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I think you have to put it into context for bronze pennies. Take a collector of pennies in 1894 as an example. You are still in the period of the bun head, so the design is essentially the same as in 1860. The value of an 1860 penny would be little more than a few pence even in 1894, so it is unlikely any of the major collections would have an example. A comparison would be a modern day major collection that had a 1988 to 2023 penny date run in it! Nobody would give a damn. You have to wait until the publication of things like Peck to provide the documentary background for what is essentially a date run collection with a few varieties for certain dates. A few acknowledged rarities with a healthy following will also help as it generates interest from people with deeper pockets. A collection has to be practically complete as per a reference and in high grade (or one of the highest available in the case of rarities) to become a recognised major collection. Historical major collections were type collections with a good smattering of 'best knowns'. It is therefore unlikely that many bronze pennies will have a pre-Peck provenance, and I would suggest that any proofs probably came from either Montagu's extensive milled collection sold through Spink in 1890 (and significantly, documented), or Saward (1910).

Here you go. A penny, albeit silver and hammered, but a decent provenance. Six quid in Cuff. J D Cuff 1041, Sotheby 8/6/1854 E Wigan, collection bought Rollin & Feuardent 1872 H Webb 309, Sotheby 9/7/1894 H Clark 155, Sotheby 23/5/1898 A A Banes 57, Sotheby 30/10/1922 E H Wheeler 342, Sotheby 12/3/1930 C Corbally Browne 409, Sotheby 25/3/1935 W L Raynes 473, Glendining 15/2/1950 Spink 6, lot 589, 10/10/1979 R D Shuttlewood 301, Spink 15/3/2001 C Comber

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I recently made a new video, Top 10 Christmas Coins. If your looking for something Coin and Christmas related, be sure to give it a watch! It's very festive and interesting! As always if you have any suggestions or comments, please do let me know! I would also like to thank everyone who has invested time into helping me out! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🥳🎅🏻🎄 All the best! The Coin Realm

Well done! It's all a bit of a minefield. I still think ( passionately) that the fun in coin collecting is the surprise at the bottom of the 'tin of crap' rather than simply buying from sites or auctions. You will get more fun, more profit, and better stories out of your efforts if you go trawling. Sometimes the stories are the best bit......

yes do you know when I first saw it for sale I was looking at that for about 5 minutes thinking what's wrong with that and my mind just would not calculate ....when you know something is wrong and your mind alters it LOL