blast attributing that coin - it brought back fond memories from EAC days.

I will forgo any discussion of the French pieces until others have had ample time to guess, but I likely should have been more specific in the language I opted to use for the Irish Penny. If following Peck's classification this would likely fall under the "Late Soho" category, as it was probably struck at the Soho Mint at a much later date than indicated on the coin. The term "Restrike" is typically reserved for pieces struck at a later date using retouched Soho Mint dies, but not by the Soho Mint (i.e., Taylor). The waters get a bit murky as you dive deeper.

1792 France 2 Sol Maz-157 - NGC MS-63+ BN PL (NGC's images) 1805 Ireland Gilt Proof Halfpenny 1803 Madras Presidency 1 Cash - PCGS MS-64 BN

1792 France 5 Sol Maz-150 - PCGS MS-64 BN 1782 Ireland Halfpenny – NGC MS-66 BN 1806 Great Britain Farthing – Ex. James Watt Jr. - NGC PF-66 BN 1805 Ireland Penny Plain Edge Restrike – Ex. James Watt Jr. - NGC PF-65 BN (Very scuffed holder) 1805 Bank of Ireland 10 Pence Token - Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC MS-65 (Very scuffed holder)

1803 Boydell’s Shakespeare’s Works Medal – Struck in Copper 1823 Ireland Proof Halfpenny - PCGS PR-64+ BN 1792 France 5 Sol Maz-150 - PCGS SP-64 BN

1822 Argentina Decimo Pattern - NGC PF-65 BN (Very scuffed holder) 1806 Bahamas Penny NGC PF-65 BN (Very scuffed holder) 1796 Scotland Angusshire Dundee Bronzed Proof Halfpenny D&H 12 – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC PF-65 BN 1796 England Token Cornwall Penryn Bronzed Proof Halfpenny D&H 4 – Ex. Boulton Family 1794 Scotland Invernesshire Inverness Bronzed Proof Halfpenny D&H 2a – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC PF-63 BN 1793 Scotland Invernesshire Inverness Halfpenny D&H 1b – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC MS-63 RB 1800 George III Preserved from Assassination Medal (with shells) – NGC MS-66BN (Very scuffed holder) 1796 Scotland Angusshire Dundee Halfpenny Bronzed Proof D&H 13 – PCGS PR-64BN 1791 Scotland Lanarkshire Glasgow Halfpenny D&H 2 (Coin Alignment) – Ex. James Watt Jr. 1791 Scotland Lanarkshire Glasgow Halfpenny D&H 2 (Medal Alignment) – Ex. James Watt Jr. 1791 England Cornwall County Bronzed Proof Halfpenny D&H 2 – Ex. Boulton Family 1790 Scotland Lothian Edinburgh Hutchison's Halfpenny D&H 24 – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC MS-64 RB 1773 Virginia Halfpenny 1805 Boulton's Trafalgar Medal Struck in Copper – Presentation Piece

I consider the following three coins to be a single purchase. All of the holders are very scuffed. 1796 African Gold Coast Bronzed Proof Ackey - Ex. James Watt Jr. - NGC PF-66 BN 1796 African Gold Coast Bronzed Proof Quarter Ackey – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC PF-67 BN 1796 African Gold Coast Bronzed Proof Tackoe - Ex. James Watt Jr. NGC PF-67 BN Here is the entire set in a single image:

Wow, 2023 was a particularly productive numismatic year. Not only did I attend FUN for the first time, but I also took the opportunity to attend the Token Congress after spending a few days exploring all that London had to offer. Although I did not buy much, I made several new friends and thoroughly enjoyed the varied lectures while sipping on a pint of true English ale. In sum, I added well north of a hundred new pieces to my collection. Of those, 11 came from the Watt Jr. Collection, and 3 resided in the Boulton family holdings. There is something very cool about owning a piece that once belonged to the proprietors of the Soho Mint for nearly two centuries before making its way to the market. I am pushing the boundaries of brevity, but since I have not posted here much lately, I opted to share my top 30 acquisitions from 2023. These are presented in the order in which I purchased them. Please note that in almost every instance, the marks you see in the photo are on the holder. Of the 30 pieces below, only 4 were not struck at the Soho Mint. Can you figure out which ones? 1803 Ireland Wexford Enniscorthy Halfpenny – Ex. James Watt Jr. – NGC PF-66 BN 1791 England Hampshire Portsmouth Halfpenny – Ex. Boulton Family – NGC MS-63 BN 1803 Madras 1 Cash Bronzed Proof - Ex. Puddester Collection – NGC PF-65 BN 1792 France 5 Sol Maz-145 - PCGS MS-64 BN

It’s been 10 years? Wow, I had no idea.

Have you ever bought a coin on a whim that doesn’t fit with the rest of your collection? I am certainly guilty of doing this. A great example is the bronzed proof 1822 Irish Halfpenny I use as my avatar. This quickly became one of my favorite pieces, but I always assumed it would be a one-off. I never expected to complete the two-year series mostly because I thought the 1822 would be too difficult to properly match. As luck would have it, I recently acquired its equally attractive counterpart, a proof 1823 Irish Halfpenny with the same beautiful blue toning. Which of the two do you like the best?

It was attributed as D&H 24C. It sold for $480 at Stacks in August and is now listed on eBay for $809.95.

@Quintus Arrius That is very kind of you to say. I recently discovered one of your beloved roosters (1911) in a PCGS MS-67 holder, but it appears you already have an example in the same plastic.

I noticed that the other day while looking for something completely unrelated. I will likely order another hundred or so when they are available. I wish they still offered the larger sizes as well.

Your assumption was correct. I wish I had time to write for leisure. Sue's book is an excellent introduction to the topic, but it only scratches the surface compared to her dissertation.

Controversial is a polite way of putting it. Although I no longer pursue EAC, I still store most of my copper pieces in these little cotton pouches. I took a picture with my phone to illustrate this point for anyone who is curious.