King James 1st Coins

What's The Bigger Story: Dallas Winning Or Miami Losing?

It happened. The Dallas Mavericks proved everyone wrong and marched through the NBA Playoffs and slayed the three-headed monster known as the Miami Heat . I, personally, wasn’t sold that the Mavs could get out of the first round against a strong Portland Trailblazers team. But they did—they swept the Lakers , rolled over the Thunder and backslapped the Heat to win their first NBA championship.

But what’s the real story?

As much as everyone is happy to see Dirk and J-Kidd get their rings, the other side of the coin is that the Miami Heat fell short on winning an NBA championship.

The Miami Heat drew the ire of the entire country the moment that LeBron said he was taking his talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh . To heighten the hatred, the Heat celebrated with a obnoxious pre-season celebration where LeBron James boasted the Heat would win “not one, not two, not three, not four…” championships. The only city that wanted Miami to win an NBA championship was Miami. As the season progressed, every win and every loss was scrutinized 10x more than the next NBA team. By the time the playoffs hit, the Heat found themselves as a #2 seed with the Chicago Bulls sitting on top of the food chain. But the Heat persevered and made the NBA Finals. Considering the Los Angeles Lakers were upended by the Mavericks in a shocking four-game sweep, it was a foregone conclusion by many that the Heat would be taking home the hardware.

But there’s a reason why they play the games…

The Mavericks entered the playoffs an 18-to-1 underdog. They were without Caron Butler , had to face Portland in the first round, the Lakers in the second and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals . Nobody saw them emerging as NBA champions. Even with the sweep of the Lakers, the prevailing thought said the Heat were too talented to be defeated. But Dirk Nowitzki and company would not be denied. After Game 1 they looked like a team that was just happy to be there. But something kicked in when they were down big in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and the Mavericks were a team possessed.

The English Spur Royal

The third and final part of this series focuses on the ancient rare gold coin the English Spur Royal. The first two parts of this series dealt with ancient coins of Roman origin, but the Spur Royal is equally rare and valuable. It is often mentioned in the same sentences as the Roman Aureus and the Roman Solidus when discussing the most coveted rare gold coins in the world.

Although the most valuable coin to ever be sold is still an extremely rare 1933 $20 Double Eagle gold coin, which was sold for $7,590,020, the Aureus, Solidus, and Spur Royal are considered by most to be the top 3 gold coins in terms of value and popularity due to their history. All three are significantly older than the 1933 Double Eagle, which went for that price mostly due to its extreme uniqueness and rarity.

The Spur Royal (also spelled Spur Ryal) is an ancient English gold coin which dates all the way back to the time and reign of King James I. It was an adaptation from the previously popular Rose Noble (or simply the Ryal), which held a value of fifteen shillings when distributed by Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary and a value of ten shillings when issued by King Edward IV and King Henry VII.

The Spur Royal was first issued by King James I in 1604 and was included in what is considered his “second coinage.” His version held a value of fifteen shillings. The name Spur Royal comes from the design portraying both a rose and a sun on the reverse side which combine to resemble a spur. The obverse depicts a king in a ship with a sword and a shield. In 1612, the value was increased (along with all gold coins) by 10%, bringing its value to sixteen shillings.

The first version was minted from 1604 to 1619, and from 1619 to 1625 (King James’ “third coinage”), a lighter version of the Spur Royal was introduced and the value was reduced back to fifteen shillings. The Spur Royal is popular both because of its history and rarity, but also because of its unique and detailed design. This is a rare coin at Zoomcoin to ask about when looking for the crown jewel of your collection, but the chances are that it would come on the cheap. However, it only stands to increase in value over time as an investment.

The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Account of the institution and progress of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland, By William Smellie, ...

Chats on old coins

The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, in six volumes

Annals of the coinage of Great Britain and its dependencies, from the earliest period of authentic history to the reign of Victoria