JacktheLad

The lack of any Welsh representation on British heraldry is due to the fact that it was a Princedom when it was conquered and not a Kingdom (unlike Scotland and Ireland) The UK dropped the ball on not including Wales in its heraldry; dragons and leeks (leeks less so) make for some pretty cool heraldic imagery imo

Thank you all for your suggestions chaps! I've gone and got the 1936 and the 1902, thanks for suggesting those @Peckris 2 - might as well treat myself I've also bid on the 1887 @UPINSMOKE, good find @Sword Here's my old head shilling - apparently (again according to dealer) UNC, but let's see what you gents think (I should add that the dealer's photographs look much nicer than mine - bit of camera trickery or just a better camera...who knows 🤷‍♂️)

Thank you very much; I've noted these down I posted my 1916 shilling the other day; @Rob mentioned that it looks like it had been cleaned: what gives off that impression? I do have an 1887 shilling in my collection; I bought it from a dealer who described it as VF: as I'm trying my hand at grading myself, I'd have said maybe gF or nVF as her hairline and the lace around the queen's head are quite flat, as is her cheek. The garter star and that little medallion on her shoulder have also lost a lot of detail. What do you reckon? Is there anything obvious I've missed? Thanks in advance

Hi Sword, Thanks for the welcome and for the solid advice I think you're right in looking at some higher grade more recent coins so I know what to expect from UNC or aUNC condition. I do have a George VI 1940 English shilling which is, according to the dealer I got it from, UNC. What do you reckon? (pictures attached) Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly when you say "the age of milled coins should not affect the grade". So, would an EF shilling from 1711 be just as EF as an EF shilling from 1966?

Thank you both @1949threepence and @copper123, the only ones I'd heard of were B'ham and London, good to know there are some closer to my neck of the woods - I'll definitely look at the York one and see if I can find any info out about the one in Bolton - cheers chaps!

Another thing, what would you recommend for storage - I have (what I think is) a nice folder; is it appropriate or would you recommend something else? I've seen a variety of storage options - are they all much of a muchness? This is what I'm rocking at the moment

Fantastic - I've just gone and got a magnifying glass off eBay - few different magnification powers, so that should help

Thanks all for your replies and grading, very much appreciated indeed - I might post a couple more here tomorrow as I have a couple more I'm not too sure of. For grading more accurately, would you recommend buying a loupe, or is that a bit overkill?

Thank you for the welcome and for pointing out what a "pattern" is! I think I'll hold off on making any more purchases for a while (even thought my buys have been a lot more targeted and informed recently) until I've done a bit more reading; especially when it comes to grading, I'm practically clueless on that front! I'll definitely be getting myself down to some fairs (hopefully) very soon Cheers for the tips

Last one for now (my personal favourite) - no idea how you'd grade it; moreover Grading British Coins doesn't cover pre George III.

Also no idea

Not sure if the grey toning on this one reduces the grade or affects it in any way

No idea on this one, I'd have said VF?

gVF?