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I finally got around to taking better images which represent my coin. Still cant get my head around finding this as cheap as I did unattributed. As I have not been posting here about my finds I now have a backlog of finds to add to my collection taking photos and sharing here found some amazing coins unattributed.

Happy Days. I think I will have a few pints in the local tonight. Given their pricing, it is clear evidence of the cost of nationwide advertsiing in papers and TV is not insubstantial - or someone has run off with the bank account funds. I would go further than no great loss, as it removes a source of overpriced material sold to people with a limited grasp on coin prices, and as an afterthought, maybe the recent IHT adjustments for pensions etc has led to the wealthy gullible reviewing their methods for passing on things to the descendants.

It really annoys me that the slabbers call the coin a 1/2 p for gods sake its a 1/2 D

Yes, that coin now resides with me! Jerry

London Mint Office has now gone bankrupt. Sad for those who have lost their jobs, but no great loss otherwise.

I am working on a colonial coin type collection which includes many foreign coins, including British. Recently I found a small book titled 'The Coins of Colonial America' which basically listed and illustrated coins found when the grounds of our colonial Williamsburg were dug up. My current collection has the George III embossed 8 Reale and 4 Reale coins (oval stamp) and i thought that was it. However, the book showed a set of 4 coins: 1 Reale, 2 Reale, 4 Reale and 8 Reale each with the oval embossement. My copy of the 'Coins of England', 2025, does not show the two lower denomination coins. So, i'm asking here: why not? what is the story? the photo shows the book's illustration.

Truth is, we'll likely never know the story of this but almost definitely some sort of marketing effort given the style of the stamp. The surname has strong Cornish roots, but only 'famous' merchant of that era is William Hearne Pellow, head of a mercantile firm in Liverpool. Here are some details from an archive: https://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/kirkdalecemetery2.html

Ignorance is bliss. There is a raised line on the hull, it just happens to be the ship's handrail running from bow to stern. Mine is very prominent in hand. The atttribution presumaby coming from a phrase search of their limited literature. At the end of the day, it is a business boxing above its weight in terms of knowledge when claiming to be all things to all people and (like Trump) never wrong - hence many fictitious attributions and for knowledgable people, just used as a pointer toward a potentially decent coin. However, an unquestionable marketing success. I don't know if they still offer a cleaning service, but it seems to have laid low after I questioned why they were so intent on selling 'unsightly' wax removal given it was historical evidence of past illustration in early catalogues.

Nice if you can get them, but Hobson's Choice requires my collection to have more than a few dogs hidden away. Still, mustn't grumble as I've done ok over the years.

Its come a long way already, I have been leaving the coin in direct sunlight with fresh air flow sat on a manilla envelope. In less than 6 months it has already taken on alot of toning.

Thanks ! In the hammered coinage there must be some varieties that command the higher premiums? For this coin I think it was mostly right place right time with alot of luck. It kind of fell into my possesion. Initially I did not find the variety, I found the coin then researched the varieties for the type. This was my first find and possibly the best to date.. You can see why and how I become totally consumed by penny varieties. Then shortly after the 1877 F90. Since then I have found many decent coins but not quite of the same calibre of those two. It was enough to be hooked for life and invest more time to learn all I can. I feel now I have run out of avenues for prospection, I find myself looking over the same coins for sale.

Didn't notice myself and the online user number is quite low at the moment. Will put it down to a glitch and keep an eye on it.

All these pursuits are commonly perceived as a bit eccentric or cranky, and anyone trying to explain what makes their hobby so fascinating might well be in danger of reinforcing that view! I don't necessarily agree. Coins have been a central part of everyday life for centuries. Given a few minutes I am pretty confident I can convince most folks that studying and collecting them can be both worthwhile and cool. The sharp trend away from cash transactions (presumably there's some quantification of this out there) is a dark cloud on the horizon, but the history remains.

That is a particularly good example! Jerry

ditto

Worn collars? Reduced striking force to preserve the dies? Different degrees of circulation? Wartime conditions will often lead to slightly flexible interpretation of the rules. Even within nominally identical parts, engineering tolerances can lead to something that looks wrong, even if functionally and usefully ok. Think along the lines of WW1 pennies that were often weakly struck to save replacing the dies so often.

Good points, but on the other hand there are still stamp, postcard, audio cassette, model car, etc, collectors. I think there are many areas of collecting where the object itself is long out of fashion, yet the 'collecting gene' needs to be fulfilled.

I would grade as GEF with lustre. Some might say AUnc, and I wouldn't quarrel too much with that, there's virtually no trace of wear.

Full House, Queens over Kings... 😎 Five generations of this coin from the Netherlands. 38 mm, 25 g .945 fine silver Willem II - 1848 Willem III - 1874 Wilhelmina - 1898 33 mm, 15 g .720 silver (the cost of 2 world wars) Julianna - 1959 But even that couldn't be sustained in the modern world... 29mm 10 g 100% Nickel which at least gives it a decent look and feel. This was the the last Rijksdaalders as the Euros came in. Beatrix - 2001 I still need an 1840 2 1/2 Gulden of Willem I to complete the set.

Quite a selection of boat anchors between us. 🖖

Hi Mike To answer your question I personally have only seen four of the Aa type . Below is a picture of the four types I have come across . Top is Ac with the 1 directly over the tooth [ I have seen about six of this type]. Next down is the normal common type Ab with the 1 slightly to the left of the tooth but the 1 its self is almost touching the tooth . Third down is very similar to Ab but the 1 is more to the left of tooth and importantly has a gap between it and the tooth { not listed by Gouby as its to similar to the common Ab type} bottom is Aa with the 1 directly over the gap between the teeth , all three of the rare types have that space between the 1 and the row of outer teeth, as Pete has already said

Wonderful magazine even though I haven't bought one for 25 years. My favourite was Buster Gonads and his unfeasibly large testicles. Brilliant.