Coins and Militaria for Auction, Records for Ebay

An account of a day’s imaging, including some of the most interesting pictures.

INTRODUCTION

This post is about the imaging I have done at James and Sons today. In total I have produced 180 images today (no, I am not going to share them all!), using the scanner for the coin lots and the camera for the rest.

THE BULK JOB – THE FIRST TRANCHE OF COINS FOR THE AUGUST SALE

The coins I imaged today were lots 1-50 in the August auction, except that lot 3 was missing. Images of both faces of each coin were required, which meant two sets of scans, and then some editorial work, resulting in three images for each lot. Here to further explain the process is lot 1…

1-a
The image that becomes 1-a in the images folder
1-b
1-b
1
The two images joined together (1 in the main image folder.

I scan these many lots at a time at very high resolution (600 dpi), the exact number of lots depending on the size of the coins, and on the number of coins that make up the lots. The 49 coin lots I scanned today were achieved in four tranches (i.e eight scans in total). Here some of the more interesting specimens…

5
Lot 5

5-a5-b

6
Lot 6

6-a6-b

10
Lot 10

10-a10-b

13
Lot 13

13-a13-b

17
Lot 17

17-a17-b

23
Lot 23

23-a23-b

25
Lot 25

25-a25-b

31
Lot 31

31-a31-b

38
Lot 38

38-a38-b

45
Lot 45

45-a45-b

48
Lot 48

48-a48-b

50
Lot 50 – last of today’s tranche of coins

50-a50-b

RECORDS FOR EBAY

There were some interesting items here. In total there were 11 separate items, all boxed sets of multiple records, and I offer you a selection of images…

Hammond SpectacularJ S Bach - Harpsichord Works

La Boheme - Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma
Unlike a couple of others that I imaged today this is not a duplicate – it is a different recording of La Boheme to the one that I imaged on Tuesday.

World of Great Classics

THE FINAL SESSION – MILITARIA

Having finished the records it was time to image some items of militaria. This once again required the camera. Here are are a few highlights to conclude this post…

207
Lot 207

207-a207-b207-c

209
Lot 209

209-a

210
Lot 210

210-a210-b

211
Lot 211

211-a

212
Lot 212
216
Lot 216

The July Catalogue Cover

An account, with lots of pictures, of the main thrust of todat at James and Sons.

INTRODUCTION

The catalogue for James and Sons July auction (27th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich) went to the printers today. This post is devoted to the images that will be appearing on the covers (outside and inside) of the catalogue.

THE FRONT COVER IMAGE

Lot 151 was, as expected, the front cover image, and it went through several takes…

151
The original main image for lot 151
151-cover
The first cover image
151-cover2 cropped
The second cover image cropped but not edited
151-cover 2
The edited version of the cover image

THE OUTSIDE BACK COVER – COINS

All of the coin lots had already been imaged, but for the sake of uniformity of appearance I was asked to provide new images for nine of the selected coins…

91213192526283334

THE INSIDE COVERS

While I had already done some of the images used for the inside covers, most were of new items that I had to image from scratch, which came in two categories…

RECORDS

This is now the third sale at which we have had significant quantites of records, and here they are in tiled mosaic form…

The pick of the above images were used to fill one whole page of the catalogue (this part of the process is not generally part of my job, although I am well capable of it – it merely entails creating a table in word with the appropriate numbers of rows and columns and inserting the images), while on the other inside cover as well as some other lots filling spaces left over were all of the following…

HATS AND HELMETS

Not every image below was used, exceptions will be noted in the captions…

191

192
This image was not used because having been adamant that he wanted straight on images of all these items the auctioneer then decided that this one could be best presented at an angle.
192-a
The image that does feature in the catalogue

193-a194195

195-a
This image does not feature as it is a close up of some very impressive decoration.

196197198199200201202203204205

A Vote and A Day at Work

An account of a vote, a bus journey anbd a day at work.

INTRODUCTION

I am going to cover today’s events in chronological order…

THE VOTE

The easy way to make sure that you get something done is to do it early. Therefore I set off early from my flat so as to call in at the polling station before heading to catch my bus. My vote duly cast (Remain just in case anyone did not already know my intentions) I had more time than I needed to get to the bus station so I walked by a scenic route bagging a few photos along the way…

HEADING TO WORK

The bus arrived in good time, and the journey went without a hitch, helped along from my perspective by the non-stop action taking place in “The Great Zoo of China” (I borrowed the hardback earlier, see here for more details).

DZ

Just over two full pages which give an idea as to just how things are going to go horrifically wrong!

WORK

Not many photos from today as not much stuff was actually ready to be imaged, so I brought the database up to date. Here are images of the few lots that were ready for me…

159160161162163164165166167167-a167-b413413-a413-b413-c413-d

Press Releases

Details of four significant press releases that I have put out recently.

INTRODUCTION

This post covers one particular qaspect of my work at James and Sons. Everything yousee has gone out between Thursday of last week and this morning.

PRESS RELEASES

I am sharing four of these with you:

MILITARY BADGE AUCTION ALERT

This one is about our upcoming auctions on Wednesday and Thursday, the first of which contains a few military badges, including both of those used in the image, and the second of which, taking place at our own premises, is a pure badge auction. I will provide the images, a jpg of the full document and a link to the original word document:

102103MILITARY BADGE AUCTION ALERTAAPR

THE GREAT CENTENARY CHARITY AUCTION

For various reasons instead of a dedicated auction devoted entirely to fund-raising we are incorporating the Great Centenary Charity Auction within our own programme, with lots in June and November being sold for fund-raising purposes. I have put out two press releases thus far about this:

WHERE MILITARIA AND SCOUTING COMBINE

The first press release focuses on a collection of medals and paperwork relating to Jack Cornwell, who at the battle of Jutland became the youngest person ever to win the VC. He was also a boy scout, giving an extra connection. I have a jpg of the press release, the press release itself and all the images I took of the various items:

Cornwell PRIJCKings Medal ReverseKings MedalMedals - FrontMedals Photo - reverseMedals PhotoMedals reverseMemorialNewspaper cuttingVC Paperwork 1VC Paperwork Hi-resGCCAPRGREAT CENTENARY CHARITY AUCTION

POPPIES AT THE TOWER

The second Great Centenary Charity Auction press release is about an oil painting of the Poppies at the Tower by one of the two artists who created the real thing…

Poppies At The Tower - croppedPOPPIES AT THE TOWERPATPR

COIN AUCTION ALERT

This was chronologically the first of the press releases to go out, focussing on this Wednesday’s auction:

460

462

COIN AUCTION ALERTPRICoin Auction PR

IMAGING AND AN IMPORTANT PROTEST

A plug for an important protest and some highlights from today at work.

INTRODUCTION

I have been at work today at James and Sons, and also a discussion has been taking place regarding a protest on Saturday. Thus this post is in two parts, starting with

PROTEST AGAINST THE POSSIBLE CLOSURE OF THE FERMOY UNIT

The state of Mental Health services in Norfolk is already, to put it bluntly, scandalous. Therefore, I have no hesitation in urging everyone who can to be present in King’s Lynn from 12PM this Saturday to be part of this protest.

MH Protest

Above is a jpg of the official poster for the event.

IMAGING

Here are a few highlights from today at work…

19
Lot 19
40
Lot 40
40-a
The hallmarks on lot 40
43
Lot 43 – a five image gallery. The fact that I produced a full gallery of this lot and have sahred it here should absolutely not be taken as expressing support for the compnay being commemorated!

43-a43-b43-c43-d

91
Lot 91 – this will be on the front cover of the catalogue – and I produced a nine-image gallery.
91-a
A close up of the front of the medals
91-b
A close up of the rear of the medals
91-c
The reverse of the two cruciform medals
91-d
The obverse of the two cruciform medals
91-e
The obverse of the two stars (a look at the reverse of the group will tell you why I did not do a close-up of the other side of this pair)
91-f
The obverse of the two disc medals
91-g
And the reverse – the ninth image is a close up of anothe rpart of the lot and I de3cided not to include it.

114114-a

207
Lot 207 – both sides
207-a
Lot 207 – obverse
207-b
Lot 207 – reverse.

226

245
Lot 245 – a four image gallery.

245-a245-b245-c

IMAGING UNDER WAY FOR APRIL AUCTION

INTRODUCTION

A few of the images that feature in today’s post were done on Tuesday, most today. All are of items that will be going under the hammer on April 27th. We aim to have our catalogues ready about one month before the sale, which with a two-day sale coming up on the 30th and 31st effectively means that I have tomorrow and next week at my disposal for imaging.

A WIDE RANGE OF IMAGES

I will start with the images from Tuesday that I considered worth sharing…

206
Heptagonal coins are of course commonplace in this country – heptagonal medals less so.
206-a
Close ups of each face of lot 206

206-b232234236

Today’s images cover a wide range of interests, and I will deal with the best of them by category…

MILITARIA

These items are in 250s to low 300s, so will go under the hammer near the end of the second hour of the auction…

Next up in today’s whistle stop tour are some bulk postcard lots…

To finish, some interesting miscellaneous items…

James and Sons March Catalogue Now in Print

A mention of the fact that our catalogue is now available in print and some of today’s best images.

INTRODUCTION

Two days ago I put up a post about James and Sons March auction, mentioning that the catalogue was at the printers. That post gives full details of the format of the post. This one, featuring some of the images I produced today is to say that the print catalogue is now available and that it will be online for the weekend.

THE CATALOGUE

Here are pictures of the outside covers of the catalogue…

Covers
Front and back cover together
DSCN4707
Front cover
DSCN4708
Back Cover

SOME OF TODAY’S IMAGES

The bulk of today was spent imaging militaria from one of regular vendors. Then it was time for some scouting.

 

Imaging For a Catalogue Cover

The pick of my recent images for James and Sons.

INTRODUCTION

This post is about today at work. There was a lot of imaging to do for the cover of our March catalogue (auction takes place at Fakenham Racecourse on the 30th and 31st March), also a van to be loaded up with stuff for tomorrow’s auction, and I also got a few other lots imaged.

THE COVER IMAGES

The images for the cover of this catalogue spanned a great range of items, some of which I had already imaged but most of which needed doing today. The early lots to feature are 83, 110, 124 and 135, one a framed photograph and the other three military items…

83
Lot 83
110
Lot 110

110-a

124
Both sides of lot 124

124-a124-b

124-c
The naming on the rim of lot 124
136
Lot 136

136-a

Next we come to a selection of…

SMALL COINS

These coins, the first of which is lot 209 and the last 269, we done using the scanner at high resolution – and for safety I did both faces of each coin and assembled composite images.

209
Lot 209

209-a209-b

217
Lot 217

217-a217-b

220
Lot 220

220-a220-b

225
Lot 225

225-a225-b

227
Lot 227

227-a227-b

231
Lot 231

231-a231-b

241
Lot 241

241-a241-b

242
Lot 242

242-a242-b

243
Lot 243

243-a243-b

246
246

246-a246-b

238
Lot 238

238-a238-b

269
Lot 269

269-a269-b

We next have three items of ephemera, nos 301, 311 and 359:

301301-a

311
311 – five images in total

311-a311-b311-c311-d

359
359

We then come to four images of…

SPEEDWAY MEMORABILIA

420cover
Lot 420
421cover
Lot 421
Ex422(2)
An extract from Lot 422
Ex422
A second image of the extract from 422
Ex423
A single badge from lot 423

The last of the new images needed for the front cover were of…

A TOY, SOME PROOF COINS AND A JAPANESE MEDAL

The toy is lot 562, and I was particularly pleased by this choice for reasons that will be instantly obvious to anyone familiar with this blog! The Japanese medal is lot 686, part of small run of militaria in among the proof coins, of which lots 665 and 728 were also to feature on the cover.

562
I was particularly pleased that this toy (lot 562) was chosen to feature in our catalogue!

562-a

665
The full gallery for lot 665 starts here (six images total)

665-a665-d665-c665-b665-e

686
Lot 686

686-a686-c686-b

728
Lot 728

728-a728-c728-b

A HANDFUL OF GENERAL IMAGES TO END

The non-cover images I did today were less special, but a few are worth sharing:

390
An MCC tobacco pouch? Yes – at one time smokers versus non-smokers was a regular fixture.
437
Lot 442(two images)

437-a

484
Lot 484
442
Lot 485 (two images)

442-a

569
Lot 570

Auctions, Auctions, Auctions

Mainly concerned with today at work, this post also mentiuons the test match just concluded in South Africa’s favour and a piece by Why Evolution is True about a white giraffe.

INTRODUCTION

I will be mentioning stuff opther than auctions, but it is the auctions that form the basis of this post.

A TRIFECTA

Today’s work at James and Sons featured three different auctions, hence the title both of the post and of this section thereof.

TOMORROW’S AUCTION
(MAIDS HEAD HOTEL, NORWICH)

This played a comparatively minor role, everything having been done save for actually holding the auction. However, it was necessary to get the stuff loaded on to the van ready for being transported to Norwich tomorrow morning and I had to remember to disconnect the mouse from my work computer.

FEBRUARY 24TH (FAKENHAM RACECOURSE)

There were still a few items to be imaged for this auction, and one lot that needed special treatment so that it could feature on the front cover. Thus two photo galleries for this section…

These are some of the highlights from the unimaged lots.

The second photo gallery in this subsection deals exclusively with lot 450, which I was reimaging specifically for use on the front cover…

The photograph was fairly straightforward – although you will note that I edited it a number of different ways. The set of medals was more difficult because I had to prevent external light from intervening and they are attached to a display case that is about an inch thick.

MARCH 30TH (FAKENHAM – POSSIBLY TWO DAY SALE CONTINUING ON MARCH 31ST)

Towards the end of the day I made a start on imaging items that will go under the hammer on March 30th. Thus, here is another picture gallery…

While this gallery brings today at work to a close I have one last James and Sons item to share…

JAMES AND SONS ON ANTIQUES ROAD TRIP

Regular followers of this blog may recall that James and Sons feature in an episode of Antiques Road Trip. I can now inform you that this particular episode will be shown on February 1st at 4:30PM (meaning that it will be available for watching on i-player by 6PM that day for those like me who refuse to pay for the ‘privelege’ of watching live TV)

ODDS AND ENDS

In a post I put up yesterday I expressed the opinion that England were headed for defeat in the final test match of their series against South Africa. This became reality reamrakably quickly – by the time I left for work at 8:30 this morning our time England had plunged from three down to six down, with Kagiso Rabada picking up his 10th wicket of the match just before I left (Bairstow, morally out twice – saved first time round one the TV replay umpire picked up a no-ball and then done in precisely the same way by the very next delivery). A discreet check while eating my sandwiches confirmed that end had come swiflty thereafter, with Rabada taking a further three wickets to give him 13 in thge match and, of course, the player of the match award. For full details on events please visit the official cricinfo report.

Also from the continent of Africa but otherwise utterly unrelated to the above, the good folks at Why Evolution is True have come up with this offering about a rare white giraffe which is now fifteen months old.

 

Great Centenary Charity Auction II

An account of last night’s presentation at Fakenham Racecourse.

INTRODUCTION

The first Great Centenary Charity Auction was held on June 28th 2015, and the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London benefitted to the tune of £20,000. The second auction, for which we have already received some donations, will take place on June 29th 2016. This post is about an event that took place last night at Fakenham Racecourse which was simultaneously a presentation of certificates for those who had contributed to the success of the first auction and the official launch of the second.

GETTING THERE

The journey there was uneventful, and I arrived very early, having walked direct from Oak Street where the bus drops off down to the racecourse. Once I had located the event, which was happening at a…

NEW VENUE

Rather than use the same venue that had been used for the auction, we were in the newly opened Cool Roxy Owners and Trainers Bar (named in honour of one of the most famous horses to have raced this course).

DSCN8281

Within the bar was a nice display which served as a backdrop for the presentations.

The bar itself had some very interesting features…

Because we had the great good fortune to have the head of The Royal British Legion, John Crisford, taking part in the presentation we also had a standard bearer…

DSCN8279

THE PRESENTATIONS

Auctioneer and Director of the Great Centenary Charity Auction David James told everyone the names and a bit about each person who was collecting a certificate, and they received their certificates and posed for a photo (one of the pictures of someone posing with their certificate looks different from the rest because the official photographer could not do the photograph of himself!).

SOME CLOSE UPS OF IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS

Here are some of the more important documents for you to see…

Certificate
A hi-res scan of the certificate.
DSCN8224
The flyer for the auction
DSCN8257
Info about the Blast Injury Studies Centre
DSCN8264
Early donations for auction II

A SMALL MISHAP ON THE WAY HOME

The plan had been that since there are no buses running from Fakenham late enough for me to get home under my own steam my parents would give me a lift back, but they forgot. Thankfully, a very helpful member of staff at the Bull on Bridge Street was able to locate a taxi, and my parents covered the fare for me. By the time I made it home I was too knackered to check and edit the photos, so I attended to that at 6:30 this morning, before setting off for work. I will conclude this post with a few mor pictures that are tangentially connected to its subject matter…