It’s tempting to say today was more of the same…more of the same…
Tedium echoes down the empty hallways of my life…
In fact there was slightly more pressure than a normal day because I have a leisurely breakfast with Julia on Saturdays and generally get to work with minutes to spare, rather than the normal hour I get when dropping her off at work and going to work from there.
We had more parcels than usual today, and quite a few phone calls, including one from a woman who said she had “done the research on the internet” because she “wasn’t stupid”.
The coin in question is the Sherlock Holmes 50p, which has just been released.We have 200 in stock and charge £3 each. She says they are very rare, and her implication was that I was lying to her in order to gain pecuniary advantage by deception (she didn’t actually use those words, but that was what her tone implied).
Unfortunately, when I checked after she put the phone down, the mintage figure of 210,000 she gave did not apply to this coin but to the famous Kew Garden 50p, the one they all want. We buy several of them every month, pay good money for them and sell them for around £100. That’s the only one that makes three figures. Most 50p coins, even in mint condition, only make £3.
The Royal Mint won’t even release the mintage figures for a year or two, so we won’t know what the figure is. Here are the figures up to 2017. They haven’t released the 2018 figures yet, and certainly not the 2019 figures.
I checked on the internet myself, and in an article comparing Kew Gardens and Sherlock Holmes they said the Kew mintage was 210,000. That’s what happens when greed and stupidity meet the Internet – false hopes, shoddy research and an outpouring of ignorance.
Just for the record, because I’m still annoyed about it, despite what she said, she didn’t really do any research worthy of the name, and she IS stupid.
After that I put some more School Attendance medals on eBay, went home, took some blurred photos of Painted Ladies in the garden and carried on with my nightly routine of napping, eating and blogging.
I did get a pointless answer on Pointless Celebrities (Burt Lancaster in Field of Dreams) then wondered why there has never been a decent film about cricket. To say it’s one of our national games, and it altered the course of one of our royal dynasties, it’s made little impact in books and films. Raffles was a cricket player, but that’s as close as we get.
If we could make a film like Field of Dreams about cricket I’m sure the nation would return to normal after all this Brexit nonsense and electing a clown as Prime Minister. Whether we stay or go, we need to return to a state of affairs where politicians at least put up some sort of pretence of being sensible and running things properly.
The Peacock is from our visit to Gigrin Farm as few years ago, as is the picture of kites. I feel a bit like that peacock, constantly attacking the mirror, though I’m constantly attacking life rather than a reflection.
Red Kites at Gigrin Farm
I am kind of at a loss for words, but I can understand your frustration after dealing with the lady. Research on the internet isn’t always accurate and sometimes you have to go through a lot of websites to make comparisons and find the truth. As far as collectible coins are concerned, I am sure there are a few very reliable websites like we have here. You have to know what you are doing when you are in business because there are always people who “do research” and think even honest businessmen are crooked.
We get a lot of these calls – some people are grateful for the truth, some aren’t. 🙂
All the brouhaha with Boris and Brexit is enough to put anyone on edge. We have our own evil clown, so I can certainly sympathize.
I must keep reminding myself that bad things hardly ever happen , despite politicians. 🙂
Sorry to hear this…
The thought of finding something valuable in your pocket change can bring out the bad side in people. 🙂
I’m sorry you had such an irritating day at work yesterday. I love the ‘vain as a peacock’ peacock photo.
It’s better than many scenarios for how I pass my day. Our local KFC is taking on staff – that would definitely be worse. 🙂
😀
I love that peacock photo! Nice catch, Quercus!
Sorry work has been an irritation of late. As the Moody Blues said, “Face piles of trials with smiles”. 🙂
I will have to get a computer with sound and listen to the Moody Blues. 🙂
Perhaps life would be simpler if we all turned into kites!
I saw one today on the way back from Peterborough – drove right under it as it soared over the road. 🙂
The Archer and the Smith might have some potential
I remember enjoying a film called the Final Test many years ago. I don’t know what it would be like seen now though.
I see that the Guardian has described it as “Britain’s only significant cricket picture.”
I looked it up – it seemed to get some good reviews at the time. Thanks for bringing to my attention.