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Hi guy's can anyone see anything strange with this 1862 penny. Don't know whats gone on with the ribbon and at the back of vics neck where the space is. Any idea's. cheers jim.

Hi Frank the Manc, a very warm welcome to the forum! A few comments from me We do like a laugh on here, but you will not be laughed at or sniggered at for making the odd, inevitable, dodgy newbie purchase! Congratulations on choosing pre-decimal, both the Forum and the coins! So you are thinking of concentrating on half crowns and crowns, will that be date runs (will be very expensive) or just different designs (I collect all the different designs (or 'types') for all silver denominations from Tudor to 1946)? How far back are you thinking of going? Just English coins? Knowledge is the key, gained from experience, forums like this, and books. You will want an up-to-date price guide such as COLLECTORS' COINS GB 2015 (available http://www.predecimal.com/collectors-coins-2015-p-21018.html ), or Spink's Coins of England, and a book on grading, such as The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins: Pre-decimal Issues (1797 to 1970) just to start with. There are many other specialised books for when you get more into things. It is always best to put pics up of both sides of the coin. From the reverse pic, your new purchase appears to be around Good Fine perhaps, and if the obverse is about the same then £16 is an ok price for it. Try and buy the best example you can afford, you will not regret it in the long run I'm sure there will be much more advice coming your way!

Welcome Frank. A pic of the other side (obverse) as well would help I think. The theoretical advice is generally.. (1) buy the book before you buy the coin. Yeah, right. (2) Learn to grade coins (because price is generally related to condition) (3) Buy the best you can afford. However we all make mistakes early on. You need to buy, examine close up and see coins "in the hand" as part of the learning process. The best thing is try to keep the mistakes on the cheaper side. Asking questions is good. And buying widely is fine. Most people end up specialising in some way, but there's no harm in getting to know about different denominations and metals. And you don't have to specialise. It's a way to keep the costs within budget, but your collection is yours and it's up to you if it all looks the same (quoting my Wife there!) or includes a bit of everything. As to your halfcrown, it's not really my area. However I'm a bit bemused by the extra line to left of St George above the 19 .. looks .. odd to me. But I'll leave it to others to give an opinion.

P is right. At the 1816 recoinage the weight was reduced from 3.01g to 2.83g. That weight stayed the same until the end.

I wonder if the weight for earlier (pre-1816) sixpences (3.01g) has simply been given in error for Victoria? The correct weights are stated for George III to William IV sixpences ... I believe the correct weight for Victoria sixpences should be 2.83g

Here is one of my 1862 Pennies with some of the same Die Clash. Not as extreme as yours though.

I would go with IIIb. No sign of a neck and a suitably round face.

Ouch, ouch, ouch. Nearly every coin this seller is listing has been taped over Lucky most of them are just washers!

After a few hints I got Rotographic's guide to grading British coins and an introduction to Arabic coins for Christmas. They look excellent works, so one happy collector this xmas. Ian..