Rob

I suppose it could be rotated, but the 5 following appears to be a composite figure, so assumed the 4 was too given all the 42s and 43s are not from a single punch. The small 4 used on some dies from 44-46 looks to be a single punch. If you compare the A11 with the F7, you can see the 5 is completely different, despite, I believe, being by the same engraver.

Well done. That's a decent enough coin, and reasonably priced. Certainly compared to lot 68.

Many characters are composites of small straight and curved punches, so reversing a 4 is easy.

Couldn't afford to bid on anything before lot 100 in case I got carried away and won something for a few K leaving me bereft of funds. Charles I Boar's head mark is not the easiest to find. The largest BH population is the W/SA 6d reverse 1 with nine; two of which are in the BM, one in the ANS and another two which are highly undesirable leaving 4 to choose from, but I've already got a tower both sides sixpence. There is a B-6 shilling in the BM, but I've never seen another and in any case I need a B obverse shilling for the bird mark, leaving just the two halfcrowns above to choose from. Hobson's Choice really given I don't know where the Ryan coin is.

A few hundred pounds and you can cover most bases.

Henry VII coins use trefoils, saltires and rosettes for stops where these are applied. You need more literature.

It was experimental. The testoons also show a wide range of dies. A testoon reverse was also paired with a groat obv.

The other greyhound reverse die is the Motcomb coin (below) with the im at 9 o'clock. As far as I am aware, both these two are unique for the reverse die. At the time of the Montagu sale my coin was considered unique, but a handful have appeared since then, including those in SCBI 23. The above was considered rare enough to be illustrated in Montagu (wax on rev) and although subsequent coins have come to light, GH groats in either pure or muled form are still extremely rare.

Guaranteed to be a lot of dies. Potter & Winstanley note 16 obverse dies for no mark, lis and Greyhound's Head, but give up when it comes to Cross Crosslet. For what it is worth, they list 7 dies each for no mark and Lis, plus another 2 for Greyhound's Head. Crosslet is much more common. As far as the reverses go, you can reasonably expect a minimum of twice the number of obverse dies. Greyhound's Head being the rarest and hence the simplest case, the sylloge has an example of dies 15/16 (nearly identical) plus 3 GH reverses from 2 dies including muled marks. Add to that my GH rev. (below) plus another not in the Ashmolean gives a total of 4 GH rev. dies I know for certain. You are unlikely to be looking at more than another one or two reverses, if they do indeed exist. A back of the fag packet calculation assuming 1:2 obv:rev gives a total of 50 or so rare mark dies for both sides, plus a guesstimate of say 100 crosslets would give a total of 150ish tentative dies for all marks. If someone wants to do the survey, then we can plumb in the numbers and obtain a more precise estimate of the number of dies.

Not 115 individual dies, but coins. Some dies are shared, and no, I'm not going to work out the exact number. In any case I know the list is not exhaustive.

Not strictly mine, but an octagonal marked Potosi 4R that I sold a few years ago and recently bought back in. Rare coin.

Plenty of dies exist for the tentative issue, and a shedload more for the 3 band crown. The height of the bust varies. There are 27 tentatives in SCBI 23 (Henry VII coins in the Ashmolean), and a total of 115 profile groats of both types.

Looking for a Guatemala, Chile and the two Spanish mints.

and the reverse

Lima 8 Reales

I've got one of those too. Maybe not 45000, but probably 10000 in a 6' high pile of boxes.

I expect at least one die would have been made for each denomination for the coming year. After all, it is only the reverse that's new. After that, it is just a question of testing it.

Well done Sherlock.

What figures were used at the time to compile inflation? January sales clear the decks for the new year's stock - when restocking you would think it a good time to introduce the latest models/designs which are things that normally command a premium. i.e. is the upturn in inflation in March/April a function of business cycles based on the above with lower than average prices being replaced by higher than average prices? I can't see the inflation being related to the tax year for many items.

It is E/R in terms of relief. The R is much lower relief.

Of which probably the best example is the 1817 GEOE shilling. There isn't a person on the planet who would replace the correct R with an E.

I'm sure it would generate interest, and wouldn't be difficult to compile, but the cost of a print run means you would be in danger of spending a lot of money and sitting on the books for a long time. It wouldn't be like CCGB where you have a flimsy paperback, which presumably has quite a low unit cost, but rather a hardback printed on better quality paper with its attendant costs. There wouldn't be any point in producing something printed on loo roll because it wouldn't need to be updated very often. You would be looking at a RRP somewhere between 50 & 100 which most would refuse to pay. There is also the terms of reference to consider. Do you include proofs for non-public set years? I also thought about producing a concordance book. Super boring, but fundamentally useful, to the extent that it ought to be a staple for anyone doing research. The cost is a major stumbling block for the simple reason that most people want the info, but are rarely willing to pay for it. Consequently nobody can be a***d to do the spadework other than for personal use. There are plenty of books already in existence. Do I get asked for them? Nope.

Presumably the 5 was entered and subsequently corrected with an 8.

There is no general reference, and more unrecorded pieces appear all the time. Most people with an interest in patterns will generate their own reference lists from the usual books, supplemented with observations from auction catalogues. Despite the desire and expectation of a 'complete' reference volume, there is insufficient interest to produce a comprehensive list. i.e. you can write the book, but relatively few collectors will be willing to pay for it - a request for 'Is it recorded?' or 'What is it?' is a regular question on this or any other forum.