Rob

Oh, my God, you're ALL at it! Even Rob with his C1 halfcrown micro-varieties, if I remember rightly! I only ever recall Richard in denial of this micro-disease! Once I have the entire G5 set, I too will likely seek out the micros, and add the occasional proof coin as and when they appear! Having said that, I do have the flat AND hollow neck farthings! That's a means to an end because I'm looking for die sequences, and the the underlying erased detail holds the key.

Presumably you mean 28.24g? 38.24g is unquestionably not within limits.

Overpriced then Depends how much and where it has been. I can see that you might pay up to 13 or 1400 with a bit of research. It would have to drop some Rob as it's inbetween those 2 figures already Where is it, Heritage?

Overpriced then Depends how much and where it has been. I can see that you might pay up to 13 or 1400 with a bit of research.

A grand give or take a bit.

Does anyone know off the top of their head what our DG added to the Freeman and Davies catalogue? Just out of interest, Steve, do you also draw the line at the F numbers, or do you fish out the extra Gouby's and Groom's? 1959 1/S 1944 1d 1918 farthings 1915/16 recessed ears 1912 halfpennies 1911 6d 1911 1d 1911 halfpennies 1911 farthings 1906 1/- 1904 1/- 1903 1/- off the top of my head (kinda). Sorry if I missed any, Dave!

And reverse. The RM suggested it was a Burundi 10Fr flan based on diameter and weight, which means it was actually struck in 1968, not 1967. As you can see, the detail is slightly weak at the periphery and on the high points, but normal size as a footprint.

So there's alleged, IF and WERE.... still opinion from supposition. I'll really have to ask my mechanic next door neighbour to get me some of that battery acid. Watch this space. No one has commented on my suggestion of the possibility of weak and/or uneven strikes due to thin flans caused by the use of over-pressed-too-thin sheets of metal. Is that idea impossible? Numquam credere peritus It isn't impossible, but would require the diameter to be of the correct size so that the blank was held securely in the collar. The slightest variation in diameter and you get a noticeable mistrike. This happens when a blank of similar, but not identical dimensions gets thrown into the hopper with the correct blanks. An example is this 1967 florin which weighs 7.78g instead of 11.30g, has only a bare trace of edge milling and is obviously off-centre. Obverse:

I don't think a weak strike would apply because the shape of the letters is all wrong. With a weak strike you get the detail with a full footprint, but in unusually low relief. This means no fine hair detail for example because the metal wasn't sufficiently forced up to fill the finer voids. The coins struck during WW1 and WW2 do show this characteristic as an attempt was made to extend the life of the dies. Another date which is notoriously weak is 1920 and also 1921 following the change from 925 to 500 silver. I stick with my original assessment because the legend on any GV penny or halfpenny is flat topped and yet yours has a nicely bevelled high relief verging on the sharp. That is the point which immediately stood out, coupled with the 'moat' surrounding each character.

There are more out there than you realise, but then there are a lot more collectors than just those that frequent the forum as has been discussed previously. I would say I probably encounter about one new variety collector a month at the Midland, which when you consider the limited number of people you meet in the few hours available is quite a lot. There may well be more, but as the stock response is 'Just browsing', I don't know what they collect and to what level.

The Grading book is a completely different beast to Groom. It shows you how the various types wear down through the grades. If not familiar, it is invaluable. Groom is a reference book which lists the various types seen in what ever year, including varieties. One book is for silver and the other base metal. The 1558-1958 book is Peck and will set you back over £100, being last printed in 1970. Depending on what you want to collect, it may or may not be appropriate. If you collect before 1860 then you need it, but if only later than this then you don't. Freeman which covers bronze from 1860 onwards, was reprinted in 2006, but has the same variety information as the 1985 (2nd) edition as only the pricing was updated - leading to immediate irrelevance.

Sumus omnes in stercore That was our class motto.

I've just got to tell you this, as it only ever happened to me twice! Two summers running in the late seventies, as an 11 year-old, I 'helped' the local farm staff by stacking the bales into sixes...the reward...and this honestly happened...I was allowed to sit beside the tractors at lunch break and share in, and this just sounds too twee, and you'll never see the likes of it again, but I shared in cheese, bread, pickled onions, and farm cider! Unbelievable, but true! It really was the done thing back then! Now they really WERE good old Somerset days! Nothing wrong with that. People had a much more relaxed attitude then as they do now. But you also have to remember that in the seventies you went round the field picking up the bales and manually stacking them on the trailer. Good for keeping fit. Now everything's automated with the emphasis on the individual doing as little physical activity as possible. A real case of 'Heavier than your smart phone? - Better get some lifting gear.'

Grading Coins, Davies, ESC & Groom if you are looking at silver/CuNi only. Do you think ESC has anything to add to Davies in the 20thC? I haven't been won over by the micro-stuff (yet), but always take a quick scan through Groom to make sure I'm not giving any micro-rarities away, as we all know there are collectors out there looking for them! No, nothing, but if you collect anything before 1816 there isn't an alternative.

Grading Coins, Davies, ESC & Groom if you are looking at silver/CuNi only.

We are all getting nostalgic here for the time when it was up to the indvidual to make his own fun rather than buy it in the local toy superstore. When children were no longer compelled to climb chimneys, but could do so of their own volition. When 12 year olds could go haymaking without any interference from Health & Safety and when the nanny state didn't require everyone up to the age of 16 to wear a nappy. In those days you could fart to your heart's content. These days you need a gas safety certificate.

Really takes me back, that does! Hard to believe we would actually throw them at each other as kids! It's not hard to believe at all. No xBoxes or play stations then, this was DIY fun based on whatever was to hand. I hit someone in the head with one when I was about 12. It didn't matter though because we were messing about on his father's farm, so he smelt of cowsh*t anyway.

The second part of the rule is MOST important! The first part isn't really Correct. The other way round leads to somewhat erratic launch results because you lose friction.

The above image shows the effect on a 1932 halfpenny. In order to standardise conditions as far as possible, there are three coins from the same year which should mean that they share a common master engraving before reduction, if not the same die. The two decent coins are full weight at 5.65g whilst the middle one is a miserable 2.49g. Unfortunately I got rid of it 5 or 6 years ago, so the montage had to be assembled from old images. As seen, there is no rim, the legend is thinned compared to normal and the detail is lost. The weight of 2.49g is 44% of normal. There are also more subtle indicators of physical removal of surface metal such as the border teeth which are thin lines compared to the normal podgy fingers or the small indent near the front of George's nose just before the end which is in lower relief at this point. I standardised the images as best I could by measuring the distance from edge to edge on the thin one and matching it to the others such that the distance to the inside of the rim was the same on all three coins, as we can say for certain that there would be no lateral movement of the design. In fact the thin one is 1% larger at this dimension, but the distance from truncation tip to the top of the head on a line to the colon at 12 o'clock is roughly 1.5% less on the thin one when compared to the original version indicating that material has been lost by a sideways or at least an oblique angle attack. I have tried to explain what would happen on this drawing. To explain the depression around the letters and the head on your coin, assume that the flan starts with a homogenous crystal lattice. I know nothing is perfect and as an alloy is involved with different sizes of atoms this is inherently so, but some things are more perfect than others. When a coin is struck, metal flows into the recesses of the die and forms the features seen. This will disrupt the lattice structure at the flow points leading to structural weakness due to broken atomic bonds. In effect, you get microscopic fissures on the surface of the flan at the atomic level. It is these points that would be subject to a greater degree of acidic attack because they would allow a deeper penetration of the acid when compared to an unaffected surface which would retain atom to atom to atom bonds in the pattern dictated by the metal concerned. Deeper than normal penetration into the flan surface at the previously stressed points combined with ongoing horizontal chemical reactions in the same manner as would affect the legend, will result in the areas of metal flow being hollowed out at a faster rate than would otherwise be obtained on an intact crystal lattice. Obviously there will be anomalies within the flan and other environmental variables which would result in some inconsistencies, but it shows the overall picture - I hope. It would apply to both silver and base coins equally, but not gold except for the impurities contained within the metal mix.

Or acidic soil, or in a drain somewhere, or.......... It has all the hallmarks of a chemical attack, notably the depression around the letters and the letters are sharpened giving the effect that they are honed to a knife edge.

Grease on the first one, acid attack on the second. The legend has a depression surrounding the letters which is consistent with this chemical reaction. There will be stress fractures associated with metal flow where the legend was formed leading to a deeper ingress of the reactant and consequently more damage caused.

You are probably ahead of most dealers over here who wouldn't monitor the gold or silver price in the middle of the night. With gold falling nearly £100/$150 in 24 hours, someone is going to get their fingers burnt. Actually, make that lots of people. I read the commercial and supply rationale for the falls, but the world is no more stable now than it was last week or last month. If North Korea does anything stupid, it will rebound in a flash.

I have to confess I nicked the image, so no reverse. BTW, these make for a wonderful discus if you obey a simple rule. Just be careful where you throw it and remember, crusty side in the palm of your hand.

I know quite a few professional workers with remortgages that have them in a neutral (at best) situation, after 10-15yrs of paying their mortgages. I even know of one person who took the endowment route in the 80's, and were massively let down by the second component, to the degree that a couple of the apparently 'usual' remortgages has left them with negative equity after a 30yr spell of home ownership, and crippling repayments! The greatest irony is they still view themselves amongst the proud elite, as a homeowner? A very interesting family of sheep is this our great and proud society! The only change to the mortgage I ever contemplated and did was to almost pay it off as soon as, leaving 50p outstanding to ensure they looked after the deeds. Best thing I ever did and one of life's unforgettable pleasurable moments. Which is why when the politicians were in the dock for falsifying expenses with one claiming he had forgotten it was paid off, my obvious reaction was complete and utter

That's because many of the housing market constraints were lifted by the easy access to mortgages whereas the coin market still operates in the same fashion that it did fifty years ago. More or less without exception, people do not borrow to buy coins - certainly not as a collector. i.e they are paid for with ready cash deposits. Houses on the other hand are purchased partly with debt, so that a fairer assessment would be to compare the average net asset value of the individuals' houses, i.e subtract the value of the mortgages outstanding from the retail value of the housing stock. I don't know what the numbers are and don't have time to do the research, but I'm certain the divide will narrow quite sharply. Could it even swing the other way?