Rob

Not going to open an unknown file, but surely the colour should be a giveaway. Upload the picture as a jpg and keep the file size to under 500kb, then we can have a look.

Do what? I see the original listing at £5K has been relisted at a far more reasonable £500. My original opinion remains unchanged.

If they got them from LMO or Westminster etc, they might have paid, and by extension think that they are worth £4K.

Maybe they were struggling to reconcile a good strike with a 1920 halfcrown. My hypothesis is that they looked at it, trying to find a fault such as a copy which would lead to rejection, but found none. As this clearly didn't match up to the splendid indifference of strike usually seen (and these accorded high grades), they gave it a low grade to cover their a**e. Fish out of water springs to mind.

The reverse looks all wrong - it seems far too crude. The assayer's initials are wrong. There is no F P at Mexico. The latest my edition of Krause gives a P is 1665. In 1817 the assayers were Jose and Joaquin, so a J seems to be imperative. Unfortunately I don't have an example of a modern copy and only have a genuine 1794 Lima mint to compare, but the pillars in particular on your coin seem to be lacking in quality. I suppose it is possible it is a contemporary copy made during the Civil War around 1821, but it certainly isn't an official product. That is why I suggested asking across the pond.

over 500kB. If not, leave the thread and come back into it, then the 500kb limit per post will reset.

Not a clue about these, but given the abdication date it doesn't sound right. What mint is it? Weight? Edge? The portrait doesn't seem to match the 1808 coins exactly, but I haven't checked all the different mints. The eyelid is too long for a start and the front cuirasse strap could be a bit too long. Usually the other 3 are slightly longer. It's almost certain the Chinese will be making these, so anybody know if this is one? You might be better off posting on a US forum as there are a lot of collectors of 8 Reales over there due to the Hispanic connection with the US. If it is a copy, it won't be the only one.

The big problem with the first few years of the 500 coinage was the indifferent strike frequently seen with practically as struck VF detail not unknown. It isn't until 1923 that you get a consistent strike.

If it is any help. Jackson Kent did a 10 year study of the early milled coinage in the 1950s & 60s in an effort to establish whether the number of harp strings had any relevance - his conclusion was nothing to learn from them. i.e. they were random in number with no patterns apparent, from which you can reasonably expect a deviation around the most commonly occurring number. That isn't to say there is no relevance, just that none has been established to date.

The number of strings varies as they were entered separately. This is one of the pitfalls of references when they go into detail because the assumption of many is that it provides a true and full picture - something they manifestly do not. I don't know whether this is a common variant or not, so can only suggest locating as many images of the coin you can and work out the answer yourself. The old ESC was full of holes, and the new one has expanded on this considerably, but the number of holes has also increased to take account of this extra information. At the end of the day, you have to take what is written on board, but always keep an open mind so that when you spot an inconsistency you investigate and customise your reference to reflect the updated information.

1963 decimal patterns

Normal for Bury

It's a pity ebay don't offer a drop down menu that includes copies as a reason to report an item. I can't see a way to inform ebay that describes the problem, but I guess that is just the way they like it - no hassle and fees received.

I don't know what the regular mail insurance limit is in the US, but suspect it will be aligned with this country where the maximum insured value is £250. Over that and you are using a courier (including Parcelforce) which is considerably higher, or if you have separate insurance, you can send it regular mail. Prices can escalate. If I want to send a higher value thing to the US with a courier, the price is in the £30 area, but can be more depending on value. For imports from the US to me, $30 is a minimum charge whichever auction house it comes from. They won't send it on a wing and a prayer as they are responsible for it getting to you, so arses will be covered.

No.

Brilliant.

It's always worth delaying publication until you are satisfied the article is complete as you inevitably find something that casts doubt on your findings to date. As for publishing images, the catalogues are already deemed to be in the public domain, so you are unlikely to run into copyright issues by illustrating these. If the source is given, then the auction house is being given free publicity. Images taken from articles on a website would be different. All studies use the author's images where possible.

It affects both sides, but tends to be more obvious on the obverse because there is a greater expanse of flat areas and less clutter in the design. Here's one with it on both sides.

Haymarking. Probably flecks of oxidised copper from insufficiently mixed metal. Copper is the metal usually added to get the correct silver fineness. Copper (II) oxide is black.

The sub groups are determined by the punctuation. Unless you can identify or eliminate saltires and/or apostrophe contraction marks, the coin must remain a generic type 5. If it only has a single saltire on the reverse, that makes it a reverse (i). Best bet is to identify the bit after HENRIC.

I think the left's reaction to the Thatcher years was a whinge in the realisation that the cozy life in the union-run country of the 1970s was disappearing in a puff of smoke. People complain about Thatcher in the 80s, but what about the 70s where a walkout was determined by a show of hands. The example where Derek Robinson shut Longbridge with a clearly small minority favouring a strike - yet the vote was deemed to be passed, that and similar actions set the seeds of Thatcherism because it was clear the country was in danger of being run by the unions. From my own experience, I was given a warning for working too hard when at the post office after graduation. I was told in no uncertain terms that it took 10 minutes to load this van, 20 for that, 45 for another. And the funereal pace of the mail bag folding area would have embarrassed even the most lethargic, with a rate of 2 per minute, the bags neatly folded with such perfection that it would have put many a laundry to shame. They could have relieved the boredom by doing a bag every 15 seconds, but that was the agreed rate. Only available to permanent staff, the list of people putting their name down for this jolly was lengthy. That was my life in the 70s, and I didn't like it either. It is the difference in view of work ethics that explains this country's lack of productivity when compared with other developed nations. Ultimately, nothing happens in isolation.

Crown cushion ends vary a little. The harp strings are different and partly filled on the bottom coin, the date is differently aligned, the stops by date are a different size. You could check to see if the Garter Star rays are from the same punch. If the central garter is not part of the same punch as the rays, it could be rotated on any die by a quarter turn or multiples thereof.

Simple. Serving a market using a combination of greed, gullibility and ignorance. The Daily Mail and other rags have been telling the public for years that the coins in their pocket are all worth many multiples of face value. This despite the banks continuing to issue them at face value - and they are hardly slow to make a quick buck. Consequently, many people are now convinced that they should be wealthy beyond imagination. Many buyers want to buy into the dream. Gullible, because many have bought into this dream, and believe any coin to be worth a lot of money without doing any research. After all, with electronic banking, coins are clearly anachronistic, so must have increased in value. Ignorant because mob rule rules. You don't need to do homework because we are all on the same bandwagon - allegedly.

Will somebody tell him it's a copy (and not silver) please. I did and he said he would look into it, but hasn't looked very hard so far. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/unresearched-medieval-hammered-silver-coin/223185588269?hash=item33f6e5d02d:g:kdgAAOSwfr1bv5KI

Is that not due to the shallow impression of the underlying letter? With only the top of the punch relief entered, you would only see a bit of the punch, but presumably end up with the sides showing as two parallel lines once fully entered. It's the sort of detail that you could only check for by looking at V(ICT..) on an uncirculated example.