Lord Marcovan's "Eclectic Box of 20" collection as of May 10, 2017

Potentially big changes coming for this set in the next few days. (More on that later, if it happens- I think it's going to.)

In the meantime, here's the summary for May 10, 2017. (Basically the removal of the proof US 3c piece and the addition of the Pillar dollar.) But more to come...

In the second post below, I'll link up the old archives of this set, if anyone is really bored and wants to see how it's evolved from its rather humble beginnings four or so years ago.



Ancient Greece (Pontos, Amisos): silver drachm or siglos featuring Hera and owl, ca. late 5th to 4th century BC

(Presently raw)

Ancient Greece (Kingdom of Macedon), silver "Mercenaries" drachm of King Perseus, ca. 175-170 BC

(NGC Ch MS; Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5)

Ancient Roman Republic: silver denarius of moneyer L. Furius Brocchus, ca. 63 BC

(NGC Ch VF; Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5)

Ancient Roman Empire: silver "Capricorn" denarius of Vespasian, struck by Titus ca. 80-81 AD

(Presently raw)

Ancient Roman Empire: silver denarius of Septimius Severus, "Dea Caelestis" type, ca. 193-211 AD

(NGC Ch AU; Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5)

Ancient Byzantine Empire: gold tremissis of Justinian I, ca. 527-565 AD

(NGC MS; Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, "wrinkled")

England (Anglo-Saxon): silver penny of Aethelred II, struck ca. 997-1003 AD

(PCGS MS63)

Netherlands (Gelderland): "St. John" type goldgulden (florin) of Arnold van Egmond, ca. 1423-1472

(PCGS Genuine; XF details, "Filed Rims")

Belgium (Brabant): gold florin (Carolus d’or) of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, ca. 1521-1545

(Presently raw)

German States (Teutonic Order): silver 1/4-thaler of Grand Master Maximilian of Austria, ca. 1615

(PCGS XF45)

Great Britain: silver "South Sea Company" shilling of George I, 1723

(PCGS MS63+, formerly NGC MS64)

Mexico (Spanish Colonial): silver 8 reales ("Pillar Dollar"), 1761-Mo

(PCGS AU50)

Belgium (Austrian Netherlands): copper 2 liards (2 Oorden), Insurrection coinage, 1790

(NGC MS63 BN)

Great Britain: gilt copper proof halfpenny of George III, Soho Mint, 1806

(PCGS PR65 DCAM, formerly NGC PR64 CAM)

Great Britain: silver shilling of George IV, off-center mint error, ca. 1826-1829

(PCGS XF40)

United States: gold 5-dollar half-eagle, Liberty Head type, 1842-D (small date)

(PCGS VF30; CAC)

Liberia: proof copper cent, 1847

(PCGS PR65 BN)

France: copper specimen striking of a 10-centime pattern (essai), 1848

(PCGS SP65 RB)

United States: bronze Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor" type, 1863

(NGC MS65 BN)

Great Britain: gold half-sovereign of Queen Victoria, 1901, from the Terner Collection

(PCGS MS64)

 

Archives of previous incarnations of this set:

On CoinTalk:

Lord Marcovan's "Eclectic Box of 20" collection as of April 29, 2017
Lord Marcovan's "Eclectic Box of 20" collection as of December 28, 2016

Prior to late 2016, all of this was on Collectors Universe.
(Their 2016 software switch made the formatting a bit wonky)
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 09/15/16
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 05/26/16
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 12/01/15
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 10/06/15
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/17/15
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 11/06/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 10/24/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 10/22/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 10/11/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 04/29/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/18/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/08/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/04/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/03/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 03/01/14
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 08/07/13
~ LordM Box of 20 archive, 07/25/13

 

An awesome "confined" pursuit.

 

@Santinidollar - thanks. I can't claim to be a font of knowledge compared with some here, but in 40 years of collecting, I have covered a lot of ground, so my knowledge is broad if not particularly deep. I suppose you could say I'm one of those people who "knows a little bit about a lot of things". (And then there's that old "jack of all trades but master of none" phrase. But we won't go there.)

@willieboyd2- thank you. Your posting of the Antonine aureus would be something of a non-sequitur, except I've admired it before and I know you're just putting me in my place by reminding me that I have never had, and may never acquire, membership in the elite "Aureus Owners' Club". (But then again, y'never know. Maybe one day...)

@sidestick - thanks. Yours is my favorite compliment of the week. I like it when people "get it" when seeing my admittedly offbeat collecting strategy. And yes, having an "Eclectic Box of However Many" is quite fun, and liberating in that it frees you up to follow your whims and fancies (set "structure" be damned!)

As I almost said in response to @Santinidollar 's comment about knowledge, the coins themselves can be teachers. Exploring many different numismatic avenues makes one more versatile and well-rounded... and ... by default... more knowledgeable. "Buy the book before the coin" is a classic maxim, but sometimes taking a leap of faith and buying a coin I liked (but didn't know much about) caused me to later do the research and learn more about it, and its place history.

As to the "However Many" part... well...- choosing a self-imposed numerical limit to the size of the collection was important to me because that's the only thing that keeps an "anything goes" collection like this from becoming just some random accumulation. Limiting the quantity is challenging, and does take a little bit of discipline/detachment. But doing so forces a bit of focus, and by keeping the collection small, one can pursue quality over quantity. And by constantly upgrading rather than adding from scratch, the collection sort of feeds itself without draining off too much of my modest budget. I decided I'd rather have 20 "nice" pieces than 200-300+ "OK" pieces, or an even larger mountain of "junk". The bigger a collection gets, the more it tends to get "diluted" in terms of quality (at least in my experience).

That being said, I am contemplating a minor expansion to a "Box of 25". I've had the coins in a 25-slot slab box for the last year.

 

Oh, do that! Tag me if you do- I'd love to see that.

I can't take credit for the photos. I just buy stuff that already has nice photos (often TrueViews). Then I have someone else with the skills and software (these days it's usually @brg5658) do the Photoshop template work.