Big CT Auction Closes in a Few Days

The opportunity to add a few CTs to your collection is now.
     The Simmons Gallery auction of the Bob Merchant Collection (Part II) closes on October 15th. This auction includes tokens dated after 1800. There are 400+ CTs to be sold, and every one of them is pictured on their website. Most of them are from Scotland, but 33 come from Ireland and 17 come from other countries -- where else are you going to find one from Argentina or Isle of Man?
     Auctions are curious events. We get a chance to explore the whims of another collector. Many of us have put our collections together piece by piece. Each token is a prize -- a personal victory marked by an acquisition that followed diligent searching and deliberation. The CTs in Merchant's collection no doubt reflect something of the man.
     His tokens came from many sources. The collection took years to assemble. And on October 15th -- a few days from now -- his CTs will be contested for and scattered about the globe. I hope to get a few; my bids are in!
     Yes, the life of a collection (or even a part of a collection) is much like our own story-line. Each CT represents a particular experience. The experiences accumulate. At the end, we go back to the beginning. The end often seems more abrupt than we imagine it, particularly as it happens all at once -- like a big bang! Once again the CTs are dispersed, only to be added to some new collection. A new collection that is unique, reflecting the whims of a yet another collector.
     I am one of those other collectors -- still adding pieces, arranging them like a child playing with blocks, developing my own story-line, one bit at a time.

Since I recently posted on varieties, here is a pair that is
offered in the Simmons Gallery auction. These CTs come
from Auchterarder in Perth: the right one has rounded
corners. The numerals are charming with an over-sized
eight and a stylish five with its sweeping lower loop.

     In looking at the photos of the CTs to be auctioned, I can see that there are many excellent tokens to be had. Most collecting specialties are represented: a few primitive squares, several Glasgow-styled squares and straight rectangles, narrow and rotund ovals, depictions of churches and the communion elements, table numbers, and even some varieties.
     The reserve prices are low: mostly $10 -- and the estimates are only double that. Yes, CTs are inexpensive when compared to other exonumia bits!
     Also let's not forget the pair of CT dies that I profiled in a previous posting (September 11th). This is a museum piece. It could be in your own museum!
     The prices realized for the February auction of Merchant's collection (Part I) suggest that many pieces are likely to sell at or below the estimates. With so many CTs available this time around, I suspect that many of these pieces will sell at bargain prices. So for the price of a few Big Macs, you could get a token instead!
     Enjoy yourself this weekend: make soup and put some bids in! Here is the link: http://www.simmonsgallery.co.uk/.