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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 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

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.

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

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.

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

If you consider what a flan is, there is an underlying crystalline structure based on the metal in question. At the atomic level, the atoms are connected by well defined structural links via shared outer electron pairs. In a perfect piece of metal with no inclusions, this would be consistent across the entire surface. However, at the next level up, the surface is disrupted by metal flow when struck leaving small sub-micron cracks. A crack is a crack and therefore will allow a greater surface area to be exposed to any reactant. One thing I have noticed with seriously corroded coins at the date for example is a 'moat' around the digit where the metal has been more rapidly removed than one might otherwise expect. I acquired and sold one 20 years ago, but can't find the image. This I would explain by the cracks allowing the reactant to penetrate the metal and so lead to increased metal loss at these points. To compare with toning, which is only another form of altered metal surface, not involving metal loss, you regularly see more toning around the relief detail. Again, I would put this down to the stress cracks allowing greater reactivity with the atmosphere. eg. see below. It is posted elsewhere, so apologies, but does demonstrate my theory very well. If metal is going to react, it doesn't matter much whether the fluid is a liquid or a gas, as both will cause some effect if chemically possible, just the rate and effect will vary.

I’m hoping your packaging will deliver something slightly more round, Clive 🙏

Buttttt, it does have a 20% off coupon! Please don't blame the postie if this turns up on your door mat this week, Stuart... 😬

Would it not be reversed?

This book does not exist?? Looking to know more about Roger Keenan. I live in Torquay and I will investigate this gentleman and any book. Please if anyone can help me or give any advice. Thank you

Certainly looks like transfer of newsprint to me.

I know the mint was closed for relocation and reworking of the dies to improve quality in 1650, but there were coins minted for other denominations…were there definitely no shillings? I’m 99% certain this is a 6 that’s drifted off flan, but thought I’d ask, just in case someone had heard of a random die that may have been used as part of a trial?

Nice one, Stu, thank you 🙏

My Grandad had this penny in his draw since the 1960's. Because of the date, 1945, he thought it was an attempted German forgery. We always know it as Fred's tin penny.