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Benedetto Pistrucci, arguably the most famous coin engraver, was born in 1783 and died 1855. He was 56 years old at the time of the first photographic portrait. Only two years before his death he was photographed by Arthur R Hamilton. This is, to my knowledge, the only time he was photographed - and could reasonably be the first photograph of a British coin engraver! Most of the images you will find are later (1870-90) reproductions of the original photograph - identified by the black/gray card they are mounted on. I am fortunate enough to be the owner of the original photograph from 1853, signed by the photographer - to my knowledge it is the only one made from the negative and thus the true original piece!

Henry v 1413-22 Quarter Noble Spink 1757Var. 1.71g Obverse: HENRIC REX ANGL FRANC within treasure of arches, stops of various shapes. Trefoil to left and mullet to right. Reverse: EXCVLTABTUR IN GLORIA (“He shall be exalted in glory”). Cross with lions in angles: lis in centre. Mullet to the right was to distinguish the kings new mint master Lewis John. Henry v’s first mint master. Appointed to the role on 14th April 1413. The trefoil was used as a periodic privy mark to identify a specific minting window die variation or administrative shift within the tower mint. The Annulets (small circles) placed around the arches served the exact same high-utility purpose as the ones next to the central shield or to top. They acted as a subtle internal code to identify the exact sub-series, die variation, and specific mint run. The “1757 Var” Designation: in British numismatics “1757” refers to the ID in the Spink standard catalogue of British coins. The “Var” (variety) means it features a distinct die error or sub type -specifically, a spelling variation, in the reverse Latin legend that reads EXCVLTABTVR instead of the standard EXALTABITVR, (“He shall be exalted in glory”).

You need to stop this sort of thing right now !

I can only suggest that when a brockage happens, the press is full of unwanted metal which in these cases shattered one of the flans with the remnant causing what is seen. The offending item did not bind to the full flan and fell off. It doesn't look concocted in either case, as the incuse legends are approximately correct for orientation, albeit displaced significantly in the first one.

Hello, I am in the midst of writing a relatively large article on the 1887 Jubilee Coinage - estimated to be about 600pgs in total. In the process of such research, I spent about a week at the Royal Mint studying about ~200 tools relevant to the coinage and a similiar number of coins. Unfortunately, it seems that the Mint did not retain the original plaster models designed by Boehm. It often had seemed to be suggested that the relevant item(s) had been destroyed - a fact that I could not bear to hear! Hopefully, continuing the research into plaster models, with some vague hope of finding something, I did come across a 2010 Baldwin's sale, auction 68, which sure enough had a plaster model of the Jubilee Head! Well, I contacted Steve Hill of Sovereign Rarities, who worked at Baldwin's who confirmed that the piece sold to a bidder in Australia, and was since resold in auction 100 of Noble Numismatics (an Australian based auction house) after failing to sell in auction 99. I am now trying to contact the owner of such a piece, though I am having difficultly identifying who may own it. Should anyone have an idea of who may own it, it would be greatly appreciated for this to be shared with me. To my knowledge, it is likely an Australian collector, perhaps someone with a focus on the Jubilee coinage. Similiarly, if anyone has any high quality images of the copper electrotype described in BNJ 1984 by Graham Dyer, please would you be able to share it with me! Kind regards, -Ashley

He would have said something like "I remember the old mismatics under Obama - they were rubbish, fake."

Thank you very much Stuart, very kind. That coin is pretty rare to see on the market too, in any decent condition, yours are the best that I have seen. And certainly I will share the files here as well as with PAS, and anyone with a use for them. New examples have slowed but still occasionally come out of the woodwork. I am also creating sheets for early and late Medieval English, and Scottish medieval coins. I will be sharing those too. All a work in progress, perhaps another month or so .. With kind regards David

I said if i found out any more information I would post it up on the thread. I have found a little more out about the guy whose name , rank etc is edge engraved on the cartwheel penny. He was apparently born around 1784 in Inveravon, Banff, Scotland and died at the ripe old age of 93 from the Flu on November 22nd 1877 in Conval Street , Dufftown. Not a bad innings for a seasoned veteran. Stu.

Just thought I'd share this image of a pattern five shilling piece in gold from 1853 which I handled in the RMM. Keep in mind, contemporary records show that there was discussion in parliament around this time that the half sovereign should be abolished for being too small a denomination to be made of gold, and of course the Royal Mint decided to make a smaller gold coin in response!

I may have jumped the gun, labelling this an imitation sterling! I’ve since discovered there’s actually a known class 9a coin with an ANL error and pellet on the breast, which is footnoted as extremely rare. I’d need to get a look at it in-hand…I’d be hoping that the S is top-tilted (it currently looks like it could be a mix of serifs)! We’ll see

Never a dull moment on here. Always some drama 😆

I understand how a full brockage happens, but not how a mis-shaped partial occurs. Can someone enlighten me please?

I always like to see them, and have got better at Identifying them, but I have resisted collecting them. That is one huge rabbit hole to go down!

Because they know no better and want to believe what they see. Unfortunately, knowledge requires some input from the prospective purchaser in the form of reading up the subject before buying. To me and you it is simple, but that's because we are interested in the subject matter. For the uninitiated just randomly looking for things that appeal visually, it's not a great step to hit the buy button. Sad but true. Ebay can't police the content sufficiently to make a difference, so once again, it relies on the moral compass of the seller. There should be a useful statistic in there somewhere for a number for Mr. Average's honesty coefficient, not to mention the gullibility coefficient of the typical buyer.

The class 3 and 9 coins available in much better grades generally.

I Nearly scrapped this one for being a ex mount ...on the reverse some rather nice initials have been sympathetically added circa 1887

Yes, the Galata Guide has a 9a2 with the ANL error. I'm not 100% sure that is a pellet on the breast though, rather than just a slightly outsized pellet in the beading. The S on the reverse is badly worn, but the one on the obverse does look top-tilted to me. My opinion is that it's a 9a2 rather than an imitation sterling, but I have to admit that I'm not an expert on either series. Surprisingly (to me) though I've just counted 45 long cross in my collection. Only one sterling though.

It has a bit but its only a minuscule hole i think. It's looking promising for that rare one though Fingers crossed 🤞 Stu.

DrLarry has voluntarily left the forum, only his last comment above remains visible. Absence of Uniformity, it's not the first time you've rubbed someone up the wrong way. 👀 ___________________________________________________________ < line drawn under it.

You’ve finally got some scales 😃 Taking your weight, and using the criterion from the North article below, I’d say yours is an early issue (1280-1284?) Dublin farthing - Open Es & Cs and the clear wedge-tailed R of Rex. Whilst the reverse legend is weak, it does appear to me that there are both a D and an I starting in each quarter, making it Dublin (CIVI TAS DVBL INIE). I believe the only other mint for these farthings is Waterford (CIVI TAS VATE RFOR), so you can probably rule that out in this case…I’ll let you to decide what letters you see, it’ll be so much easier for you to confirm in-hand. https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital BNJ/pdfs/1997_BNJ_67_4.pdf

Definitely just post mint damage as Chris says. I think someone back in the late 1800s actually suspected it might have been a forgery (it's not, but many were at the time) and has cut or chopped the flan to test. The metal displacement can be seen along the entire length of the cut on the top side of it (so chopped at an angle upwards from SW to NE) and subsequent circulation wear has smoothed it out a bit including blending it into the beads, and separating off the bottom serif of the I to make a big blob. Not a mint fault, I'm afraid. You're actually not far wrong when you say hit with an axe! More likely a chisel.

It's not actually a denarius as you'd think but a drachm. Here's a similar one...https://en.numista.com/235578 The legends are the giveaway with it.

I am very well acquainted with him! In fact, I worked with Sovereign Rarities on his auction last year, and have since remained in close contact with him! He did almost purchase the plaster model in 2010, but alas decided against it!

I think I can see the remains of "IMP TRAIAN ..." on the obverse, so Trajan? Reverse legend seems to have some Greek letters, so possibly Roman provincial.

https://ebay.io/m/Bvd8Q6 😬

Spot on. It could in theory be a class 1a2, 1a5, 1b1, 1b2 or 1c, but 1a2 is immediately ruled out because there is no square C or E and 1a5 because there is no stop after LVND. The others rely on observing a stop between S and R on the obverse (present on 1b1 and 1b2, but omitted on 1c). The round C and the R are clear enough, but is the gap between the two letters big enough for a stop? I'm not sure. In the end it doesn't really matter, because the coin is pretty much toast, but I enjoy getting as far as possible with these hopeless cases.

MS is MS, MS 60 is an un-circulated coin. Higher grades are more subjective with MS61 and higher attention is paid to strike, bag knocks, luster. toning etc. Wear and poor strike being very difficult to distinguish when it is slight. Also attention should be paid to the condition of the milling of the coin edge The whole point of TPG is consistency for valuation and comparing coins. The subject coin from the photo shows slight wear on the higher points and more correctly graded AU 55 - 58 or EF IMO. Personally I prefer the Sheldon as it gets rid of the abt. nearly + etc that are much more subjective. However it must be applied accurately to be of use. Having said that the book The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins is a good guide

My thoughts on the German forgery is that I reckon they had bigger fish to fry in 1945, than to bother themselves with bronze pennies

The visible lettering is too crude and close to the rim IMO. It looks more like an abused attempt at a cast copy to me. Any attempts at acid cleaning will thin the letters and reduce dimensions on all 3 axes if there is total immersion. The weight of a cast would obviously depend on the amount of metal poured into the mould, so I think not relevant in this instance.

I absolutely LOVE this one, and you only get to see the reverse, too…maybe they’re just being kind! Kind of Knight-like in shape, quite the piece of art https://ebay.io/m/Mck7Te

In the case of written text, I suspect it may have been underneath a piece of blotting paper or at least something as adsorbant as bog-roll. That was the only way I could rationalise my 1773 halfpenny on a spread flan with Basing House plus some indecipherables written in the hand of H Webb. The above could equally be due to someone making a poster. Anything written or pressed onto newsprint with excess ink is likely to pass through quite easily given the paper quality.

Interesting and educational read, here, on the counterfeiting of these shillings by Gary Oddie, just in case anyone’s interested! https://britnumsoc.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/188-cft-commonwealth-oddie.pdf

Well spotted Mr G. Maybe my kids weren't so silly to suggest I sign up for the Biobank Alzheimers Accelerator Project after all. TBH, I'm not sure it needs to happen quicker anyway, but hey-ho. I had completely forgotten about that, but claim mitigating circumstances as I had just driven to the other end of the country through the night to look after the grandkids in Plymouth due to a family bereavement on the other side and not bothered going to bed afterwards. Hopefully get some sleep tonight when I can switch off.

Does anyone have any insight into the relative scarcity of the three Newcastle classes, measured against themselves? Over the last 3 or 4 years I’ve managed to pick up a class 3 and a class 9 in good grades, but have struggled to find the class 10 in a similarly collectable grade, with the attached coin, bearing the full Edward legend, the best I’ve found to-date.

I was just taking a look at this man’s Public Works on the drop-down on Wikipedia…this man was prolific, what a sculptor he was! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Edgar_Boehm

A WRL copy. Highlighted the stamp and circled it. Reported it and was told the listing is fine a customer service person has approved it. Maybe a few more reports will assist in getting it pulled. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/880004309094 Stu

In this example the letters, especially the W & A, and also the obverse legend is wrong for starters! Maybe a Class 5-style pellet on chest, not sure? I don’t have the coin in-hand, yet, but would probably be looking to sell it anyway. Can anyone share some insight into it? I know very little about the continental imitations themselves?

Many thanks for your thoughts, Coys, much appreciated! You may be absolutely right on all counts…it would be easy to see how just the slightest flattening of that bead/pellet could convince anyone that it is indeed a pellet! The jury is out for me at the moment. The little fishtail serifs on the reverse S do suggest to me that we’d be looking at a mule if the obverse S is top-tilted? There are a few different possibilities in the SCBI 39, and the coin should be in-hand shortly to verify. It was a throwaway coin in a small bulk lot, so the pictures are not great.

Crikey, that escalated. I'm used to seeing that kind of stuff on football forums, but never expected to see it on a coin forum. Nor hope to again.

Might just be the pictures but another difference could be the 9 in the top image looks closer to being closed and the other 9 looks more open.

The goddess of Waitrose?

Yes - 'fraid so! Wallowing in the luxury of retirement now.

As you say, this is a short-cross London penny of Henry II…minted by PIERES ON LVND

I remember being shown that coin. I told the person who sent the email pics that it was a mangled sixpence: "It looks like damage to me. Who knows what caused it and how much circulation it went through after the damage. Some damage can be hard to fathom. Maybe someone was trying to cover the SIX PENCE in order to pass it off as something else. It's possible I suppose that it did suffer some kind of defect when made and then someone made it worse, but either way, it's a bit of a mess. I really can't imagine anyone would be willing to pay more than the silver value for it. " Also here: https://britnumsoc.blog/2025/11/11/an-1834-william-iv-sixpence-with-a-laboratory-confirmed-multi-strike-error-from-the-steam-press-era-a-ikraam/https://britnumsoc.blog/2025/11/11/an-1834-william-iv-sixpence-with-a-laboratory-confirmed-multi-strike-error-from-the-steam-press-era-a-ikraam/ Erm, ok.

I see your point. The designs of modern coinage, including pre-decimal QE2 as here, are low relief to prolong the die life, almost 2-D with negligible depth, and thus it might not need much acid dunking to erode any shallow raised detail, if it were treated so. As the adjacent field would also be dissolving that may produce the expanded effect as shown, almost like a ghost image, but that's just thinking of a theory and probably doesn't make sense. The marks aren't acid marks either, they're loads of small cuts, perhaps kept in a tin with other coins for many years.

It should calculate it as £2 flat-rate for all deliveries to international addresses. I send the international ones from Germany as it's much, much cheaper than from the UK.

I'm sorry that it felt overwhelming. I mean that sincerely aswell. Can you appreciate I just got carried away with the excitment of the discovery, and maybe should of kept it a bit more precise. Worth noting this whole process, the dos and donts, what order of process, who to speak to, what I can and cant say, its all completely new to me. The analysis and the asociated research is a steep learning curve without any help or silence on the matter.. Its hard enough as it is discovering an unrecorded variety, then add in everything else! Rather than risk leaving out a piece of information that maybe valuable or important, I tried my best to include as much info as possible. Can you see my logic? I actually sent Michael 11 images, and he thanked me for the "excellent images" in his own words. Coinery last night was chucking around all kinds of insults and assumptions. Im just here to learn about coins, share my findings, and learn from all of you as much as I can. Il take this opourtunity to formaly apologize to anyone I have offended along the journey so far. That includes coinery aswell.. To mention my social skills, he insulted me and yet Im the one apologising. Thats not juvenille. I would like the focus of this thread to be about the question in hand, the discovery! A post-1864 unrecorded error letter variety is a significant discovery.. Rather than celebrating I feel like I have done something wrong.

I think you’re right about eBay! I bought 4 coins from that auction (2 lots), coins I’d previously sold on eBay to a buyer in Ludlow, I wonder if that was a deceased estate? Ahh, if I’d known you were there…I’m still waiting for a revised invoice to include postage, it’s the longest I’ve ever had to wait. I messaged them again, yesterday. It was a depressing auction overall for me, as I had internet issues with EE which cost me the Elizabeth Groat (lot 255) I would’ve gone £300 without hesitation. It sold for £180, gutted 😩 nb: it’s not creased, all the images of coins in capsules were the same, including the ones I previously sold, which I knew to be sound.