TomGoodheart

A photo of the electrotype Stuart shillings would be of interest, if you have one?

Spink 2791, Sharp E3/2. Unfortunately, I have one of that type already. Though thank you for the offer!

Any Charles I shillings you want IDing DL? (hint!)

POIDH Pidh? i mean't cleaning Pictures Or It Didn't Happen, ie, where are the photos Patrick?! Never thought I'd have to teach a youngster internet slang!

Just remember, mine was the first identified 'small ridge number' 10p, so I shall be asking an appropriately inflated price for it. Oh, never mind. The wife just spent it.

OK, I got bored. On my 2008 10 pence piece there are 90 ridges (the bits that stick out). However, putting it against a 1992 10p piece shows that the ridges do not all line up and so I conclude they are different. And setting logic aside, I suspect that it depends on what year or which machine is used and that there is no consistent number of millings. I do not have the patience to compare and count any more of the things however, so I'm afraid Curiousity you'll have to make do with that!

Surely there's a trades description breach here? pris·tine/ˈprisˌtēn/ Adjective: 1.In its original condition; unspoiled. 2.Clean and fresh as if new; spotless. I don't think it qualifies as either. It's just plain nasty.

I didn't realise peeing was an Olympic sport now, but little surprises me these days. And talking of surprises, I had thought you were all Home Counties chaps. Now I know why I never bumped into any of you when I was up at my club.

If you can get a photo that makes the most of the bust, I'd say maybe £40?

POIDH

Thanks for thinking of me Chris but I have one with that mint mark already I'm afraid!

Exactly. Hammered coins are rarely precisely described by the grading, partly because unlike milled coins percentage wear and weak strike can be confused. But mainly because even if deeply and well struck, if the design is off centre, the flan small, the strike uneven or just the toning unattractive the coin can lose 'eye appeal'. Plus there's an element of personal choice to it too. Here's my G1/2 triangle shilling. You'll note that there are areas where the flan is thinner and so the design hasn't taken so well. The die is also starting to break up showing some cracks and there are a couple of folds where the silver is bent back on itself. And finally there's some double striking where it jumped slightly between strikes! However it's (unusually) round and full with the majority of the outer edge beading there. And it has a pretty tone. That's the thing about hammered, particularly the later, larger pieces. It's generally a compromise because every single coin is unique and in the end you have to decide what you like or can live with. As for this shilling, while it might not appeal to everyone, it's still one of my favourite coins.

As Peter says, an empty property is not earning. The problem is I think that as there isn't a current 6mo contract it will have reverted to a rolling one. Legally he is entitled to notice that you want him out. Ideally a solicitor would just run through things to make sure there are no loose ends,but if you don't want to pay out more money, you could try the following (though clearly I'm not offering legal advice so can't guarantee there won't be problems). I think you need to write to Mr Green stating that the tenancy appears to have ended by mutual consent on .. such and such a day (day of raid?) Offer him the opportunity to collect whatever belongings he wants and give him a reasonable deadline. 4 weeks/1 month would be ideal. Ask him to confirm in writing that he is happy with this and understands once that period date is over you will be making arrangements to rent the property to a new tenant and arranging to dispose of any items not claimed. Are there any rents outstanding? Maybe try to get those back. You could try the 'as you are out of pocket from the door' angle, but you might just have to write off any loses. I think we pay 10% for full management. The agent screens the tenants, draws up the contract, collects the rent, makes regular inspections of the property and is first point of contact if there's a problem. If it's managable they will arrange for an electrician or whatever for the tenant on our behalf. Part of the deal is also a third party deposit guarantee scheme which was handy when we had a couple who got bad at paying. It's not cheap but it gives us peace of mind. And to me that has a value!

Coins do sometimes turn up in 'as struck' condition. The coin in my avatar is bright and shiny, but crisp. I presume it was 'museum cleaned' at some point (which is obviously different from being scrubbed!) But I've never seen a freshly discovered hoard so for all I know sometimes they are like that straight from the ground? Here's another, recently from a dealer's site that's still bright, with only a hint of toning. (If you are going 'oooh!' you might want to know the dealer was asking nearly double the price of yours .. and it sold!) And to add to what coinwatch said, your shilling is Spink 2799 and strictly speaking would be described as having a 'Briot style bust' since Briot also issued coins from his own engraved dies and using an early machine process which are slightly different in design and appearance to yours.

I still have it. I, er, believe you weren't interested ..

I think I paid about £30 for it. I was more impulsive in those days!

I actually would tend to believe that they are locked out already. Personally I always used to leave the back door key in the house, hanging up somewhere. If they do the same and it's inside, then they are already locked out due to the front door being blocked up. When I'm over there in a few weeks, do I have the right to enter the property? I've got a back door key, so it won't be a problem assuming the lock is the original. Just to be absolutely above board, I would give him notice of this. A text saying you will be visiting the house should do. Can you take your estate agent friend too, to avoid accusations you damaged or knicked stuff while there? Yeah, I know, but ..

Half-crowns were certainly a useful denomination right from the 17th century. They were used to buy things and circulated, whereas my feeling is that early crowns were as much bullion as anything. I can't see an average bloke having much use for a crown in Stuart days, as evidenced by the fact that the smaller denominations are much commoner in hoards. Historical interest is part of the hobbby I like. But if you want aesthetic, crowns seem better struck and/or preserved on average. Some of the 17th century half-crowns are very oddly shaped and poorly struck by comparison. It's whichever appeals most to you, both give a decent few centuries scope for collecting! Oh, and to whet your appetite, here's a half-crown commemorating Charlie winning the relay race at school. And that despite the other chaps throwing their things at him to put him off. What bounders! And bravo Charlie! Courtesy AMR Coins.

Can you get the locks changed? Might be worth it for doors the (now ex-) tenants had keys for. Doesn't sound as if they are too bothered about collecting their stuff so you'll need to give them reasonable time to do so and then tell them you'll chuck it or whatever ..

Looking back to my sort of area, my impression is that hammered crowns tend to be found in full-flan / round / unclipped condition more frequently than the half crowns. Now I'm not suggesting you determine your collecting area solely on the reign of Charles I, but if you like a nice round coin then maybe crowns are the way to go? Either way, the earlier you go the more you will end up paying. However, both denominations are popular with collectors, so it's likely the occasional nice piece will come on the market so you'll never be short of coins to aspire to. The main thing is to stay clear of hammered shillings. All those different bust designs? Bah! Much nicer to have row upon row of coins with some bloke on a horse all looking the same.

I sold the fantasy crown for peanuts(I don't even know where it came from ) I have a gold set that I picked up as a curiosity. I wish I knew more about them as I've only ever seen one other set and have no idea of the gold content. I think London Coins have sold a few various sets. I seem to remember the shilling is sterling, but I was collecting monarchs and it filled a gap and was fun at the time. I don't recall much paperwork with it, I just stuck it in a capsule. I'll have to see what details I can find. The portrait really isn't very good!

I have the shilling if anyone wants to buy it off me? The portrait is by Raphael Maklouf who also did the obverse with the coupe portrait between 85 and 97.

Blame it on insecurity. The minute you have natural toning which can take on any form there is an automatic assumption that it's hiding something, whereas a monotonous colour from dipping will show all the detail evenly. Bizarre really when you think about it - so many people who are happily taking a coin that has knowingly been dipped and therefore messed with a bit, in preference to a coin that may or may not have possibly been played with. I don't think it's that, I think it's more the simple fact that most collectors don't care that much, not surprising when you see that the majority of silver coins offered seem to have been cleaned in some way and dipping is certainly preferable to Duraglit. As we've said before some natural toning can be singularly unattractive hence why so many coins were dipped in the first place. Bronze/copper is a different matter entirely... I don't mind lightly dipped silver, got to be EF+ though, anything worn just doesn't look right. A lot of this sellers' coinsappear dipped (though possibly not recently). Puts me off to be honest. I like my hammered coins to look like they have been around for a while, not straight from the mint. As Gary says, if they were 'as struck' it might look better, but worn and dipped .. not for me.

You can either uses something like MS Paint to crop and reduce an image to size or use a hosting site like Flikr or Photobucket and when your image is uploaded there, you just pop a link to it in your post as you did with the library pic.

In my experience coins have gotten more expensive over the short(ish) 8 years I've been collecting. I would be very happy to pick up some of the coins I've sold since then, if I only had to pay what I did at the time! I have to admit I was lucky, but when I checked I still have perhaps half of the coins I bought in 2004, either remaining happy with then or having failed to find better examples to upgrade. Real rarities aside, modern coins are easily available. You will be able to pick up a 1970 proof shilling or an 1887 in decent condition any time. But drop back to James II or William & Mary and you'll struggle. So if you see a good one now, it's inadvisable to wait. I started collecting shillings of the first year of issue and for any major bust or reverse change but eventually, as I said, had to narrow my collection or face gaps that would always challenge my budget if the coins were even available at all. I know some people do, but buying one or two coins a year is not much fun for me! So I echo what Rob says. Buy some cheaper recent coins but don't ignore the older ones. And remember, you can always ask people here whether they think a price is acceptable or not. Not that that will stop you from making mistakes, because we all do, but it might help a bit with damage limitation!