argentumandcoins

I use pen and paper, it even works in a power cut! My accounts are done the same way Peter. If my accountants want £750 a year out of me they can bloody well earn it!!

Looks about as genuine as Katie Prices lady bumps!

You have just given yourself the best bit of advice that you could have learnt from us. If you like the coin the chances are that somebody else will if you come to sell on.

Happy Birthday Geordie. I bet you canna blaw the candles oot in yan gar marra?

You've got a sharp eye for spotting the eBay irregularities! Presumeably he outbid the genuine top bidder, and then cancelled the transaction with himself, all ready to live another day in paradise! The 2 were running side by side, the auction one ended Friday, but it's definately the same coin He did the same trick with an 1887 gold and silver set earlier this year. I knew what he paid for it as he bought it from a customer of mine, who had bought it from me prior to the hike in bullion prices. Needless to say the auction end price showed him a loss after fees so it went back on as a buy it now. Private listings...........shilling sales!

About 4-5 months' ago! He said he's going to let me know where he got it from, a dealer apparently????? Isn't it a shame you can't follow these things up with the buyers anymore! That's ebay protecting,,,,,, oh, yes, ebay! They make it so hard to track anything that the system is wide open to shill bidding and con merchants, but hey, 15% profits off the top for ebay/paypal, "you know it makes sense Rodders"!!!!!

I wouldn't hold your breath on a reply Stuart. I contacted the ebay user squirry123 earlier this month to ask if they knew the fistful of coins that they had paid a small fortune for from China were all fakes..............no response!

I did a similar test when I was undergoing a psyche evaluation in the old days. It looks like sex to me (I bet Peter sees the same).

They only did these in Gold/Silver and Bronze. 200 Gold, 1500 Silver and 2000 Bronze, then the dies were apparently destroyed under supervision according to the little booklet that came with it Proof, if ever it were needed, that there is a God! Incidently, how did you manage to acquire the status 'not a God, just a man'? Are you in? When you are rated as a god you have god-like powers (actually you can change your title to whatever you want on your account page). Am I in? As in, in? or as in, in the masons/continent (think about it) etc?

They only did these in Gold/Silver and Bronze. 200 Gold, 1500 Silver and 2000 Bronze, then the dies were apparently destroyed under supervision according to the little booklet that came with it Proof, if ever it were needed, that there is a God!

I did all right last week. I picked up the either/or coin I wanted in the Eginton trial pattern sixpence (lot 721), so left the second one alone. Plus I acquired a couple of others at reasonable prices. My bids were all in the milled section Rob, oh and a few lots in the literature. I only wanted one lot of books and came second. I'm no pervy Rob I do have spare copy of Mayfair volume 2 issue 20 if you are interested. It has been kept under the mattress with the white fivers. If you can open the pages without having to use a chisel I might be in the market

I did all right last week. I picked up the either/or coin I wanted in the Eginton trial pattern sixpence (lot 721), so left the second one alone. Plus I acquired a couple of others at reasonable prices. My bids were all in the milled section Rob, oh and a few lots in the literature. I only wanted one lot of books and came second. I got more silver medals than Englands penalty takers

I did all right last week. I picked up the either/or coin I wanted in the Eginton trial pattern sixpence (lot 721), so left the second one alone. Plus I acquired a couple of others at reasonable prices. My bids were all in the milled section Rob, oh and a few lots in the literature.

I managed to "win" 11 lots, 4 of the Cumberland mining tokens and a lower grade hammered Carlisle penny among them. If I can't sell them up here there is no hope! Prices were brutal as usual. I got trounced at DNW last week as well. I just wish once in a while I could be the only interested bidder on a couple of lots Anyway I'll pull my pants up now and go and put some savalon on the part that got ripped open during the bidding bloodbath................

Most of the time, but there are exceptions, and if a cross must be assumed to be deliberate which would help the accounting theory. My only difficulty with the accounting theory is I can't see what accounting purpose it would serve, unlike the marking of a pile of BoE notes that are bound together! I suppose that if done for accounting purposes you would expect to see multiple crosses too. The earliest I have seen a cross is on Edward VI fine coinage, which immediately post-dates the debased period and could be a hangover from this period. Could it be that crossed coins were those that failed the recoinage test in 1696? I've just made a quick check on those coins with a cross that I have weights for and the closest any came to full weight was a James I 3rd bust shilling at 5.87g with the next at 5.75g. The lightest was 5.39g. I also have an Elizabeth I shilling with a star mark at 5.92g. We also have to bear in mind that some marks could be graffiti and completely unrelated to the underlying reason for the majority of marks. At the recoinage, those coins of full weight were punched through the centre to signify they were of full weight (and therefore value) and could be used for transactions for a limited time. In the event of discovering a pierced coin was underweight, the person who tendered the coin was liable to make up the difference in value. Do we have any other weights for crossed coins which would back up this theory? i.e. does anyone have crossed coins that are full weight and if so how many? Marking the field makes the cross obvious, so one would assume that it was done as a means of identification. Yes, I speculated (above) that it may have been something to do with the Recoinage. I think it is the most convincing explanation. The trouble is that Lloyd Bennett has a pierced Aberystwyth shilling with the hole through the centre as stipulated in the decree which only weighs 5.75g. This was the first coin I looked at. The next four halfcrowns had a maximum weight of 14.71g, so the underwight theory probably doesn't hold much water. I didn't find any full weight centre-holed coins. It is just too easy to find coins that break any postulated theories. We are all p***ing in the wind. One thing that would help a theory re-the recoinage would be the total absence of any crossed coins from contemporary hoards that could be positively dated to before the recoinage. I don't think this is the sort of thing that gets reported though because it would need to encompass all hoards. I suppose a starting point would be the last 3 Tennants sales where a civil war hoard was offered. From 5 shillings and 6 halfcrowns bought by me/father there is not a single marked coin. If somebody has the time to trawl their archived catalogues there will be pictures of all lots. Although a relatively small hoard it would give a good indication?

It is Hus and his fat thumbs Single Malt and working in the small hours, that's my guess! Leave me out of this Stuart! Oh, sorry, you meant Hus I have my coin back thanks

Errr, it looks like frost? The £1 proof you stuck on the acq thread is frosted on the portrait and shield ne pas?

Either there's some determined shilling going on (suspicious bidding pattern, yes?), or else someone desperately wants it for the date. But I agree, it's a weird one. You wouldn't raise that for a regular EF halfpenny of that series, so your guess is as good as mine. Richard is not a shiller, so we can put that to bed. Is it lost on you that the date does not exist and does not turn up among forgeries? The price is high because it is contemporary, rare and in good condition for a series that is regularly very poorly produced. No mystery just simple supply and demand. As you see John, that's what I said!! But on that basis, a unique date of a "To Hanover" gaming token or faked spade guinea, should command a similar value. All we're saying is that it's a weirdly high price - albeit a unique date - for what is, at the end of the day, a forgery. Though I collect George III counterfeits I know next to nothing about the copper series. However some of those were produced in America, and if that's the case the price will probably be much higher than an English counterfeit. Your latest was sent today with 5 shillings included

At least you can still spend the cent though!

No problem for me Dave.

Either there's some determined shilling going on (suspicious bidding pattern, yes?), or else someone desperately wants it for the date. But I agree, it's a weird one. You wouldn't raise that for a regular EF halfpenny of that series, so your guess is as good as mine. Richard is not a shiller, so we can put that to bed. Is it lost on you that the date does not exist and does not turn up among forgeries? The price is high because it is contemporary, rare and in good condition for a series that is regularly very poorly produced. No mystery just simple supply and demand.

Just as you said "never seen before" I know the seller very well and was outbid by him on that lot at auction. It is a genuine sale and the coin will probably go across the pond, which is where 99% of the Georgian forgeries end up (colonoial Revolutionary period coinage anybody?) I have sold washers for £200-£300 before just because they are scarce dies, this one I aint seen before either buddy I would expect the 1781 to fetch a good price as well.

Yes, all from one collection Debbie. Sadly the gentleman died many years ago and his daughters (both elderly) have only now decided to sell on his exonumia collection. His coins went 25 years ago to Spink and boy do I wish I had had the chance of buying that collection! Most of the sales have/are going to the USA. I am in contact with one of the collectors (who has been collecting for many years) and will ask if he would like to correspond with you if you wish?

Not, unfortunately.

You can't price something that is unique, and all of these types are unique. If the subject matter was more appealing it could do £100+, I would guess yours would be in the £20-£50 region though. So are they all one off pieces? Yes, each being engraved by individuals. Its a nice piece and maybe worth hanging onto unless you are really desperate to sell. These engraved coins are finding their way into the market, but not quite popular just yet. Wasn't planning on selling it just came across it yesterday and wanted to find out more. It's nice to know that I have a one off piece but i'm surprised that a single person could engrave it with such detail and precision. Yours is quite crude compared to some. I just had a George V threepence sell yesterday that had been engraved with the entire Lords Prayer, now that is intricate work!