Leaderboard

Physicians were unable to reach a consensus: Should Brexit take place? > The Allergists were in favour of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. > The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Brexiters had a lot of nerve. Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was labouring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, "Oh, grow up!" > The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow. > The Plastic Surgeons opined that May's proposal would "put a whole new face on the matter." The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea. Anesthesiologists thought it was all a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no. > In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Parliament.

EU law has taken precedence over UK law as required by membership, so anything at national level has to conform to the terms dictated by Brussels. European wide standards require EU standard laws. Not being tied to the EU would provide flexibility if desired, not to adhere to their instructions. A common position might be desirable, but so would the ability to respond to changing circumstances. The EU doesn't stray from its rules based operation, so even if we need to react to a situation we may well not be allowed to. Our hands are tied by a group who owe us nothing. The point is that over the past 40 years, this country has gone down the economic tubes somewhat. We are in an unhealthy position and the status quo isn't working for us, but that doesn't stop us having to pay year on year for the privilege. Only in 1974 have we been net beneficiaries of funds, and I remember the refund was flagged up at the time as being the exception. If we were net beneficiaries in bad times and funded others in good, then it would be easier to sell the concept of the EU to the man on the street - but we are only allowed to be net contributors. What would have happened over the past 40 years had we not been members is speculative and hypothetical and we could have been better or worse off - nobody knows. But it is apparent that this country is haemorrhaging money as it stands due to the highly negative trade balance, and resources are finite. We need to take positive steps to move closer to self-sufficiency where possible. Being bound by EU rules is never going to let us nurture or support home grown enterprises. I would prefer that we spent our money on developing our own facilities rather than on propping up another state that needs life support. No country can be entirely self-sufficient with the exception of possibly Russia , or the US if it became less consumption minded. Europe works very well for 5 of the 6 founding countries along with a few immediate neighbours, but southern Europe is a mess socially because of the commercial and financial flows back to the geographic and economic centre, i.e. Germany. Ultimately people need jobs, and that can only have any chance of happening with political union - which is only likely to happen in the short or medium term as the least bad option. The rules are simple and straightforward. Any access deals require us to take instructions from Europe, who won't be wanting to do us any favours. All I see going forward is that they 'negotiate' continued payments to prop up their spending habits in return for access, while we have no say. There will be 27 countries, all pressing for their Brexit bonus. If we are 10 billion worse off now, then one can assume they will want that deficit to enlarge, to show that we are worse off. It's pretty unedifying. There are many facets of an economy, but the best thing people could do is to put their money where their mouth is and conciously buy goods produced by people in this country. Supporting your own workforce is key to a healthy economy because it costs a lot to have people sat on their backsides doing nothing. Whilst we have a reasonable level of employment, we are effectively paying to provide for a lot of people in other countries. Whilst this might seem simplistic, we do need too start somewhere. Charity begins at home.

Well, the seller never replied to my message, but he has the grace to withdraw the item concerned My message read as follows:-

Missed the gynecologists and their fannying around

Birmingham had many businesses producing medals, buttons and tokens from the start of the industrial revolution, and the number of 18th counterfeit halfpennies indicates the skill set was there long before Boulton & Watt set up the Soho mint. Coins are simply an extension of this list because the manufacturing processes are pretty much the same for all. If you are in business, the opportunity to get a design accepted for a national coinage is something to be explored and exploited if possible. So, yes they were made with a view to putting them forward as a prospective currency design, but were not produced in complete isolation. In the case of Joseph Moore's work, the laureate bust punch (see below) was used on his 1860 patterns and also for colonial issues such as the Auckland Licensed Victuallers Association penny token from New Zealand of which 4 varieties are noted in Krause (ref. Tn6). The rust spots are as the die was found in 1886, prior to subsequent polishing down by Shorthouse for the restrikes and do not feature on any original Moore strikings. cf Peck p.483-490

Some of my friends have botox, and when I said I might try it, nobody raised an eyebrow.....

Grade is complicated by that same big issue that affects hammereds. I think this is where the points system of grading works really well, because it considers so many other factors that aren’t just about wear because, as with hammereds, these coins all left the mint as individuals. All that being said, I’d be very happy paying NEF for it all day long, and the grading companies, using numerics, may well judge it better. The soft centre doesn’t bother me at all, it’s weak quarters I personally do not like, and it’s very well compensated by its other qualities. Lovely example! (yes, Dave, a lazy copy and paste from me! Time is precious )

Dave....Bring back your dinner plate pictures.

Numista does the magic. Provided you have some describable feature you can put it into a search there, and it will bring up any coins on its database that match those words anywhere in their description. In this case I put in "Gold Crescent" and it came up with 220 odd possibles in 12 pages. Most were Hungarian but on about page 9 or 10, up popped your answer. Some Islamic/Indian coins have no describable feature, just unreadable script, and then it gets much more difficult.

The real Royal Mint mistake here is to assume the population has any common sense whatsoever! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Royal-Mint-Mistake-New-1-Penny/132934242203?hash=item1ef37f8f9b:g:cFsAAOSwXh9cUHo- Jerry

Here's a new grade! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1855-Four-Pence-Victoria-Silver-Coin-UNC/233092612896?hash=item3645670320:g:l90AAOSw8l5Zc-AA:rk:14:pf:0

While not every ‘private listing’ seller is of dubious character, those of poor character almost invariably make their listings private. As suggested I suspect this is to enable shill bidding. There is no need for it. Jerry

The joys of predictive text, made me laugh so much! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PADDINGTON-BEAR-AT-BUCKINGHAM-PALLACE-DIE-ERROR-UNCIRCUMCISED-50P-COIN-2018/123596187940?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649