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Not by allowing all and sundry to invent arbitrary changes/inventions in a number of scattered and unrelated sources. Ideally, there should be a central recognised "official" source of this sort of information. Penny collectors are lucky in that they have Michael Gouby who is still prepared to acknowledge and document additional varieties but, when he retires, there will be an enormous gap.

The rarity ratings attributed by Freeman are as accurate as could have been made at that time , but new types discovered since then would have suffered from the mass meltdown in the 1970s , where as the numbers of scarce and rare types known by Freeman and other collectors would have been enhanced , due to searching for and including into their collections , and hording , a good example would be the 1951 penny

Except in the case of Freeman of course, who actually studied a massive random sample from circulation ; while not perfect, his estimations of comparative rarity are as accurate as will ever be achieved for the bronze coinage. In terms of actual numbers of exceptionally rare coin varieties that were barely or not represented in Freeman’s sample, there will always be an element of flux as demonstrated by RS’s excellent ‘Rarest Pennies’ register. A ‘unique’ ‘slender 3’ 1863 penny becomes three known for instance, and more will be found. And in the end, it is market availability and demand that determine the price. In general I can see where you are coming from. One has to hope that those declaring, and particularly publishing, rarity values make every effort to ensure reasonable accuracy. You will not find a ‘rarity’ value on any of my coin tickets, for good reason. Jerry

The 'braggadocio bit' isn't, for me, the problem. (Would anyone claim not to have a swagger when owning such a fine collection?) I don't think the ability to spend cash and tell everyone about it gives anyone, except Michael Freeman, and Michael Gouby, the right to assign Freeman numbers or rarity symbols. Only immense academic effort is rewarded by the assignment of such rights and privileges,not spending cash....

Hmmm...you state the the 1954 penny will hopefully not be sold or seen again....have a good long think about that statement and how it sounds....

Hello. This 1954 unique circulation penny was recently sold by Bernie Workman through Sovereign Auctions. In November 2024. I saw some speculation on this forum as to who the buyer might be who purchased this penny and a number of the other pennies at the same auction - and whether it may have been bought by an American investor. (I think it was someone called Secret Santa asking). Well i can put your mind at rest that i am neither American nor an investor - i am a private British collector who has specialised in primarily bronze circulation pennies for over 50 years (though i do now have quite a nice collection of copper pennies too). If you had designs on buying it you may actually have preferred an investor to have bought it, for as a collector i virtually never sell anything, and this penny will hopefully not be sold again or seen again, apart from being able to be viewed over the internet. I do believe that i have probably the finest collection of bronze pennies in the world (including the museums), though one or two of you may challenge that assertion, but my collection also includes one of the only 2 available 1933 circulation pennies and a host of other R19 and R20 pennies. Although i don't ever sell any of my coins as a rule, i am more than happy to share the collection with you through a link on here if anyone is interested in viewing it. Just let me know.

You really shouldn’t be so sensitive to criticism, I have already stated that it is your prerogative to act as you wish. As they say, you can take a horse to water etc. Jerry

Thank you for your valued comments. To respond - first to Mr Peckris, the 1926 proof is not missing as it is a collection of circulation pennies. Secondly to Stuart (coinery), apologies for the confusion. Thirdly to Jerry - i do not agree that it is wrong to say "probably R19" if between 2 and 5 are currently known, and if more are found one day i would change it to "probably R18". If you have FACTS that say otherwise then so be it. Otherwise it is not wrong to state the current number known as being probably correct. I also disagree with you that i should mix up my labelling by using Freeman here and Gouby there as it would be chaotic - i am quite happy to add a subsection to the Freeman number where it is primarily the same coin but perhaps with a different date width.

A nice penny from Ebay, 34 Euro including postage. Considerable residual lustre that doesnt seem to show in the pics - nicer in the hand! Jerry

Thank you for your warm and generous welcome, which is very much appreciated. My pennies are listed on www.penny-collection.com so i can now sit back and wait for you to tear my claim of having a very fine collection into pieces!!! I have read some of the threads on here and i certainly do NOT claim to have equal knowledge to many of those who post on this website - so i am very much hoping to learn new things from you!

Well that’s some claim CPC and phenomenal to have you on here and in touch with us all! Wow, without being overbearingly starstruck, that’s quite something, and great news to hear these Great British coins are still gracing a UK collection. 🙏

Absolutely true, a study based solely on the pennies surviving now would be quite different in its balance between common and rare. Use of rarity values is at its best unreliable, and we must all understand that. Jerry

True, but interestingly skill, luck and stamina do reward the financially less buoyant. Seeming to get harder with the passing of the years though. I remember once thinking Norweb was perhaps the best collector of more recent Brit issues and esp. of 19th and 20th Century coins. One could occasionally find better specimens of some coins that she had but not overall. Still it was enjoyable to occasionally pip those with pecuniary advantage. I suppose what annoys some is the braggadocio bit, though that does not diminish the achievement.

Thanks for that, and stand easy please. I spotted it coming up at a non-coin specialist auction, incorrectly labelled as a "Charles II hammered coin"! I was considering bidding on it if it turned out to be Henry IV or something else scarce, but I suspected Henry VI. I left it - hammer price was £40 this morning. Thanks for the info and I am relieved I left it.

Hi Paddy, sorry I missed this one! Well from a quick look it’s a Calais legend (Villa Calis) to the reverse and an annulet issue so screaming Henry VI annulet issue halfpenny, and a likely mule? Is it still of enough interest to you for me to dig deeper?

Don't think he has a shallow pocket regardless. Many will remember Colin Adams and his domination of pennies, and to some extent, half crowns 20-25 years ago. He did not make many proclamations as I recall. As was stated elsewhere in this post, he may well have the best penny collection but that not necessarily something to broadcast IMHO. Also, interestingly there were others that checked the just mentioned collector's ability to corner either denomination. However, I do congratulate Mr. Booth and as I have the chance will view his collection a bit more. The bigger issue is the domination of the modern market for rare coins by those blessed with generous resources and the squeezing out of those with more modest means.

This is entirely your prerogative Kevin, but why not just do what others do and state ‘not listed in Freeman’ and then your own description or reference? If we all did as you do, there could be dozens of Freeman 0’s 10 A, B, C’s etc in use all referring to different coins. Anarchy! Jerry I will address the rarities issue tomorrow , the wife is grumbling about me using the iPad in bed!

Presumptuous? Unless Kevin had the resources, how could he have afforded such wonderful coins? The Workman spend alone is greater than my pension pot! Yet I still obsessively splash out when I can…… Jerry

But will you be able to tell, without taking it from the packet?

That coin has certainly seen some history! Difficult to be sure if it is a halfcrown or a Shilling without a scale. It is, however, definitely a Chester coin because of the C beneath the bust. Here from my collection is one of the 1689 Half Crown who referred to:

Yes, further examination of coins reveals that, apart from a few (rare ?) 1889 F127 pennies with missing serifs, F127s plus 1890, 1891 and some 1892 pennies were all struck with obverse R* and then reverted partway through 1892 to obverse R which was then used until 1895 when the veiled head obverse was introduced.

Hi @Jigsy, Welcome to the forum! The penny you have posted has been messed around with by someone in a workshop, possibly on a lathe or with a grinding tool. Difficult to know what they were trying to achieve, maybe creating a double tailed coin? Anyway, this would be termed "Post Mint Damage" or PMD and adds no value to the coin. In fact this one is just scrap metal now.

Looks like https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/italian-states-venice-scudo-km-143-1624-25-1629-cuid-1161875-duid-1495817 Not bad - seems to be worth close to twice the melt value even in quite worn condition.

It's (very) difficult to know why someone has stamped those letters on your coin or when it was done. Coins / banknotes do get defaced very occasionally when they were currency and often for not very good reasons. Since it is passed down, I think it is best to treat it as a sentimental item and a little piece of family history.

I have now created this spreadsheet so if anyone else needs one in the future, pm me and I'll be happy to email it.