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I was really happy with this one as purchased a while ago not attributed as a large rose in an auction.They are quite scarce in any grade ,so to send it to cgs for Freya and it come back as 80 was a bonus. Makes looking and searching worthwhile sometimes . Pete.

I am sure there is at least 1% ( the figure might be 0.5%) of British that are not from Europe at some point over the last 2000 years

Yes - I could have added Greenslade, also Henry Cow (though perhaps an acquired taste, like Gong!). I could also have mentioned Rush, but they don't float my boat. I detest ELP which is why I didn't mention them - I'd call them 'keyboard metal' rather than prog, especially as they do a lot of classical 'interpretation'; The Nice were better IMO, especially their version of West Side Story's 'America'. These days you have Porcupine Tree, Dream Theatre, Steve Wilson, Goldfrapp, Sid Arthur, Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips, Big Big Train, The Besnard Lakes, and many others .. and there have been plenty of other progressive artists over the years, such as Björk, Kate Bush, again too many to mention.

Peck hits many of the ones I would suggest - Pink Floyd being my ultimate favourite. A few others: The Strawbs, Greenslade. Moody Blues (though they get a bit poppy sometimes), Emerson Lake and Palmer... Here is Greenslade as they are probably the least know of the above:

So much to choose from! My first love was Genesis and they still stand up. Yes I now find sterile apart from The Yes Album. An enduring love is the Canterbury Scene : Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, Caravan, Robert Wyatt, Hatfield & The North. Of course you can't say Pink Floyd aren't prog, despite their mainstream status. Then there's King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Gong, and so many - but that's a start. No, I don't actually subscribe to the 'Paul is dead' conspiracy - there are more holes in it than a sieve! However, there are two puzzling unanswered questions : 1. What was Heather Mills' enigmatic remark about, knowing stuff about Paul that would put her life in danger if she revealed it? 2. Why did Paul wear a black rose when they descended that staircase in Magical Mystery Tour? (I do have my own theory about that one, and Paul's own explanation is absolute rubbish).

For those after something extremely relaxing, ethereal: For those after something funky and weird: For those who need more mellotron in their lives, and, honestly, who doesn't?

Aha! With much fanfare I announce that I've found a way to insert a table, thus circumventing my own stupidity. Here is the value of each of the eleven coins in the colony of New South Wales as proclaimed in 1800: I decided to interview a local trader at the cost of two ales to determine the impact that this had upon his business: Madness: Given the variation in exchange rate in the current economic clime, does governor King's standardisation of currency affect your trade and, if so, how has this impacted your bottom line? Local Trader: Bugger off. Madness: Thank you for your insight. Subsequent to this interview, and having received a report from my junior research assistant, I was in receipt of certain information. Apparently there was more coin going out of the colony that going in. Impact: There wasn't enough to go round and, therefore, the economy depended on bartering and "IOU"'s. By making coins worth more than their face value it was hoped that the coins would stay put and that some semblance of stability could be established. Intended result: Circulation was like an anatomically-correct belly button, more in-y than out-y. Did the system work? Did King get it wrong? Did Trump's great-great-great-great-great uncle launch a preemptive trade war against the convict settlement? Stay tuned as we answer these questions and more.

Australia was invented as a construct to ensure that everyone else felt superior to someone.

We of convict stock have many Neanderthal genetic markers. To dispel another myth, not all of us are called Bruce. Many are known affectionately as "Dickhead" or "Wanker".

Sorry, I can't be doing with all this army greatcoat, groups biro-ed onto school bags, patchouli dabbed behind the ears, stuff. I've always liked toe-tappin' songs. This evening I've been losing myself in the glorious sounds of Dusty, and I don't care who knows it....

I was beginning to feel it was a little unfair of me to have posted the 'glass houses' comment. I see now I am vindicated.

Yes, a useful article. Jerry

lol

Fingerprints are, of course, common on lustred coins. I've got a couple myself and have often mused that whoever put the fingerprint there, will now be long dead. Or was it somebody in more recent times just handling the coin carelessly? Interesting article on coin fingerprinting

Glass houses...

It's your call what you do with it, if anything. Just as it is your choice whatever else you choose to post on the topic. Unless you can present some credible evidence to support your assertions, my interest in the topic is now at an end. It was you who started the thread, Larry, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that your ideas will be cross examined and questioned. Better that, I'd imagine, than it being completely ignored. It's not my forum by the way, it's a common resource for the good of all of us. I have a probing, analytical mind and when a question is posed, I like to get to the bottom of it - as far as is possible at any rate. On this occasions I felt it was a good way forward to ask the RM for their view, or possible historical record, which I did in a wholly objective and unbiased way. Anyway, for better or worse we now know what their view of the matter is.

Perhaps this is an example of a security mark showing on a worn coin, and worth every penny? Or it might just be a fingerprint. What a pratt. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/One-Penny-1862-Key-Date-Rare-unusual-fingerprint/123276200683?hash=item1cb3d58aeb:g:Ur4AAOSwDu5bW2p4 Jerry

i bet Fiona thought you were winding her up Mike or bonkers. A hidden watermark such as a lion or a lamb

OK, so as I said in the thread on what your collection did for you last year , I did actually contact the Royal Mint about this issue, under an FoI request. Personally, I don't believe there are any underlying images deliberately placed underneath the main design of coins, but you never know. Stranger things have emerged, and it's always worth getting the official viewpoint. What I can't see is any logical reason for doing it, especially on what would have been, even then, low value items like pennies. We know there were contemporary counterfeits at the time, which would not have been difficult for the trained eye to spot. The other obvious question is what would be the point of implanting such subtle images if the public was unaware of them? Genuine question. Everybody has always known about images and marks placed in banknotes to make them difficult to fake, and before the modern designs, the silver strip - as a known deterrent. So why go to such lengths with pennies, in secret? Anyway, here is my enquiry, and their reply. The respondent does say that she can't say what the images might be without seeing the coins. So it may be worth @DrLarry sending some off for comment. I certainly don't see any other way of convincing many people of the idea's credence without some official nod in its direction.

I had to have a laugh at this one! I know many dealers who love to use "Near" and "About" to justify Fine, Very Fine and even Extra Fine grades, but I have never seen anyone use "Near Fair/Poor+" before! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-1672-Charles-II-Silver-925-Shilling-Near-Fair-Poor/292656589612?hash=item4423b12b2c:g:mogAAOSweqxbWiKQ

Did you expect to get a better result form your interview with the antipodean trader?

Very nice mix. Baroque, prog rock, and pop proto-prog. Of course, you know that's not the real Paul McCartney...?

CP1858 Large rose with small date

Ah now, careful with that, Mick. eBay, in their wisdom, do not recognise the pound sign, so if you exclude £1 and £2, you are also excluding anything with the numeral 1 or 2 in the title. "2 bun pennies", thus will be excluded because you have put "£2" in your exclusion list.