Rob

There will be no sweetners Rob, Westminster want to screw Scotland for more money taking away 4 Billion a year meaning a few more foodbanks opening, prescription fees etc all having to be paid for and bending over and generally getting buggered by Westminster as usual. It seems English Masters once again and not neighbours as we Hopes for. Idiots is all i can say Yes, but the question of the No campaign offering extras in the immediate run up to the vote means that Scotland's share of the pie is likely to increase more than was intended by Westminster. That will awaken the Welsh and Irish to demand more for their areas. If it leads to a completely devolved UK there will be considerable additional costs for all, just as a Yes vote would have resulted in massive relocation of assets and the construction of duplicated infrastructure in running the two governments. Whichever route was taken was always going to result in increased expenditure on admin infrastructure (which is in nobody's interest). Whether the politicians will accept the diminution of their powers remains to be seen. For all the nationalist arguments regarding Scotland (and Wales & Ireland), there are a lot of people in England who also dislike the status quo. English is the only one of the four countries that does not have a body to oversee English matters, so anything to do with England is decided by Scottish, Welsh and Irish politicians. The problems of inner city Glasgow etc are mirrored in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham etc. Scotland's view of Westminster is not dissimilar to the view of London and the south-east from the rest of the country. Under the Barnett formula, Scotland receives more per head from Westminster than the English regions, yet irrespective of the rights or wrongs of this, people still accept these conditions. I believe this will change with a hardening of attitudes in the other three areas as all four constituents have a significant minority of nationalists. The question of Scottish MPs voting on English, Welsh or Irish matters will have to be resolved - finally. As discussed by the commentators, all this points to a federal UK as the logical outcome and I think we will see a lot of horse trading in the run up to the next election because of what is at stake. As for the numbers game where a billion here or there is allegedly given or taken away from any country is a number that is impossible to quantify with any certainty. If Scotland is say for example 10% of the UK and that the oil reserves account for 10% of the value of the UK, do we then pull down the infrastructure and redistribute it among the other 3 countries leaving an independent Scotland as a country sitting on a large barrel of oil and no infrastructure? Obviously not. These uncertainties are why disentangling the two countries would have been so messy, divisive and ultimately acrimonious. The same arguments used by the Scottish Nationalists would be used by their counterparts in the rest of the UK, because every nationalist thinks they are being screwed by the other side. Given the centuries of integration, that is why we should be better off staying together.

Already looks like a done deal for the No campaign. Hostilities start at 9am. I'm not sure where this leaves us because the sweeteners offered to Scotland will have to be given in some form to N Ireland and Wales too. On the assumption that London will demand additional investment and probably get it, coupled with the finite size of the pot and promised expenditure elsewhere I can only conclude that the north of England is b******d

I changed the highest graded PCGS and replaced it with the highest NGC................................... both had the wrong date on the slab. However, this might result in the same coin being counted as a second distinct date at some time in the future. Failure to identify the date helps make the whole pop thing a tad redundant and makes retaining the slab insert imperative, because you would never second guess what a coin had previously been slabbed. Sorry, the spares have all gone by now.

If one good thing has come out of this it is the engagement with the electorate. What was the lowest turnout of all time? 11% in a local election, or for a police commissioner? Something like that. If 97% of people register, that is a huge leap forward.

One gets a certain pleasure from b*gg**ing up the pop stats. I've managed to decimate the Charles II halfpenny figures over the years, including the highest graded at both TPGs, plus the odd 62 and 63.

The vote at 16 is in my view contentious and somewhat unwise. Granted there is the aspect that youth is idealistic and radical which would therefore help the SNP cause, but more importantly very few kids pay any attention to the news. It is giving a large dollop of faith to assume that a group which normally isolates itself from current affairs can suddenly make a balanced decision arrived at on their own. They will live at home in all bar a few cases which is likely to influence them unduly as they are unlikely to be exposed to the wider arguments. Being at school and living a life where things are provided for is a world of difference from that of adults who have to gain exposure to the outside world. I'm sure that many will take an interest in it, but I'm not sure that many are equipped to assimilate all the information and experiences of people living in the wider community, which is where the real case for independence or union is made. Until you have to leave home and participate in the day to day running of society your views are likely to be somewhat naive. The big danger is that this section will contain a larger number of emotional as opposed to reasoned voters. The polls always close at 10pm in this country

Yes, but that's a politician for you. They only have a maximum 5 year horizon looking forward until they can be re-elected, and anything a year or two in the past is conveniently forgotten. Nothing a politician does is remembered unless someone applauds it later. That's why they are perceived as remote and with double standards. 35 years ago, Salmond was espousing the abolition of the monarchy as part of the ideals of the 79 group. As I understand it today, he would welcome the Queen as head of the country - yeh, ok. Vive la difference.

If Tony is going to be at Wakefield at the end of the month you could ask to see it there. Just check as he might not go because of Coinex. Sorry, mine isn't available.

The price reflects the expenditure incurred on sun-tan lotion. Easy when you know.

Seems a bit steep, but in the context of prices seen at auction for rare mint examples maybe less than a grand OTT

Feels like the damage is already done. Whichever way it goes, there will be a significant number of people who wanted something different. It'll take a skilled set of politicians to deal with the disappointed and hurt 'losers' so we can all move on from this and figure out where we're going now ... anyone know of any? I concur. I thought it was stupid to break up the union in the first place, but now there is so much animosity it would probably be better with a yes vote. If Westminster doesn't hit the ground running on the 19th and start playing hardball from the outset, the real beneficiaries are going to be UKIP as the only people who can justifiably claim to be working for the citizens of what remains of the UK. The financial costs to both sides will be great in the short term, but the recriminations will last a lot longer because there are a lot of Scots (roughly half) who won't be happy with the outcome. What is important in the event of a yes vote is that Scotland gets its proportionately fair share but no more. Westminster must work, and be seen to be working, for the benefit of the approximately 90% of the population that didn't have a say. Golden parachutes are for those you want to get rid of. The rest of the UK has never demanded that.

Nicholson 190

With hindsight I could concentrate my efforts on a few things meaning that it would not have been necessary in the past week to come second on the pieces I did.

No, it's ok. Peck 821 refers. It is also listed in Spink's Coins of England and other references. When the year ended, existing dies had their dates changed (sometimes) because the cost and effort of changing the last digit or two digits was much less than that required to engrave a new die. Overdates exist for many years up to the end of the 19th century.

If you had bottomless pockets, it still wouldn't guarantee you could buy anything you wanted. The spectacular prices realised at auction arise because there is only one coin to share between two or more people with competitively deep pockets. Take yesterday's sale at DNW where the Shrewsbury 2/6d sold for £18k hammer - silly money. It isn't even an interesting type, but the catalogue said probably the finest known and so two people waded in with both feet, paying at least 5x more than it was worth to the rest of the world. The 1644 W/SA halfcrowns typically sell for £5K all in, yet are easily as rare as a die combination. It was just hyped up.

I like proofs AND currency. Nothing wrong with either of them.

Spink and Baldwins next week and St James's the week after

As a rule, much better for both buyers and sellers. There is usually less uncertainty as to what will land through the letterbox and the quality offered tends to be better.

I didn't get anything today.

I don't have an 1862 penny, but this 1860 does 3/4 of the job. Both are as struck, so no wear to consider, just quality of strike or worn dies. This was discussed about 7 or 8 years ago and the results were that the halfpenny numerals are roughly 10-15% smaller

y***_ is a shill. l***n is an idiot.

I don't see what the problem is. Each to their own. Nobody is forced to buy a coin. Nobody is forced to be a member of any forum. Neither Aardhawk nor anyone else has not been told they aren't permitted to have their own view on what is pleasurable to collect. Every era, field or denomination from ancient to current coinage has its adherents irrespective of the costs of pursuing that objective. We are either all sane, or collectively demented - including those who collect from change, thus ensuring that the collection dimishes in purchasing power unless the owner inadvertently happens to acquire a future collectable rarity. Aardhawk is free to leave the forum if he so wants, though I would suggest that at no point has he been required to make a contribution, log in or otherwise participate, so any posts are as a result of a personal desire to reply or make a point. I'm not aware of any area where people feel under pressure to act, contribute or in fact do anything if they don't want to. Given the ability of all members to isolate themselves from the forum is freely allowed and easily implemented, surely the burning desire to leave and more importantly be seen to leave is the medical issue? This is all a non-argument/discussion. Back to halfpennies if we can can folks.

A nice result for the seller there then What's the cost of a 1st Class stamp nowadays? Sellers are caught between a rock and a hard place. ebay encourage sellers to include postage, but if you start anything at more than 99p a listing is ignored. Ebay also encourage you to start at 99p to get more bidders. Couple that with the need in many cases to get something signed for, the cost of eBay's fees, Paypoo fees etc and the contradictions just don't add up. I would offer free P&P if Royal Mail drop their charges and ditto for eBay. The reality is that a signed for jiffy bag is £1.83 minimum. Put things in an envelope and it will sometimes go as a letter (under 5mm thick). Add in the cost of a jiffy bag and if VAT registered, the VAT on your costs and it is clear that the cost of posting is often greater than the item. In this case the seller was deluded in believing that free P&P would make the item more desirable, or that there was a competitive market for the pieces offered. In other instances the buyers are being unrealistic in expecting sellers to provide shipping at a loss. The whole operation only works if everyone benefits.

What happened to the Edward I thread? Go to a coin fair for the day and it disappears. I was rather perturbed about the use of York Coins (currently run by Antony Wilson) and STH's spelling. Has it been kicked into touch?

The National Trust is a robbing bunch of b*****ds. In the eighties I wanted to take out family life membership, but they said I had to pay to get in and could only pay for life membership once we had finished. So not happy with something of the order of a grand in cash, they still wanted the extra tenner. I paid the £10 entrance fee because it was a long way to go for a wasted journey, but refused on principle to pay over and above what was effectively a voluntary contribution. Since then I have only visited NT properties once or twice, and that was only because I had someone visiting who wanted to go there. I would have thought they would be grateful for a sum that large, but no, it wasn't enough. Someone needs to tell them that a little goodwill can go a long way. It also makes you wonder what would have happened if I had said I didn't want to go in, just buy life membership - would it have been permitted or not?. Those were the days when Mr or Mrs Jobsworth dictated everything (and probably still do). Good job they don't have a monopoly of places to visit.