Rob

Some "extremely rare" coins in Spink aren't and some coins are priced as if they came up every day whereas in fact they are extremely rare. To further muddy the water, the rarity values assigned in Freeman, Rayner, BMC etc are frequently at odds with the number of pieces seen at sales and are really only an indication of what was considered rare in 1964, 1970, 1972, 1985, 1992 etc. Post a couple of pictures and someone will be able to give an idea of scarcity together with a grade and ballpark value.

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.