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I have on occasion left the coin overnight with a pool of Verdicare over the verdigris, this helps it soften and does not affect lustre or toning. Prodding the verd with a sharpened cocktail stick periodically is essential to free up the softened verd. I occasionally use a needle under the binocular microscope. Jerry

Or perhaps "50P MEANS 50P" Oh wait, "50P MEANS 23P" Oh wait, "50P MEANS A BOILED SWEET"

A great example of ghosting.

A trial would be from a run of strikings that were used to test out a particular feature. An example of this would be my trial halfcrown struck from halfpenny dies. See below. However, during a conversation with Graham Dyer a few months ago, I learned that they were not interested in either halfpennies or halfcrowns, but rather the metal (steel). Therefore, trials can be unrelated to the die size or design. An alternative would be a striking of a single die in lead or tin in order to assess the state of work in progress, an example of which would be the Moore penny uniface below. This is probably made from the P2135 obverse die, which developed a major crack and would have been reworked. This die was not to be found when Shorthouse visited Moore's workshop following his demise, but combined with the known die breaks and a hint of undertype on this obverse, is likely to mean this was the same piece of diestock. It is struck in >90% tin, with the balance mostly lead. Anomalies could be things such as coins struck on the wrong blank, or the wrong coin struck on a particular blank depending on viewpoint.

Auction houses will accept anything they can make money on, just as any other business would. The odd one might reject it on image grounds, but most would be ok given the quantity of coins involved IMO. The known valuable single pieces will remain so, but the remainder would need a significant amount of bulking in order to raise the lot value to a sensible level. A handful of VIP proofs of each reign and denomination would have helped attract the money because they sell for a hundreds/thousands compared to a few tens of pounds at best. Even a single VIP proof of each denomination/type from G5 & G6 would attract the person looking for just an example. Although there are a handful of later pieces, it would make the collection appear 'complete' if a representative was available of each type from 1926 on. You could sell to a dealer either acting on commission or as a straight sale. The fact that you have already imaged the collection might be a good selling point as it would alleviate a lot of work re-imaging for little gain. A handful with the odd colours could be redone, but the majority look ok. One downside to the dealer route is the prevalence of 20th century material on eBay with which you will be competing. For common pieces the main audience will be found on eBay as opposed to people who scour dealers' lists or sites and these mostly expect to get everything for 99p with free P&P. The decision will in large part be determined by how quickly you want to sell.

It was given two applications. I pooled it on it for about 40 mins then took the toothpick to it to pick off / scrape at it. Once i was satisfied I'd got it all off I washed it in acetone then pooled it on again and left it for around 40 mins before dabbing it dry with a cloth and leaving it to air dry completely for 24 hrs. That coin above has had two previous unsuccessful treatments with distilled water and acetone. Each time it's broken out again within a few months. I am hoping the verdi cares stopped it it now. If not I'll just have to try again. It's been a week since treatment and all's okay so far. Fingers crossed.

I think the Sunken Ear varieties were quite well known during the '60s and before. Here are two articles from the late '60s.

Verdi care....before & after. Sorry about the picture quality it was just to record the results.

Trials are explained in Freeman's book at page 144. Here is a photo of it, in case you've not got the book. Anomalies are anything else different to the norm, which isn't a trial or proof - such as tonnage numbers scratched onto coins by Royal MInt staff.

I would say rare, especially so in better than VF condition. I've probably seen about half a dozen or so examples, with only two of those in decent grade. If you had an UNC example it would possibly fetch £500-£750 (maybe more if there was competition), but having said that sixpences are not the collector's favourite denomination.

If anyone is interested in Decimal £2s, £1s (old style) or 50ps, I have acquired a huge collection, mostly in excellent condition - please pm me. There are some of the scarcities in here, and some of those have already sold out. Others are on Ebay at the moment, but there is much much more! If you are belatedly building date runs of the £1s and £2s I can help you with most dates (except those occurring in sets only). Happy to post or meet up - whatever suits you. I am in North Devon. Apologies - should have been a new thread. If anyone can shift it? Also ebay list: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/pbowen24/m.html?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEFSXS%3AMESOI&_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2654

Wow- amazing price, IMHO.