The Bee

Many thanks for confirming its 11.5 teeth PWA 1967 ! It could be a contender for Worst Penny Acquisition of the Week ! "Extremely misty" My error its more likely to be Obverse J as the B and back of Victoria's head are almost touching Reverse is just as bad - very foggy assuming 11.5 teeth with H over a gap exists as a reverse g that would seem to most the likely. Look forward to any thoughts ! Very Best Regards

1874H "H over Gap" 11 Teeth ? (terrible condition) Hope everyone had a good Christmas and Boxing Day Over here its been rather a misty and wet Boxing Day. So after taking the dogs out for a walk and eating left overs from yesterday, I decided to tidy up the various Penny trays weeding out duplicates and try to confirm obverses and reverses. Mostly going okay, reached 1874 and now as ever its the worn pennies that are causing the problems I found an 1874 narrow date where Britannia appears to have shorter hair and a very misty "Boxing Day" 1874H where the H appears to be over a Gap , 11 teeth or maybe 11 1/2 Wondered have there been lots of examples of this and what reverses might match ? (I think its obverse K)

Hope you all have a brilliant Christmas .... and once again many thanks to everyone for their help and support Best Regards

Many thanks for your help Martin, I just had a hunch there might be something interesting in the lot. This time I was right. On the outside of the flip is written Great Britain 1861 EF $50 (Initials M.A. on the back). But there was no mention of the B in Britt. Great to have it identified as a 6+G ! I'll put in the tray tomorrow Incidentally the other 1861 has something odd about the E in REG its probably damage but looks a bit like an L Great to get your thoughts on the 3rd halfpenny from the lot ! Best Regards

Once again many thanks for everyone's help I bought a collection of mixed bronze Farthings and Halfpennies, including one halfpenny for 1860, two for 1861 and several 1862's, these were the cast offs the auctioneer lumped together On looking at Secret Santa's Halfpenny Site I found an 1862 Halfpenny F over B in Britt. I started at 1861 and found what I think is the same thing On checking the 1860 I found it was a 1+A, but remembered I had two in better condition so on whim I had another look at them and on closer inspection. I wondered (just based on Britannia's hair) if one of them might be 1+A and the other a 1+A# Best Regards

Many thanks Bob, That was really helpful and of course sent me off looking at the rest of my 1860 beeded halfpennies I think every example that I have (I will double check) is 1 A and so far I have no examples the of 1* A While it might not be of interest, while looking for 1* A, I realised I had one possibly slightly unusual example of a 1 A (my second best) It has been double struck. There are traces of a 2nd linear circle, C T and possibly A in Victoria show doubling, the letters in BRITT show doubling, and the bottom of the R in REG is missing There may also be some slight doubling on the portrait of QV Very Best Regards and many thanks again for your help

Hi, Wondered if this might be Obverse 1 ? (I may have misidentified it) . It is an 1860 Beeded Halfpenny, one of the best (if not the best) early QV halfpennies I have What is puzzling me, when I look at tips of the 3 leaves at the top or front of the wreath, the lower leaf seems to extend only as far as the upper leaf ? Great to get your thoughts (it lives in the first slot of my QV halfpenny tray) Very Best Regards

Many thanks Bob, It will certainly take a while. So many Victorian halfpennies I find, really did their job and have had a good life in circulation. I had a look earlier this evening at Richard's excellent halfpenny site again. My 1861, I over I in Britt looks like a basic 7 G. While my much more worn 1861 reverse E could be obverse 6 Many thanks again Very Best Regards

I did see on an auction site last week a 1694 Halfpenny with the description William & Harry ... when Harry met Mary Very Best Regards

Many thanks - really helpful. I will amend the description to 5 E. I will have a look at Secret Santa's halfpenny Victoria obverses again and see if I can get my head around the REG F D colons, to help if I find more worn circulated examples Very Best Regards and thanks again !

Many thanks Zo Arms Here is the full obverse and reverse. I assume its 4 E Very Best Regards

Two or more bidders must have really liked it and wouldn't let go. Not so nice as the Great Collections example - I upgraded 1884, 1885, and 1890 last week. They were all around the same price, average £31 + commission + really low shipping (all the similar condition) 1885 is below "New" and "Old"

Hi Kipster, Yes looks like BP 1899 Ac (10 1/2 teeth from foot of 1 to front tail of 9). I was lucky enough to find a really nice example in a random auction lot the other week Best Regards

Q. Reverse E Halfpenny ? One last query is the image below an example of a reverse E halfpenny ? (possibly 4 E its an 1861) I assume it might be, as the lighthouse seems to be different from my other examples and L C W is on the rock above the date - great to get confirmed if possible Best Regards !

Many thanks copper123 ! Below I've attached a low res image of the obverse - with what looks like a patch of different coloured metal showing through the worn surface. Maybe the halfpenny was minted (offset) and then coated in something . Best Regards

Lastly on old halfpennies, below is another "back of a PVC coin album" find. Its presumably been struck off centre. I think its dated 1696 . Might have had a coating of something on it (you can see a different colour ? appearing through the obverse)

Many thanks for the confirmation. I'm sure others have better William III halfpennies. I have another example with super patina, really tactile. Though I think I'd be afraid of damaging the surface of this one with a cocktail stick. I'd need a lot more practise Below is the result of gently removing lots of old DNA and gunk from another 1861 halfpenny - I know its not valuable. It may be quite common for find, and of course there will be many better examples out there, but currently its the best I've come across T over T, R over R, and E over E (even the colon looks overstruck !) Best Regards

Here is the other A and obverse

Brilliant Many thanks Terry and Richard, I'll add to the description that there is an R over a partly filled R in Britt (with re-cut H slightly higher in Halfpenny and 2nd slightly higher T in Britt) Best Regards

Many thanks Richard, I did wonder however is there something hidden under the R in BRITT. Could it be a R over a B possibly ? Best Regards

Just to add to the above below is a close up of BRITT. Under the left hand side of the 2nd T is I think a hint of a lower T Very Best Regards

Another worn and circulated 1861 Halfpenny. I have just been going through a mixed lot, mainly worn Victorian pennies, On the plus side it includes a nice 1899 Penny (10 1/2 teeth BP 1899 Ac); a very thin 1939 Penny (just looks a bit odd), a decent token halfpenny 1794; misc. Victoria and Geo III; and another 1861 Halfpenny. This time (not sure if its damage) the foot of the right leg of H in halfpenny might have been re-cut and the second T in Britt is slightly rotated. The lighthouse has masonry at the base but not further up (could be wear ?) Assuming its a standard Obverse and Reverse - possibly with a couple of minor odd additions

If all else fails I think the realised prices might be available via "the Saleroom" Best Regards

Many thanks Martin, Glad you liked it. I wasn't sure how to describe the halfpenny, so that's brilliant. Its a bit worn and not obvious what's going on when you look straight at the coin (on the photo of the obverse you can just see the light bouncing off the 1. Tilt the coin slightly and the 1 jumps out clearly. An affordable impulse purchase. If its any use to Richard he is more than welcome to use it for halfpenny varieties. Very Best Regards

Last Bronze today an 1861 Half Penny . Condition is poor (Gouby 7 obverse not sure on the reverse) but the date was of interest. Must be lots of examples around in better condition, but nice to have this one