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At least my Mother in Law is out of hospital having swallowed the 1927 florin I had put in the mix bowl. I had told her that the Proof was in the Pudding, but i think she misunderstood....

I’ve been waiting 365 days to say “Happy New Year” since I had so much fun saying it last year. Happy New Year, to all of you on the forum😃 “Here’s to a bright New Year and a fond farewell to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold.”

I go with the "genuine coins turn into fakes after 10 years" thesis. 😃

I'm not so sure. Though the First 1in the date looks to be to the tooth, other pointers look incorrect . The rim on the 169 is more raised up with the teeth usually intact even on a worn coin, also the space between the 1 and 9 is narrower, and the sea on the right hand side runs onto a tooth where as on the 168 its to the gap between the teeth. sorry.

Why should the truth get in the way of a good story?

Just added my last Encased Farthing for 2019 a 1947 Bazooka bought from the USA. Look forward to what will turn up in 2020. I have now managed to collect 88 Encased Farthings some are duplicates of the same advertiser with different date farthings in the surround. Still interested in any that may turn up if any of the members of this forum come across any in their travels.

If I ever come to sell, I'm pretty sure I will lose money. No way will I get back the full amount I paid in real terms, allowing for any intervening inflation. Maybe two thirds if I'm lucky. But that would be good enough for me as I will have held them in the meantime and got a great deal of genuine fulfillment and satisfaction from doing so. I don't think pennies will ever get down to give away prices. Too much interest in them, including amongst young collectors on the facebook groups. Plus, of course, those very few Edward VIII threepences.

I do believe that the 1954 penny is the rarest coin to have ever circulated ,it along with the 1952 halfcrown both were found in circulation both are one of a kind and the kew gardens coin while pretty scarce I must admit 210, 000 is quite a lot , its just the media love making things up

Difficult subject in which we must consider the following: 1. Like any collection tastes change - values change - what is popular today becomes totally uncollectible in 20 years. 2. As for the new coins being made of metals that have no intrinsic value - what about the bronze pennies? 3. Some collect coins for their design, others for their history etc. just a quick snapshot on peoples behaviour. What got me hooked on pennies - was - a. my pocket size b. The design and c. The History. So as a collector I am satisfied with my passion for the Bronze penny and will always continue to collect. Do I expect to make some money when I sell - yes hopefully. At best I hope not to loose money but realise that it could turn on its head and no one wants them even at give-away prices. Im just pleased that people are collecting coins again and hope some may delve deeper and start collecting predecimals.

The joke is on you when you realise that it was her pocket which swallowed the coin.

Many of the comments left after the article are pretty good. E.g. "Daily Mails New Years resolution should be don't recycle the same old coin articles again", "How many times are they gonna peddle this. The writer of this article is desperately trying to shift one on eBay!!" etc

I'm embarrassed - my recent postings seem SOOO last year!!! Must try harder.

buckscoins includes this in his blurb:- The only possible logic behind this statement is that if, 10 years after purchase, you discover that the coin you bought from him is a fake, you're not entitled to your money back. Or is he just being inane by suggesting that a genuine coin could suddenly turn fake after 10 years? I dunno, maybe I'm just too critical of stupidity these days.

Absolutely. There are some appallingly poor strikes - for example many of the WW1 George V pennies. An UNC example, can still justly be referred to as UNC, or "practically as struck". But in such cases an EF (or even GVF) coin with a good strike (ie complete breast plate and decent hair detail), is going to be far more desirable than an UNC coin with 100% lustre, but no sign of a breastplate, and a slaphead King (for want of a better expression).

Did a little video

funnily enough the editor of coin news touches on the subject of modern day coins in a secondary market in his notes in this months issue IN THIS month’s magazine we include an interview with Richard Lobel of Coincraft. The interview was originally supposed to concentrate on Richard’s 60+ years in business, however, as is often the case with these things, the topic strayed a little onto to subject of the secondary market for new issues. Now there can be no doubt that the new issues boom is creating a new generation of collector, people who are onceagain searching through their pockets and purses to find the latest Beatrix Potter 50p or “Alphabet” 10p. There are hundreds, if not thousands of new collectors out there alleager to find the one Olympic coin they are missing or perhaps strike it rich with the Kew Gardens 50p or the dateless 20p. Our new book Spend it? Save it? which has sold over 10,000 copies through supermarkets and newsagents, is testament to just how popular thedecimal series is with the public. On the back of this, numerous marketing companies are now selling new issue thematic coins featuring a wide variety of subjects from flora andfauna through to politicians and Royal events; coin collecting is mainstream once again. Now this is all well and good as long as the people collecting these coins are enjoying themselves. If they are having fun forming a collection of new issues, or themed coins, or anything else then who are we to argue that they are wrong? We “traditional” collectors collect a huge array of things and Ipersonally don’t see the appeal of some of them, but others do and that’s OK. The trouble, however, starts when the peoplewho have collected these newer coins come to sell them as there simply isn’t the secondary market for new issues that there is for, say, Athenian owls or Gothic crowns, and, as many of them are base metal, they don’t have an intrinsic value either.Thus you may have someone who has spent thousands of pounds on a collection only to find when he comes to sell he is offered far less than he spent. Dealers then worry that because they are offering so “little” they will get a bad rap. And attimes the collector will indeed, unfairly, blame the dealer and the hobby in general and this, ultimately, could turn them away from collecting for good. Obviously dealers and auction houses can’t artificially create a secondary market—if they can’t sell a 1987 year set in 2019 they aren’t going to offer large sums for one, but that doesn’t stop some collectors from feeling put out. Should, perhaps, the companies that sell the coins in the first place buy them back? There is an argument that they can create, or at least sustain,a secondary market but then we have to ask: why should they? If I bought, say, an ornament, in John Lewis Ltd and in a couple of years’ time decided I didn’t want it any more, then going back to the shop and asking them to buy it back wouldbe pointless; and I certainly wouldn’t expect them to do it with an item that was made and marketed for a specific occasionthat has now passed. So what do I do? Well, my only option is to go to sell my ornament to someone who sells such things,but he recognises this piece is mass produced, was made for a specific occasion that has no relevance today and whilst it is still in great condition it isn’t the kind of thing that usually sells well secondhand. He therefore offers me far less for it than I paid—of course he does, and neither you nor I would expect anything different, so why people expect a different outcomewhen it comes to coins is a mystery. The fact is that standard new issue coins are a quality manufactured commodity just like ornaments, like jewellery, like watches, like anything you could buy in any high end department store. Certainly the precious metal strikes will always have an intrinsic metal worth and that worth may well increase as the price of thosemetals goes up, but ordinary BU coins should be looked at purely as fun things to collect and nothing more. The problem comes, of course, when people buy coins, or indeed anything, as an investment—we try to steer well clear of the “I” word in COIN NEWS and never recommend any collector buys with an eye to turning a profit. Sadly all too often people ignore our advice and hope that the item they are purchasing will make them some serious cash in the future. Sometimes it can happen, certain modern coins do indeed go up in value but we shouldn’t assume they will do so automatically and nor should we assume they will do so quickly. Think about watches, think about handbags, think about jewellery, all of these things command a premium when sold new and make less money when sold on the secondary market, yes, proper “vintage” items will then start going up in price but that takes a while and of course it is only ever certain models/versions that fetch the big bucks and sadly we never know what these will be until years down the line. Richard’s interview shines a light on his view of the secondary market; our view is that it is often the perception that coins are unlike any other item and thus should automatically make money regardless that is the potentially damaging thing. What’s your view? We’d be delighted to hear from you.

I've just looked at the Ebay list- hilarious. This bubble must burst horribly soon, and when it does there will be blood on the streets. Well, metaphoric blood anyway. Or something. The Chinese fakers must be falling about laughing. We need someone to stand up and speak out against this greedy nonsense. If only Boris Johnson were alive.