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Game of Thrones coins


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Thanks for bringing that up! Yes it is a knockoff and this is the first I've seen it. At the moment I'm in Trondheim Norway... Logging is from iPhone and don't get many options. I'll do whatever I can but won't be home for another week. Any forumites in Trondheim? Tom

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Borrowing a computer here so I can type a little better. Been out of touch for a few days and BAM, there's a Chinese knockoff. I suppose I should be proud... you can't really claim success at anything unless somebody trieds to copy it. But I have reported it, and anybody else can report it as fraudulent also. Because it's really George that is getting ripped off by that sort of thing. He gets a share of everything I do for his world... but I feel confident that this Chinese knockoff is not providing any royalties.

Yes I can drill a hole in a coin... and I provide a brass one specifically for the purpose because iron can leave brown marks on the skin. Just let me know in comments.

The dragon project is still on timeline to release THREE brass dragon coins at Worldcon in SanAntonio. Up in the air about real gold, but brass (or *aurichalcum*) is a go.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Progressing well on the three dragons. One die set is done and we have 500 pounds of red-brass inbound.

I've filed a VeRo complaint with eBay to remove the bootleg Chinese knockoff of the Faceless Man (as mentioned in posts above), though last time I checked it is still listed. I went ahead and ordered one, just to have the example.

The officially licensed Iron Coin of the Faceless Man is still available on eBay at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130909764945?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

And newly listed on Amazon.com at:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Iron-Coin-Faceless-Man/dp/B00CF5JWIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370636349&sr=8-1&keywords=faceless+man+coin

Also from ThinkGeek.com at:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1172/?pfm=rightcolumn_NewStuffFTW_2

Also on the HBO store at:

http://store.hbo.com/game-of-thrones-faceless-man-coin/detail.php?p=446297&v=hbo_shows_game-of-thrones_collectibles where it comes with a printed cloth bag.

And of course I still have them on my own online store at:

https://secure.gcmcomputers.com/shirepost/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=31_37_84&products_id=291

Note that there is now a full roll of 24 listed here also:

https://secure.gcmco...products_id=292

at a significant discount from the single price, for people interested in an investment opportunity and/or the potential for resale. I still have one brick-of-six-rolls (one gross, 144 pieces) of the sixth pressing left. George has the only other intact brick... I had to break up the other ones to make singles. I now also have bricks and rolls of the seventh pressing. Several people have been buying rolls to keep intact or to use as gaming pieces, or just to distribute to friends.

Note that my online store charges $7 flat rate shipping no matter where you are. So if you just want one coin and you're in the US, your better choice is to buy from eBay where the domestic shipping is just $2. My online store has a wider variety of the other pieces, including rolls, so that if you are wanting larger quantities or to collect the full set, that's the way to go.

Have fun!

Tom Maringer

Mintmaster

Shire Post Mint

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I bought one of the sets of the faceless man tokens and they're great. I love the copper geocoin, especially. Since that set didn't include a 7th pressing, I'm curious if there's a difference between the included 6th and the 7th I don't have.

On a mostly unrelated note, I'm also really excited about the coins you're doing for Pat Rothfuss.

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Hi ig88b: Thanks for the note! I did my best to make the 6th and 7th pressings indistinguishable. Really the only difference is in the packaging... so no biggie there.

Yes we're excited to be on board with Patrick Rothfuss, another author who is clearly a rising star. Patrick has spent considerable time and thought in his stories to envision the coins for his world, and they are unique. His idea is that the earliest "coins" would have been slices of an ingot, so they would have had the trapezoidal shape characteristic of such. The angles are simply to make the cast ingot fall easily from the mold. As the coinage developed they stuck with the trapezoidal shape because that's culturally accepted as the shape of a coin.... rather than switch to the round shape more common in our real-world. The first copper "jot" has a very simple imprint... a mountain over a lake. This is to represent a very early version of the coin which is naiively unresistant to counterfeiting. As we progress forward in time the designs will become increasingly complex and more difficult for forgers to duplicate.... recapitulating the real-world battle between the coiners and the forgers that has been going on since Roman times.

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I've had my Faceless Man coin for a while now and I love it. It's aging beautifully, having darkened considerably. I've been making a point of taking it out and about with me once in a while, keeping it in my pocket with a few other coins, and they have helped keep the raised portions a little lighter, providing a nice contrast.

Thank you for your work Tom. The service was unbelievably prompt and I am nothing short of delighted.

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Sun and Moon:

Thanks so much for the kind note. Very glad to hear that you are liking the coin. Ran across this unboxing video and thought folks might enjoy it:

Jason got his through ThinkGeek... which seems to mail them in a very large box. If you get one directly from me it will be in a thin 6x9 envelope. In the video Jason comments on the package within a package. I'd be very interested in hearing what people think about the packaging. The issue is that there are "coin collectors"... who tend to collect and store coins in the standard 2x2 holders of that hobby. Then there are "gaming" collectors, who tend to collect and store in 3x4 sleeves. So I've packed the coin in a 2x2 with a small printed insert... then folded a larger printed paper that goes with it into a 3x4. That way no matter what people want to do with it, the bases are covered. But I also have rolls of 24 and bags to carry loose ones around in.

Have fun!

Tom

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Ah that was you! Many thanks! You should have let me know you were from the forum and I would have added something extra. I was able to get it to the post office friday just three minutes before the 3:00 pm express mail deadline... so you should have it very soon! Have fun! Tom

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Tom, I appreciate it, Maybe next time? Got my coins, and they are beautiful! The level of detail and the way that the coins are packaged is really top notch. I'm an amateur collector / enjoyer of GRRM things, and it is nice to see the quality. I got the Night's watch dagger set, and while it is okay, the quality of the box left a bit to be desired. The knife, pouch, and arrows were good quality, but I was going to put the coins in there and now I may rethink that because the box was a bit underwhelming.

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I always pick up nice handmade wooden boxes at flea markets and whatnot. I have a small collection of random treasure chests from thimble size up to breadbox size. (one of my handmade swords lies across a large chest of undarkened Faceless Man coins in the last picture on my eBay listing)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130909764945?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

It's hard to fill one of those big ones... that's two thousand coins in that chest! And... they get very heavy! The handles have to be very stout. Let me know if you're in need and I might be able to hook you up. Check Hobby Lobby if you have one nearby. Most of the stuff is pretty awful but occasionally they have some nice arch-tops with real handforged ironmongery. Snap them up if you find one.

Right now we're trying to design the package for a three-coin set of golden dragons to be released at Worldcon in August. (see Brotherhood Without Banners threads about that event!) Thinking about a DVD-case sized booksafe with a clear window and slipcase...

Have fun! Tom

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just updated the mintage list on the first post of this thread to include the newest items! Golden dragons for Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Joffrey Baratheon. They're not available for sale yet, still working on packaging, and on the third coin for the three-dragon set (because after all... "the dragon has three heads). Initial mintage is 1,300 of each one. The scheduled release date is August 28, at the opening of the dealer room at Worldcon. Will post some pics on the Shire Post website when available.

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The other big news... Shire Post Mint has signed on with the Bandersnatch Group to make coins for the WHEEL OF TIME series by Robert Jordan. We are doing the canonical research on particular designs described in the text. No release dates yet available. Lots of interest on the Facebook page.

Still waiting on dies for the third Dragon coin, and working on packaging for the sets. I would love to hear feedback from people as to what sort of packaging they would love to see. There are so many different ways in which people collect... some want to display on wall or shelf, some want it to fit an album, others need no packaging at all as they plan to carry the coins in a pocket. Do people like the little sleeves that I've been using? Should a set-of-three be in a larger case... like a DVD case sized thing? Or just three separate sleeves? Wall hangers? Any thoughts from people who have some of the coins already? What can we do to make your collection more meaningful?

By the way, I've noticed from time to time people on these threads talking about whether a collectible will increase in value or not over time and whether it's worth investing. I can't say on all those other things, but if you are interested in investing in coins you might consider the bulk packaged items that we carry sometimes. Particularly the rolls of 24, and bricks of six rolls (144) Faceless Man coins, available at a wholesale bulk rate. When we strike up a batch of coins we put up about a third in rolls, and then sleeve up the rest as singles. When it gets down to where we have to start breaking rolls to make singles I stop selling rolls. I currently still have one brick and several rolls of the seventh pressing of the Iron Coin of the Faceless Man available at the online store. But I will soon have to withdraw those from sale to pack singles, until I can get around to an eighth pressing. I don't know if the coins will appreciate in value over the years... but by buying bulk wholesale they are already worth more than you paid even if you just turn right around and sell singles! The intact rolls become increasingly rare as time goes on and people break them open, and the bricks are the rarest of all. In fact, George is the only one who actually has any intact bricks from earlier pressings. Rolls and bricks are done in specially printed cotton bond paper with adhesive mint seals. Brick seals are signed by the mintmaster.

Have fun!

Tom Maringer

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Tom I'm interested in the Joffrey Baratheon dragon, but I'm not sure I can make it to the con. What are my options?

Zar - I'll be at WorldCon and will be happy to pick one up for you.

Tom - Thanks for the heads-up re: the cheaper shipping through eBay. I just placed my order for the FM coin. I want to make sure it has time to 'break in' before WorldCon so I expect to be carrying it around with me daily.

Can't wait to see the dragon coins in person!

See you in August. :)

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We just got confirmation of our booth space in the dealer room... booth #7, first booth on the right of the middle entrance!

There will be three different Dragons... available either as the set or as singles... and we're making 1,300 of each one. It took years of dithering about this because it was so difficult to decide which king to represent that we finally just went with three so as to touch all bases!

1. Jaehaerys I Targaryen. The Old King. He was chosen to represent the grandfatherly image of the good king, the height of the Targaryen dynasty, the chivalrous and majestic heights of social grace. The Jaehaerys dragon features a portrait of the old king with flowing beard and long hair on obverse, and the head of a dragon on reverse.

2. Daemon Blackfyre, The rebellious and handsome young pretender to the throne. He was chosen to represent the pinnacle of martial prowess and the dashingly handsome image of the rebelliousness of youth. The Daemon dragon features a portrait of the clean-shaven claimant to the throne, and a three-headed dragon on reverse.

3. Joffrey Baratheon. The spoiled and indulgent young snit that everyone loves to hate. He was chosen specifically to portray a low point in the range of chivalry. The Joffrey dragon features a profile of a beardless Joffrey wearing the stag-crown on obverse, and the stag-and-lion sigil on reverse, dated 299 AL.

All are very close to the same size... about 28mm diameter... or 1-1/16 inch. (1.075" for you decimal-heads) and weigh about 14 grams. The metal chosen is known in the trade as "red brass"... which is 80% Cu, 20% Zn. It is often used to represent gold coins and goes by various trade names from different makers, including "Coiner's Bronze", "Aurichalcum", and "Merlin's Gold". The price will be $20 each as singles, or $50 for the set of three. Singles will come in a 3x4 hard plastic toploader sleeve with a folded descriptive insert (with room for George to sign on if you can catch him at a signing!). The set of three comes in a larger 5x7 hard plastic sleeve with a double-folded insert, bearing (on the inside) a long scroll-like description of the three kings (taken by permission from the wiki of Ice and Fire).

So now you have to think about which dragon you like best, or whether you want all three.

Have fun!

Tom

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