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I’m so, SO, sorry to derail a serious post, here, but I actually CAN see a man with a beard this time…if you zoom in on your bottom image, you can see old copper nose in coronation robes, with your 5 as his garter star! I spotted it straight away!🫣

Well Done again! If I was you I would buy a national lottery ticket, about the same odds!

Since finding this place I've very much appreciated the wisdom and knowledge on display here. I'm hoping that in due course that I might be able to contribute some of my own! I started collecting in the last years of pre-decimal coinage, and with my dad put together a collection which gave us a lot of pleasure. I like to think that most of the good ones I found when I slipped behind the scenes at the Post Office where my mum used to work a couple of days a week; truthfully most of them probably came via my dad's Civil Service colleagues and friends! But I do vividly remember finding my 1950 threepence, completing the date run - not at all easy towards the end. We moved on to stamps, which was also fun but I never loved them in quite the same way. Following the demonization of our historic coinage our collection spent almost 50 years hidden away, but when I officially retired (kind of) I began to think about reinvigorating it. There were some easy quick wins, such as filling date sequences we hadn't really been committed to (or perhaps were raided by me when my pocket money was proving inadequate 😧). Our pre-1920 silver collection was particularly threadbare, and I was lucky to acquire examples of many of the types while the silver price was still reasonably sensible. But for me nothing in the coin world beats rummaging through boxes and bowls of coins. Although sometimes it's quickly clear that I'm not going to find much, I'm often surprised at some of the coins that dealers are ready to throw into their bargain bins. Enhancing the collection has also proved to be a fine way of remembering my dad (d.1997) in a very meaningful way. The collection definitely remains "ours".

Over many years of looking I have seen two 1890's with low 90 on ebay. One of these was low grade, which I couldn't bring my self to buy, so I informed a collecting colleague.......and he bought it. I found the one pictured below much more recently, and was pleased to acquire it for under £70. I think they are rare. By the way, I never did get any reply from Mike Hopkins relatives. The nearest relative was found by heir hunters to be living in Canada, and I asked the appointed Solicitor to pass on my contact details so that I could ask them if Mike's collection had formed part of the inheritance. This was because his house had been broken into after he passed away suddenly (in his house). Also, no one seemed to know if his collection was in safe custody, or in his house. I wonder whether we will ever get an answer to that; it was a fine collection!

Come back Dr Larry, all is forgiven!

Thanks for all the kind words. @Paddy I've never actually bought a bulk lot of coins, and I'm thinking it's something I need to experience! Doing your hunting at someone's shop you don't risk being saddled with stuff you don't want, but perhaps I'm playing things a bit too safe. @Peckris 2 I have a comparable tale from much earlier this year. I was at one of my local antiques centres where I'd been rummaging the lower grade pennies for a while, finding very little. I moved on to some of the other offerings and gathered together a nice little group. Before I left I thought I'd dip my hand in the pennies one more time, and out came a 1951. You can't beat that moment of disbelief!

The coin has flipped and rotated slightly during striking which has made the legend quite messy. Based on the letter M which you thought was a H I'd say it's Henry III. Probably class 7b. Mint signature ends in a T followed by a stop so i think its it's either Canterbury or Bury St Edmunds. Moneyer is either Simvn or Simvnd I'd say.

On a relatively high grade penny like that, the H would show strongly. What you've got there is a ghostly anomaly, and I'd agree - no H

Definitely NOT an H. As you can see from Secret Santa's post above too, the H if present is smaller than the smudge/toning/anomaly you have where the H would be. Many times we all wish the presence of something and convince ourselves from a humble picture that a smudge or blob just might be the magic thing! I myself must have bought over the years half a dozen 1863 pennies with "something" perhaps below the date which just might possibly have been a die number with a fair wind behind. Needless to say of course, none of them were!!

I can’t see an H either. I think there may be a blemish in there that the brain may try to interpret as something meaningful, especially if one is looking for it. Like the image of Jesus in a slice of toast or an alien face on Mars.

I am delighted to share with you my most recent discovery ! I still cant believe it. I search to the point I literally become so sick and tired and just as I'm about to have a break as I cant take no more....... I find something like this, then the motivation is completely replenished. £16 with postage.... I feel a bit bad if im honest, I wouldnt call the seller a dealer but looking at the inventory not sure how they missed this one. I have only included part image of the coin as I would like to let the dust settle, I dont want the UK seller to get wind of it. In time I will share the complete coin.

Phew, thank goodness you don’t, this fella may have been a little too much for you!

I remember switching from bags of pennies and halfpennies from banks to looking through brass 3ds. There was a 1949 in the first bag I looked through!

No sorry its not a Recessed Ear type . With slightly worn coins, the recessed ear type shows no sign of ware to the top of the ear [ the Slight flattening you see on your example shows that the centre is protruding and readily becomes warn Also usually the tooth above left of the colon between T:O is damaged but not always with the 1915 , but always on the 1916.

I'll go with class 9b too; the unbarred Ns (I don't think they are pothook) are disinctive. Also not my main field of interest or expertise, although I did somehow end up with 35 or so of the things and a copy of the Galata Guide. Post as many short cross (including cuts) as you like and I'll have a go though.

over the year Ive been sifting through my coins and put Colonial Coins in another bag to sort out at a later date and create some organisation .... I have checked and found that most are .925 silver so at the very least scrap.... However...some of these seem to be quite scarce... The 1887 Canada, 10 cents, Mintage 350 000 The 1891 British Guiana and West Indies, Fourpence, Mintage 336 000 The 1918 Australia, Threepence, Mintage 3 119 000...... ok so not a rarity... the Victorian Colonial coins of this lot are the scarcer and as the page of the ones I own is growing its a becoming real eye opener...👍

Thank heaven the vendor confirms that it is genuine, not a replica! I rest assured 😄. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/198243354927?_skw=hammered&itmmeta=01KN2QEJGWGHJW8JGVRHXGCNZK&hash=item2e2839892f:g:EjYAAeSwwP5pzBu5&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xCdMdsLZrzlKxQyLy1byZLX53r1elvuJN%2FF39HjSTeEV6eWM8XGXpL0nqXXF2nnpzem946gkjE36Mqqfd%2FcS%2FY04ocGPDJeJHJTgnZZRWylpSn3UcChX1ZfxgnWVN0cucnA4xdSNuaHzpYUrwuRDjrkDQveuTwjgPZTedsF7la4rPTS5YtWSWqxbPAxvxFqI824RBtL8fvyDZrLL5rlJgQl%2FHSHTi3ISEmZV2bPtZ5l17h3SfKg%2BBD9rdJz%2Fx44Kdm9o0hbtItqnP5YB%2FWs3MuUlSAXLUKm7Xq9x5WiQnvyig%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4aputeoZw Jerry

Blimey, I’m out of this one…where does it stop?

Having dismissed the H as an anomaly, I might have to revise my opinion as I saw the face of Jesus on my slice of toast this morning...

They’re going to ruin that 100% positive feedback with that 😆

I have added the F90 to my website - let me know if you would like a personal attribution.

That's an amazing stroke of luck to find an Freeman 90 unattributed. I've been collecting for twenty years and have made some fantastic finds , but have never seen an F90 for sale any where other than in a specialist auction . I have though had the luck back in January to find an 1897 F148 in AU condition after searching all that time. Examples turn up but normally in poor condition . My example is pictured below. But good luck with your quest to find an example of all Victoria pennies as some are thought to be unique , such as the F19 1861 2+F

What the heck, Im just going to share it ! So pleased it's the reverse which is in better condition. I know on these rarities grade is kind of irrelevant but what is your opinion please? Thanks

I told my wife this looked great and she suggested I was losing it....

I have to say I was very happy with the result of the earliest sale in LC. Found in a lot of pennies covered in soil bought locally. I paid £10 including flower pot on the grounds I wasn't going to clean all of them up for him just to find bugger all. I overpaid for the soil though. :)

Several of the his claimed discoveries (e.g. the 1875H and VIGTORIA pennies) have turned out to be not what he thought, so maybe it's just newbie enthusiasm.

Here you go @Coinery! Sorry for the delay.

I wouldnt lose any sleep over it as NOT one 👍.

Not if use of the alternate letter was intentional, as I explain above it’s just part of day to day maintenance of a die. And also difficult to prove it’s not just partial die fill of the lower limb of the ‘E’ . But it’s a grey area in that some collectors enthuse about mis-strikes and die flaws, incidental dots and dashes and the like. To my mind a true variety is a deliberate planned change in the design on the die, the flan (weight, metal composition, polishing ) or a significant accidental change through the act of man. Obvious date width differences might just creep in in the later years when die to die differences were rarer. And not all variations even if rare attract a premium, desirability to collectors plays a major part along with whether published or acknowledged by an accepted expert in the field (Freeman, Gouby, Sessions et al). Jerry

Although the mintage of Maundy coins is not high, they do mostly survive in good condition as they are not circulating coins. In addition, Maundy coins are minted every year. I don't think Maundy "odds" (i.e. not in complete sets) are considered to be rare.

Hopefully these give an idea 😂

Bull doesn't include 91 in the list of die numbers for 1873, but I am told this list has now been outdated. This list of die numbers: http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/dieno.html also does not include 91. I am sure there was discussion on here a few months (years?) back and someone had a link to a more up to date list, but I haven't found it yet.

You can also see the star on the breast, where the collar meets.

I third the suggestion, Class 9b2. The cross on the obverse is the ghosting of the metal being forced into the reverse die. It was an issue that troubled mints right up until the 1930s, at least. The modified effigy of King George was to deal with a very similar issue.

Yes, looks to be a contemporary counterfeit. Weight should be more 9 to 11g. Having said that, it is one of the better made counterfeits. Most are much cruder and often produced ready worn. Note you are correct to say contemporary counterfeit rather than Evasion. The latter are deliberately varied from the original so as not to be classed as an illegal forgery. (Production of counterfeits was a capital offence!) Here is my regal issue 1772 for comparison. I have lots of 1775, all contemporary counterfeits!

100% correct on all accounts 👍

If it's Gilbert on Canterbury then the full reverse legend would read either GIL/BER/TON/CAN or, if the moneyer's name was spelt Gillebert, GIL/LEB/ERT/ONC So directly to the left of the cross should be L, R (or B), N (or T) or C, although I can't honestly say I can make out anything. On the obverse, starting at the far left, I think I can see an E and the ligated NR and would agree it is a class 5 which would imply the presence of a sceptre off-coin.

Photoshopped

Hi all, Just for the record, I managed to get an independent ID of the attached from personnel working with the PAS database, where I've since recorded it. They identified it as a Henry III cut halfpenny, probably a class 5(c?), possibly minted by Gilbert in Canterbury. Date probably c1253-6 Obverse: Kings head facing, probably with sceptre in right hand. HENRICVS REX III around. Note that legend starts immediately above sceptre at about 10 o'clock. N & R in HENRICVS are also ligated (joined together). Personally, I still can't decipher anything much of the reverse legend but, if correctly identified, should be something like GILBERT ON CANT or similar. Hope of some help! Best regards, James

I have sinced found a few other coins with a ghostly H including another 1875. If you look at the attached image there is an 8 a C and also some guys face in the circle with long hair and a pointy nose any ideas who it is?

or not there

You will have difficulty finding any die detail specific to the Heaton mint other than the letter ‘H’ as the working dies were prepared at the Royal Mint from their master dies and sent to Birmingham for striking. The Heaton mint did not develop their own dies. And don’t confuse differences due to die wear, depth of strike, clashed dies etc as differing varieties. It’s a potential minefield. Jerry

FWIW I don’t think it’s an H, just an anomaly of toning and surface metal. The big issue is, if you’re going to call that an H, you then have to have an explanation for the Triangular shape that’s hovering between the digits?

Images, photos, etc, can be deceptive and not necessarily deliberately. The best determinant is studying the coin in hand.

Im going to study the 1875 and 1875 H there must be an identifiable die characteristic unique to the H coins. Lets see.

For me the new posts are at the top, below any ‘sticky’ posts so it must be possible. Or you can always click ‘unread posts’ top right. Jerry

Did you order via: https://coinpublications.com/product/the-bronze-coinage-of-great-britain-freeman/ If so, it'll be reasonably fast. I have a few in Germany that I use to fulfil international orders, as postage is much cheaper from here. The UK warehouse has 2 or 3 left at the moment and I just ordered a small re-print yesterday, so with any luck no one will notice the gap.

Ah ! So prompted by Paddy I delved back into a box of duplicates, high grades & oddities that are to good to part with, I wasn't sure if I had any variations of the 1887 Shilling, I don't have the young head, only the second portrait.....none in the duplicate box...aha I did find another 1872 this one has the Die No 29....Memo: this was kept as at some point you could be assed to move the coins to create a space so Die No 29 will slot in with the other 1872.....!?!? it also has a deformed N in Britanniar .... ....Yes a Rabbit Hole...but its a ocd world I seem to be living in.... 😟

Using a bain-marie and a thermometer. The temperature fluctuated between 85 and 95°C.