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1863 Slender 3 F44 Well I just can't believe my luck on this one, I never thought I'd ever manage to get my hands on one of these 🤩

This was a recent pickup in a USA auction, I like the condition of the piece, it being much better than most farthings of that era - but I enjoy the additional cuds on Charles II's nose and Britannia's right arm from the die breaking down. Also it appears as though the numeral 1 in 1675 was repunched - almost appears to have been repunched over a numeral 5!

Its a rotated die clash which this overlayed picture shows quite well.

Found another quite good condition coin from the hoard..... albeit 2 pence Maundy, George IIII, 1822, 😕 not sure I can cope with all of these good condition coins after a life time of manky worn out ones.... 😕

The double plume 1887 crown represents about 5% of the population. It is recorded and mentioned in a paper submitted to BNS blog but not yet published. Several of them were in The Thorburn Collection sold by Sovereign Rarities 23rd. Sep. 2025. notably lot 81

No way you’re new to this, your language and approach is not elementary, it’s very weird! I know it’s not helpful or constructive to say this but I am really struggling, I can’t pitch you at all.

It looks to me as if there was nearly a brockage, as the raised detail of the teeth is the incuse detail on the die. If a coin is not properly expelled between strikes, it will act as the die and leave an incuse detailed impression, because a die has the inverted relief, ie incuse is raised an vice versa, so to have raised 'incuse detail', it had to be a wrong-un, because the die would not have changed its relief and would strike normally, albeit off-centre. With several examples known, the detail must have been from a trapped coin.

I don't think 1927 proof coins are unloved, I just think that a mintage of 15k for a proof coin is not low, and comfortably satisfies the demand of people who wants one. In addition the series also has a large number of circulating coins at UNC giving anyone an opportunity to get a type example. The 1887 proof crown on the other hand has a mintage of only about 1k (and there are far fewer circulating UNC examples).

Does seem a bit excessive. Many of them have the same 43.173. or 43.172 IP address range. I'll see what I can do.

Comparing it to my pair of 1844 crowns I'd say that's the top part of a cinqfoil. The star is larger and goes almost to trhe top of the N and I whereas the cinqfoil is smaller and goes about halfway up the letters.

That's the man. Splash out on literature. Spend 3 beers worth on a book instead of 1. As an aside and not referencing you as a subject, it never ceases to amaze me how many people consider spending as much as a lunchtime beer with a snack on literature is viewed as excessive and wasted money, when what they spend on coins has several zeros added to the same amount. It seems weird to me that people frequently won't buy the required tools to give them the knowledge required to increase their collection value, which is what they are trying to achieve. Bizarre. Not everything is on the internet, and that which is, is becoming increasingly untrustworthy. Everybody needs to tread more carefully than they used to with AI. A potentially useful tool that you can be guarantee to be abused.

I now have the coin in my possession. Seems pretty nice condition for one of these, despite the odd mark in front of the King's nose:

I like this one 😂🤣

Not quite sure what you're saying? The Mint stopped using 92.5% silver from 1920 as the price of silver during WW1 had risen to the point where it exceeded the face value of the coins being struck. Yes, it came down again a few years later, but the Mint were never going to reverse their decision. The same thing happened after WW2 when silver was abandoned altogether but this time it never came down to make using it for coins cost-effective. I'd treat YouTube videos with a large pinch of salt!

Those prove my point about it being easier to see on more worn examples - the ear on those is far better preserved than you'd expect looking at the obverse as a whole.

Dont know if anyone can help please? I am unable to reply to messages and cant log out ? When i try to log out it says something like " Account suspended " although obviously i am in it now and have been for a few days. Hopefully makes sense and anyone who has sent me a message i am not ignoring you and just unable to reply 👍.

Which is where I got one for £180

I used the word probably which is a guess that there probably more potential collectors than coins to satisfy the potential demand from that amount of collectors. 15000 is not a huge amount of coins for example a 1905 half crown has a published mintage of 166008 and you would require a lot of money to obtain a good example. It's called supply and demand. Maybe there are more collectors of half crowns than florins and as the 1905 half crown was issued for circulation less of the total would survive in good condition but even a worn example attracts a fairly high price. Recently I saw one for sale in fine condition for GBP 440.

ESC mentions a variety with no stop after HIB, but not one with ne stops at all on the reverse.

I agree with Peckris that the loss of details is virtually all due to weak striking. Otherwise, wear would be very obvious in other areas like the garter letterings. And with these 0.50 silver points, areas of wear would show discolouration. If there is still lustre on the top of the shield area, then it's another indication that it is weak striking. You can still try to upgrade to specimens that are fully struck!

Seems ok for me now. I did block an IP range and there are about 200 guests online at the moment. As soon as you block one though, it does virtually nothing as they use a load of different IP addresses. Don't think it's malicious at the moment. Probably training an AI or who knows.

Oh, cool. I'd never noticed the cinquefoil stops on my 1845 crown. Learn something new every day.

Should be ok now. At least the liking works and I just liked all the posts above. Adding images also seems to work.

Or add images/screenshots.

I’ve been getting account suspended too, and also can’t react to messages.

Try logging in on a different browser (or using incognito mode in Chrome, others have in private browsing too). This should allow you to see if it's a site issue or not (and hopefully allow you to reply!).

Hello Paddy, quite right, I managed to find this on the web that someone else was looking into, a useful picture of the difference between the Cinquefoil and the Star 👍

I had not heard this determining key before. Thank you.

From my observations, it's preferable to use the second N of PENNY rather than the P. Both vertical limbs point to teeth on a regular coin, spaces on a HT. Because the limbs themselves are much narrower it easier to be certain you've picked the right line.

Definitely not the genuine article, but will definitely be the coin in that little group that will catch the highest bidder out, as there’s nothing else in there they could possibly be wanting!

I am confident enough that it is a recessed ear, and that is good enough as it is going into my own collection. @Martinminerva also expressed the opinion that it was right in a previous post in this topic. I already have an example with the broken tooth in only slightly worse condition, so I will keep both to cover my bases. Neither will be sold until I pop my clogs, by which time I won't care anyway!

Great. A few weeks ago another that I sent to the USA was returned to me, no reason given. So I'm now a bit nervous sending to the USA. I've emailed you a PDF of the Irish book.

The light striations in the obverse fields indicate it might well have been wiped or cleaned in the past. As for polishing - is the mirror finish only in the fields but not the raised design (difficult to tell from those pictures)? If yes, then not polished, but if shiny all over then it most likely has been.

all, I recently found what I believe could be a medieval coin while metal detecting in a cornfield in Castletown, Celbridge (Ireland), and I’m hoping to get some opinions on it. The piece is quite small — smaller and thinner than a modern 2 cent coin. It appears worn, but I can make out what looks like a cross on one side. There are also some pellet-like markings, and possibly a letter (maybe an “A”) beneath them, though it’s not very clear. The shape isn’t perfectly round, which made me wonder if it could be clipped, broken from a larger coin, or possibly even a token rather than an official issue. The metal doesn’t seem obviously copper — I initially thought it might be silver, but I’m not certain. I’ve attached photos of both sides. Unfortunately, the detail is quite faint, but I’d really appreciate any thoughts on: What type of coin this might be Whether it looks medieval (and if so, what period) Or if it could be something else entirely (token, foreign, etc.) Thanks in advance for any help!

Very interesting—thanks a lot for the reply and the link, Jerry. I’ve had a read and I’m going to follow up on a few new leads. I’ll update when I find out more

Try to take some clear photos of both sides of the coin, it’s difficult to comment on the images you give. There are some very good Chinese replicas available now and looking at the finish we need to rule those out first. Doubling in the strike would be a possibility, if we are dealing with the genuine article. Jerry

I wonder if it may be Father Andrew Alexander's collection? I made contact with my old school. Father Andrew's collection was passed to his brother on his death. I asked if they could pass on my contact details to the brother, but I have heard nothing since.

For what it's worth, I do not think this is a very rare thick flan 10+J but rather a normal flan one where the rim has been "rolled" in machinery and slightly compressed thus, and so makes the edge look wider. My evidence for this is a) this was commonly done with many, many bronze predecimal coins, I guess as people were just playing around with lathes etc in workshops, and I personally have many such examples of all bronze denominations and several monarchs, and b) from your photo, the rim itself next to the beads appears to be thin or non-existent, when in reality there should be a distinct rim edge surrounding the beads (see photo of obverse 10 below, taken from Richard's halfpenny website) which is basically where the rolled metal has gone from to form the "thicker" edge. c) The genuine thick flan is R20 for rarity, so VERY few known indeed. Of course, that is not to say another one wouldn't ever turn up, but mathematically one is more likely to find further specimens in the R17-R18 bracket, as you proved with your 1877 narrow date. But of course, one can only be sure when in hand and can be weighed, measured etc. But if you ask opinions from vague photos, be prepared to get vague answers, or indeed an absence of answers in light of the absence of evidence! I wish you luck with this purchase, just as you have had much luck already, but equally you must expect disappointments too... Also, give things a bit more time for feedback: you only posted on Saturday morning - I am replying Monday afternoon!

I suspect it may be related to the Irish obsidional currency , this article may give you a lead. https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2015/09/03/obrien-rare-coin-review-confederate-catholic-rebel-money-coinage-of-1642-44/ Jerry

Business as usual, then! I still reserve the right to think you unusual, though. Keep going.

The repatriation has more to do with Trump's sticky fingers than any "gold standard" since there is nowhere near enough gold in the world to run the modern economies. Xi is far more interested in getting the Yaun turned into the standard currency rather than the dollar, especially for buying oil.

It's not the thinness - it's the recessed area as you say. On the left coin you can clearly see a hollow surrounding the ear which is absent on the Unc example.

I thought the ganga dynasty started with bob marley in Jamaca

If you think of the ear as an ellipse, the feature I find most readily identifiable is a crease running along the line of the shortest axis. Well-worn examples of a 1915 and a 1916 to illustrate: Both of these pass the broken tooth test. Note that the tip of the ear remains distinct despite the considerable wear.

I agree - I find these very difficult to sport generally. I was fortunate this time that the next image was a 1916 in similar condition and the difference in the ears stood out, even to me! Here is the 1916:

It's good. I have recessed ear 1915 pennies both with and without broken tooth. Without seems rarer. Haven't yet seen a 1916 without broken tooth though.

This 1915 Penny looks very much to be a recessed ear variety, but seems to lack the broken tooth. Any thoughts? (Screenshot from online so no sharper image possible.)

This one, on an F16, has always intrigued me. Ghosting of Victoria's face can be seen (as it often does) above Britannia's left knee, but there is also something strange going on with the border teeth. The series of pictures at the bottom show an overlay picture of border teeth, from the same coin, which I have made gradually transparent from 0% to 100% as go from left to right hand side. This shows that the marks through Britannia's knees are clearly from border teeth. I bought this coin at Heritage in 2013 (MS63 Slabbed), and it took me a long time to find another F16 like this, to prove that it must have occurred during the minting process.......rather than the coin being hit with something post-minting. I will show the pictures of that other coin immediately below, as this picture uses up my 500Kb allowance!!

This is just about the most extreme example I have come across !!! An 1862 penny Note the half circle on Victoria's back , its the shield from the reverse side . The extra ribbons are created from the folds in Britannia's. dress