Rob

I'm not sure if that requires a thank you or not as I'm now completely confused. Saving as a text page is no different to viewing a very long txt msg w/o punctuation (whatever that abbreviates to), i.e. it's bl***y difficult. Any way of saving a complete thread in the message box with clear separation of each successive post is what's required. If anyone saves messages - how do you do it? I am using Firefox and outlook.

In keeping with the post a few above, I don't think they can release the mintages until after the end of the calendar year. Whilst they might know in advance for the commemorative crap marketed to the masses, a regular currency piece's mintage will depend on the demand from the banks for coin. If they don't order it, the Mint doesn't produce it.

Another question. As it arrives in the inbox, each separate post is clear. Saved as text, everything goes into a page of continuous script without showing clear breaks between posts. Saving as HTML page gives the same layout as arrives, but I'm wondering if the integrity is maintained if I delete the conversation in the forum inbox? i.e. is the conversation genuinely saved to the computer in HTML mode given the file size in my folder is a lot smaller than the inbox file size, or does my computer interrogate the forum messages at the host when I want to view the thread? I don't want to delete something I can't recover at a later date. Ta.

Maybe there's no need to do anything. I've just tried using the archive conversation button and it gives a different layout to the normal notification. i.e the full number of posts made but without all the links to the conversation in the forum, AVG scan results etc. (i.e all the crap you don't want). I had assumed the forum email advising of a reply together with the content was effectively archiving it. Although it dumps it in the inbox rather than an individual's folder for coin communications, it is still a vast improvement.

Yes, pity the poor owner of the fourth example.

I agree that more than 50 would be useful. However, all is not lost : if you choose the option of 'Archive this conversation', you get sent the particular conversation(s) as an email, one for each conversation, which you can then store in a suitable mailbox (I have one called ... wait for it ... 'Predecimal' ) It does this automatically for me because every reply comes through as an email. It's all the superfluous blurb attached to the content that makes this option unappealing. You would still have to prune 95% of the incoming email, which is effectively easier cutting and pasting into a separate document until complete. It is better to have them all under one file than separate posts which you have to join up - even if you did have a folder for each conversation. It could be done, but would be a real pain in the a**e. Just having a 'predecimal' folder containing each reply would be as disorganised as my email inbox, which has a predecimal folder in all but name as I can do a search for predecimal in outlook and all replies will appear - just not joined up by thread.

You often find that there is a rare moneyer for a common mint, or a common moneyer at that mint who is rare for a particular issue. That requires a lot of reading and data collection. Single moneyer mints are invariably at least scarce. Roughly 50 % of the Saxon coinage comes from the 5 main mints of London, York, Canterbury, Lincoln and Winchester.

Will do. Not sure why the email bounced, maybe the local area was having remedial work done. Can't be a full inbox because there are 7273 messages in it - that's neither a power of two, nor a very round number. Admin: Is there any way for the size of the mailbox to be increased? It's just that I have had more than 50 interesting conversations that I wanted to keep, but haven't the time or patience to copy, paste, name and file accordingly under the relevant heading.

Less so than mints. Moneyers are one level up in specialisation. If you think in terms of one of..... each reign, then each type, then each mint, then each moneyer, then each die. By the time you have reached the last level, you should be reassuringly on top of your subject (and probably living in splendid isolation)

Looking at the list, Goda is shown, but is probably the same person as God and Oda. Depending on the consistency of spelling and literacy levels of inner city London in the 10th-11th century, there may be more duplication. I haven't looked too hard, but the above stood out.

And the next page. It doesn't break them down into issues that individuals struck. There may be one that has turned up since 1992.

Taken from the last edition of North

I will leave counting the number on eBay to someone else. You can always rely on the British public.......... Mine will have to stay as it is considerably more interesting than the 2007 Britannia reverse or the 2012 silver 5 ounce lump of bullion, though to its credit, Pegasus isn't bad.

wow. I thought siding with sellers was against eBay policy? Or have they had a change of heart?

I know! And that one has a Smurfette on it! Admittedly one engraved by WJ Taylor, who I believe was associated with Heaton for a while, before unsuccessfully trying to make his fortune in Australia. Taylor returned from Australia before 1862, as 1862 was the year he is generally thought to have commenced his Soho restrikes.

In the case of Spink, I think they use the catalogue description, which, although potentially liable to enhancement, is far more likely to represent reality than any eBay summary

A quadruped of the highest order.

3 examples coming up a total of 5 times in the past 60 years in the case of the Oxford 2/6d.

He's havin' a larf. 'nice olde copper jeton' shurely shome mishtake.

Saying they are only a guide has been said many times before, but people still get hung up on the variable and frequently inapplicable values quoted. So, not of the slightest use is not too far OTT. Maybe I should retract that a little, as auction lots use the reference numbers in the description. It doesn't make the price any more accurate though.

10-12 seems a bit low for an overall total though. That's all that have come to light on this forum. I have one which I bought from Mark Ray (Collectors' World) in Nottingham. Happened to be passing, called in the shop and took a random full set of 29. He had a few sets bagged up and I assume that all of the batch he bought at the time from the mint were likely to be the same variety. These were bought from the mint on release, so perhaps the first run of acquatics 50ps was the error. I'm sure that most full sets bought at the time of release won't have been checked.

An example for consideration. Yesterday I bought an Oxford 2/6d, so making a timely comparison in various references I see the following - CMV (2013) has Oxford halfcrown from £325 Fine, £750 VF; Spink (2014) doesn't have the variety fully listed, but based on the obverse which is and what I interpret as the correct ref for the reverse, Fine is £250, VF £750. CCGB doesn't go this far back, and CYB I haven't got. So CMV lists a catch all figure starting at 325 but this number has to cover over 100 die combinations, some of which are very common, others are unique. Spink have 25 different references for Oxford halfcrowns which is considerably better, but still don't have the reverse description for the coin I purchased included in the list. I paid twice book on the basis that an example sold for roughly the same in Adams (2005) and in any case I only have a list of 5 coins from two die combinations in total to choose from once the BM's coin is taken off the list. The VF price has only gone up from £675 in 2006 to £750 today for the same ref no. The only conclusion to be drawn is that no reference is of the slightest use. Do your own spadework if you need a number.

All of which suggests to me that we are travelling more in hope than conviction, given everyone is putting their own slant on why it should be impossible to accurately price anything. As you were chaps. Live and die by your own actions, or more of the first and less of the second if you can make the effort to come up to speed in your chosen field.

The hard to find things nearly always sell over book. It only takes two people with the same degree of knowledge.

I think we will have to agree that there is no simple answer to any of the prices quoted. I don't know how CCGB, CMV or CYB compile their data, other than I suspect, to take a rough average of the data supplied by the people who collect the numbers. Where do people do their sampling? Do they all adjust a bit based on gut feeling? I don't think any of them have an axe to grind as collectors are not forced to buy at any price. It has been quite obvious that alongside the highly priced pieces are a considerable number of bargains in coins of average quality. The market focusses on different qualities that vary with time, but only a crystal ball could forecast these in advance. As most collections are made up of coins of average quality, a little patience when buying will not result in a huge uplift in prices paid as long as you don't expect to always find the rarity at the price of the common variety instantly. (Instant gratification) Spink will almost certainly exclude data from eBay, whereas I think it likely that there will be some contribution from this source for the others. eBay can distort figures lower for the higher value items, just as the prestige sales can do the opposite. In the case of common or low value items, eBay is probably closer to the mark - if you are prepared to risk bidding on the basis of dodgy photos and descriptions and assume that most people will underbid on principle. As a source, eBay is too inconsistent in prices obtained to give a good indication of where the market is at for any item in a given grade. A bigger influence than the guides on pricing is the collector. Most people have a list of things they need, resulting in a tendency to pay a bit more when the opportunity arises to fill a gap. The longer the gap has existed, the more inclined they will be to pay more. The specialist collector will exacerbate this price differential, seeing a die combination that is known to be rare for example is likely to result in a willingness to push the boat out. Another factor in recent times is the volume of money held in non-interest bearing accounts that has been desperately searching for a new home. Since the banks went tits up 5 years ago, there has been a marked increase across the board in the prices paid for any asset as people scramble to diversify. At the end of the day, price guides are no more or less dysfunctional than coin collectors, TPGs, vendors of the finest tulips or any of the Ponzi schemes that have existed. Know your area and work within your budget relative to your aims. Knowledge is the key to pricing.