Holland. Provincial Lion Daalder 1589 MS61★ NGC Almost all coins of this type are extremely poorly struck. Weak strikes, off-center, and the like. Even the ones in high grades are usually unappealing. This one is exceptionally well struck, so I had to get it.
Not the best pics. I was in Ireland and looked for coin dealers to pick up a souvenir but the ones I found weren’t close enough to drive to. Ended up buying through the website and he was very accommodating. If you’re interested, Mike at MLCoolcoins is a good guy. Turned out he was coming to the FUN show so he shipped to me from Florida and saved me from customs etc. James II Gun money 1/2 crown
I have dreamed about getting one of these for years. I can't wait for it to arrive. Lot description is from Stack Bowers. JAPAN. Koban (Ryo), ND (1860-67). Man'en Era. PCGS AU-53. Fr-17; KM-C-22D; JNDA-09-23; JC-03-28. Weight: 3.32 gms.
WOW! COINgratulations! I too have dreamed of one of those, and do not own one. I’m jealous! Here- let’s let Bean the Cat have his say: I don’t trot out the old “BeanWow” GIF for just any old thing, y’know.
France: 1756-L silver écu of Louis XV, Bayonne mint NGC VF25. Cert. #6981445-002. Numista-27738. Krause-Mishler-512.12. .917 silver, .8694 oz. Diameter: 41 mm. Weight: 29.48 g. Struck at Bayonne ("L" mintmark) under the reign of King Louis XV. These large silver dollar-sized coins were struck on planchets (blanks) which were roughly weight-adjusted with a file before striking. As such, they often still showed the file adjustment marks after striking. There are traces of adjustment marks visible on the obverse of this example (notably on Louis' portrait) but they are not particularly egregious or distracting in this particular case. Ex-B&R Coins & Currency, at the 2026 FUN show in Orlando, Florida, 10 January 2026.
A new one for me. Not my photo. One of these came into a coin show I was attending yesterday. Turns out it is not scarce or particularly valuable but it is neat. A 1963 dated Austrian silver 2 Ducat
Piedfort (double-weight presentation strike, ~2 oz silver) 1747 Ducaton from Zeeland. One of the seven provinces of The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. MS61. Extremely rare. I can find only three other specimens.
One of my latest is this 1723 "South Sea Company" shilling: GREAT BRITAIN Time of George I, 1714-1727 AR Shilling (26.0mm, 6.00g, 6h) Dated 1723. Royal mint, London, UK Obverse: GEORGIVS·DG·M·BR·FR·ET·HIB·REX·F·D·, laureate and draped bust of King George I right Reverse: BRVN ET·L·DVX S·R·I·A·TH ET·EL· around crowned cruciform shields with central Garter star; divided date above, SS / C in angles References: Numista 13074 Mintage: unknown Evenly worn. Toned with faint iridescence. In 1711, the War of the Spanish Succession was drawing to a close, and Great Britain, which had recently withdrawn from the conflict, hoped on its conclusion to be able to win trade concessions from the Spanish empire. In anticipation of this the South Sea Company was founded in 1711 and given a monopoly over the slave trade in the South Seas, including Spanish possessions in the Americas. Unfortunately, such concessions from the Spanish were not forthcoming, and the South Sea Company soon found itself in financial difficulties. Still, with King George I himself becoming governor of the company in 1718, investor confidence in the enterprise remained moderately high. Then in 1720 Parliament approved a plan to consolidate the national debt under the South Sea Company. This new development was accompanied by political bribery and extensive insider trading and was propped up by overinflated and fraudulent claims about the company’s profit potential. All this caused company shares to soar in what would later be called the “South Sea Bubble.” Share prices rose from £128.5 in January of 1720 to £1,000 in August of that year – only to collapse to £124 by December. Thousands of investors were ruined by the collapse, which also dragged down government finances and the British economy as a whole. An investigation into the bubble revealed the extensive fraud and corruption which had been going on among the company directors, certain Cabinet ministers, and members of Parliament, many of whom were disgraced or imprisoned. Despite the collapse, the South Sea Company continued to exist as a trade company, and in 1723 obtained a quantity of silver specie from the East Indies which the Royal Mint (under its director Sir Isaac Newton) minted into coins bearing the South Sea Company’s abbreviation “SSC” on the reverse.
Nice! You and I seem to have similar tastes. I like the British South Sea coinage. I used to have the SSC shilling (ex-NGC MS64 but upon crossover to PCGS it went down to MS63+). I traded that coin for an AU53 USA Bust half dollar, as I recall. I still have a South Sea Company sixpence in my current collection. It's a double-struck error with the second strike 25% off-center.
Thanks Lord M! Those are both remarkable coins. The first for its beautifully lustrous, mint-fresh condition, and the other for its very unusual and dramatic double strike. Very cool!