TomGoodheart

I'm afraid the Google links just take me to a search page. However I think I can make out the legend IMP CEA L(?) VESP AVG which would make it a coin of Vespasian. This sort of thing perhaps: A pic of the reverse of the coin might help. I'm assuming it's bronze or similar. The diameter might be useful too. I have to say, on first impressions my feeling is that this is a modern copy. The laurel wreath is quite crude and the odd legend doesn't fit with a regular issue coin. The portrait looks more like Constantius than Vespasian to me. However, Roman coins aren't my area, so I could be completely wrong! .

Welcome Mian. Very difficult to ID without a photo I'm afraid. Perhaps this will help? http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/7880-posting-pics/ Oh, and if you manage to get a photo up let us know the diameter (and weight if possible) as that helps too! .

I've tried Acetone on a couple of gunky copper coins and it did the trick, getting the worst of the dirt out of the incuse bits and from around the detail, which is what I wanted. I didn't notice any adverse effect on the coins but neither was exactly BU to start with. I also attempted to remove what I thought was marker pen from a hammered shilling. Didn't shift it at all, so I guess it must just be odd toning (maybe it lay for years on some string or leather cord?) ... unless Acetone doesn't work the way I thought it did. Anyway I don't fancy dipping the coin, so I'll just have to live with it.

LOL I'm pretty sure coinage initially circulated across the border for its English equivalent. A Scots 12 shilling coins was marked XII, similarly six shillings VI, exactly the same as their English counterparts. I'm guessing a Scots 2/- will therefore have been accepted for 2d in England. Of course, the standard of coinage in Scotland was 0.916 fine silver, compared to sterling (0.925) across the border in England. But I doubt that would have bothered most people as I can't imagine many would have recognised the subtleties of a thistle over a lis mark and so not known they were in effect being short changed. However when subsequently the denominations were changed North of the border, those might have been received less willingly... .

Egyptian or Indian cotton Vicky?

You may not have been able to find another example because your coins is a Scottish Two shillings of Charles I . Spink 5544. ... Possibly. Certainly the first few Scottish (Twelve) shillings of Charles I bear an earlier bust of James with a new legend, so they may have used existing dies for smaller coins too. Nice! .

I'm guessing a Museum Reproductions Lincoln Cnut penny: http://www.museumreproductions.co.uk/shop/viewitem.php?productid=837 Also available through Dorchesters: http://dorchesters.com/reproduction-coins/viking-anglo-saxon-coins/cnut-short-cross-type-penny Not original I'm afraid ... .

I find what's important to me in a coin can vary quite a bit, depending on my mood at the time .... and how long it is since I last bought a coin! I tend to cite eye appeal as most important but thinking about it, 'balance' is also very important for me as a collector of hammered coins. What do I mean by balance? Well, is the coin centrally struck (points will be lost for being off-centre)? Is the strike even (better if there aren't weak patches, though I'm usually more forgiving of weak legends or reverse if the portrait is well struck up)? Is the flan full (you can often get full weight coins on small flans. Personally my ideal is to have all the design from the edge beading inwards, in which case I'm not bothered if the weight is light). Hammered coins are very rarely perfect, so it's usually a compromise between the above factors. If the coin is weak in some respect then there needs to be something about it to compensate .. that's the balance. Lustre? Meh, I tend to prefer pleasing toning. While a crisp strike is good I find that sometimes a more worn coin will appeal a lot more if the toning brings out the detail. Grade? I don't really give my coins a grade or pay much attention to how a seller grades a potential purchase. Grade for me is part of the eye appeal thing I guess. After eye appeal, balance and toning then things like rarity and provenance come into play. But I probably would not (now) buy a coin only because it was rare or had been owned by a particular collector. It would need to be attractive first. . .

Welcome JS. No, not the most valuable coin, but a great history! Thanks for posting. Are you a collector yourself? .

I suspect not, as there is some sign of the X showing. However it's in the thin area so there's no real way to make it out clearly. I seem to remember seeing a coin where the mark was over a reversed one but I couldn't claim this is one on what I can see. Oddly however I did notice the reverse stops on the triangle coin look more like contraction marks than the usual circular stops... but only saw it when I reviewed the listing and larger pic just now! .

Thanks. I'm hoping the new photos might help. I could certainly do with the money!

And 151790035813

Just listed on eBay: 151790076337 151790055665 .

The bust doesn't look right ... http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?PAGE_NUM=&PAGE=1&TABS_TYPE=2&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=1&IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_DESC=nero+denarius&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1 .

Not my area Gary but it looks too perfect. Here's what came up in my search. http://www.cngcoins.com/Search.aspx?PAGE_NUM=&PAGE=1&TABS_TYPE=3&CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=2&IS_ADVANCED=1&ITEM_DESC=Theodosius+II+Miliarense&ITEM_IS_SOLD=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_1=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_3=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_2=1&SEARCH_IN_CONTAINER_TYPE_ID_4=1 Compare it to this one for example: .

Which, if you draw out the vowels and remembering J is a Yuu and W is more a Vee sound, is not too far off Jórvík ... (I sometimes find reading the legends as if I have a Scandinavian accent gives me a clue. Handy those Nordic Noir programmes on TV!)

Corrected it for you.

Ah, OK. I'm not an expert on the series but it looks like the normal variation you get with hammered coins to me: http://www.coinarchives.com/w/results.php?search=cnut Plus, wear can 'blur' or 'enlarge' details. Particularly on smaller coins. Remember the dot of the eye, for example, was probably formed by a pointed punch that was more cone shaped than uniform in thickness. Consequently as the detail wears (from A to C) you see more silver as the design becomes less sharp... If you see what I mean? .

Bulky? Not sure quite what you mean RD. Looks genuine to my inexperienced eyes, though both softly struck and a little worn (The reverse is softly struck, suggesting the flan is concave on that side. Conversely, assuming the obverse design stood proud of the flan it would have been more exposed to wear. As I see it of course ...) .

Well done Jeremy! OK, a lot of people probably dislike him or think him crazy. But he has made the current Labour leadership contest interesting! It could so easily have been otherwise. For example I only remembered that another party had recently elected a new leader when I read it on the BBC's webpage. As to his name... who knows? Or perhaps cares? But few people aren't aware that some sort of contest is going on within Labour. And by all accounts a lot of those who showed little interest in politics until recently, may not even have bothered voting, are getting excited. Because as Russell Brand highlighted, the middle-ground style of politics we've had for the last few decades has sadly seemed uninteresting, or even irrelevant to an awful lot of people. Which is pretty bad for democracy really. 63% of voters didn't vote for the Conservatives. And of course, a lot less than 100% of those eligible to vote did so. So really, something that gets people interested in politics and voting seems like a good thing. Will Jez win? No idea. The votes in Scotland have clearly showed that it's not that people don't like radical ideas. A recent YouGov poll showed people generally hold quite a few 'radical' views (both Left and right wing, often at the same time). Just that Labour ideas weren't what they wanted. Will I vote for him? Not sure. In my younger days I would have been delighted with a candidate like him. But now a bit older I find myself balancing electability with charisma, government with vision. But I shall be voting (as a £3 supporter). Because to my mind democracy (as we have it) requires a government that includes an opposition. To hold it to account. To broaden debate. And to remind it that the elected party is there to work for everyone, not just those who voted for it. And to do that I think we need the Labour party. Jez and all. .

Sound has this one listed at £95. Not perfect but nicer to my eyes... .

Shame they're such didly things or they'd be quite nice! (And had you thought of just phoning Paul or Benthe and having a chat?) .

I think that maybe the problem is that the government that the people really want doesn't exist. Our system is based on party politics. But maybe the majority of people don't think in party terms, but have differing views depending on the issues? So while they might agree with one party on the NHS, they like what another says about immigration. In the end maybe they don't vote because each party has as many policies they can't stomach as ones they agree with? Perhaps what we need is a new perspective? Certainly I think we need broader debate. And discussion of some of the issues JC has raised and which (perhaps surprisingly for some) have attracted interest surely can't do any harm? Well, less harm than more of the mind-numbing 'centre right' we've been getting from all three main stream parties for decades.... Politics has gotten boring because there's little choice. Time for someone to make it more interesting again I reckon. .

Don't you mean New Labour Peter?

Electoral Reform Services Limited, the commercial arm of the Electoral Reform Society .