Rob

It seems fairly uncontentious to have the Plantagenets running in parallel with the Lancastrians. In the case of Henry II, I suppose this could be resolved if we know what he called himself. If he called himself Henry Plantagenet, then all the historians in the world can't change that.

Yes. What alternative did you have in mind?

Given all letters on the second one aren't perpendicular to the rim, it would be impossible not to have a 'variety' of one form or other. Make up the description in your own words.

I like the fact they are always prepared to give voice to both sides of an argument. I had a letter published in it the other day concerning the ludicrous suggestion that the UK should have an imposed internal border with the EU just before the Brexit 'successful' announcement was made. To the paper's credit they published 4 letters on Brexit from opposite standpoints. Wouldn't get that in any Murdoch mouthpiece, or the Grauniad et al. They have regular writers that clearly have political leanings one way or the other, but to their credit have always had editorial political independence. Long may it continue.

I still think it is a phrase that has been hijacked.

The far hill in the picture is Lose Hill, which is not too far from Win Hill (you can see the shoulder on the extreme right skyline). This was postulated by W J Andrew about a century ago as having some connection with the Battle of Brunanburgh, the location of which is still uncertain. Various theories put this on the Wirral, around the Humber or anywhere in between. Truth is, nobody knows. The location of the Battle of Brunanburgh is one of history's holy grails given its significance. However, Andrew's theory could have some merit, as the old Roman road to the north passed close to this point, up from Buxton to Batham Gate and Edale, and we can make a reasonable assumption that the size of both English and Viking armies required the use of existing roads. And it's about a day's quick march to the sea in either direction which would tie in with the Sagas.

Or park a couple hundred yards down the road for free and walk the difference.

Wind direction is going to be all important relative to the pub. It's always windier at the Nick because it funnels through the gap, but away from there it is mostly consistently exposed and so consistently windy. The bit before the stream crossing and the made up path is the only potentially sheltered section, but again that's wind direction dependant. Good for taking the kids to fly their kites It's still worth a walk up there on a clear winter's day, cold or not. Summer is too much like a zoo.

How does anybody get lost walking to the top of Pendle Hill? I assume they parked at the Nick, so up the track to the top is a motorway. The ruts are deep enough to be a walking hazard! We went up there 6 weeks ago - it was windy as always, but a really clear day and a good view of the 3 Peaks.

Have a word with argentumandcoins. John is the dealer nearest to you. Apart from York, there is also the Wakefield fair on the last Sunday of every month (except December) at the Cedar Court Hotel just off junction 39 of the M1. Doors open at 9:30. It isn't much further to travel than York, but York will be the next fair.

Maybe so, but that gives me another denomination to add to the list of things to collect. I shall wade in with both feet and bid face value..........when I've composed myself.

Welcome. Sensible approach. Your starting point is as good as any. You won't know what you like until you have seen the full range of choices available, so if you want to expand on the above list, try a type collection, i.e. an example of each type without putting yourself into the position of having to spend a lot more than you are accustomed to just to acquire the key date. That will expose you to the widest range of coins. Some you will like, some might have seemed a good idea at the time. We all change direction somewhere along the line. Buying books is the best decision you will make, irrespective of what you eventually decide to focus on.

Some of Boulton & Watt's original dies were as said acquired by Taylor in 1848. Boulton's grandson, Matthew Piers Watt Boulton had a large stake in the restrikes as indicated by appendix 10e in Peck (p.616). He outlived Taylor by a good 20 years plus. According to Henry, he stated that the dies were destroyed, but it is possible that MPWB retained the odd one after Taylor's death in 1885, as the dies would only be destroyed after 1885 and by Boulton, not Taylor, because up to that point the latter was making restrikes for commercial gain. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of MPWB's sale catalogue from 1912 to check if any were offered then. There were no dies sold by the Watt family at Morton & Eden in 2002. The Boulton family collection was dispersed privately through Tim Millett a few years later, so I don't know if any were within this collection.

Shouldn't laugh given the fatalities, but it looks like someone in marketing had a sense of black humour. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42401707

Not very often I post something here, but this one is complete b******s. Silver, unlikely. Genuine, absolutely not. All Wulfhere stycas have his title. And in any case the lettering should frighten anyone away, so unsurprisingly, it's a private listing. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anglo-Saxon-AR-Sceat-King-of-Northumbria-Wulfhere-c-850-900-AD-475/272977189693?hash=item3f8eb55b3d:g:~oQAAOSwGPxaLWv7

If a £1 coin is worth £3K and the Daily Mail costs 65p (surely something wrong!), then pro-rata, that's about right. I wouldn't value a copy of the Mail any higher than the implied 0.0216666p price. In fact I'd probably still feel ripped off.

I recommend the FT. No tabloid gossip, hyped up crap for effect or sport. In short, a newspaper that has the temerity to write informative accurate articles. Costs multiples of the tabloids and would be cheap at double the price.

COA is certificate of authenticity. Surprisingly they still do a pyx trial to this day. In the days of hammered coins, even though standards were laid down, it was accepted that this constituted an average of what was capable of being produced, so the standard also allowed for a deviation in weight from it within reason and as specified. That is why a small number of coins from each batch were put into a sealed box, then at the time of changeover to the new initial mark, some coins were taken from the box, weighed and assayed. The mint master being held responsible for any failure to follow the standard. This was done to dissuade the workers at the mint from striking coin light and pocketing the difference. The reports are very useful as they specify what denominations were present at the trial, and hence we know what was issued at any particular time.

The ESC update was a bit of a disaster in my opinion as the previous rarity values were taken verbatim as far as I can see. There are a few things added such as prooflike examples of an otherwise standard coin, which in my view is just an early strike from better polished dies. It doesn't make it a proof and therefore is not worthy of cataloguing as a separate variety. Adding in a few of these and not proof reading properly means there is a disagreement in the concordance with the previous ESC numbering. This catches up at Ed.VII by leaving a few gaps in the numbering, which asks the question why was it not done properly in the first place. There are more varieties in the 6th edition compared to the 5th, but a corrected ESC would be preferable. And it falls apart easily based on my sample of 1 book.

Davies has more 'errors' in it than ESC, though neither are comprehensive because people are continually finding unrecorded varieties. Error lists are usually compiled by the collector and gradually find their way into published references if they have engraving origins such as corrected letters. The problem with errors is that they can be striking errors which may or may not be one-offs and not intentional, such as brockages, off-centre strikes, out of collar strikes etc. These will never get a comprehensive listing.

It's easier to say which bronze halfpennies don't have a I for a 1. I don't know of any as this was standard in the Victorian bronze. You see a range of fonts and sizes across the different denominations and issues, so what is normal for one is not necessarily the same as was used for the next. The only thing that stands out in this regard is where you get an Arabic 1 over an inverted Arabic 1, resulting in what appears to be a Roman I such as the first digit in the date below. The same thing occurs on the not so rare Roman 1 1825 shilling.

Just seen this line. 'Unless specifically noted, all of the pictures in my catalog are actual historical coins I use as models for my work.' Which would suggest that what you see is not what you get. Certainly from the gallery there is nothing to worry about as they are obvious copies.

Ok, the Civil War pieces are more realistic (didn't see those). An Elizabeth I 6th coinage groat doesn't exist, though it does look suspiciously like a shilling. I was going off the gallery pictures which are all obviously wrong. The images with a partial picture won't load for me when I click on them - just keeps cycling? The links above do however. I agree, I don't like the El.1 2d as it is too realistic.

I don't think there is much to worry about given they don't resemble the real thing. Most people running their own enterprise exude self-confidence. Nothing new in that. when was the last time you saw someone advertise themselves as not the best, just a typical person providing a decent service/product. Everybody positions themselves as expert/specialists - but can't all be the best.

I see a hand dividing R F (French?)