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Found the others today....A fair devil indeed....

You'd need a deep pocket for most of these recent items at Heritage, but not all early copper has sky-rocketed over the last few years - the slab-grades have the main effect of course. There are two Peck plate coins, but none of the coins including theses were provenanced by Heritage. Perhaps the buyers recognised them too, but probably just going on the grades. All are hammer prices: 1694 1/2d - MS61 - $1200. Surprisingly low grade for a coin that retains lustre, this is the Nicholson example that sold for £1,200 (I think) in 2004, if so it's made no money at all over the last 20+ years! This is the exception price-wise. 1694 1/4d - MS64RB - $7,000. Lovely colour though slightly porous detail, this is Colin Cooke's own example sold 2005. 1695 1/2d - MS63 - $9,000 - big rise on this one, though it has been glossed and lost some lustre since previously sold at Baldwin's 2010 Strickland-Neville Rolfe auction. I saw it at the time and wondered if it was thick-flan (there's only one known otherwise) as it did look unusually thick. It was a bit porous though so that can be deceptive. Unfortunately it was sealed in plastic and I couldn't ask Baldwins to weigh it, because if it was heavy weight, they'd have amended the description and it wouldn't have been a bargain! It wasn't very cleanly struck though and It went for £540 back then. 1699 1/4d date in legend - MS64 - $7,000. This is Brook's example and is the Peck Plate coin despite the dark photograph where you had to squint to make out much. The edge variation matched up and it is of course the no-stop between A and the date variety - which was also not mentioned by Heritage. As far as I know, this was last sold in the Shuttleworth collection SNC 2001 as EF £650. 1701 1/2d - MS63 - $7,250. Also the Peck plate coin and Heritage auctions missed (or the slabbers couldn't be bothered to note) it was no stops obverse (P.704). This is ex Nicholson Hopetown House, Peck.

Those prices are quite astonishing. I have Peck's own 636 plate coin (Montagu 3); so now may be a good time to sell.

This is a fairly common contemporary counterfeit. J015o / I801r in my current system. It's connected to a number of other dies of various groups - it's the 7th coin in this die chain

Aha..and as I have read.....it came about due to King Charles I was executed for high treason in 1649, after a civil war pitting his supporters against Parliament for control of the country...... 🤔

No problem. I do have a scanner. Hp Evny 4525. Think it's up to the job. I will dig it out and dust it off and scan it for you tommorow. Thank you for taking the time to look at it. Stu.

Another somewhat crude group C die - fairly common - Here's a better example.

Yes, definitely a contemporary forgery (very common) of a silver skin clad onto a base metal core - the core is corroding and bursting through in places which is causing those greyer-looking patches and random protrusions through the silver skin. So, no scrap value at all to speak of, but an interesting bit of social history and probably worth keeping thus.

Seemed as good a place as any as bought the Halfpenny from the last LCA with obverse 1.

Great. Message me and we'll sort out the technicalities.

That's sad. I lost my mum to a brain tumour in 2021. By the time she was diagnosed it was stage 4. Three months she lived from diagnosis to passing away. Affected us all deeply. Thank you for replying. I look forward to seeing your future research when you are publishing your findings. Stu.

You were 100% correct Stu and thanks unwillingly numismatist for putting me on to Liz who verified it was a fantasy piece unfortunately 😕 Thanks guys this is much appreciated because it's irked me for some time. Glad it was in a joblot of coins auction and as it hardly cost anything.

What a mission. Think I've managed it. I had limitations with the software not allowing me to scan over 300 dpi. Found a work around and finally after much crashing of my antiquated laptop trying to use the HP software i managed it. It set it to 1200 dpi as that was the highest it could go but the images do not look that great so i don't know. If you could send me a pm with an email address i will send them over. They are 3 mb each. Not going to chance reducing the quality on here to 500kb to get them on as they will look awful and be of no use. If they are no good i will have to try and catch a window of opportunity with the sun to photograph them. We had roughly 25 mins of sun today before it went black again Stu.

when rediscovered. these were put to one side a year ago... I was looking through Spink and happened upon 2 pages 1649-60 commonwealth..... now I have been focused on Edwards, Short crosses, Long Crosses, Voided etc etc but then realised that I had these 2... yes they are rubbed but clear enough..... any thing I may be missing? opinions welcome... (Apologies.... actual weights to follow 👍)

You won’t need weights for these, you’re bang on with the identification, a pair of Commonwealth (Oliver Cromwell) Halfgroats. I think they’re quite a simple series (very little in the way of varieties), with nothing to add beyond it being a very interesting period of our history.

Thank you so much for the offer! However, I have a few copies + probably another handful or more waiting in Gary's collection - so I should be covered with these types.

Reverse seems to be identical to my J914r which I've seen with 3 different obverses - and now there's a fourth... While corrected punches (or errors) are fairly common with counterfeit dies, a re-engraved date (or other parts of design) is rare. It may turn out to be an important coin for understanding the use of punches within the series - So, I would very much like to have a 1200 dpi scan or a clear set of photographs of both sides.

Thank you @seuk this has been most informative! - If you'd be interested in my poor examples, please PM me your address and I'll pop them in the post.

Here is the link to the other one i posted. It was one i spotted on ebay while looking around at other forgeries to see if i could find a die match to mine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/277566687748

This obverse is uncommon - The only other one I've noticed is in Gary's collection. Do yours have the same reverse?

Welcome to the forum @blake I don't know about the rest of your coins, but that one is definitely a replica. Gold washed copper and sadly virtually worthless. Real gold does not tarnish, so that is the biggest giveaway even before we look at the low quality of the manufacture. If you have others you are more confident of, please do post. Try to crop the pictures so we get the detail of the coin not acres of dull grey.

Again another opinion required in regards to a worn out William III Half Crown, 16_ _ , Chester Mint ? Large Shield its very rubbed but looks like is lived in the ground, ..... is it Scrap or worth keeping? Many thanks "H"

Whilst flicking through the Royal Mint Museum collection I noticed that they have two of these that may as well be shared here for reference, RMM 2590 and RMM 2591:

Keep an eye on the Items For Sale topic, I have scruffy crowns and some scruffy other stuff plus nicer coins that I'll be offering here soon.

I'm afraid that this coin is basically just scrap - 1723 SSC is a very common piece (unless it is one of the rare varieties like French arms at date or C over SS in the third quarter, which this isn't) and pieces in much better condition don't cost the Earth. With the recent rise in scrap price, yours would be worth way more as a lump of silver than its recent "collector" or "book" value for a coin so poor (and I doubt anybody would want to buy it as a coin to collect), so, sadly, scrap it and put the money towards buying a better piece, be it a nicer one of these, or anything else that takes your fancy.

Oh yes, I see it. That's a classic die crack/flaw.

First, the As : do be aware that the legend on farthings is very small so the serifs on - e.g. - a letter A will tend to join together after very little wear. This is quite normal. As for the NIA line, I'm not seeing it - can you post a larger reverse picture please?

Sad to hear it's a fantasy piece, but also good to know to watch out for them.

Do you want a new place for it? It's such a shame that the pics are not available on the internet archive. My hosting provider doesn't charge me at all for low volume websites. I have a couple of small hobby websites of my own and also host for others (e.g. my friend Steve's https://www.thefakepoundcoindatabase.co.uk). There would be no charge of course!

Yes, the Steppeulvene page was mine - It just got to expensive to continue with it. Gary thought that I should have it, since I worked out a useful system of separating the main groups. I'm grateful that I got the chance to buy his collection and hope I can take the next step (which is a throughout study of the punches) later this year.

Welcome back @seuk. I am sorry to hear about Gary, though I did not know him. He made a wise and altruistic decision in passing on his collection intact before he passed. Is/was the website I linked to above yours or his? Is it likely that it will ever be resurrected? It was a wonderful and powerful addition to our knowledge of counterfeit coins.

Poor Gary, but absolutely fantastic that you’re still around and working with the counterfeit coinage. Nice to hear from you.

Hi Guys! I'm still around but haven't had much time for coin study lately. Gary was about to start a new cancer treatment which unfortunately proved to be in vain. As he knew he might not be recovering, he offered me to buy his collection of counterfeit George IIIs shillings at a very fair price. So I jumped on a plane and spend a pleasant evening with him where we wrapped the coins in rolls with paper and looked at some of his vast collection. Next morning the very day he would start the new treatment, I returned to Denmark - and never heard from him again. I haven't yet had a chance to look at the coins, of which there are apparently over a thousand. Instead, I've been working with my own collection in the hope of being able to refine the group divisions and perhaps arrive at a more correct classification for the whole series. Only when that's finished, I will start classifying Gary's coins.

Americans love the 'evasions' so would possibly snap up the 1775? As for the 1773, it's worth keeping - I've never seen anything that size before, so even if a fake it's got great novelty value! The 1882H is nice enough to keep though only worth a few £.

No problem.It was only afterwards when i was looking at it thinking how's it been made it dawned on me that it looks like it was soldered on. It looks like the right arm on the figure has fallen off and possibly the E on that side as well or not enough solder was used and it just smudged the E. That would explain why it's unique as it's literally been handmade by someone. I doubt you could make another even similar without adding or losing bits. It's something to be on the look out for in the future. I have seen similar work on fake stycas. Usually though with them they go back to bare metal when you plunge them in acetone as the patina is painted on them. Stu.

1882 were nearly all minted by Heatons and therefore carry the H - a few were minted in London (just to test the new electronic presses?) and are very rare. I'm baffled by the George III coins though - pennies weren't minted until 1797, "cartwheel" type. There's no 1773 or 1775 pennies, but there were halfpennies which are noticeably smaller than bun pennies unlike your 1773. The 1775 looks very wrong and is probably an 'evasion' type, i.e. a contemporary forgery produced in the US. The 1773 "penny" looks more like a genuine halfpenny should apart from the size , but is also probably wrong - REX is wider spaced than on a genuine example.

I believe their local council is to rename Wells-next-the-Sea as Wells-in-the-Sea?

Sad news about Gary. I never met him but heard lots of good things about him. He was born in the town i reside in. I just dug my shilling out as this post had sparked my interest. Never even noticed it before but it's got a clear overdate. 1817 over 1820. That's something i have never seen in a counterfeit coin before.