It's August the summer is almost over, and many of our staff are still on holiday, and also many of our collectors seem to be on holiday. Although usually around this time, things start to pick up and we get busy. But for the time being, things are still manageable. This time of the year is also somewhat dangerous for us, as we know that Richard is probably sitting in his office feeling bored right now... And when he gets bored he comes up with ideas, and when he comes up with ideas, the rest of the staff gets busy, and our collectors usually get more than what they bargained for.
That is what happened in 1985 when he decided to strike a 20-year commemorative edition of the 1965 souvenir peso he had had a hand in striking, the Tower Mint examples are now gone, but we still have some examples struck by the Commonwealth Mint. Grab yours while stock lasts.
During the reign of King Charles I (1625–1649) the copper farthings - introduced by his father, James I – continued to be produced. There were two types called the “Richmond” and “Maltravers”- named after Frances Stewart, Dowager Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, and Lord Maltravers – who were awarded a patent by the King to produce the farthings. Due to the high number of forgeries, in 1636 Lord Maltravers was asked to introduce a new style of farthing which came to be called the Rose Farthing—it was much smaller and thicker than the “Maltravers”, but the revolutionary development was the copper coin had a small “plug” of brass inserted in the centre. This made the Rose Farthing an early example of a Bimetallic coin and also almost impossible to counterfeit, and the production of forgeries soon ended. The obverse shows two sceptres through a crown, and the legend CAROLVS DG MAG BRIT—Charles, by the grace of God, of Great Britain—while the reverse shows a double rose and the inscription FRAN ET HIB REX - France and Ireland King. These are being offered in Very Fine and would make a super addition to your farthing collection!
These pieces were struck in Birmingham, England and previously the grading services agreed to grade and slab them as they were not made in Cuba. So if you want to have them graded and slabbed you should be able to do that but at your expense. Please remember we do not sell anything as an investment, but we think that within a couple of years they may well have sold out and will cost more.
Darius II was the son of Artaxerxes I. He was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 B.C. to 404 B.C. There is little information about his reign other than that he took advantage of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens to play both sides, ultimately choosing to fund Sparta who won. With this happening, he took back most of the Ionian coast of Anatolia (modern Turkey). We have a small amount of his Silver Siglos showing a kneeling figure in a crown (very likely the King) holding a spear/dagger and bow with a quiver on his back. The reverse is just a punch mark as these archaic issues were made for the weight on irregular flans, the reverse was not important. They grade About Very Fine and are almost 2,500 years old. These are very reasonable, they will sell fast!
This very low mintage Sterling Silver Proof £5 was issued in 2021 to honour the 150th anniversary of the Royal Albert Hall. The famous building is on the reverse and H. M. Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse. Complete in Royal Mint packaging with information booklet and certificate of authenticity. Only 1,650 of these beautiful silver-proof crownsized £5 pieces were made. The mintage for a modern issue is rather low and many people have very fond memories of what they saw at the Royal Albert Hall.
