wybrit

This one will have ended by the time most of you read it, but it is rather amusing - and probably illegal. It was posted on CU, but thought you might get a laugh out of this: ebay and loan sharks?

I'm not an expert on the varieties of 1956. How do you distinguish them?

Auction closed with reserve not met at $760.

Good point about it being a bargain - for the moment. Even in poor condition it's probably worth £6-£9.

The Coenwulf penny was owned by Alan Davisson, a Minnesota coin dealer who sells a lot of British coins. He just recently sold it. The new owner plans to sell it to the British Museum. The coin itself is incredible. Link to story in Minneapolis Star and Tribune

I know 85% of you hate slabs and they're not always reliable, but this is one case where I'd want it slabbed, unless it was from a dealer of unimpeachable expertise. I wouldn't touch it. If someone wins it and it turns out to be real, I tip my hat to him/her.

Here's a nice Unirculated 1932 florin. Yeah, right!

Whitman has made nicer albums for some of the old series. You can only get them from certain sellers or on ebay, since they are out of print. These were made for bronze farthings, halfpennies and pennies. In addition, type set albums were made for Victoria and 20th century (minors and silver). You may want to contact Randy Miller of Chief Coins for more details. I don't know what he may have at this time, but collectors across the pond have had some success getting these albums (as well as folders). Randy Miller Chief Coin & Supply Co P.O. Box 254 Oshkosh, WI 54903-0254 Phone: 920-231-6161 Fax: 920-231-6122

The phrase "limited edition" itself is a red flag which precludes me from collecting. The simple translation for it is "contrived refuse." What chaps me most are these full page advertisements in newspapers and pressure sales tactics used on 24 hour shop at home television stations to convince retirees that coins (especially bullion) are a good investment. The email chris received is very typical of what is happening thousands of times over each day - legalised robbery.

1880 Victorin sixpence. The coin is good in the sense that all the definition is clear with no sign of wear. That being the case, check for a lock of hair on the cheek. No lock of hair: £50-£70 (EF-UNC) Lock of hair: £80-£140 (EF-UNC)

When you say good condition, do you mean in the numismatic sense ("good" means "poor"), or in the sense that a lot of detail is left on the coin? Prices range from melt (£0.41) to uncirculated (£70). A picture would help narrow down that range.

There are no rare dates in your list, many are extremely common. It all depends on condition. If they're typical pieces heavily worn from circulation, they're not worth much, I'm afraid, save for the silver value. The silver bits dated after 1946 (which are actually cupro-nickel), along with your farthings, halfpennies, pennies and 12-sided threepences will not be worth much unless they are in top grade. Circulated 12-sided bits dated 1946, 1949, 1950 and 1951 are worth about £1 apiece. Circulated pennies dated 1950 and 1951 (mostly found here in the US - never saw one in change or a roll in the UK) are worth a bit of money as well, say £2 per coin. At today's silver price, £4.93/troz, your silver is worth thus: Shillings up to 1919 £0.83 per coin Shillings 1920-1946 £0.45 per coin Sixpences up to 1919 £0.41 per coin Sixpences 1920-1946 £0.22 per coin Silver threepences up to 1919 £0.21 per coin Silver threepences 1920-1945 £0.11 per coin I'm afraid without any pictures or further information, there's not much information I can provide.

Great thread. I know of a fair number of "ebay serial offenders" that Rob mentions, but I for one would be rather squeamish to list them on any public forum. The biggest offenders on the UK side are those who sell pieces that are hairlined or whizzed from cleaning - using scans tends to mask this problem. Even many "reputable" sellers list coins without any reference to them having been cleaned. What is frustrating is that many good sellers who sold gem pieces 3-4 years ago are now overgrading/cleaning their pieces because the gems are basically gone fom the accessible market. In the US, it is just flat out overgrading of British coins, including many that are in slabs. They're too busy dipping US coins generally to worry about that "foreign stuff." I can not believe the price of that 1918 KN! I would have to see it in hand or have a trusted eye on it from afar before I would bid that type of money.

What a great find!!

That's a pretty nicely preserved find. Based on the pictures, my estimate of condition is VF, perhaps gVF. 1875H farthings are pretty common, but certain varieties are worth a pretty penny. The "REG" lettering is the unborken die type and the bust is the common one (not the highly desireable "full rose" variety, unfortunately). There are a large number of minor varieties, with overstruck dates being among them, such as "8 over 8" or "7 over 7." You may want to give the date itself a looking over.

I downloaded my copy. I like having that option since shipping books to the US is a killer.

Although there is an importation limit of $400 for other goods, the US does not charge duty for coins. I have imported many, many British coins over to here and have never been charged any duty whatsoever. In fact, I've never even had a coin shipment held up in customs here.

And I suppose 100 year old threepences are a nice little loophole for customs too! They're still legal tender!!!

So as long as I state "Numismatic Specimen, Collector Value Only, Not Legal Tender," the Customs agents will not charge duty? I hate to say this, but that message is not making it to U.K. customs inspectors. I use that line all the time on the forms and I still hear complaints and see the evidence via photos as well, even for coins > 100 years old.

There seems to have been a bit of a crackdown by UK customs of late. I sell quite a few coins back to the UK and many of them in the past year have been delayed in getting to their destination. I have had complaints from buyers about the outrageous duties, but of course there is not a thing I can do about them. I am also frequently asked to lie on the customs form. These repeated requests forced me to clearly state on my terms and conditions that I will not do so.

Hot: coppers, pennies, florins 1936 and older, halfcrowns 1936 and older. Getting hot: bronze halfpennies pre 1937, shillings 1938 and older. Not so hot: farthings, groats, sixpences Cool: silver threepences except those in tip top condition (even Victorian) Ice cold: nickel-brass threepences, CuNi coinage, Mary Gillick EIIR coinage Deep freeze: decimal junk Absolute zero: commemorative decimal junk and Churchill crowns.

I don't have a mintage, but the value quoted in Krause is only $0.20 (about 11p) in Uncirculated condition.

Maybe we can reform him/her/it! Forget it. You can not reform nor engage a troll. The only ways to get rid of one is to ignore it or ban it.

Sorry, that last reply was from me, hadn't logged in yet.

I may be the extremist here on this, but any form of cleaning of copper and bronze should be avoided. If the coins are worn down such that no hair detail is apparent, it won't really matter what you do, but if the coins are collectible, at least "fine," leave well enough alone. I'd much rather have a brown EF than a cleaned, artifically coloured "UNC."