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it gets tiresome to dig through crap, when I specifically use search queries like (unc, bu, uncirculated, ms), and yet I still get greeted by pieces which are listed as "bu gem stunning", but look like someone took steel wool to it. This isn't the most heinous example (those are often accompanied by insane pricetags too), but it's annoying. /rant https://www.ebay.com/itm/315065305741

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/01/online-platforms-etsy-vinted-airbnb-report-hmrc/ Have a read of this, and should answer most questions. The key seems to be whether you are trading (buying to sell on) or selling your own stuff - but god only knows how HMRC can determine that. As ever, the establishment would appear to be going after the little people for every penny of tax and ignore the rich and the multi-billion conglomerates who allegedly have clever accountants to avoid/evade tax left, right and centre! 😉

A recent find, now on Richard's site as the 8th known example. As I already have a better example I will be selling this piece; if any member is interested please PM me with a sensible offer. It is a little better than Example 7 (which was also my coin), and definitely better than Example 5, both of which were sold for £160.

I use telegram a fair bit, but for topical discussions like this, forums are superior... or would be if most people hadn't stopped using them. But case in point, I'm a recent member, because I feel forums are the best format for hobbies, and the like.

Yes, hurried sloppy mistake. I work with recording studio mixing consoles that are changing hands at £300k plus at the moment, and are full of silver plated brass switch contacts. A $12 can of 'switch cleaner" will do £40k of damage to those contacts. Properly thought through "Switch Lubricant" is another matter.... Try Electrolube EML. It was specced for pro use in the 1970's, and still works, for _minuscule_ layer of protective oil.

Also - that particular coin has been photographed badly as far as the lighting goes: a top grade 1934 should be a completely different colour; remember, they were mint treated with hypo so shouldn't be all bright and shiny beige.

Now you've gone way beyond my level of understanding!! I hope the latter, but have no actual idea! Hope someone on here can provide professional clarity!

A very good point. As far as I understand, a turnover or gross sale of £1000 could generate a tax return obligation on you (if HMRC choose to send you one), but within which you would then declare your profits and pay tax as appropriate, so if you have made less than £1000 profit, you would not be liable for any tax. But I am not an accountant, so I may well be completely wrong! Any members on here suitably qualified to comment?!

Thanks very much, an interesting read, much appreciated! My only confusion is with the ‘trading allowance’…when they say ‘earn’ £1000, do they mean profit or gross sales? Because £1000 worth of sales could generate £50 or £900 of profit? “If the total amount you earn via a platform in a tax year is £1,000 OR LESS, you probably don't need to tell HMRC or pay any extra tax This is because you're likely covered by what's known as the 'trading allowance'. This entitles you to earn up to £1,000 tax-free without having to report the income to HMRC or pay any income tax on it.”

In the very, very, beginning I used to use olive oil, until I discovered it wasn’t benign at all. Olive oil is actually a weak acid, apparently characterised by an acidity between 1-2%. Just taking a quick Look at fingerprint oil, it looks to be 95-99% water and measuring anything up to 5 on the PH scale, which I read makes it comparable to black coffee. Needless to say I had an anxious few weeks decontaminating all my coins with acetone and sealing them back up again in airtight coin flips! To be honest, though, I don’t think the dry, ambient air of modern households would notably tone a coin more after decontamination with acetone, than it would before, but everyone to their own experience and views on this, I do however choose to keep mine in flips anyway.

I lost count of the times I emailed Torr coins to tell them to stop hanging their coins in photos on Ebay.... Acetone can leave a coin 'too clean', and the atmosphere loves that...the TINIEST amount of a benign oil, olive, EML switch lube, etc etc and I mean the TINIEST bit, keeps things stable. Put a speck on a small clean brush and apply like that - _no_ rubbing!

You can do much, MUCH, better than that for £220! I couldn’t tolerate those spots for that price tag. Also, I wouldn’t let the hands stress you out too much, as long as you’re prepared to degrease it when it arrives. I degrease all of my milled, even occasionally hammered. Take a look at the threads surrounding acetone (surgical, not nail removal stuff with moisturisers), see what you think?

Then there's sellers who have higher quality coins I'm looking for, but on top of charging high sums, feel the best way to show off a coin is laying it in their greasy hand. I might even consider the high price tag, even with the carbon spot, but how have they decided handling these coins like this is appropriate? Especially aggravating when it's a tough coin to find in higher grades, like this 1934 penny. This seller has several 1934s, all mishandled similarly, and priced at over £200, yet I can't find other copies this nice, but I can't justify spending this, since it'll likely arrive all oily and printed up. Really drives me nuts. At least I know before buying that the seller mishandles them, is my only consolation. https://www.ebay.com/itm/145198978191

Good for you @SilverAge3 All we need now is a few dozen more like you! There are still a few good regulars here, some with a huge depth of knowledge, but many have faded away.

Thanks guys, with that name I found out what it is called here....Denatured Alcohol!

OK, disclaimer...whilst this has never ruined one of my coins, I cannot guarantee it will never bite you on the arse. Basically, it's a solvent that evaporates very quickly, but is brilliant for dissolving invisible grease and gunk from the surface of a coin. I have used this on all my coins, BU copper, silver, hammered, and gold, just to remove any traces of fingerprint residue or other nasties! It's never yet affected any tone or lustre, so the coin doesn't actually LOOK any different afterwards, unless it's really grimey to start with, or had a previous wipe with some oil or other. With some copper (BU included) and CuNi, I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I look at the cotton bud and see a light green tinge, which was invisible on the coin. So, essentially, I don't clean the coins, I 'decontaminate' them, before sealing them up in flips! I very carefully 'mop' the coins using cotton buds, which have been saturated in acetone which, incidentally, is not the nail-cleaning type, as this has conditioners in it. You can get 'straight' acetone from most chemists, and some supermarket that have dispensaries. I've never mopped a proof, and I'm very aware of the hairline issue, which always shows up under artificial light (I don't know why, but tilt a coin which looks absolutely fine in daylight under a lamp, and a very different coin can often be seen), so I can reassure you that I have never added hairlines to my coins from this process, I have diligently checked. It is my hope that these efforts will help avoid any future appearances of prints and/or stains from appearing on my coins! Hopefully? Just to add, I always give the milling a really good mop too! Don't drop it...stand over a cushion or something!