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Happy Days. I think I will have a few pints in the local tonight. Given their pricing, it is clear evidence of the cost of nationwide advertsiing in papers and TV is not insubstantial - or someone has run off with the bank account funds. I would go further than no great loss, as it removes a source of overpriced material sold to people with a limited grasp on coin prices, and as an afterthought, maybe the recent IHT adjustments for pensions etc has led to the wealthy gullible reviewing their methods for passing on things to the descendants.

Hi Shelly. Sorry, but no large value. It is a result of a die beginning to break up shortly before it dies. Given enough time, every die would show this feature (or something else related to the wear process) as it is due to a chip breaking off, which leaves a depression in the die surface where it shouldn't be and results in a raised lump. You might get something on ebay for it, but don't plan for a night out on the proceeds! List it for more than the cost of a second class letter stamp plus 5p and you will have a profit, as there is a collector for everything. In numismatic terms it is called a cud. FYI, another die fault arising from their destruction includes cracking prior to complete failure (leaving a raised irregular line or lines). The pictures help to explain what I mean. The second also shows a depression in the reverse field due to the flan having a fault too - usually due to bad metal mixing or a trapped air pocket. Raised will be on the die and recessed (incuse) due to the flan. Faults have many varieties and can make an interesting collection in their own right. If you are interested and want to pursue something along these lines, ask questions and search through past threads. It is fun (honestly). Edited to add that the weakness in REX on the obverse is likely due to the compromised integrity of the reverse die, as the die axis is inverted and so follows the line of the reverse flaw. Weak or missing letters is another error rabbit hole to look into.

don't try eating it afterwards lol

I rather think the silence may be more down to the sheer flood of posts and pictures you've made just recently? I got halfway through yesterday and then gave up.

It was often said if you took all the pieces of the true cross from around the med and you could build a boat out of them

Dead right Paddy. Anything for a quick buck.

Update the seller said I can return the coin if not happy so Im going to go for it.

What is the American MS64 - our GVF?

I am working on a colonial coin type collection which includes many foreign coins, including British. Recently I found a small book titled 'The Coins of Colonial America' which basically listed and illustrated coins found when the grounds of our colonial Williamsburg were dug up. My current collection has the George III embossed 8 Reale and 4 Reale coins (oval stamp) and i thought that was it. However, the book showed a set of 4 coins: 1 Reale, 2 Reale, 4 Reale and 8 Reale each with the oval embossement. My copy of the 'Coins of England', 2025, does not show the two lower denomination coins. So, i'm asking here: why not? what is the story? the photo shows the book's illustration.

I finally got around to taking better images which represent my coin. Still cant get my head around finding this as cheap as I did unattributed. As I have not been posting here about my finds I now have a backlog of finds to add to my collection taking photos and sharing here found some amazing coins unattributed.

It really annoys me that the slabbers call the coin a 1/2 p for gods sake its a 1/2 D

Full House, Queens over Kings... 😎 Five generations of this coin from the Netherlands. 38 mm, 25 g .945 fine silver Willem II - 1848 Willem III - 1874 Wilhelmina - 1898 33 mm, 15 g .720 silver (the cost of 2 world wars) Julianna - 1959 But even that couldn't be sustained in the modern world... 29mm 10 g 100% Nickel which at least gives it a decent look and feel. This was the the last Rijksdaalders as the Euros came in. Beatrix - 2001 I still need an 1840 2 1/2 Gulden of Willem I to complete the set.

'Normal for Berwick'?

Spink are offering an Historical Documents auction to their clients which features, among selected rarities, two important collections: The John Webb Collection of Important English Civil War Documents – A collection some 50 years in a ever-so-careful and judicious making… How absolutely fabulous is that? I’d love to have some of those documents!

Buy some! I will only be interested in any that correlate to troop movements which ties in specific issues of coins.

seen a lot worse , scarcer date as well.

It's an acceptable example, but shame about the green.

I have recently acquired x3 "True Cross" Terracotta Pilgrim Tokens. They are reported to have been commissioned by Emperor Heraclius to commemorate the recovery of the True Cross from the Persians in C630 AD. It has been reported that a small piece of the True Cross was cut off and burnt, and the ash mixed with the Clay. Although this could be a good selling pitch at the time?? The two figures beneath the Cross are supposed to be Constantine and his Mother Helena. Other reports state they are Peter & Paul? The backs are plain. One is 18mm Dia. The other two are 15mm. The two smaller pieces both have an X over both arms of the Cross. All in VGC

Ah, but I asked AI and it confirmed I am Spartacus! So it must be true!

Your coin is not the "normal pairing" apparently (from those pictures), but shares the same pairing as the I over T - which suggests that more than one die was used for that pairing.

Very interesting items! Not something I would collect, but definitely intriguing. I suspect when they were made unscrupulous dealers were rooking credulous pilgrims. Nothing has really changed!

Was not my intention to mislead, and for that I'm sorry. The coin is 1860 2+D.

Sorry i thought from your original post you were looking at a picture and were asking the question as you DIDNT have the coin in hand. "Would you agree that the attached image has no crossbar" Yes i dont think a V has a crossbar 👍 Some people on the forum know why i look for coins everyday and flip for a profit, but dont feel as if i need to explain myself.

@Coinery At first blush, it may appear unrealistic. However, it really depends on how you go about collecting, what you collect or even might consider collecting. Most collectors can and should develop a numismatic point of reference based on experiences… which include the coins seen, the state of preservation, and how often they are offered for sale in the condition desired. Frankly, the best coins I own are the ones I really was not actively seeking at the time I decided to buy them. This really turns into recognizing opportunities but not everyone wants to buy a straw hat in January.

Maybe it’s just your natural approach to things, but I can’t imagine for a second it’ll encourage free unguarded comments going forward, that’s all!

Ok thanks for this information. I hear you. All opinions can't be taken as truths for sure. I value your objective approach to my questions and thank you for taking the time to awnser and explain.

Im pleased to own one of the few that was made in London for 1882! Taken from the RM website: In 1810, we left the Tower of London and moved to a new purpose-built facility at nearby Tower Hill which could better accommodate steam-powered machinery. Eight massive presses stood in the Coining Press Room, each capable of striking about 60 coins a minute. In the 1880s, the factory buildings were reconstructed and smaller, faster and quieter machines replaced the presses. At the turn of the twentieth century, steam power gave way to electrification and master tools were increasingly produced using reducing machines. Instead of engraving by hand, at size in steel, an artist could prepare a larger plaster model. A mould was then taken and electroplated with nickel and copper, yielding a reproduction known as an electrotype that could be mounted on an engraving machine and scanned. These movements were communicated to a rotating cutter, which copied them at coin size into a block of steel.

I wasn’t so much asking for a grade, just that it was a million miles off being an MS64, even if the reverse was FDC. I did include the link to the upcoming sale, where the reverse is available for viewing. Unfortunately, most people who will be bidding on the coin will only have the integrity of the grading company’s number and the images to back it up. Speaking only for myself, I think both are questionable.

If you check my ebay listings, I have an F-275 Last 1 over 1 listed. I also have an F-275 HIGHER F OVER F in F:D: listed. I have never seen another and had questioned Iain Dracott about it, but as he had not seen the purported F/P, he could not be sure whether my coin was actually what was identified as the F/P. See attached image

Interesting page on Heritage Auctions UK comparing NGC grading to PCGS. This has been up for several months at least, it's dated 2015, and the unsigned writer clearly states his views. The link (heritageauctions.co.uk) doesn't seem to post so I've c&p'ed and compressed the paragraph spacing: HERITAGE AUCTIONS The grading of quality and rare coins is a highly specialised skill which can impact tremendously on coin values.signed There are 2 main international grading companies - NGC and PCGS both primarily based in the USA. As they both claim to work according to the Sheldon Scale of grading , one imagines that there should be a high degree of uniformity and consistency in the grading of coins, notwithstanding that sometimes human objectivity may sometimes be compromised if a grader is having an " off " day, for instance. However, levels of consistency can be compared when coins are submitted for " cross-over " grading which is where one of the 2 main companies undertakes to grade the coins at the same existing or other specified grade and will only encapsulate that coin in it's own plastic slab if the coin meets the minimum grade specified by the person submitting the coin. Otherwise the coin is returned intact in the original plastic slab and the submitter is told that the coin did not " grade ". My own experience of crossover is one where the great majority of my PCGS graded coins have failed to cross-over into a NGC slab at the same or a higher grade. I will be providing statistics as time permits. This surely is disturbing? This is why I buy as many NGC graded coins as possible from Heritage Auctions in Dallas, USA. It will be seen by looking at any of their coin auctions that a large proportion of the slabbed coins that they sell are in NGC holders, and given that they are the largest Auction house in the world that must surely say something! OldCopper now: So for older slabs at least, an interesting take. Perhaps things may have changed since.

Coins of the year 1887 are really common, just be discerning and not in a rush, I must admit unc and a/unc are harder to find but they are out there don't fall for these con merchants

Apparently so! You’d normally expect to be ‘safe’ around those grades…staggeringly bad!

Agreed!

less than EF

The lack of credibility (perceived or imagined), stemmed from the conflict of interest of the owners given the connection to LCA, through which many coins were sold at auction. Grading of their slabs in my opinion was rarely an issue, which given their association with GB coinage is as it should be. They were more familiar with British coins than the US TPGs will ever be. As ever, caveat emptor.

I have their pics of it if that's any use? Also gives the grade.

London Mint Office has now gone bankrupt. Sad for those who have lost their jobs, but no great loss otherwise.

Truth is, we'll likely never know the story of this but almost definitely some sort of marketing effort given the style of the stamp. The surname has strong Cornish roots, but only 'famous' merchant of that era is William Hearne Pellow, head of a mercantile firm in Liverpool. Here are some details from an archive: https://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/kirkdalecemetery2.html

Ignorance is bliss. There is a raised line on the hull, it just happens to be the ship's handrail running from bow to stern. Mine is very prominent in hand. The atttribution presumaby coming from a phrase search of their limited literature. At the end of the day, it is a business boxing above its weight in terms of knowledge when claiming to be all things to all people and (like Trump) never wrong - hence many fictitious attributions and for knowledgable people, just used as a pointer toward a potentially decent coin. However, an unquestionable marketing success. I don't know if they still offer a cleaning service, but it seems to have laid low after I questioned why they were so intent on selling 'unsightly' wax removal given it was historical evidence of past illustration in early catalogues.

Nice if you can get them, but Hobson's Choice requires my collection to have more than a few dogs hidden away. Still, mustn't grumble as I've done ok over the years.

Its come a long way already, I have been leaving the coin in direct sunlight with fresh air flow sat on a manilla envelope. In less than 6 months it has already taken on alot of toning.

Thanks ! In the hammered coinage there must be some varieties that command the higher premiums? For this coin I think it was mostly right place right time with alot of luck. It kind of fell into my possesion. Initially I did not find the variety, I found the coin then researched the varieties for the type. This was my first find and possibly the best to date.. You can see why and how I become totally consumed by penny varieties. Then shortly after the 1877 F90. Since then I have found many decent coins but not quite of the same calibre of those two. It was enough to be hooked for life and invest more time to learn all I can. I feel now I have run out of avenues for prospection, I find myself looking over the same coins for sale.

I concur. The approach to the newsagent is a lucrative source of income.

That is a particularly good example! Jerry

Worn collars? Reduced striking force to preserve the dies? Different degrees of circulation? Wartime conditions will often lead to slightly flexible interpretation of the rules. Even within nominally identical parts, engineering tolerances can lead to something that looks wrong, even if functionally and usefully ok. Think along the lines of WW1 pennies that were often weakly struck to save replacing the dies so often.

That picture is much clearer and yes Gouby BP1898 Ba

Although a better picture would be good, i think its Ca which is rarer still. Good investment " for a few pounds " king Kenny" 👍

I'm more amused by what is allegedly a bronze penny having a fineness of .5 🤣

5 Cents Buffalo & 1884, 1923 Dollars 👍

As you are obviously monitoring this seller, could we arrange a pinned thread somewhere to list the items regularly offered together with a few pictures, or links? This can only be beneficial.