Gary

Thanks guy`s. I thought I might have been a little harsh when grading of these coins. My grade for this coin is nEF which seems to be the general opinion.

I agree with planz666, using a toothbrush is not advisable on any type of coin. A toothbrush is made of nylon and even a toothbrush which is considered soft will leave tiny sractches. Have a look at the bristles of a toothbrush under a x10 magnifiying glass and you will see hundreds of sharp edges! If you must use a brush, I reccommend a good quality, natural hair artists brush with the bristles cut back short to stiffen them up. As for verdigris- If it has not reached the stage of actualy eating away at the coin, I find a good remedy is Contact Spray. This spray is used in the electrical industry to remove moisture and to clean and protect copper connections. It works quite well on copper coins and can prove usefull for bronze. It does not alter the patina or colour of the coin. The coin can be left soaking for as long as you want. The use of a toothpick either soaked with water or again with contact spray can then be used to carefully scrap away stubbon spots of verdigris. I say carefully because even a softwood toothpick can remove the patina from a copper coin if you are not carefull. Copper is a soft metal, bronze is a bit harder. For bronze coins, try soaking the coin in water for a few hours before putting it in the contact spray. I find that most coins with verdigris have already been removed from the source of moisture, consequently the verdigris has dried out and gone hard. Soaking it in water for a while will soften it up before soaking it in contact spray. Do not soak copper (pre 1860) coins in water as this will cause them to loose their sheen and become dull and matt. After having said this, please try it on worthless coins first and if you are not pleased with the results, dont try it on valuable coins and then place the blame on me because you dont like the results.

thats another give away, yes. However if looking for a 1926 mod on the internet it is not always an indicator as many sellers do not photograph the coins at a 90° angle which then eliminates the colon dots as identification (paralex error, I might have spellt that wrong ) The colon between GRA and BRITT is a dead give away and as custard1966 said this was missed by the "major authors"

Hello custard1966, yep, I´ll give you that one, you are quite right but ask the average collector to pick out the 1926 Modified from two photos and I think the results would be suprising.

I agree with Chris on this one, if it can clearly be seen then it should be mentioned. After all the 1926 Modified penny is very hard to tell on circulated coins, unless one knows exactly what to look for. The best indicator is the initials BM and these are not too easy to see on circulated coins. As we know the 1926 modified penny commands high prices and only because it has very minor changes in the design, almost undetectable to the naked eye. Die problems were almost a thing of the past by the 1890`s so when a coin crops up which is different then it should be mentioned. The 1926 Penny was considered important because it was the only major design variation, even though the changes were minor, since ca.1879. On the other hand Rob has a point, I have 3 1896 penny coins, one I consider normal and two where the spacing between the 9 and 6 is different, using the number of teeth between the tail of the 9 and the 6 as a reference. The difference between the two wide spaced dates is minimal, half a tooth, so I agree with Rob that this difference is outside the scope of a general book on coins.

Wider spaced seems to be scarcer.

Hi Chris, you might have opened a bag of worms with this new category! I have toyed for a while now with the idea of starting a web site for the sole purpose of listing varieties, known and unknown. One where collectors could report thier finds and also post pictures. This is as far as I have got, Halfpennies At the moment this is very basic, as you can see, but would there be an interest for this sort of site? Enough, here is my next candidate- In CCGB 2006 the 1896 Penny with wider spaced 9 and 6 is listed, how about the 1899 Penny, wider spaced 9`s

I have had an offer for this coin, although it is not for sale and is now housed in my own collection. The offer was for US$ 350, not bad, maybe I should have sold, naw!

Hello all, I now have poof that the 1834 penny does in fact exsist with all serif`s intact. It has taken me 3 months to find but I now have an example in my collection. It`s only graded "Fine" and bought on Ebay, but it is the only example with intact serif`s that I have managed to find so far. Maybe another variety to add to CCGB 2007? Cheers Gary

Hi Chris, if you want to use the photo please feel free, after all it`s only a photo and if we can make collectors aware that this error is out there then maybe more will turn up. As for an exclusive, well the picture is now posted on this forum and I think you know enough about computers to know what that means! If you want to use a photo of it in the 2007 CCGB then I will speak with a friend of mine who is a professional photographer and see if she can do better, without the flash glare. The story behind this coin- Bought among a Lot of coins at a german Auktion (a real auction). There were several 1861 halfpennies among the coins, they were all grubby and dirty and I did not pay much attention to them. I removed the coins that I wanted to keep for my own collection and offered the rest on a german auction site (not ebay) for sale, among them this halfpenny which I`d priced at Euro 4,00 ! On this site I also had an 1860 F17 penny in NEF for sale. I had an enquiry from the USA and sold the coin to a Gary.S. After he had recieved the coin he wrote to me reference another coin, an 1861 halfpenny which he pointed out could be an F 278 (Rarity 16). It was only then that I removed all the 1861 Halfpennies and looked at them closely for the first time. The rest history. I nearly sold this coin for 4 Euros! Just goes to show, do not dismiss a coin even if its grubby and dirty! Happy hunting, Gary

The Rev is G. Or have I missed something? As said, the Linear Circle is broken over a width of almost 3 Teeth, above P of PENNY and the Ornament which hangs from the lefthand side of the Trident head is flawed. I have posted a large picture here 1861 R over B Rev 1063x1060 Pixels This file is 220 KB so it could take a while to load if you are using a modem. How do I go about getting this error documented? Chris, are you serious about listing it next year, would you want to see it first? Regards gary

and the whole Obv. This coin is also missing a chunk of the linear circle and part of the orament on the trident.

ok, here it is

Thanks Peter, anyone want to see a picture of this coin? anyone interested? Gary

plausable, but surely this build up would have taken place over many years. Admittingly the mintage figures for late copper did rise, 1859 Penny 1,075,200 but compared too a years later, over 5 million for the bronze 1860 and then a whopping 36,5 million for 1861, it just seems out of proportion to me. By the way does anyone know how long after 1860 was the copper coinage still legal tender?

Hello Everyone, Please list, in your opinion the 3 rarest copper penny (1825-1860) dates. I mean in your own opinion from your own experience. Only dates, no varieties. Oh yes, and just how rare is the 1841 REG: (with colon)? Thanks, Gary.

Hi Peter, I agree with you that the 1860 Copper is the rarest and I did not intend to list it. I have asked for it to be removed from the list. The 1827 is considered by many to be the next rarest but as you said it often appears on Ebay. How often have you seen the others on Ebay or anywhere else for that matter? Gary

Hello Sylvester, sorry but I have messed this topic up. Could you please delete this post and my first one and remove the 1860 and the blank button if possible. If not remove the whole Poll and I will start again. Thanks, Gary

Hello Everyone, Please vote for what in your opinion is the rarest penny date. Thanks. Gary.

I mean commen to the 1839 two prong farthing of course. Gary

Hi Rob and custard1966, thanks for your replies. Interesting, I thought this Flaw was only to be found on the 1834 Penny, obviously not! The two 1831´s in my collection do not have this flaw but the 1837 does. The 1837 goes one better and is also missing the lower right serif of the "I" in "BRITT...." However we have not yet established wether or not there are any 1834 Penníes that have the serifs fully struck or indeed 1837. Anyone! Have a good weekend. Gary

Hello, I have had this coin (if it is one) for many years. I f I remember correctly it was purchased from a bric a brac box at a junk shop in the early 70`s along with several other items. It is either copper or bronze, probably copper, approx 23 mm across and 2 mm thick. It seems to have been clipped at some time, could be a dating help, 1700`s ? The main design is quite clear in the scan, in one corner is an O and in the opposite corner is a small design which at first glance appears to be a winged animal (horse, dragon) flying towards a mountain pinnicle. Hard to tell. The reverse just has 5 dots , like a dice. Anyone have any info. Many thanks, Gary.

Starting price £199 and no takers. Will he relist at a lower price?

The coin in question is graded NVF and as far as I know this flaw is not mentioned by Peck.

Hi kuhli, thanks for taking the time to reply. If this is down to "lamination errors" then the bubbles would presumably be hollow? Anyway, thanks again.Gary