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Hi John, Welcome to the forum! The varieties and micro-varieties of pennies are a hot topic here, and there is often hot debate as to which is which. It is not really my area of collecting, but as I understand it, a "Variety" is when there has been a change in the design or layout of the dies. What you have might be called a "micro-variety" where an existing die has been repaired by re-entering damaged or misplaced letters or numbers. During the Victorian era this happened a great deal, so there are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples around. They are collected by the enthusiasts, but generally do not warrant a separate mention in the books. (With exceptions!) There are also "die faults" where cracks or dents in the dies result in anomalies. These are also not really varieties (though some have been listed as such in the past) but are still collected by some. Varieties generally have assigned rarity levels and so prices. Micro-varieties and die faults are much more difficult to value as it depends on finding a collector who wants them.

Victoria not looking her best https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800843380579?itmmeta=01M5Y8QYJPVNDVTD17WE529P6E&hash=itemba75fc3763:g:5WwAAeSwRD5q4FGZ&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAAwCHNgUiiE%2FjQhlDTaMiAde8bHv6%2B83BpYHviYhRXPNyyLSGEyET%2BkoJiqhq0LjWtlQjHs4TJbk850ubzIgdT2ShNbF%2FQ0OsLoD%2BnbWjOwSl9%2BTkwuU%2F1LhsMu6HXy6MydAOkMqkEbgr0ucw%2Fv6XZR2VKg3g96NaaAJwVPR7sH5Gcm7kjqTQ8wdr5Fy34Er8sWubzxQuapdd4tGIwJDK2a4S24elMx6ZTrIme3Hv1U64yE9YWQEfZwwKOPqT%2BP%2BiKPg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9jp38ivaA

The mint signature is certainly CANTO at the top of the rev. picture because there is no sign of a termination. Where it would be is flat, and it doesn't matter whether it is a colon or initial cross, it ain't visible. RAVL is a distinct possibility given the width of the A. I'll bear that in mind. If the curl inside the C is an R tail, we are halfway there. The following A would be super-imposed on the A of the moneyer name, so possible slightly different profile given the possibility of made up letters from lines, crescents and wedges. The mint signature looks to cover about 150 degrees of the legend

surfaced today amongst a mixed bag of foreign and 1950's British coin, glad I did take some time otherwise it would be on its way to the charity shop, so for your consideration a 1892. Victorian and Ganga Singh 1 Rupee, It was minted by the princely state of Bikanir under the British Rule. .917 Silver, Weight 11.45 g

I only have one these days. 20 years ago I bought a whole collection of Indian silver including several dozen assorted Rupees, but sadly I sold them all. This is William IV, 1835:

Often when Una and the Lion's are mentioned, you first imagine gold! For me, it will always be this gorgeous silver pattern piece I had the chance to photograph. Stunning rainbow toning, never seen anything like it.

Hi. Sharing a Henry II Tealby Penny from Canterbury. Can the moneyer's name be attributed from the little that is on-flan?

Yes, the IM mark would be where the O in GOLD is in the above example. Here’s a reasonable example of GOLDHAVOC on CAN for reference purposes only.

Not found a positive die match for either side, but the closest reverse looks to be pl.XXI/11 with the 9-11 o'clock section being in reasonable alignment. That's a coin of Rogier. The obverse is hopeless to match with the available detail in Allen. Too many flat bits. Good old Tealbys. Never let you down when seeking a hiding to nothing.

And as if by magic... and a lot of looking at yet more 1887 6d's..... 🤪 a Wide 7 or 8 over 8, or a combination.

Found it. Egypt. 10 Qirsh. 1876.

In theory it's supposed to be the equivalent of GEF in the UK system. https://mycoinage.co.uk/grading-guide It usually closer to lower EF in my experience.

Bargain alert! It's been reduced by £56.10. Now only £409.60.

Vespasian Denarius. Reverse Jupiter standing. 69-79 AD Obverse: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG Reverse: OVIS CVSTOS Is it genuine? I know next to nothing about Roman coins, but it looks very good compared to other examples at reputable dealers. Maybe a little too good? The weight looks about right.

With Rob’s proposition for a shorter name, I wonder whether it might be RAVL? There’s certainly a hint of the V My only other thought is, if the city was CANT, with the O being a G instead (the 2nd curve of the ‘O’ looks straighter, so a possibility I guess?), then GOLDHAVOC could also work? A die-match will be the only sure way of answering the question.

I think Alferg is only known for Bust A and this is Bust E with the hair curl, drapery joined at the left shoulder and a single row of pellets with pellet below. It doesn't look like E1 as there is no obvious triangle of pellets below the collar, so probably E2 or E3. All with the caveat that it is clearly double struck. Mint reading is CANTO, which should mean a shorter name. I'll try to dig out Allen to see if there is a die match when I clear the crap off the floor. The key will be the relative positions of the sceptre, + and hEN if there is a die match to be made, and a lot of reverse dies can be eliminated with the long mint signature.

Not 100 % sure but i think the last letter before the colons and ON is a G. So Alferg ? Perhaps. There is only two listed on the fitzwilliam corpus to compare with. Sadly one has no image and the other is just not that detailed due to wear.

Only halfpennies as it is a legacy collection. Basically I couldn't bring myself to do too much pruning as they were (mostly) too nice to throw out. And I couldn't see much point in getting rid of the unique dogs, such as the attached. An R24 in Aluminium - one that should have existed based on Peck's groupings, but he failed to locate an example. I suspect this was with a group of related aluminium die pairs at Spink when their building was bombed during WW2 and the corrosion is from water/electrolysis, as others within this group and struck in aluminium are similarly affected by water damage, albeit not as badly. See the Glens sale in the 60's or Selig's collection for other group examples. I picked it up on ebay in 2009 from the US - surprisingly nobody wanted it given its id but thankfully the condition eliminated the number chasers, so cheap as chips. . Happy days. Pennies, farthings and twopences are satisfied by an example of each type of style, rather than the nuclear option. Funds are too limited to go ballistic on all fronts.

I used to collect halfpennies and shillings as denominations, so the accumulation of Soho patterns was inevitable. I have however tempered my habits and now only 'need' an example of each Peck die pairing in whatever metal, as opposed to all die pairings in all metals.

Silver is always going to be better than gold for toning, due to the latter's relative resistance to chemical reaction. Toned gold is usually due to the copper mixed to produce the correct fineness. As you will be aware, left to its own devices and in a fairly clean environment, it will mostly turn black from silver oxide. Establish what the chemicals responsible for the colour scheme were and you probably have a good indicator of London's atmospheric constituents since Victorian time, though the toning stripe that looks like Britannia let one go, is probably from the fabrics found in a mint set. Though as always, a lot depends on the angle of the shot relative to light source. 15 or 20 years ago, I posted a picture taken one sunny day when I had a tray of Soho patterns on the desk, and the various colours reflected onto the ceiling enabled me to individually identify all the pieces using colour alone. There was a mixture of copper, bronzed, gilt and silver, but all were distinctively coloured. I think I lost the image a few years ago when photobucket went dysfunctional, so will have to wait for the sun to make another appearance unless someone can locate it on the forum. Having said all that, the one below is an oil painting in most lights and from most angles. Apologies to those who have already seen it.

Looks like it might be a Spanish Netherlands '2 Mite' coin issued by Phillip II, c16th https://en.numista.com/120395 Still not sure of the exact variety yet

The central cross limbs would be level with the IM mark if it was an IM mark. I think it is a T as Rob stated. Your orientation is incorrect for known tealby pennies. Stu.

I appreciate the legend style I have drawn is incorrect also the spacing, heres roughly how I would assume the name fits give or take.

This is a complete guess I have worked backwards from what I think is O C and the first letter that looks like a C is probably actually a G?: (Allen): BMC 169–171 (Canterbury, Moneyer Goldhavoc, Class E, reading + GOLDhAVOC : ON : CAN or CANT) North: North 960 (Class E) Spink: Spink 1341 At the bottom of the image I see O C and after CAN + then I see a G of GOLDhAVOC. Because the name is long was the T removed and what appears as the T is actually the cross. *I'm not sure what the legend styles look like for each letter, so after N is that a cross or a T? As I say I have simply worked backed from OC which could only be Goldhavoc. Just before the O can I see the faint trace of the apex of the V?

Or even earlier, but cannot find any portrait issues of the low denominations.

Brilliant spot, significant!

Very distinct differences. Those are both proofs by the looks of it?

found today 1 Rupee 1835 William IIII

A bit too soapy for my liking... Cast?

I've added a page on these to my rare penny site https://rarestpennies.wordpress.com/filled-dies/

I used to have a few when I first collected as a teenager. The Victorian rupees were much more affordable than the British version. It was a cheaper way to the the young head and the gothic head. If I collect empire coins again, I would want a Straits Settlements dollar. Both the reverse and obverse are very nice.

If I were ever to collect world coins, these Empire coins of India would definitely tick the box! Especially when you think about how far back the British/Indian ‘relationship’ goes through the East India Company!

And it's AU! https://ebay.io/m/3QCHg2

Just in case you were disappointed at missing this one, he has sold two and has another two remaining...

I also noticed a spelling mistake in the seller description…‘certified’ has been spelled incorrectly. I’m pretty certain that either the buyer or seller would need to be certified?

Rogier ? Stu.

I'm still finding interesting Empire coinage as I sift through..... these I had but not ventured near in over 35 years, now I have a page that covers different monarchs, dates and country's.... I do like the colonial use coins as well, 👍

I love these…great designs!

aha, yes theres this one as well that I found awhile ago,

Lovely! I've been getting 1 rupees whenever I can. I have a Hyderabad one in my watch list too. I'll continue to look for one per year of the Imperial ones and then one from each Princely state that minted them.

Variation on a theme here. One lot I had won in the Hulett sales came with a ticket that was for Brooker 613 (6d mule with the obverse mark Crown over Bell over Portcullis) and to my knowledge is the only one known. I had marked that as a buy when it appeared, but the ticket (613) was for a different coin to the one I bought, so dutifully sent it back to be reunited with the right coin. However, the coin I really wanted didn't appear in any sale as far as I could see, so where is it? I know John had Brooker 613 because I saw it when visiting on one occasion, hence the interest. Humpf.

I've experienced both sides of a "lost ticket". In 2014 bought an ex-JP Mass collection (#1275) short-cross penny from eBay and it was delivered with the wrong ticket. The seller said he'd send me the correct ticket so I returned it to him, at which point he told me he couldn't find the original ticket. I do have Mass 574 & 1241 with their original tickets though.

Heh. I just stick to one per year of my shillings and florins. That's enough to keep me poor 🤣

WOW that is a gorgeous one!! I love Soho Mint pieces. And... a tray of patterns you say? 👀

So, I can confirm that all the S’s are serpentine and belonging to 9b with no star on breast. There is no perforation of the flan, and the rust on the reverse was not part of the coin, and has for the most part flicked off. North did not identify any ANL errors for Class 9, though Wither’s, as Coys pointed out, has recorded a London 9a piece, but also a 9b1 (which this coin is) for York (but not London). Therefore, to the best of my knowledge, this is an unrecorded obverse for London. Interestingly it arrived with a Spink ticket with 9b on it, but no mention of the legend error! Only a phone image for now!

Nothing super special about this piece, but I like how my camera caught it. Some good details for a circulation coin no doubt. Unfortunate small scratch on the beard, but barely noticeable admist the texture. This was my first good quality Edward VII that I bought, since then I've gotten a lovely 1904 Sovereign and a gorgeous 1902 matte proof shilling (alongside the long-set case, which I will complete in due course)