Chris Perkins

I thought they were all .833 silver.

Maria Theresa Taler. Google it! The date was frozen at 1780 but the coins are usually always modern re-strikes.

Do you have a paypal account freewheels? If so you can just send the total to cp@predecimal.com and put the Orpington address. Or you could pay by card from here: http://www.predecimal.com/secure/paymentcustom.htm

Scott, A kind forum member has offered to get one of these signed books to you at their expense! Can you send details of your address to Red Riley (the author) and he'll send you one.

It is with great pleasure that I can now anounce the availability of "The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins (1797 - 1970)" by Derek F Allen (the forum's very own Red Riley). In my opinion this landmark title is one of the most important numismatic publications for years. It cannot fail to raise standards in the industry and everyone with the slightest involvement in British coins should own one! I'd sold about 40% of the initial print run before the book was published. For those of you that are not aware of it, more details are here: http://www.rotographic.com/grading_british_coins.htm Or, in my ebay listing for it, here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=180352504023 Del and I thought it would be a great idea to give forum members first refusal on the limited number (of 50) copies signed by the author. The RRP is £12.99 and that's exactly what a signed copy costs too! On top of that is £2.50 postage within the UK, total £15.49. Payment can be made via paypal to cp@predecimal.com with the subject 'Signed Grading Book'. For other payment methods or postage costs outside of the UK please contact either myself or 'Red Riley'.

I've replied in the for sale area. Indian coins are interesting, but these little copper tiddlers don't really do it for me! Still, I have made an offer.

I assume this was just commissioned by that firm as a giveaway advert. I suspect Berlin was just the name of the company/person (or the type of wool) and that it has nothing to do with Germany. I've not seen one, but that doesn't mean it's rare or valuable.

I assume that was just commissioned by that firm as a giveaway advert. I suspect Berlin was just the name of the company/person and that it has nothing to do with Germany. I've not seen one, but that doesn't mean it's rare or valuable.

I've had a few of those, including one with full lustre, which I think I sold for around £25.00. They seem pretty common, were obviously not official, but a great idea and clearly sold well at the time.

Yes, I know its all them, but who actually does the grading?

Yes that certainly raises at least an eyebrow. I don't think London coins do all the grading themselves though. I think they have recruited competent third parties to do the grading. I may be wrong.

That's the thing....just because a 1965 Crown or 1967 penny is MS68 (or I believe CGS use a 100 point system so MS95 or whatever) doesn't mean that there aren't thousands and thousands more in the same grade! Why pay over the odds for something there are thousands of? Sounds a bit like a 'Westminster Collection' business model to me.

My opinion is the same as those already aired. Slabbing is all very well, but you're buying the coin not the slab. No doubt CGS are making good money out of it, and why not. I do find the 'best known' thing a bit odd though for common coins. If there are, for example, thousands and thousands of BU 1960s coins, how can one of them be classed as best known when it would be impossible to examine all of them. Surely hundreds and hundred of them are the same as 'best known', or better. I don't see how CGS have been going long enough to have examined the vast majority of certain coin types.

Is it even a coin? It's certainly a funny shape for a coin. Perhaps some kind of stone set in a mount?

It simply depends if the seller wants to fart around on ebay, doing pictures, waiting for the listing to end, waiting for payment, encountering perhaps the odd unreliable buyer on the way. Or if she simply wants to send it and receive a bank transfer on the same day with zero risk or hassle!

What a relief that no-one capable of spending £12k on a coin would be stupid enough to buy what is now nothing more than a piece of earth which used to be a brass threepence!

Go for it. What was it, around bullion or something like that?

I'd certainly give you full bullion for it, which is £291 for a kg currently.

I've certainly spent them when I've had them and they've been less than perfect. The reason none are seen is probably because they get pulled out of change and kept as oddities.

Or, the cased silver proof version with small certificate and encapsulated etc is probably worth up to £20.00.

I wouldn't imagine it has a value over the silver value. Those kinds of modern novelty coins seldom do. It's not British though as the Royal Mint have never made 1kg coins as far as I know. Is it state issued from another mint or is it privately produced?

Just £1 or so as scrap silver, unless you can find anyone that seriously collects Indian coins that have been engraved - and I suspect collectors of such are few and far between.

6 Euros is just over face value, so I'd pay EUR5.00 each, in fact I'd probably rather pay less than that! But you'd have to cover postage this time. The 1994 Seychelles 25 Rupee would interest me about as much as tooth removal with root canal complications.

Should be a 2009 (or 2010) edition later in the year. Won't be for a while though. The current one is good but doesn't include the new design coinage.

A pound!! I've scrapped better copper tokens than that! The condition is absolutely dire, but at least you now know what it is.