Tag Archives: £2

Day 107

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This is a picture of a coin that were are often asked about. It’s a single metal £2 coin. They were produced between 1986-96 and although they were supposedly for circulation you rarely saw one and they didn’t really catch on. They were replaced by the bimetallic type, originally planned for 1997, but not actually released until 1998.

We often get phone calls from people, who think they have a rarity because they have never seen one of the older sort. This is easily explained by the fact that the old type is at least 26 years old and even then you would need a good memory fro a coin you rarely saw.

However, I cannot explain the fixation some people have for the “solid gold” version. They ring up, they tell us they have the solid gold version, they won’t accept that it is extremely unlikely and they invariably demand that we tell them where to go to get it confirmed. The truth is that there were very few of the gold proof versions made. They were expensive and it’s unlikely that anyone ever took them out of their box, threw the certificate away and spent it as a £2 coin.

There were millions of them minted. Mintage figures for the 1995 Dove of Peace coin is 4,391,248. Mintage for the gold version is 1,000. So, even if all things were equal, the odds are 4,391 to 1 against it being a gold coin. If you allow for the fact that it is extremely unlikely that any were taken out of their packaging (let’s say this happened to 10 of them – bearing in mind they cost about £1.000 and people are going to be careful with them) the chances are 439,125 to 1 against it being a gold coin.

If I were to get one call a day about this, the chances are that I will die of old age several times over before someone rings with a loose gold coin.

However, this doesn’t stop people ringing, convinced that I’m an idiot because I don’t believe their brass coin is gold.

The coin in the picture is gold. It is, as you can see, in a plastic capsule inside a box, with a certificate. And, no, I don’t know why a coin with a mintage of 1,000 needs a numbered certificate with a number over 2,000, but I’ve seen it before

Gold £2 Coin 1995 End of WW2 Obverse

Gold £2 Coin 1995 End of WW2 Obverse

Gold £2 Coin 1995 End of WW2 Reverse

Gold £2 Coin 1995 End of WW2 Reverse

Wednesday 8th July Part V

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And so we come to the end of the day. I have just put 63 items in my on-line shopping trolley. It tool me 53 minutes. I probably haven’t remembered everything, and I could probably have done without a few things if I really cut back, but where’s the fun in sitting at a computer trying to trim a couple of quid off the grocery bill. The easiest saving was chocolate, but I feel that’s money worth investing to keep Julia happy.

I will, by the time this is finished, have proved that I can write 2,500 words in a day without too much trouble. This is important as I’ve been struggling recently. The trick is to have a subject in mind. I’ve been trying to write articles without having an outline in  mind. It doesn’t work so I’m going back to the old way of planning twice and writing once. Plan – write – plan – write doesn’t work for me.

I’m planning on writing at least a dozen magazine articles over the next year. One a month is a reasonable figure and it will help to pace me. How many actually get published remains to be seen. I have a list of magazines and a list of subjects. All I need to do now is allocate subjects to magazines and set times for writing.

In SMART terms I have specific subjects and magazines in mind, and can count up to 12, so they are measurable. They are assignable because it’s me who has to do it. They are generally realistic, though I may need some help with photographs, and the timing will take care of itself. I may write one a month, but editors will put them in when they want. My last one took six months to appear. The shop owner wrote an in-depth banknote article during lockdown, which will be published in two parts. Projected publication is “next year”. It seems a lot of people have been writing articles while they have been stuck at home.

I will also be writing fifty two blog posts on coins and collectables during the coming year. I’m not quite sure when that will start as it will need a lot of work to keep it going once I do start. The idea is to use that to warm me up for the articles and to form a body of work I can point to when pitching for work. Two thousand posts on bread, dung and why the old days were better are not going to do that so it’s time to get to work and organise myself.

That’s 2,500 words, and it’s now time to sign off, just after midnight, add photos and links and get to bed, because guess what?

Tomorrow is blood test day. I believe they are now charging for car parking again, so brace yourself for as tirade about the evils of the NHS tomorrow. After that I will calm down and try to establish a niche as a write on coins and collectables.

Photo of Farmer Ted is reproduced from Who is the Best Bear?  and the Care Bears from Something you don’t see every day.

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Links to the rest of the day-

Wednesday 8th July Part I

Wednesday 8th July Part II

Wednesday 8th July Part III

Wednesday 8th July Part IV

Wednesday 8th July Part IV

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Poppy and chamomile

The day is passing faster and faster.

Julia is on the phone to one of her needier clients. Again, I cannot describe the conversation due to issues of confidentiality, but it is circular. And long. And, as it is on something modern like an app or a zoom, it is loud and intrusive too. She might be working from home but technically this is a day off for me, even if I am treating it as a work day. Obviously in this context “work” is an expression of hope rather than fact.

I have researched a number of magazines as recipients for the articles I wish to write. I have read several of the magazines more deeply than necessary and I have made a list of possible articles. My plan is at the stage known as “getting there”. In other words it is a rag-bag of elements which don’t amount to much.

It is more of an intention or an outline. Time for some more work, but this time I will do it in front of the TV whilst watching Pointless. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Ironically that’s a very dull saying. Equally ironically, I haven’t done much work.

Back again…

Having watched Pointless and failed in a few rounds – notably the modern music and the football questions – I meant to get back to work. Instead, I watched Eggheads. It is one of the dullest quizzes around, but we had tea and biscuits and I can never resist temptation to sit and drink tea, with or without biscuits. As a late lunch we had corn on the cob (Julia went out for a walk and, as usual, nipped into a shop to buy something. She can’t break the habit. Today she bought corn on the cob.)

I am quite hungry now and have just put the vegetables into the oven to roast. Carrots, parsnips, leeks and potatoes. I will put sprouts in when I put the pasties in. It’s a meal we have nearly every week but I never get fed up of it. Apart from being year round comfort food, it’s healthy and easy to make.

It’s been eleven hours since I started “work” and I have not managed to complete anything yet, apart from some TV viewing and three blog posts.

As I started this one I noticed my total was 2,000 which means I missed the chance to write a post about reaching my 2,000th post. I may have to plough on to 2,020 before marking the occasion.

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I’m now going to put the pasties in and about 25 minutes after that will make the gravy. It’s only made with gravy granules, so is nothing exciting. Then I had better get the shopping ordered. I only have until midnight and it can be a slow process. I also get distracted easily.

I have already done the shopping list relating to the spice kits – we will be having linguine with prawns and rocket. I’m not sure why, because we make that anyway.

We are also having Iranian Vegetable Stew, which apparently takes its inspiration from Persia and North Africa. This tends to suggest it isn’t really Iranian or a proper recipe, just some vegetables to soak up some spices they wanted to get rid of. Pardon my cynicism. I keep meaning to give ras-el-hanout a try, so this is my chance.

Finally we will be having nasi goreng. I’ve wanted to try it since I read about it as a teenager reading my dad’s Somerset Maugham books. It’s typical that I’ve always steered clear of cooking it in case it didn’t live up to my expectations. Next week will be an interesting time.

I will try to take photographs before I eat everything.

Photos are recycled from here.

Eleven Photos and the Benefits of Blogging

Mint Moth

Wednesday 8th July Part I

Wednesday 8th July Part II

Wednesday 8th July Part III

Wednesday 8th July Part IV

Wednesday 8th July Part V

More of the Same…

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We only had three sales overnight, which was either a disappointment or an opportunity, depending on your view. We used the time to put more items on eBay. I’m gradually working my way through the box of oddments we’ve been building up.

The competition for most fatuous question of the year is hotting up already, but “How much is a Charles Dickens £2 coin worth?” has set the bar fairly high. The clue is in the question. It’s worth £2. That’s how money works.

Charles Dickens

Picture taken from Change Checker, a great resource for information on modern coins.

It seems that the enquirer hadn’t seen one before and, fuelled by newspaper and internet reports, was hoping it would be rare and valuable. The truth is that so many people are looking for “rare” coins that they all get taken out of circulation and nobody ever does see them. However, there were a number on eBay at up to £3,745 so you can’t blame people for thinking they are valuable.

There were 8,190,000 minted, so I’m guessing they aren’t really rare.

I’m sure there will be a couple more contenders before the end of the year.

I’ve been reading The Spring Journey to the Saxon Shore. It’s the pioneering British haibun and it’s very good. It’s now on my “to review” list. First I’m going to read it again. It was £7 from the author but £13.45 from Amazon. Guess where I bought my copy from.

 

I see we already have three sales on eBay, including something I loaded today. That should keep me occupied for the first half hour.

And now, as midnight draws close, it’s time to go. See you all tomorrow.

 

“Rare” Coins and Dark Thoughts

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It sometimes feels like we’re under siege in the shop.

Every day we get phone calls or personal callers with “rare coins” to sell. I don’t mind it if the coins are old (by which I mean pre-decimal) because there is at least some hope of something interesting cropping up. The “rare coins” that provoke me to thoughts of homicide are the ones that are reported as being rare in the press, on the internet,or, even worse, on ebay.

Recently we’ve had several reports of rare 2007 £2 coins. It’s a commemorative issue which marks the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. The rarity is not in the coin itself (with a mintage of over 8,000,000 it’s actually reasonably common) but in the placement of the edge inscription.

The motto AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER is impressed around the edge. According to the intellectual giants who stoke the hellish fires of rare coin “knowledge” the lettering should be right way up when the Queen’s head is uppermost. If it is upside down, the coin is the “rare” variety.

2007 £2 coin

2007 £2 coin – reverse

Now, this is where things start to come unstuck. The edge inscriptions are put on by a roller before the final striking and people who know about the process are happy that the inscription is going to land in accordance with the laws of chance – 50% will be right way up and 50% will be rare varieties worth £300 on ebay.

Or, to look at it another way, there is no rare variety. There’s also no evidence of one selling for £300 on ebay in the last month or so.

Turning to the actual prices realised on ebay, which are often very different from the fanciful figures put on the coins that don’t actually sell, I found one that sold  for £500, one for £102, one for £23, three for £20 and only two others in double figures.

Some people clearly shouldn’t be allowed on ebay without supervision.

Thirty three coins, after allowing for ebay fees, sold for £2 or less, with several selling for 99 pence.

That’s from a total of 155 sales in the last 6 weeks.

I will let the figures speak for themselves.