Chris Perkins

This surprises me. I've got some electrotype/counterfeit coins on ebay at the moment (after giving SEUK first refusal) and my electrotype Scottish 1582 40s in copper has gone a bit high (£235 just now, with about 6 hours to go). I've noted that I've incorrectly called it a 60s, but can't change it! here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271533065323 I know that older electrotypes are collectable and I know what I paid for it about 10 years ago. £235 is more than I thought it would get to! It's not one of you lot bidding to win and neg me for selling a fake coin is it?!

That's a very good idea Peter.

Shall I put "Clive and his Egyptian mate"? I don't know the name of your mate, or I would include it, if he wants me to.

Oh yes, I remember seeing that one at some point. I've never seen the content, but I don't think it includes basic lessons on reading Arabic? Yes, looking at a review it is a: "profusely illustrated general history of Islamic coinage".

The RM seem to use the Pistrucci St George whenever they don't want the hassle of having to pay a living artist for a new design (most of which are nowhere near as good as a Pistrucci). However, I would imagine that the current copyright rule of artist death +70 years means that anyone could potentially use it now. And I think back then the rules were different and it may have been only during the life of the artist (if at all) and Pistrucci having died in 1855, there would probably not have been an issue with its use in 1859. Lovett may well have used his version knowing that Pistrucci had died and his copyright with him.

Ooo, I had some very similar to that offered to me by a friend and hallmarked as 'Fine Silver' in Chinese. They were all fakes! Zinc (which is about the same density as silver) with a thin silver coating. The blackness on them was just applied to make them look old, as it washed off. Another friend of mine (the scrap man) tested them with a very expensive XRF machine. We confirmed it by filing one to reveal the bluey zinc under the silver. My mate who bought them also said they were definitely silver! Get them check with an XRF. The Chinese have been in the fakes game for many years.

Excellent. Bit far North for Romans to be losing things, and that makes it all the more fascinating.

Could that have been bank fees perhaps?

I expect a quite small market, but it is (as far as I can tell) the only book on reading and understanding specifically Arabic coins. It's a book originally published in 1973, then revised in 1980, by Richard Plant and it's been in and out of print a couple of times since then. It was originally also translated into Russian! I want to provide affordable assistance to inquisitive people both now and for future generations, so hope to keep it in print in one shape or another for eternity, even if I won't be able to retire from it! For a few quid it can become part of your field or experience.

I'm too busy collecting pics and (e)valuations for "Collectors' Wives 2014".

I've got a new website, in case anyone didn't see.

This must be a first, surely. An honest ebayer with a thirst for knowledge! Perhaps there is hope. Hello Edward.

What, on the new Scottish currency post 2014 you mean? First things first, I'll get the Irish one in the bag. Currently work is being undertaken on the Greek book, Irish book and Arabic book (which is pretty much finished).

Thanks. And that reminds me, I need to add social media 'like' buttons and such like!

I've just tarted up the Rotographic website. It's now sleeker and has much better cross-browser and smart phone compatibility. Also, it's so much easier and quicker for me to update and the menu structure is simpler to follow (it was getting cramped now that I have 10 books in print and an 11th on the way). I've added the new title: "Collectors' British Military Money 1943-1972" and a new book on Arabic Coins is coming soon. I will continue to play and optimise it further in the next few days. Have a look: http://www.rotographic.com

Oooo, £700 for EUR932 is pretty dire. I find it a bit old fashioned that all German accounts have a monthly fee (unless you're employed and pay in over a certain amount every month) and credit cards also have an annual fee. And there are hefty fees when you use the ATM of another bank within Germany. Free bank accounts are taken for granted in the UK, even if they are, as you say, hard to open if you're a foreign resident.

I've got a Fairfx debit card that I use to transfer money from my UK bank account and then draw out here in Germany. www.fairfx.com. The exchange rate is good and the fee for drawing money out is only EUR1.50, which is less than direct from Natwest and less than the silly EUR5.00 for drawing money from a German account in Germany but from another bank's ATM! Have you noticed that German bank charges are a bit silly Azda?

No. They probably used the same die to strike white metal commemorative medals and yours is what's left of one!

We had a big tom cat (from an old bloke that died and his family in the house next door claimed to not know him!) that suddenly had some kind of wound on his face that smelled rancid and eventually fell off to reveal his teeth and gums! He had bits of ear missing, bit of face missing, was visibly full of lice, didn't look like he'd cleaned himself ever, but he was the friendliest cat. For a while he seemed quite happy with missing face, even though his food would fall back out while he was trying to eat it. I called him the Terminator and most people avoided him. Then we found him curled up in a sleeping position in the shed, dead.

We actually paid for Noodle to have the snip and sometimes someone comes and takes a van full of cats away (apparently to re-house, but who knows). We've paid out well over EUR1000 on other peoples cats to keep them healthy! Noodle died the other week of kidney failure.

We don't have much luck with cats. There's a farm very close and they seem to have more cats that cows. They often end up befriending us and then we 'adopt' them and they live here. Two of them have even had there babies in the garden, but they never seem to live long. We gave 2 babies away and the one we kept (named Roger, after Syd Barrett) died of FIP before he got to 2. The other week his mother (Noodle) died aged about 5. She lived in the house for a few months but was never that healthy. Some end up dead on the road, too. We pay the vet bills to try to keep them going, but they just keep breeding and dying.

Not for the 1689 2/6d. Those are almost as common as Churchill crowns, but certainly better than bullion

I don't think any of those have been polished, at least not in the last 100 years! Higher, worn areas are often lighter. The first one is the most likely to have been polished, but certainly not recently and probably not at all.

The old Scorpios go well and are comfortable, roomy and all the right things. They have some weaknesses like all cars (e.g. the fuse boxes on these are a bit exposed and tend to get wet and cause electrical probs). I've never met anyone that hasn't shared the opinion about this being the ugliest Ford. I don't think Ford ever actually named and shamed the person responsible for the design. There was a face lift version in 1998 which was a little better, but then it died a death. In fairness that was also to do with the weaning appetite for large cars at the time.

Yes of course. I looked and I only have 3, but one of them is at least a CGS best of!