SIMMONS GALLERY
PO BOX 104, LEYTONSTONE, LONDON E11 1ND, UK
Enquiries to Howard and Frances Simmons click here
Postal auction MailBid 49
Weights and Scales
Featuring an Important Collection of European Coin
Weights,
Scales and Balances
British, French
and Italian,
Important Irish
Coin Weights
A good selection
of boxed scales
Folding balances and Rocker balances
Ancient weights and
Closing date for
bids Thursday 11 February 2010
At 12 noon GMT precisely
Click here for Illustrated Catalogue online
ABOUT WEIGHT COLLECTING an introductory article
If you're new to this type of sale, remember there's no buyer's commission and we reduce bids to 10% over the next bidder. If you're the only bidder you get the lot at the first price, which is our reserve price. See our terms and conditions for this auction below. You can request images of weights that are not pictured up to the closing date. Please note that we only give out prices realised to those who bid in the auction. Bids must be placed either by mail or email. Telephone bids must be backed with written copy in the post.
Collectioneurs de langue francaise: pour mieux vous aidez - les regles et avis en francais
Introduction
We are delighted to be able to offer this collection of European weights including of course British coin weights but with emphasis on French and Italian made weights. There are several interesting 17th century and later English boxes, albeit lacking some or all of their weights. But this is a good opportunity to acquire the original container for weights that are available – and some are even in this sale. We will be taking a selection of scales & boxes and most of the weights to the London Coin Fair on Saturday 6 February but you’re most welcome to make an appointment to view in Leytonstone. It’s not practical for us to bring everything to the coin fair. We will photograph the lots - balances, scales, boxes and weights - posting the images on our website here.
If you’re new to this type of sale, please read our
terms and conditions below. Remember
there’s no buyer’s commission and we reduce bids to 10% over the
next bidder. If you’re the only bidder
you get the lot at the first price, which is our reserve. We
hope you enjoy browsing through the catalogue and find pieces that you must
have for your own collection. Good luck
and send in your bids as early as you can!
General terms: All items are guaranteed genuine as
described. Prices realised are only sent
to bidders.
Postal
auction: Closing
date is at 12 noon GMT on Thursday 11 February 2010. Written bids must be received no later
than this date, either by post or email. All
telephone bids must be confirmed in writing. Email bids will be accepted
but are only valid once we have sent an acknowledgement. We bear no
responsibility for emails not being received, or indeed for the late arrival of
any bids. If bidding by email or phone, please quote the lot number and brief
description with your maximum bid. The
first price in the catalogue is the reserve; bids will be refused below
this. The second price is an estimate
but you may need to bid higher to secure a lot. Bidding is in increments of £1. Bids will be reduced to 10% (rounded up to the nearest pound) above the
next highest bid;
Example 1. Weight reserved at £30 has 3 bids A.£25, B.£50
C.£35. Bid B is successful at £39 and we
ignore bid A which is less than the reserve.
Example 2. Weight
reserved at £100, you bid is £200 but you’re the only bidder so you buy it for
£100 (the reserve)
Postage: is added to orders at cost. Goods sent by registered insured mail where possible.
Payment: Payment is due on receipt of our invoice,
and goods are sent out when we receive payment. Payments from abroad should be in GB pounds sterling drawn on a UK bank.
We accept US dollars and euros; please indicate on your bid-sheet if you want
to be invoiced in US funds or euros (note: Bids must be in £ sterling). We accept PayPal (4% fee), Visa, Mastercard and
Amex credit cards (2% fee) and Maestro/Visa debit cards for payment (no
surcharge). If you wish to pay by card
please put your details on the bid-sheet (card number, expiry date, last 3
numbers on signature strip, and name and address as written on your card and
statements plus for debit cards only date of commencement and issue number, and
sign your bid sheet. Successful bids can
then be sent out without delay which speeds up transactions to the advantage of
all. Do not send credit card details by
email unless split into two or more emails.
Photographs: Look
on the website on the underlined lots for illustrations. Digital
photos give much better detail and can be sent direct to your computer. Please
state on your bidding form if you want photos of items on which you are
unsuccessful. Requests made after the
closing date cannot be met.
Grading
& other abbreviations: Please note that the weights are bronze or
brass unless stated otherwise
Obv. = obverse or first side Rev. = Reverse ctm.
= counter mark lis = fleur de
lis or lily
UNC Uncirculated, AU about uncirculated EF Extremely
Fine, lustre
VF Very
Fine (normal circulated wear) nVF
or VF- near or almost Very Fine
gF or F+ good
Fine but not Very Fine F Fine
VG Very
Good G Good
VF/VG or VF-VG One side very fine, the
other very good.
AV gold, AR silver, AE bronze or copper, Pb lead. Fe Iron, CuNi cupro-nickel, Br brass, Zn zinc
References: We use the standard reference works, e.g.
Withers British Coin Weights, Biggs
various texts on weights, Bendall for Byzantine, Dieudonne for foreign coin
weights, Mazza for Italian, and for the ancient weights, Petrie and Forien de
Rochesnard, etc. If in doubt about descriptions or terms please ask. We can often find copies of the reference
books for you.
General notes:
Registered number 1612141