https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-58982457 Finest known, I think it will go higher than the $300k estimate. Interesting that I haven't seen news of this until today.
I read about this from the post by Rodger Burdette, yesterday. I am not certain I am prepared to readily accept that the coins sat in a tin on the shelf for 400 years, and not one family member, including the present member that is the accidental "finderer", didn't look in the tin? Really? Please.....It is England. Wars. Pestilence. Tribal raiders. WWII. WWI. Economic crashes. "Hey youse guys, leave the candy box alone. Don't even look inside it, even if you have a sweet tooth. It is an heirloom..... Just rob the other stuff...". More like a keep it quiet the tax bobbies are watching issue. Truth in editing: added the word "didn't" and removed "ed".
I am old. My mind wanders. I have a suspension of belief problem. I know it, and am working on it.....
The tin appears much more modern, at the very oldest 1960's I think. I'd like to think it is true... I mean I found 30 year old video games in my attic recently I never knew about. Either way, these coins were assembled one way or another. Looking at the bucket, it's quite a nice selection.
Yep, and the guy is an "Art Advisor". The 400 year old guy in a tuxedo tin. It was just hanging around in the Study..... Sheesh, the Brits were barely wearing bloomers 400 years ago, much less a tux. Nobody knew it was there. Riiiiiiigggghhhhttt.....
Too nice for the condition. I am suspicious. Neither New England nor England are particularly dry environments free from dust and grime. And the tin is definitely post WWII.
I have some junque 19th century coins in an old Altoids tin on my desk, it has a large cent, some 2c and 3c pieces etc. Sorry, no NE shillings, pine trees etc.
Auction houses have been known to create a colorful backstory to some items to stimulate interest. Leaking it to the national press and tv helps too. It might be seen as unbelievable but as long as the sellers stay quiet it can never be totally contradicted or refuted
That and the scratch heading southeast of E are thoroughly documented from the other examples, including punch states, etc. An extensive article on it is here for download (Colonial Newsletter) https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/514007 I'm not sure why all the naysayers. My grandfather kept all his coins in a box for decades. Nobody is saying the tin is from 1652.
There's nothing in the article about authentication. If I were a potential bidder on any of those early NE coins, I would need them approved by a committee of experts. The shilling would be the easiest thing in the world to counterfeit.
There are obvious holes in the story. It doesn't mean the coins aren't real, but suspicions are raised immediately. Now if the coins are real, why make up the backstory? Were they stolen? Maybe and maybe not. But THAT tin was not on a shelf for more than 80 years. Were they meticulously brushed and cared for by generations prior to he or his father? Maybe. But that's why the suspicions. But I must say it is convenient for them to suddenly appear in such pristine condition within 5-10 years of a barrage of high quality transfer die counterfeits in better known series. So good that TPGs have trouble identifying them as counterfeit. It would be even harder if they had a source for rare mother coins and chose to not make multiple copies. Common die dings is a way of catching them now, but limiting the number of strikes would make detection even more difficult. Is a ding on the original die or the tranfer die? Without a sufficient number to compare, it's just harder to tell. The higher end counterfeiters are also aware of the alloys used on the originals and are often within mint tolerances in weight and metal content.
Of course not. There were no tuxedos. Decades is not Centuries. People are naturally curious. If an old tin is in the Study, and has been there the entire time I was growing up, and nobody knows what is in it, let alone notice it is there, I am pretty sure I am going to pop that sucker. Tax laws change. What was a disadvantage can become an advantage, with the right background story. I don't have an opinion concerning the coins, and did not and do not question same. I have an opinion concerning human nature. A slight example, provided via your own post. YOU knew that your relative had a box of coins for..... Decades. This guy doesn't know nuttin' about nuttin' about neat stuff in a little box in plain view in the Castle of Mysteries? A kid would have been all over that, looking for the next bug to be pinned to a piece of card board, and I suspect, but can't prove, that even the Brits had kids running around the Castle during those 400 years, because you can bet somewhere along the line, Uncle Biff boinked Aunt Buffy. Truth in editing: changed second "Decades" to "Centuries".
