I dropped Julia off at work. Town was almost empty and it didn’t take long. I returned via the ring road because there are no roadworks on the inbound side, and that was almost empty too.
I soon had the four parcels done and set about entering more Edward VIII medallions into the system. I have put one lot on and have two other selections ready to go tomorrow. In between times I packed another couple of parcels as orders came in, attended to some customers and ate my sandwiches and a Scotch egg. It was that sort of day.
We bought silver from one customer – some pre-1920 (when it was still .925 sterling silver) and some pre-1947 (when it was .500 silver). In both cases, as the observant readers will have spotted, the debasement of our coinage was preceded by, and caused by, the need to pay for a World War.
We bought two lots of modern junk from people. One of the owners had put the coins in pouches, then sellotaped them into plastic bags with cards to identify them. It took me ten minutes to get the sellotape off the bags before we could check the coins and value them. Several of the coins were worth a£1 and we will struggle to make enough profit to pay for my time getting them out of the bags,
The only customer who bought anything was a collector of gold coins, so that was a handy sale.
The coin is a one third Guinea, or seven shilling coin. Minted in the reign of George III in 1809 this is the second design. It is slightly smaller than a cent in size.
Apart from that we had one browser who spent nothing and a woman who wanted to sell two Krugerrands but didn’t like our offer. She can, it seems, get more if she sells them in Birmingham. We often hear this. It’s true, if you want to drive down to Birmingham, park up and sell your gold in Birmingham you can get a better price. Whether it justifies the expenditure in car running costs, time and parking fees is another matter.
We agreed that she could get a better price by driving down to Birmingham and wished her well.
The road works outside the shop continue. From what we have been told they should be gone in another week, but I’m not sure. They don’t seem to be moving very fast. At the moment we can’t even turn onto the forecourt without taking a detour. This is a little annoying, but I’m not going to bother worrying about it. There are worse things happening in the world.
We had chips from the chip shop tonight as we are still supporting local business, and because it’s nice to have a night where we don’t cook. The fish were big enough to hang over the edges of the plate. I had peas but just a few chips off Julia. I’m fed up with (a) eating too many chips and (b) re-heating chips next day. They give you too many chips to make it look better value. I know this because my dad always used to say the same thing. Before you say it – yes, I’ve been turning into my dad for the last 30 years.
Envelope for eBay
Like Derrick, I enjoyed reading the details of your day in the coin shop. That many stamped envelope was eye catching, as well.
We harvested the first new potatoes yesterday.
Sounds good, we have some in containers and keep thinking about digging a few.
I hope you are both keeping well. I looked at the map of infection rates and note that Idaho is getting worse. I didn’t realise there were enough people in Idaho to do that.
The rates in Oregon are going up, too. Yes, even the rural areas are now going up.
So far we are still well. I played an outdoor venue last night, where I had been asked to fill in for a cancellation. These days I can only play at this kind of venue, outside in the open air and socially distanced.
It’s good that you still have venues to play where you can have fresh air and distance.
Sorry to hear your rates are going up. It really is difficult to know what to do for the best. Unfortunately a lot of things rely on other people doing what is best, and they aren’t doing it.
I do like the details of your days in the shop, and, like Tootlepedal, the “many stamped envelopes”. I used to like the cold chips in the mornings after Mum and Dad had enjoyed a fish supper.
A few cold chips in the morning are a treat but half a plate is too many. They really have been giving us big portions, and I am trying to limit myself to one portion a week.
I love your many stamped envelopes. I hope that they bring joy into people’s lives.
Some people do write to say they like them. I stamped a letter up today with fifteen 13p stamps. It was only when I finished that I wondered if the recipient might be superstitious…