Rob

Koin Industries logo?

FYI this ticks the 'example of a coin struck from blocked dies' box - no.508 on the list of criteria for the collection. For an example of a poorly struck coin, I can thoroughly recommend just about anything from the first 80 years of the 12th century

I was in my usual place. In the middle of the cross aisle with me facing the entrance. Can't get me wrong as the guy on my left is shorter and fatter, whilst the one on my right is shorter and thinner. I'm the large hairy object in the middle.

Wondered where you had got to. Life must have been busy not to make the Midland either for the past half a year or so. Welcome back.

Some are certainly going to be rejects. It works quite well for hammered in particular as they may or may not reject Saxon for peck marks. It is a world of difference between cleaned and rejected, and wear and tear from circulation. For some reason a light scratch is deemed to be worthy of rejection, yet most coins will get scratched at some point in their working life. If they wanted to be consistent, the TPGs would have to only slab uncirculated mark free coins.

Yes it is, but I'm not sure why Bull (or Davies or anyone else) considers a pair of misaligned correct digits to be worthy of it's own variety number. Surely this is just crap workmanship as opposed to a genuine error or overstruck date to extend the die's life? All it does is beg the inevitable question as to the displacement required to make it an 'official' error. I can see that 'over an inverted' is also a bad day at the office, but at least it is unambiguous.

Looks like a trace of an H upright in line with the gap between teeth immediately to the right of the 8, or at least on this screen it does.

Yes. Correct. Everyone was at Wakefield today it seems, Mynki, me, even Mr Cheshire. Surprisingly busy given York was only a fortnight ago.

Keep investments and hobbies separate. Coins and other illiquid collectibles are second or third tier investments, no more. As they are not immediately tradable, it is difficult to see why people would pay a premium to 'invest' in coins for profit. Anyone who thinks that SG or LC don't take their routine cut of about a third (in line with other auctioneers) is deluded. The market has to be out of control to recoup an immediate loss of a third on investment in the short term. Long term your coins can do very well. 7% or more compound over the past 50 years is a very good return, but you have always had the cost of purchase to consider, which eliminates them as a short term investment. It would be interesting to see what would happen if half a dozen people wanted to realise significant holdings in investment coins at the same time. As the companies marketing investment packages are to all intents individual markets in toto, realising a high price for the sellers requires half a dozen plus one willing buyers to create the competitive market. I can't see it as a viable option in investment terms because the market is a closed one with the middle man making all the turns available and only offering profits as a marketing tool. Avoid.

The die has probably blocked with grease. Stored dies are coated in grease to stop them rusting. If this grease is not removed prior to use it will get trapped and act as a solid face because it will not compress, meaning the design cannot be transferred to the blank flan. Attached is an example of what I mean showing partial and full blockage of the legend.

I got mine from Mark Ray in Nottingham soon after they were released. That would suggest they were issued direct from the mint to whoever's order they were filling at the time.

I've got a woolpack 1/2d but that has rough surfaces and a tun 1/2d which still has dirt in it but is likely to be too high grade. No spare 3/4d - sorry.

Property will flatline or possibly move slightly up for the majority of the country. It won't collapse because the need for accommodation is too great. Ignore central London which is in a parallel universe and reliant on the whims of the very rich. There is sufficient money that needs laundering to keep the top end property market buoyant for years. All that QE and bribery has to find a home somewhere. Collectibles are where they always were. The best and the rest. The top pieces always command top dollar, but the pressure is on the also rans. It has become progressivly difficult to sell lower grade items for a good price (obviously with exceptions) as the internet has opened up new sources of material to the average collector. You are no longer restricted to a handful of shops in your local area plus Spink and Seaby if you subscribed. The world has always had more material available than collectors to buy it. More people are doing background work to seek out the more desirable piecces, essentially driven by computer databases. This keeps specialist areas buoyant. A lot of people jumped on the collectibles bandwagon when interest rates dropped to zero or thereabouts. In some cases this was not a question of making money, rather preserving it by diversification. The first real test of the market's resilience will be when interest rates creep back up again, as this will ask questions of those who diversified for reasons other than they like coins. I think the market has been moving slightly downhill for 'average' pieces for a while, but it depends on the mood on the day. A lack of fresh material will constrain prices, but a collection that has been off the market for half a century will usually do very well - think Marshall, Slaney, Boyd and a couple others. I don't think the market is likely to collapse given the level of disposable income and the changes in society mentality. A generation ago people saved up for a house. Today, a large number of people are unwilling to do this, preferring to spend their disposable income. It doesn't require a large number of people to take up numismatics to distort the markets given we are regularly talking about the number of examples of this that and the other that are available. With collectibles, the only important question in determining the trend is how much would it realise if I sold it today? People pay as much or as little as they feel necessary to obtain something, but I guarantee they want to sell for the most they can get, unless a forced seller.

Which marks?

Taking all the above into consideration, I think they must have repaired the flaw in the same way as they sometimes filled dates and recut them, (e.g. my 1675/3/2 halfpenny, where the first modification was to fill the 2 and recut the 3, whilst the second simply added a sideways spur to the right side of the 3 at about half height). The flaw doesn't reach the edge of the coin, so the die is essentialy intact on the 1677. If it had split to the edge it may well have been terminal. The width of the flaw is no greater than a letter upright, so it is quite possible to effect a repair in this way. Try as I might, the flaw shows no hints of being repaired on the 78. I was hoping for a change in surface, visible when the contrast is adjusted. The full set of harp strings on the 78 in comparison to the 77 and the crown cushion suggest was extensively recut, particularly given the strength of the two arcs on all the shields compared to the 77, which seem a bit weak on the 77. As for the G over O, the same die albeit repaired covers the problem of accurately reproducing a compound letter. I would go for O rather than D based on the images. No you haven't wasted your time, you have answered a question.

A lot more than you might think.

Don't tempt me. I've got a 90% shortfall on the funds I could usefully employ at the moment.

I don't have a 2p. Inadvertently picked up the aquatics 50p though.

Looks unc and is the best date, but it also requires sunglasses. It looks un-naturally bright.

The funds will be going to a good home.

Typically about 7 or 800 quid rare. Actual numbers? Not a clue as I've never seen or heard of any, but as with everything, numbers do not define the price.

Get a good glass on it and count. They will be either incuse or raised or there may be a straight raised line or nothing at all.

I think the die would have to be polished heavily and essentially have a full recut to change it that much. Not saying it can't be done, but it would require a good hand to put the detail back exactly where it was before.

No they aren't. There is a flaw on the shield at 9pm on the 1677 that isn't present on the 78, and the lines between the crowns and shields are better on the later coin. That's why I said they were struck from different dies earlier in the thread

You should also check the other obvious points of wear such as orb, lion's tail, fleur, paws etc. Coins are not necessarily worn in one place consistently. The one above looks dipped to me.