Rob

I've got an Edward Lee halfpenny in my gallery section. I've also got an Archbishop Warham 1/2d and have had a couple of Thomas Rotherham pennies in the past but have sold them

It looks to me that the top of the six is removed to the greater degree, more of the lower loop of the six remaining and becoming the lower loop of the 'new' number 8. The six is at an angle, leaning to the left and looks to be larger hence showing on both sides. My images are a little bit on the large side to post more than two at once.

Doesn't look like it. The 1858/3 normally has a characteristic flaw running through the bottom of the date and it doesn't show too much of the 3 either. Not very good grade example attached.

Thanks John. These both show a feature that I couldn't reconcile with an underlying 6. Both have an indent to a lesser extent than the overlying 8 but nevertheless a clear indent and that suggests to me an 8. It would have to be deformed a bit, but I have never seen a 6 with this feature. I would expect a 6 to have a straightish trending slightly convex outer border on the left side.

That's because there wasn't anything worth bidding on. It wasn't worth making a 500 mile round trip on the off chance there might be something in the bulk lots

Fine £90, VF £275 & EF £925

I can't see any reason to make it worth £50 either. Maybe the beer has been flowing.

This is a close-up of my 1858/6 half penny

And quickly relisted

Does anyone have an unambiguous 1858/6 halfpenny - Peck 1547. If so, could they post a close-up of the overstrike please. All of the examples so stated that I have seen have not been clearly so, including the 2 Nicholson pieces which I couldn't reconcile as an underlying 6. I have seen quite a few with something in the left hand recess of the 8, but all I would have described as die defects rather than an overstrike. Thanks.

In that case, please see my current listing of approximately 50 of this year and similar. At £8.50 each, that's well over £400 worth of coins, and all for a quid.

FDC- Fully dipped and cleaned?

Still overgrades but not as bad as others. I've had more than the odd not-UNC I wish I had this much money to waste 1863 shilling

Up to 6 months and yes in that order

Crap grading, but based on his own website's criteria or so it seems. 1806 halfpenny. For some reason, grading as a result of wear resets to a new level at 1797AD. Watford Coins. I'm not surprised he wants Paypal only. If his address became known, we'd all come round and picket his house to stop any of his lots escaping into the big wide world.

1878 3rd head shilling with the last R in BRITANNIAR: struck over an underlying A. With the obverse barely making VF, it's not the best grade piece but the overstrike is clear.

I sold him a few pieces of crap once - after all he has to get it from somewhere . Not the fastest payer in the world if I remember correctly.

There's a open3/normal 3 comparison in Freeman.

Another gem courtesy of eBay speak. The brockage line in the die is very clear. 1855 groat brockage.

A new range of confectionery from Rowntrees perhaps. I like the sky blue ones best, they taste delicious.

Colour is obtained naturally by exposure to the atmosphere. If you can't accept and appreciate some colour due to natural processes, then you are restricted to buying older coins that have been dipped (otherwise known as artificial de-toning) or alternatively pieces that have been hermetically sealed for a couple hundred years such as my 1731 shilling in the unconfirmed varieties section. Although not guaranteed, a touch of colour may enhance the beauty in my opinion but any person responsible for a Jackson Pollock style coin should be shot.

Sorry Sylvester, I digressed into an area I have difficulties with in the last paragraph which rather diverted the topic away from the original one of A level General Studies. No marks for me for failing the objective argument/discussion test.

Therin lies the rub. General Studies is currently viewed as a Mickey Mouse subject because universities don't recognise it as a valid A level, but given that everyone doing A levels takes it anyway means that the opportunity could and should be taken to use this apparent waste of time for a better assessment of the individual. An ability to absorb a broad range of information unrelated to coursework is likely to be a very good indicator of a student's ability to think across subjects if the questions are phrased appropriately, as well as absorbing information. I can't think of any subjects which do not require a certain degree of lateral thinking encompassing other disciplines. At the very least it could be used to assess the candidate's literary and communicative abilities. It appears that only foreigners learn English these days, and then they will probably have difficulties understanding what a native of this country is trying to say. Key skills such as literacy are the things that appear to be singularly lacking in many people - cue as seen in eBay listings. The odd mistake is acceptable, but when a 12 year old child turns round to you as has happened and says "Caw, yaou dun ahf talk funny mite", a few seconds translation time is required. Init.

General Studies really is a complete waste of time. Multiple choice for one paper and the rest is extended writing which isn't particularly challenging. I don't know why they don't do away with it. Critical thinking was a bit of a bore but I'm glad that I did it. We had to learn flaws in arguments, weight of evidence, things like that. In the exam those things were applied to various scenarios; for example, a plane crashed and there were two conflicting reports of what happened. You had to weigh up both sides and come to a judgement. Surely General Studies could be one of the most useful indicators of a person's ability to learn and think if judged in relation to the subjects studied to A level. Multiple choice for any subject is a waste of time, but the requirement to provide reasoned answers to topics outside of a student's core subjects shows a grasp of the outside world which many people seem to be sadly lacking. e.g. A 3 hour exam where you have to write 6 short pieces on say a science, a religon, a foreign country, literature, economics and recent history would quickly indicate those who have a wider appreciation of the world around them. This in itself is an essential attribute if you intend to be an integral part of the greater global society. Given the ease with which students are able to get straight A's by being taught to a syllabus which clearly lays out in advance the topics to be tested and schools which for the past 20-30 years have chosen the examination board to be used based on what is likely to give the best pass rates for their pupils, an examination on topics unknown in advance would be very informative. It would also give the opportunity to identify those who are able to communicate in their own language. Like it or not, we are not all equal and you do need to identify the better candidate for the job in question.