Rob

BNJ vol. XXVI pt.III (1951) plate XXII no.13 Thanks, Rob! Haven't spoke in a while...Compliments of the season to you! Advert looks good, was there an extra premium for being in the first couple of turns? Thanks Stuart. No premium, just pot luck where it went.

Why don't you take something that has been previously graded by either NGC or PCGS whether cracked out or not? It gives you a ballpark for what it will grade. There is no shortage of overgraded material but a fair smattering of undergraded stuff too. Better still, go for a mis-attribution and crack it out, as the TPG will have virtually guaranteed you the discount to book you need.

BNJ vol. XXVI pt.III (1951) plate XXII no.13

It could all go horribly wrong. Disregarding the shite on the scanner bed, consider the story of the P1235 copper proof halfpenny below. This used to be in my collection and I sold it to Hus six years ago only to buy it back again later. I then sold it to a member of the PCGS forum who was looking for an example. I was confident it would grade well, but it came back as MS62 although it had no wear, digs or hairlines. They couldn't even identify it as a proof despite Peck devoting over a full page to the description in his book. It is as you say a lottery, and certainly doesn't inspire confidence. It's fair to say that I would happily buy this at MS62 prices any day of the week, given the obligatory alignment of number and price when it comes to slabs.

That's silly money. For further reading on this series, read my article in the 2010 BNJ where I demonstrated that most are unique or nearly so. Not to be confused with the Lauer toy money series which are quite plentiful.

I bought a George III pattern halfpenny off a US collector which was slabbed PF61 and a label attached saying it was recommended for 'conservation'. I also have another coin of the same type which was in a PF65 slab as sold in the 'Cheshire Collection'. This was squeaky clean and probably too clean for its age. The lower graded coin had the more original surface in my opinion, and there was no real difference in the marks or strike quality. I would go so far as to say that the lower grade coin was marked down on the grounds that it hadn't been 'conserved'/cleaned/choose you own term. 4 points of difference is a huge margin when there is nothing wrong with the metal fabric of either coin. It is as you say, a lottery.

Sorry, tell a lie. It is MS67 after all ~ was looking at the wrong bit. The right one is here Extraordinary. And it's sitting at $625 thats 385 GBP crazy coin world I'd have said £300 absolute tops, and even that would be generous given its appearance!!! Clearly a business opportunity. Buy any unattractive big numbered slab at fair value and consign via Heritage. Could work wonders for the UK's balance of payments. On the question of the grade though, I still wonder how they get to MS67 with the obvious rim mark. The coin isn't heavy enough to have suffered the defect falling into the hopper. It has to be post Mint damage.

Surely you mean Oops? oRb

1. No idea 2. 1806 Farthing 3. No idea 4. 1797 Soho penny 5. 1890 crown

or Chinese? Two identical flat spots could be a coincidence, but a larger number of these would imply as struck characteristics. Best thing would be to look for these in their original box as few sets will have been made up in recent times, thus eliminating recent copies.

You are still reliant on the underlying metal being Iron, Nickel or Cobalt though, as these are the three magnetic elements. I wouldn't work for tin, copper or lead which are the usual metals used in debased coinage.

Totally drab as said previously. If a cast, then the edge would probably be plain, and/or there would have to be the remains of the sprue. If you can add the edge reading to a coin, I think it unlikely to be a cast.

Most VIP proofs wouldn't cost any more than a common uncirculated larger silver Victorian coin - say £500 to a couple £K, so we aren't talking megabucks here. In fact a lot of people are prepared to spend far more on currency coins than they would have to lay out for a VIP proof, particularly in the penny department. When you say pennies, Rob, I can't think of any dates where a VIP proof would be worth less than a currency coin. Unless I'm misunderstanding you? I took Rob to mean that a high grade Victorian currency coin (e.g. large silver) would be more popular and collectable than a 20th Century VIP proof. And that people would rather spend out on a currency penny than a VIP proof (not the same date). Correct

It may work in the US, but ultimately the local content is too high to appeal to a wider audience and most collectors of coins tend to restrict themselves to official offerings from the state mints. These previously respectable institutions are now hell-bent on raising revenue by selling commemoratives to the wider public rather than restricting themselves to providing liquidity to the nation(s)which is the reason for their existence. This diarrhoeic output turns off most collectors and as a result most commemorative output from both mint and private enterprises (which are on the same level) are lumped together as novelty items. I'm sure there will be people who are temporarily interested in such items, but would be amazed if there were many long term collectors. A large part of the problem is the need for volume sales which immediately diminishes the desirability for the items as if supplies run out, more can be made. If you want to collect these items, feel free to do so. Do not expect to make sales though. Collectors collect, but rarely as a result of marketing. I forecast you will join a lengthy list of vendors where the typical response is one of complete anathema.

Most VIP proofs wouldn't cost any more than a common uncirculated larger silver Victorian coin - say £500 to a couple £K, so we aren't talking megabucks here. In fact a lot of people are prepared to spend far more on currency coins than they would have to lay out for a VIP proof, particularly in the penny department.

Its value is about 36k Plus juice

If someone can find 4 examples in a casual search albeit at a specific location, a little patience should be rewarded with a decent example. The biggest obstacle may well be that it typically isn't worth listing a 1964 or 1965 sixpence.

Did this not sell yesterday? English was yesterday. £36K + prem.

dos is an old Microsoft operating system.

Uh, more than one. It's the second this year, hence the reduced coin activity of late. I'm a bloke and thus can't multitask which is probably a good thing given the prices at Spink today. I was informed today during the course of the sale thatby working on the house I was in the right place, as attending the sale or bidding online would have been very depressing and/or impoverishing. £165K for the Mary ryal, £36K each for the R3 angel and Briot unite, £6K for the Harold 2 Chichester penny, £18K for the Alfred penny with legend around the bust. Big numbers for the special pieces, though the average bits were eminently affordable.

He's got the grade about right though, wonder why the rest of it is ALL overgraded People who buy hammered know that BU/UNC would be impossible to justify, but milled comes up in those grades regularly. People see what they want to believe in the case of the latter.

Don't look at me, I'm skint and haven't put any bids in this time round. Doing a house up at the moment, so too busy.

Good god!!! Has he just sold that cos its ended? The description looks like he's using the mk.2 Ayephone (specific to Dundonians). Completely incomprehensible. One gap you could fill is "Charles II was ruled from 1660-1685 by Catherine of Braganza"

The crown is really quite a large denomination for 100 years ago and few everyday transactions for ordinary folk could have required them. Bread was a few pence a loaf, cigarettes a penny each at best, similarly a penny or two for a pint of beer. The last point also brings into question the double florin. Allegedly dropped on account of the difficulty barmaids had in discriminating between these and crowns, the average person spending a double florin on beer was probably incapable of recognising one either. Crowns probably only had limited circulation as it was just as easy to use two halfcrowns which were far more abundant. A bit like the £50 note today - legal tender, but quite esoteric for everyday transactions when everybody has £10s and £20s.

I did that, and for a split second I saw the incuse effect. Unfortunately, having seen the image first in the correct way, my brain quickly adjusted and the incuse effect vanished again. I usually need to see this effect right at the start, before I've seen it the correct way. That's right. It is a question of your brain recognising "normality" and treating subsequent images in the same manner. When the light direction changes, your brain adjusts after a period ot time, but if you return to the "wrong" image later it again sees it as incuse until it readjusts.