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A German, an Italian, a Frenchman, and an Englishmen are debating philosophy. The question arises over the course of their debates: What Separates Man From The Animals? "Technology" says the German "Other creatures have tools, yet none can match the heights of engineering we have accomplished. It is our industry that separates us from the beasts". "I disagree" announces the Italian. "It is our food. The creatures of the wild eat, but they do not cook. Humans on the other hand, create amazing dishes and new combination that make eating a most enjoyable experience". "I say it's art" decides the Frenchman. "No other being can create art. From our earliest days we have painted, and now we sculpt, write and compose as well. The wild animals cannot ever know what it is like to cry over a beautiful piece of art". All three now look towards the Englishman, expecting his answer. He takes a long sip of tea before answering "The Channel".

The penny seems much more handled , centrally tarnished, than the others; I suspect it is an interloper to this set. Jerry

Here you go, Chris - link Like Martin, I'm not convinced either. Same with a lot of proofs, VIP or otherwise. Sometimes it's absolutely blindingly obvious that the coin is a proof. The differences hit you in the eye immediately. But there's a lot that frankly don't really look any different to a currency issue.

Do not defund the police.

I should point out that in some versions of this gag the Englishman is replaced by a Yorkshireman, resulting in one of my favourite punchlines "t' Pennines."

I see that DNW have a 1953 VIP proof set in their next auction and yet the penny in the set is a standard proof die pairing (C+b) whereas the 3 previous VIP sets that I've seen had a penny with die-pairing of B+a (currency obv and toothed rev). Have DNW mis-catalogued a normal proof set or was the VIP set produced with differing contents ?

When the pubs do eventually reopen, my drinking mate Paul won't be there to enjoy it. Oh, it's not Covid, he just had an accident. Got his finger caught in a wedding ring.

Thanks Mike. It's hard to determine a VIP proof when there were normal proofs in that year. Why wouldn't they issue VIPs with early strikes of an 'ordinary' proof set? In any case, the real determiner - the penny - is the normal proof issue, as has been pointed out.

Hey Azda, Good to see you’re still kicking 👍🏽 (Numischtacker?)

At a guess, the penny has been swapped out from the original set

Oh that's really top quality. 10 points.

mange tu

You na' lyin'... (Think about it...!)

Although some consider that most of the 1935 pennies were mint darkened, the evidence shows that the normally lustred type form the great majority. So I was pleased to actually obtain a mint darkened specimen off e bay for the princely sum of just 20p !

i remember buying 3 of these for around £10 each not too long ago , what they are selling for is unreal, blue peter 2009 olympic 50p

I dont have a clue why ,maybe it was in a newspaper 😃 but the 2019 re - issued 50p Kew gardens has started selling for a lot more over the last few days. It was only issued in sets( 5 coins) that people could buy for £22 - 50 off westminster but people the last few days now getting £70 / £80 just for the Kew.

Looks like this is the way my life's going Three elderly golfers walking down the fairway. "Sixty is the worst age to be" said the 60-year-old "You always feel like you have to pee. And most of the time nothing happens". "Ah, that's nothing" said the 70-year-old. "When you're 70, you don't have a bowel movement anymore. You take laxatives, eat prunes, you sit on the toilet all day and nothing happens". "Actually" said the 80-year-old "Eighty is the worst age of all". "Do you have trouble peeing too?" asked the 60-year-old. "No, I pee every morning at 6.00 am. I pee like a racehorse; no problem at all". "Do you have trouble having a bowel movement?" "No, I have one every morning at 6.30 am". Puzzled with this the 60-year-old said "Let's get this straight. You pee every morning at 6.00 am and crap every morning at 6.30 am. So what's so tough about being 80?" "I don't wake up until seven..."

For the musically minded, an earworm

Though it's a long time since people referred to currency coins as "pennies". For years and years now they've been Trump's running mate.

Very very nice. Neat capture. ETA: Have you got a pic of the obverse as well?