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Thank you very much Stuart, very kind. That coin is pretty rare to see on the market too, in any decent condition, yours are the best that I have seen. And certainly I will share the files here as well as with PAS, and anyone with a use for them. New examples have slowed but still occasionally come out of the woodwork. I am also creating sheets for early and late Medieval English, and Scottish medieval coins. I will be sharing those too. All a work in progress, perhaps another month or so .. With kind regards David

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.

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

Well spotted Mr G. Maybe my kids weren't so silly to suggest I sign up for the Biobank Alzheimers Accelerator Project after all. TBH, I'm not sure it needs to happen quicker anyway, but hey-ho. I had completely forgotten about that, but claim mitigating circumstances as I had just driven to the other end of the country through the night to look after the grandkids in Plymouth due to a family bereavement on the other side and not bothered going to bed afterwards. Hopefully get some sleep tonight when I can switch off.

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.

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’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.

There have been several of the same style posted here:

I'm pretty confident these are both modern replicas. Yours, Stuart, looks like someone 'aged' it to try and pass it off as genuine (vs just contemporary).

Thank you. I just weighed it don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. It wouldn’t be a convincing fake as weighs 5.62g. So assuming it’s a newer reproduction from a museum shop or something. Other coins in the heap seem fine. But not interesting.

Sorted then. Well done. Those who don't like keeping reference books/records, please note.

That’s a super-crude counterfeit, surely? Would a Scottish coin have English titles on it, I can’t say that I’d know?

We meet on the first Tuesday of every month starting at 7:30 in the Nursey Inn on Green Lane in Heaton Norris. Below is the text outlined in our 2025 chairman's report which gives full details. South Manchester Numismatic Society (SMNS) Chairman’s Report to 2026 BANS Our AGM was held in June 2025 at our long-standing venue, the Nursery Inn, Heaton Norris, Stockport, SK6 4NL. 7 members attended and 2 apologies were accepted. In addition to the normal agenda, discussions moved on to topics which had been submitted by members as AOB. As a result of these conversations the following was agreed. It was decided that our subscription to Zoom should be cancelled, although the option to renew remains under consideration. We also reduced our annual subscription to £5. It was decided to change our meeting start time to 7.30 from 8.00 pm and to reduce the number of meetings to the level of most BANS societies at once a month. One of our members, Roy Williams, volunteered to submit pieces for publication in the Societies section of Coin News. He has been doing an excellent job in promoting SMNS. Since the AGM the average attendance has been eight across seven meetings which has been boosted by the recent pleasing acceptance of four new members. Two of us, Denis Martin and Paul Greenlees, have given presentations. The Exhibition Evening and the Colin Cooke trophy was won by David Holt for his display of Henry VIII posthumous coinage. At the latest meeting chairman Denis spoke an appreciation and presented Peter Crummett with a gift to celebrate his 90th birthday. It was decided to make Peter an Honorary Member following his over 65 years of support. Before the 2026 AGM in June we have a quiz and a talk from Peter to which we can look forward. In writing this Charman’s report I am pleased to announce that 2025/6 has been a most successful one. Dr Denis M Martin ( Chairman) There is a good range of knowledge in the club, with quite a few specialist fields. Early medieval, Tudor & Stuart, Greek and Roman and some Byzantine, Farthings, Shillings, Modern, Tokens misc. Foreign is probably the least represented unless covered by other fields. We are a tolerant lot that appreciate you can't know everything, so any additional knowledge is welcome. Online access to the meeting was used so that Garry Oddie and others could 'attend', but that obviously went tits up when he died. He joined most meetings and often gave a talk.

It screams fake at you. A mint mark in the shape of a pomegranate would be a good start. It is found after MARIA on the obverse, and if present on the reverse is after VERITAS.