Lord Marcovan's "Eclectic Box" collection as of November 21, 2018

Thanks. I've been wanting another DB half for a while, but only one with that contrasting "antique patina" (what I call "CircCam" contrast).

You will find World coins exciting and educational, and you can get so much more history and beauty for your money than you can with US coins. Which is not to suggest that there's anything wrong with collecting US coins, of course- I like them too, as you can see. Like most Americans, I started out collecting only US coins, until I saw an 1806 British halfpenny in a dealer's case with a $5 pricetag on it.

There indeed are quite a few that I wish I had back. And too many stories to relate. I recently created that "Bygones" album to showcase some of the past coins that were mine but which have since moved on. That's only a very partial list of just some of the stuff I've had since 2014. If you look at the "Bygones" album, you'll see it's as nice as the present lineup - even nicer, in some cases.

Regrets? I have some, but I've also learned to be detached after purging my collection so many times. Every coin sold or swapped brings something new in. I do hope to slow the departures down a little bit in the future. But there will probably always be some which get swapped or sold.

Thank you. Those Norman Sicily pieces were something I was unfamiliar with until this year. I like that they're part of that era of the Crusades, and multicultural, with both Christian and Islamic iconography on them. Plus, affordable medieval gold is not something one usually sees! These are pretty tiny coins, though- this one is 13 mm, 1.57 grams. I love the earthen patina on it and I like colorful monarch names. "William the Bad" just sounds interesting. (His nickname might be unfair, however, and due to the bias of his contemporaries.) By way of contrast, I also have a French coin from Antoine the Good. Medieval monarch nicknames can be quite fun.

Oh, I totally agree. Which is why I was a Type collector at the peak of my US collecting days. A diversified collection is so much more interesting to look at than a bunch of coins that all have the same type and design. And when one leaves even the boundary of type sets and decides to go "eclectic' like this, one can diversify even more, and follow one's whims, never having to buy something you don't care much for but "need" to fill a hole in a set. One of our other members is at the brink of this transition and may be about to break up his US type set, keep the ones he wants, and spread out into a "freestyle" set like this. (I'd say who, but don't want to steal his thunder.)

Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment, y'all.