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Many thanks for the pics @Descartes much appreciated! I was discussing the Henry 5a3 with Rob Page today, and he was also telling me it has the scarcer reverse (a possible crossover from class 4, making it potentially an early class 5) and has no example recorded in the Brussels hoard. He’s just put it up on his site which is rather nice! http://www.henry3.com/london---5a3.html He was also telling me that there’s a book to come before the year’s out, a shared project with a friend of his, so that’ll be on my radar.

So by making the coin blue, you improve the coin to a state of perfection? Shurely shome mishtake.

And the B-side

Nice 1863 penny - one day only - sensible offers only.

Had some kind of Royal Mint reply regarding the 1953 VIP proof set and i'm guessing it could count for all the cameo/VIP proofs, one of my questions was in regards to the 1953 cameo set i have and the cameo crown which i have seen described as VIP proof when they are frosted, , these are the coins in question the Royal Mint Museums reply is as follows Dear Mr Cook Thank you for your patience in awaiting a response regarding the subject of the 1953 proof sets. The frosting on these so-called on these VIP sets is difficult to comment upon, however we do know that the finish varies from set to set. With this in mind, we cannot be sure that the set we have in the Museum’s collection corresponds to the VIP version identified by coin dealers and any photographs we could supply you with would be misleading. I would, however, recommend that you show your set to one of the large London coin dealers to see if they may be able to enlighten you on the finish of your set. The Members page on the British Numismatic Trade Association website has a list of reputable vendors, including those in London, and I would encourage you to contact them with your enquiry. Kind regards Fiona so even the Royal Mint cannot answer this question, so i guess without sound provenience there is no way of separating these, although some people say you can tell by the sharpness etc, i'm sure the mint museum would have commented on this if that was the fact and the comment about varying from set to set says it all really, the enigma continues

For the class 5c penny: (F- 25 quid, VF- 65 quid); for the class 5g: (F - 25 quid, VF - 60 quid)

Yes Jerry i agree and can remember someone blowing the pictures up when it was for sale and was just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts.Regardless of what die the obverse is i would never spend good money on one as would always be thinking is it or isnt it ....or have i just spent a few quid on a blocked die or Rang. Happy to have a gap for that one

Been digging around to see what info. I can add to my Class 5a3 Henry. What has turned out to be interesting is it has the less common reverse for this class, being very open and having the larger 14 pellet per quarter inner circle. I managed to find a reverse die match on Rob Page’s site www.henry3.com which confirms a pellet on the last ligated N for me, as well as providing him with some additional information on the second quarter, which his illustrated example doesn’t have. sharing the love! Oh, and would anyone be happy to post up an image of the H3 page in spink (S1367a) - as up to date a copy as poss? They keep updating the numbers, and my old thing (2013) only has S1367 (no S1367a).

I actually misread the silver part. nickel plated steel hence the reference silver but in colour only the date was 2016 . I think everyone read the article "silver 2p found in poppy appeal box"? . http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-36530514

I have seen it reported that there were circa 600 New Pence 2 pence in the sets, There have been sterling silver year sets that have been issued by the RM, I had a 1996 set where all the coins were 0.925, could be some of these are being broken and sold individually for large profits

Unfortunately I can't agree that the photo is in any way deceptive. The colouration of these coins (there are many more on the website), especially on the proofs, are exactly the fake colouration blue that I have unfortunately had too much experience of. Often a darker glossy blue for the currencies and a more brilliant royal blue for the copper and bronze proofs(interestingly, any lustrous areas appear less affected, still usually orange/red). Here's an interesting example that I mentioned recently to someone via a conversation: check out the Cheshire Collection/Goldberg auction 2005. This is still on the web and can be accessed via Google typing in Goldberg and Cheshire collection. Anyway, Goldberg have a good gush about Lot 3032, the 1853 copper proof halfpenny PF65BN, saying "brilliant mauve and iridescent blue toning" and ending their description with "maybe Queen Victoria herself saved this little darling"! Steady on, old chaps.... Well, I bought that exact coin from Spink Numismatic Circular in late 2001, and guess what...it was a dull orange colour, no trace of the colour it turned into a couple of years later. I sold it to a local dealer a year or so later who then sold it on, still as a dull orange proof. I can tell it's the same coin due to tiny marks and toning patterns being identical, as it was photographed (in black and white) in the original Spink Circular. The Cheshire collection's 1853 proof penny and farthing looked somewhat similar. I presume that once doctored, these coins can never be returned to their original state, so for a company to be buying up a significant number of British and Irish proofs and basically painting them irreversibly, is rather depressing. I wonder if the proverbial will hit the fan in a few years, or whether it will keep being the emperor's new clothes! Having said that, I don't disagree with Jaggy that some coins on the website are very decent and sometimes quite reasonably priced. Like everyone else, sometimes they'll have gems, sometimes turkeys.....It also helps if you can recognise the coins from previous appearances in the trade, then decide accordingly. Bottom line - be careful!

Hi Jamie and welcome to the mad house. Remember most of us on here have a coin addiction .....so take your time

Thanks for the heads up.

Crikey. Talk about a transformation. Is it trick photography or has the coin been treated?

Interesting what Jaggy says about Atlas. I used to be impressed with their coins, until I realised where some of their copper coins come from, how they've changed colour, and their mark-ups in some cases being phenomenal. For instance 1849 penny, sold DNW 12/12/17 £1700, stained on one side but reasonable coin. Now just sold by Atlas at nearly $6K and it's changed to a glossy dark blue colour! Obligingly slabbed of course by PGCS as MS63BN. It's still on the website but perhaps not for much longer. Check it out while you can. Amazingly enough it is the same coin. Also, 1825 proof penny, sold Stacks Bowers 13 January $950 Lot 20358 hammer PF63 PGCS, now "blued up" and on at nearly $6K, good old PGCS again upgraded to PF64+. Distinctive die-flaw and spot on obverse, so easy to recognise. 1805 Irish silver halfpenny, untouched thankfully, now $7,500, $1600 hammer Spink Auction 339, Lot 219 14/1/2018 There are other examples on the website currently. I don't know what other people think, but the combination of huge mark-ups in some cases on the back of chemically enhancing the coin's appearance then getting it re-slabbed and upgraded, is sharp practice in my book.

Muggins here is going to pay for their Honeymoons...Great Yarmouth in a B&B is missing from their agenda's ...I did take Mrs Peter to Kenya on honeymoon we had room 69 and the tour operator couldn't understand why on the return from Safari I requested the missionary room...I was tongue tied....Happy memories.

Absolutely fantastic find, Richard. Very, very well done. Probably just about the best F28 out there.

Picked up a very nice F28 a few days ago - auction estimate a very silly £80 - needless to say other people bid me much higher !

Maurice Bull's Charles I Half Crowns vols. 3, 4 & 5 covers that denomination. Morrieson's articles in the BNJ cover the various mints, Lyall's Chester in the SNC, Allen's W/SA in the BNJ, Hird's work on Newark, specialist denomination volumes will have the appropriate coins. Then there is private research.

Something's gone wrong (for me) in the Copper Tokens thread, so I will post this newbie here, seeing as it's a penny ... 1796 Birmingham copper penny token by Thomas Wyon

A few that have been culled to follow.

found this reference regarding the 37 crowns

Just a few more threepences and a couple of sixpences added to the collection for today.

Agreed. He identified mine as a pattern (on the left below - note the position of the '7' and the first 8 struck over a higher 8). A very small variation but typical of the year, which is probably why so many have gone undetected.

Not quite sure what you are expecting to hear! All three coins seem pretty good and whether they were good value will depend on how much you paid! The 1911 suffers from the familiar problem with threepences of more wear on the bust than anywhere else. Might benefit from a little soap and water. The 1898 is better but does have digs in the fields on either side. The 1877, as well as more wear on the bust, has been rubbed with something abrasive to give a mass of fine hairline scratches. I would be happy with any of them, depending on the price, unless maybe I was expecting them to be Maundy? I am not good at distinguishing Maundy from not but to me only the 1898 looks possible.

This week's big spend - £2.95 BIN plus £1.50 postage. I know condition is crap but am I right in thinking F7 - raised lines on shield, rock to left of lighthouse seller's picture

I dropped my South Sea Bubble and it burst.

We prefer to deal in real hard currency on this forum. I don't have any trays that will accept cryptocurrency.

A rose by any other name... It's cleaning. They call it "conservation" because cleaning sounds bad. I'm with your grandfather. But if there is a problem which is only going to get worse (e.g. verdigris, bronze disease, zinc pest) then I think intervention is necessary. After all, if you do nothing it will eventually destroy the coin. So what choice is there?

She even looks young on the coinage. It's a form of propaganda by showing the head of state as a strong robust woman and not a frail old lady - just a slightly more subtle way of doing it than that media shot catching Putin with his top off in that Siberian river.

Here's the best one, from the Copthorne auction. Went for £7250, hammer:-

Managed to grab a day out detecting today. Had this little beaut, Not bad condition saying its been rolling around in a ploughed field.

Hey could you send me the flyer - would love to see and read the full document kingsbookshop@hotmail.com thanks in advance !

This is a table I use for my customers and myself. It is not 100% perfect between the grades but as good as I can determine. (Sheldon Scale is the 70 point grading scale that was created by American Bill Sheldon) and is what is used in the United States and around the world now. CGS Numerical Grade Average Raw UK Grade Average Standard USA Sheldon 100 FDC MS70 99 FDC MS70 98 FDC MS70 97 FDC MS70 96 FDC M69+ 95 FDC MS69 94 AFDC MS68+ 93 AFDC MS68 92 AFDC MS67+ 91 AFDC MS67 90 NFDC MS66 88 BU -NFDC MS65+ 85 Choice UNC - BU MS65 82 Choice UNC MS 64+ 80 Choice UNC MS 64 78 UNC MS 63 75 UNC or near so MS 62 70 AU MS62 65 GEF MS61 60 EF AU58 - MS60 55 NEF AU55 50 GVF AU55 45 GVF AU 53 40 VF AU 50 35 NVF XF 45 30 GF XF 40 25 GF XF35 20 F XF30 15 NF XF20 10 VG XF15 8 VG VG10 5 GOOD VG8 4 FAIR G4 3 FAIR G3 2 FAIR G2 1 FAIR G1

Big Bang has a lot to answer for. I'm absolutely certain that Sheldon had nothing to do with the scale as he certainly wouldn't cope with 11 different categories of a statement of fact, namely, uncirculated. It's one of these sort of/very/extremely unique scenarios.

If you can use eBay use it. 1000's of collectors and dealers buy from eBay. I often have lists of 'Wanted-Coins' from my customers and search eBay for them. It gives you the chance to get a better price as someone may pay more if they are looking for it. Only use PayPal and stick to the eBay rules dealing and communicating through eBay only and you will come to no harm. If you post out, only use the Paypal address and get a signature. Good luck

Having picked up the rough old BP1874Nn (1874H 7 over 7) above only a couple of weeks ago, Bernie kindly pointed me to a superb example (not described as such) on Baldwin's For Sale list which I snapped up immediately.

A few of my very best that, like Rob, were on Photobucket at one time ...

This coin is impossible to photograph. Such is the unusual toning . I guess because it's just starting . Although I can clearly see the lustre the effect of the toning makes it look matt like in pictures and does no justice to the coin at all. here are 1945 Shilling scottish arms and scarcer D2121 1946 english arms

In case anyone's interested.

wow!

My take is that it's NOT the same coin and you'd be justified in returning it on those grounds. There are many many signs that get my suspicions going, but here's just three: 1. the teeth on the right coin (from the V anti-clockwise to the left hand edge of the bust) are thin compared to the greater wear on the left hand coin 2. the totally different style of the JEB - particularly the E which is curved like a reversed 3 on the left, and a normal E on the right, sloping to the right 3. the upper knot on the pendant ribbon has a complete incuse line on the right, which can barely be seen at all on the left. Add to that the scratch on the last A of GRATIA (not present on the left), and a faint doubling of the ear lobe on the right, and I'd say you've been the victim of possible malpractice.

Dont know if you saw /or bought this .https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jamaica-2002-Proof-8-Coin-Set-1c-Silver-25-Dollars-Women-039-s-Hurdles-500-issued-/391949805523?hash=item5b420767d3%3Ag%3A82UAAOSwFSxaPif5&nma=true&si=HzbUnNJvllh6fzDe9ENxSPogZgc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 they do exist .and a bit pricey at that .

About time we had some more posts in this thread?

Yep

I'm all for interesting circulating commemoratives, but this continuing infantilisation of our coinage is a shame, in my opinion. I think the forthcoming 10ps will follow a similar path, yet I'm sure I'll look out for them!

Received this one yesterday. 1913 F175 Been after a nice one for ages. Terry