Featured A recent purchase, a 1902 British coronation short set

Leave it to a collector to be spending money during a financial crisis! Here is my latest purchase, a 1902 Edward VII coronation short set. This set is “short” because it does not include the two and five pound gold coins. There were 7,057 short sets issued and 8,066 long sets.

The set includes the Maundy Set of four coins plus the crown, half crown, two shillings, one shilling and the six pence.



One of the attractions that I had for this set, is that they are all Matte Proofs. Matte Proof U.S. gold coins are unaffordable. The silver pieces are so rare that they are virtually unobtainable. Here is this set are samples of both.


Edward VII was a very interesting person. He was the second child and oldest son of Queen Victoria. The Queen and Prince Albert tried to raise him as a model monarch, but he would have none of it. He was a poor student, and once he got out from under their clutches as a child, he sowed his wild oats all of his life.

He was a total playboy who had affairs with women all over Europe. As he became older and heavier, he even had chairs designed that allowed him to continue to enjoy his carnal delights. In the meantime, he had a queen at home, Alexandra of Denmark, who put up with his affairs. They genuinely liked each other, which kept the marriage going. She was very attractive, but she was also deaf.

The up side to Edward was that he had most engaging personality. People liked him and he liked them in return. Once he became king, the monarchy was fun again. After more than three decades of the stodgy Queen Victoria, who mourned for her deceased husband for the rest of her life, Edward enjoyed himself and the people enjoyed him. His time was known as the “Edwardian Age.”

By this time the power of monarchy had diminished considerably. Still Edward managed a diplomatic coup. Using his charm with the leaders of France, he was able to end centuries of war between the two countries with the Entente Cordiale which sealed an alliance between the two countries.

Edward died in 1910 from bronchial complications. Too many cigars and high living undoubtedly shortened his life, but it was a life well lived.

 

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Dang those are some pretty coins John!

 

That's a super nice acquisition. Wish it were mine!

 

Gorgeous! I'm not usually a fan of the matte finish, but I'll make an exception for these.

 

Very nice set, and I definitely appreciate that its in its original case.

 

Amazing set.

 

Thank you for posting it. You always post beautiful and interesting items.

 

What a beautiful set! Enjoy in good health!

 

Love that florin design!

 

Very nice set! The coins and the case indicate that it has been very well kept over the last 100+ years.

 

That's a very beautiful set. I just recently acquired a Victoria Maundy set its at NGC being graded now. I thought mine was wow PL and all but yours blows mine away.

 

Beautiful set!

 

Great set! I would never elevate myself to the level of "collector" of British coins, but I have really enjoyed obtaining various 18th through 20th century British silver coins from my local dealer who sells foreign silver at spot. A collection like this is beautiful! Great find!
BTW, sometimes the recessions and crises are the best times to get a good deal if you have the extra capital.

 

Holy smokes...

 

Great pickup! I also really appreciate having the original case, as @physics-fan3.14 said. I have looked at Maundy sets Victoria that come with the cases, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

Regarding affordability, I’m guessing this is a low/mid 4 figure set, case included, yeah? That’s not bad compared with the Maundy sets I’ve looked at, if so. Regardless, you’re absolutely correct about matte proof US coins being crazily expensive. I’ve pondered maybe owning a single matte proof Lincoln (I’m not a huge fan of proofs, generally speaking), but it seems even a matte proof Buffalo nickel is outside my means, so forget anything silver!

Speaking of Maundy money, are the Maundy coins done in a matte finish as well? That would be unusual, but cool.

Any plans to have these coins certified? I love how they look in the case, but, if it were me, I’d want to at least protect them a bit from further toning somehow. (I really love the look of the Maundy 4d, BTW!) Maybe I’d put them in Air-tites and have a custom case made for them.

Just some thoughts. Feel free to take them as suggestions, or just ignore me and accept my “like.”

Oh, and @bditto39, if anything, I would guess the recent uptick in gold in these uncertain times probably increased the price on this set, if it had any effect. I haven’t noticed any real effect of the current economic crisis on coin prices yet, but my guess is we'll see those effects in a few months, if at all. Collectible coins are kind of the ultimate luxury good: they’re completely non-functional, and even impose storage and insurance liabilities on their owners. People who can afford this stuff aren’t the ones getting hurt right now. Unfortunately, it’s those who can least afford it who are taking the biggest hits.

 

Yes, you price estimate is accuate.

I don't find most Matte Proof coins to be that attractive. Here is a 1913 Type I nickel.



And this is a coin I find to be very attractive, a 1936 Satin Finish Proof Nickel. This coin is a bit over $2,000 in Proof -66. I find this to be much more attractive than the Brilliant Proof Nickel, which is way too bright.



Here is a Matte Proof 1909 Plain Lincoln Cent.

Yes.

No, none at all unless there some advantage to it when I get ready to sell. The sovereign would not grade that well any way. It has a vew marks and the services are tough as nails on the British Matte Proof gold coins. This two pound is only graded Matte Proof 63, and I can't much of anything that is wrong with it.