Peckris 2

If you're in Preview on a Mac, go into the Tools menu, then Adjust size...

Yes please - PM me.

Looking at the size of the legend characters I would say it's a farthing (though not so easy to tell from an angled picture) . A halfpenny is just a bit smaller than the later florin, the farthing is roughly the size of a 6d.

Definitely a halfpenny. The easy way to tell is to look at the size of the legend characters in relation to Victoria's bust - on the halfpenny they're proportionately much bigger than on the penny.

Strange. To my eyes the treated coin is DARKER.

Believe me, it was the same in the 90s after Spink took over, but some collectors still referred to it as 'Seaby'!

Hi, yes - it's the JH replacement (second) type.

They're unquestionably different. The rare coin you bought has noticeably more wear, which you can see clearly on Britannia's robes.

Three questions: 1. where do you get sodium sesquicarbonate from? 2. Presumably filtered water (Brita) counts as chlorine-free? 3. dabbing with a soft towel would do instead of acetone to remove water?

OMG, I didn't know that. When did it stop being Spink?

It's possible they were hoarded for silver value, but if that was the only reason you'd expect the majority to be George V 1911-1919. I don't know when your grandad was getting these, but certainly in the 1920s (when silver hoarders were rife) actual coin collectors didn't rate George V (or even Edward VII) as collectable, as they were 'too modern'. There seems to be a strong element of that here. ( <--- irony : "Coin Hoarder" )

Dr Larry of 'lions and lambs' fame?

I can't make much sense of what I can see. However it looks fascinating, good luck finding out more about it!

do you have pictures of the other side?

Oh yes, I see it. That's a classic die crack/flaw.