Wm. Shakespeare on Conder Token Thanks, folks. Most of my collection is stored at the bank so I don't have many visitors to see my collections. ; ) I enjoy having the images here though, and photograph each new acquisition and post the image(s). Here's a wonderful gift from a friend in Norway. I really like the graphic look of this Conder Token, with a tad of mint red in many protected areas. With obvious weakness in central figure of the lady on the reverse, it paid to carefully inspect all areas of the piece including date, rims and dentils, mint red, and finer details. it seems that this token should grade AU-50 or AU-55 in the U.S., but only EF in the U.K. I doubt that it could get a grade of gEF 'over there.' But, I could be wrong. : )
I did win several Conder tokens at the Stack's auction and can't wait to get them (I just missed the time cut off to pick them up in person, dang it!) but I'll get Todd to photograph them and post his photos later but here are photos from the Stacks auction...
Pigsmeat Conder Token issued by Thomas Spence A very nice group of tokens, Penny Lady. Congratulations. I just got signed up to bid in future sales that Stack's arranges. I was told of an annual sale at the Pennsylvania Convention Center is coming up soon and will have a good number of Conder Tokens included. Here's a lightly circulated Thomas Spence Pigsmeat token. I looked at many before finding this one. I like critters on tokens, too. : ) Usually, these tokens bring a lot for dirty VF's. This is a good deal better, though not UNC. I'd estimate AU-50 on this example, perhaps EF or gEF in the U.K. What's your grade opinion for this raw token? I believe these photos are adequate for estimating its grade. : )
yep, I love the critter Conders! Just bought another one here in Boston - it's a pretty deer, Wiltshire D&H 2b.
I was bidding on several of the tokens (including the Skidmore token Charmy won) but I only won 1 - Middlesex Skidmore Churches and Gates #667 - Bermondsey Priory in Surrey. I feel this is the best design of the Churches & Gates series. :smile
That is a beautiful token Farthing, and I agree about it being the best design - it is so detailed. And Larry, I love those piggy tokens too! I have a couple, and they are among my favorites!
I would really like to see images of your Pigs Meat tokens, PennyLady, since I know you often purchase pieces of premium quality, and frankly, I haven't seen many of these in high grades. What I have seen are many lower grade tokens; I'd guess VF and below. Many of this type were worn considerably and often were plagued with problems. Someday I may find a nice UNC; until then, I'll just keep looking. : ) Actually, I just looked at Gary Sriro's CD, and his scan of an 842b, and my token looks almost identical in all areas. Maybe mine is a tad better than my estimate. I like it when I undergrade an item and learn later it is a bit better, these days. : ) Sometimes my raw token turns out to be similar or superior to slabbed examples grading a good deal higher. That doesn't make my token better, actually, but it may grade higher according to NGC's standards, which often allow a token with considerable rubbing to receive an MS grade. I don't like rubs, but they are almost impossible to avoid in tokens so old. In fact, I'd guess that any token with no evidence of rub, anywhere, would have to receive a Gem grade or higher, unless afflicted with other maladies.
Larry, I too like my tokens in "unc" condition and especially ones with pretty toning. I bought a few more at the show yesterday from Gary Groll, one of which is pretty rare. I'll have Todd photograph them so I can post them. And here are my little piggy tokens....
Larry - in my opinion, NGC is all over the map on Conders. I've seen VERY generous grades being handed out for just what you describe and then turn around and be very conservative with ones that are truly gem +. Of course, I know similar complaints are made by many with the TPGs on U.S. type, but I really do believe that whoever judges Conders for NGC is incredibly inconsistent.
I think the same goes for Civil War Tokens and such. TPGing companies seem to IMO do a worse job in the areas of less popularity. Just think about getting graders for the few Conders that come in. You'd need to employ ton's of graders that are experts in each coin type and that would either bankrupt them or make the submissions cost prohibitive.
This Eaton's Token has rather colorful toning so I took these photos in an attempt to capture that toning. The images are unedited except for cropping.
Whoa! Seriously amazing images Larry! The lighting is just perfect; nice work...as usual. What lens did you use on this one the 60 or the 105? How did you light it?
I used a couple of desk lamps, Mike. One reflected directly into the lens, the 60mm micro ED-IF. The other lamp was positioned above the token. I got roughly the same results as when I used my axial lighting device. Here's another recent arrival, and I am expecting more to arrive later this week. : ) .