kuhli

Malaya & British Borneo 1 cent 1958 KM#5 (catalog number from the Standard Catalog of World Coins) mintage 5,000,000 in perfect shape like it just came from the mint, it would only be worth about 50p.

Although the Azores were a Portuguese colony, it was also an international port used by Trans-Atlantic ship traffic, which meant that a lot of various coinage circulated. My suspicion is that the local authorities (which were probably agents of the Portuguese crown) counter-stamped whatever coins were being circulated. By doing this, and making only "counter-stamped" coinage acceptable as legal, they can effectively create a local coinage without having to actually go through the process of refining the metals, striking the new coins, and distributing them while withdrawing everything else. With only the "counter-stamped" coinage being accepted, you also control the amount of currency in circulation.

I can't find a listing for that particular coin to be c/s, but the stamp itself is "official", for the Azores Islands (GP="Governo Portugues") edit to add: very nice piece!

your coin is from Spain, 2 reales, from the reign of Carlos III. The FF is the mintmasters' initials, which should be from Mexico City mint. (there should be a funny looking M with a small o directly above it) does the reverse look like this??

£1300 is about right for the 4-coin set, only £700 for the 3-coin set.

The 3-coin Sovereign set had a mintage of 7936, and retails for up to £700. Chard lists it at £695, and PandaAmerica lists it at US$1,238 (£710). Both of these are reputable dealers, but are often considered on the "high" side of prices. The 4-coin Britannia set had a mintage of 2268, and retails about the same as the Britannia set. To sell your set, expect a dealer to pay you roughly 50-60% of these prices. If you wish to make out a little better, you would have to put in some effort and sell it to a collector yourself.

What you have is a Maria Theresia thaler, one of the most re-produced coins in the world. These coins have been minted for over 200 years, by various mints throughout the world, and for a century was the only form of trade with the Levant region (Lebanon and Syria), along with other Arab states. Originally issued by Austria, under the reign of Maria Theresia. Overall mintage is estimated at over 800 million pieces. If you want to learn more about your piece, check out this site.

Here in the states, they call each other "nigger", but if I call them that, I am a racist. I am obligated to call them African-Americans, which I damn well refuse to do. They are so proud of their African heritage, then tell me a little something about it. If you are a proud African-American, then speak a little African to me!! Tell me the capital of Africa!! Heck, most of them don't even know where Africa is on the map. I guess I should start demanding to be called a "European-American".

According to the Royal Mint, and the commemorative set of £.s.d. coins they issued in the 1990's, it is Libra, Solidus, Denarius

What, if any, kind of relationship is there between the UK and the colonies, with regards to the coinage? Are the coins of Jersey legal tender in the UK?? Are UK coins legal tender in Jersey?? I know that Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Falkland Islands, and Gibralter all issue coins to the same specifications as the UK (some by the Royal Mint), and I have heard some of you mention finding an occasional coin from one of these places in your change.

Unfortunately, most BB and forum software, including this boards' software (Invision Power Board) only allow images to be posted that have recognized extensions as images (.JPG, .GIF, .PNG, etc). If the software used where you pictures are stored is a database operated program, the images will not work properly on the forum. For example, using OmniCoin as a reference. If you look at a particular coin, the URL for the image is: http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view_enlarge.aspx?id=900745 using this within the [ img ][ /img ] will not allow the image to post. to resolve this, right click on the image to get the image properties, which should be the actual file name for the image (.JPG or .GIF), which is this: http://www.omnicoin.com/coins/900745.jpg using this within the [ img ][ /img ] will give you the proper results.

Is it silver or copper?? What is the size?? It might be a 1/3 farthing, if it is copper. Look something like this??

"Base" metal is any metal other than the "precious" metals, which are silver, gold, palladium and platinum (there may be others, but these are the main ones for coinage). The actual composition of the coin is referred to as "billon", which is a very low grade of silver. Although your coin may look and feel like silver, the actual silver content is quite low, usually less than .300 (30%), and the value of the silver in the coin is negligible.

It is a base-metal 1 schilling coin from the German State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Minted from 1763-1785. The F monogram on the obverse is for Frederick II, who was Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1756-1785. Depending on how good of shape it is in, it could be worth between £1-10.

News to me. Can't say I've ever seen one offered anywhere. As for as the "accidental wrong die use", the RM was minting £1 coins in 1983 (same specs as UK) for Guernsey and Jersey. I don't have any of those to compare the millings, so I can neither confirm nor deny that possibility. Will add that to my "rumoured to exist" list, and keep an eye out for one.

UPDATE: From what I have found so far, the 2 different reverses of the large 5p switched with the change from "NEW" to "FIVE" after 1982. Thus, the TYPE 1 (pictured above) are on the 1968-1982 issues, with "NEW PENCE", and the TYPE 2 (pictured above) are on all issues from 1983-, with "FIVE PENCE". I have also figured out (I think!) that the change in Machin portrait design occured late in 1977. All of my 1977 circulation issues have the older design, while everything from 1978-1984 have the "modified" design. But, my 1977 PROOF set has the "modified" design (perhaps the change was done after the circulation strikes were done, prior to the minting of the Proof sets??, or were the Proof sets struck at a later time, as has happened before??). Need to check a few more sets and do some further comparison to get these dates accurate. (BTW, besides the additional "cuts" in the hair, there were also modifications made to the folds in her collar, especially in the top layer, and on the 1p, the "pointings" are different) Still working of figuring out the variations on the reverse of the 2p and 10p, will work on those soon. Another thing I have noticed, not that it really matters, probably, but the "pointings" on the small 5p with the Maklouf portrait (1990-1997) are distinctly different on the circulation issues, compared to those found in BU folders. This isn't a single year thing, I have circulation issues from 5 of the 8 years, and 3 of the BU folders. Eventually, as I collect more of the BU folders, I can get some better data to confirm this.

Victoria was not Queen in 1806. If you have a coin dated 1806 with Victoria, it is a poorly executed fake. Now, if your 1806 penny has George III, that is another story.

The penny and the threepence were demonitized in 1971. The halfpenny and the half-crown wer demonited in 1969. Sixpences went in 1980 Shillings went in 1990 Florins went in 1993. (even though the smaller 10p were introduced in 1992, the larger 10p and the florin were not "officially" demonitized until June 30, 1993) Edited to add: these are the pre-decimal versions of the penny and halfpenny.

The spot on the righthand side, near the date, does appear to be a minor die chip. The two raised dots at the top almost look like they might be "lamination errors", from an air/gas bubble stuck to the blank steel planchet when it was copper plated. With mintage figures approaching the billion mark annually, I imagine that there will be many minor errors such as yours, they just have to be noticed.

Here in the US, with change being the .01,.05,.10,.25,.50, it is theoretically possible to have $1.19 in change, without being able to give change for $1.00 (3x.25;4x.10;4x.01) I was just thinking about it, and with the UK change being .01,.02,.05,.10,.20,.50, it is possible to have £1.43 in change, without being able to give change for £1.00 (1x.50;4x.20;1x.05;4x.02). Or can anyone think of a higher amount?? An the catch is, it has to be exactly £1.00 in change.

simple terms: I need change for a £1 coin. (maybe I want to get something out of a vending machine that doesn't take £1 coins) you have a pocket full of change. 1 - 50p piece 4 - 20p pieces 1 - 5p piece 4 - 2p pieces Add that up, you have £1.43 in change, but can't give me exactly £1.00 in change.

I say get rid of the 5p first! Then drop the 1p. Keep the 2p and do everything in 2's. Get rid of the 2p, and you instantly double the usefulness of the 1p!!! That is pure economics.

I saw one yesterday in my yard, while mowing. Moving the run-off pan for the rain downspout, and it was under there. A common American garter snake, non-poisonous, but still startling when not expected. I usually see at least one every time I cut the lawn, but usually along the perimeter of my yard, by the fence lines.

TYPE 1 TYPE 2

There was also a change made to the reverse of the old, larger 5p, sometime between 1980 (type 1), and 1983 (type 2). If you look at the stalk of the thistle, there are 4 thorns (2 on each side). On the early type 1, the thorns are above the leaves, while on the later type 2, the thorns are below the leaves. Of course, the 1981 is only available in proof sets, and the 1982 is only available in proof and mint sets, so it is gonna take me a little time to get those sets and see which types they have.