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The Ultimate in specialization... Seriously though, there is nothing mad about a project like this. Early American coinage from half cents to gold has been broken down to various dies and combinations thereof. Books have been published on the various denominations that have become the definitive works on the subject. I, for one, wish you the best on this project and can only hope it can be completed and possibly published..... Much as I would hope that Richard would consider publishing his website as an invaluable reference book. The next incarnation of a long line of respected references....

1513?

1905

1972 Sorry, I'm afraid the coin is very very boring!

I'd like to identifying as many dies as I can for 1787 shillings and sixpences. Re the shilling, 122 obverse and 125 reverse dies were prepared (Manville & Gaspar). It should be possible to distinguish a large number of obverse dies using images found online. The legend positions of all are slightly different given that these were punched by hand. My proposed method would involve the following: Identify and download many good quality images of obverses as possible Resize the images so all examples share a common diameter Rotate the images as necessary so that George III's bust is in exactly the same position in all examples Superimpose a circluar grid which would allow me to determine at which point on the circle (measured in degrees) each letter falls Organise the coins by groups according to the position of the letters, each group the product of a different die It would also be theoretically possible to distinguish the fruit of different reverse dies. According to Manivlle and Gaspar, the position of reverse legend is consistent across all examples. Fine features such as the strings in the Hibernian harp and the hearts in the Hanoverian shield were added by hand. I've also noticed that there are slight variants in the rotated position of the circle in the centre of the garter star. Using these unique details die identification should be a possibility, but it certainly wouldn't be a walk in the park. My reason for this post is to ask for help with the photo editing. I've found a free alternative to Photoshop called "GIMP". Is anyone familiar enough with this to help me work out how to use it? Additionally, can anyone see any problems with the method I've proposed? "Why bother going to all this trouble?", I hear you ask. Well, frankly, it will provide a way to help me fill in some time in an enjoyable manner. Additionally, it would be nice to have a collection of 1787 shilling and sixpences that includes every extant die variety. I don't call myself "Madness" for nothing! King George III's mental malady was nothing compared to mine!

The good news: The GIMP is a powerful open-source photo editor - not as powerful as Photoshop but it has a lot to offer. The bad news: It doesn't follow the more or less common standards that photo editors employ. It's a steep learning curve, though if you haven't done much or any graphics editing, you won't need to 'unlearn' existing standards first. https://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

My 1928 Half Crown the reverse is almost AUNC but the obverse is nowhere near as nice, but it only cost £12.50 last year.

Here's my 1929 halfcrown, which IIRC cost about £30.

I hope you are in a position to have a good shot at the DNW coin, but don’t forget the 25% or so extra costs on top of the bid price, and postage will be a bummer. The coin may well attract a premium because of the variety. The Davissons coin is beautiful, and they are a good family run auction house with minimal cost to the buyer, I always keep an eye on their site (as do others on this forum, sadly for me 😠🤐🙂). Jerry

Even the TPGs are far from perfect.... And you're PAYING for it....

Or you can just return the coin to Michael since you have just brought it. In this case, the grading is off (and that's why I wondered if he actually graded all the coins himself) and the photo looks very much like VF. I don't think you can get more money for it unless the I/D has actually been established as a variety in a catalogue.

Here are some key obverse areas you may already know: Brow ridge Mustache edge Cheekbone - this is notorious for marks, even moreso on the crown coin Both top and bottom of ear On the reverse: IMO, the lions are not the key. Rather, the shield edge Rim edge and border teeth (goes for obverse as well) IMO, this would make it into the uncirculated with minimal bag marks. The obverse rim at 10-11 o'clock a bit rough and possible rim tap at 1 o'clock