argentumandcoins

It had crossed my mind that Kings Norton may have been producing for other countries at that time on smaller blanks. I suppose that Michael is right and the RM would have to be the first port of call. Don't bother going to the RM unless they are expert on the Kings Norton output. Kings Norton produced their own blanks - not only that but, according to Freeman, they supplied blanks to the RM from 1912 - 1919, which I guess is why you sometimes see 'red pennies' that aren't 1918/19KN. The question is, who else did they do business for, and could a blank from another of their contract jobs have got mixed up with the RM sub-contract? Or, maybe it was just a duff item that slipped through their inspectors (or maybe they had RM inspectors on site who dozed off late Friday afternoon). Either way, I agree with those who say 'take it back' for a refund (unless of course, he sends it uninsured and "you don't receive it" .. now there's a thought!) My reasoning was that the Royal Mint supplied the dies and should at least confirm the use of a correct die, negating the forgery issue? With Dave being a Scotsman I thought he would rather take the free examination than pay Robert £30 Ok so he's replied and said if i get the coin authenticated then he'll pay double what it sold for, so i have said that if thats the case then he should also pay for authentication. Whats the name of this guy John who does this authentication work, and perhaps some contact details if possible. PM me if you don't want to hand them out here. 400 posted a link to his site on the previous page Dave. His name is Robert Matthews and he does a comprehensive report for you together with digital ID pics of the coin in question.

....and me. I'm currently forming a collection, and the apparent lack of stable pricing is quite a worry. Although I'm collecting for interest rather than speculation, it would be a bit irritating to say the least, to have paid tip top prices now, only to find they fall back later. Although you have to look for bargains, we're all lucky with some coins, and not so lucky with others. There is absolutely no sign of prices slowing down, never mind falling. Coin prices rise year on year across the board and a high quality collection really is better than money in the bank. The reasons for the rise are numerous and can be linked with poor interest rates in banks, rises in precious metal prices (this has pushed up the prices on low grade silver), publicity over things like mule 20p and 1933 penny stirring interest from new collectors etc etc etc. Unlike the majority on here I buy in auctions and I can tell you that they are smoking at the moment. This again pushes your buying price up because dealers are having to pay more at auction. Any of you thinking of selling think long and hard. Yes, you will turn a profit on what you sell BUT, if you decide to replace your sales in a few months/years time you may find yourself priced out of the market. Now may however be a good time to assess your aims. If you decide you don't like a particular part of your collection and would like to concentrate on one denomination/reign why not dispose of a portion and re-invest? Food for thought folks.

It had crossed my mind that Kings Norton may have been producing for other countries at that time on smaller blanks. I suppose that Michael is right and the RM would have to be the first port of call. Don't bother going to the RM unless they are expert on the Kings Norton output. Kings Norton produced their own blanks - not only that but, according to Freeman, they supplied blanks to the RM from 1912 - 1919, which I guess is why you sometimes see 'red pennies' that aren't 1918/19KN. The question is, who else did they do business for, and could a blank from another of their contract jobs have got mixed up with the RM sub-contract? Or, maybe it was just a duff item that slipped through their inspectors (or maybe they had RM inspectors on site who dozed off late Friday afternoon). Either way, I agree with those who say 'take it back' for a refund (unless of course, he sends it uninsured and "you don't receive it" .. now there's a thought!) My reasoning was that the Royal Mint supplied the dies and should at least confirm the use of a correct die, negating the forgery issue? With Dave being a Scotsman I thought he would rather take the free examination than pay Robert £30

What is the neighbouring village called? Hell? Weather? English? Simon Cowell?

You're not going to believe this Dave, but, I have been there thousands of times! ditto and I didnt need to look at the pic to know what azda was on about. Your not ex military by chance John? No Gary, ex cop, the worst sort, traffic with a safe in the back

Dave, you should just take it back. If the coin is a genuine mint issue (and I am 99% certain it is from the pics) it must be on a smaller blank. That being the case it must be a mint error, possibly as Scott suggested on a Foreign blank. That means you would be sitting on a rarity of considerable value. I don't have the Colin Adams Penny sale catalogue (I bet Rob does), but I do recall he sold a QEII penny around the 1964 date on a smaller blank and it made a hefty hammer price. Swallow your pride and think with your head not your heart!

No problem! Below was his initial reply to my enquiry; Hello John, My charges are are 3% of the insurance value with a minimum charge of £30 plus return postage. In this case I assume the minimum charge will apply. I have attached my submission form to this reply, if you wish to use my service you should send the coin with the completed form and the fee to the address on the form. According to Rayner in his "English Silver Coinage since 1649" a couple of well worn 1861 crowns have surfaced over the years. The state of your coin may mean it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about its authentication but I would try my best. With best regards, Robert Matthews

I used Robert for a report on the 1861 Halfcrown that I have. I don't know what more he would be able to say about my 1919 KN as I know it is undersized and underweight and I think Daves is the same. If anybody would like to see the report to decide whether or not to use Robert I will gladly forward a copy via email.

It's a village and a hill just off the main road 10 miles(ish) north of Austria through the Fernpass. Passed by it a year or so ago on my way back from Innsbruck. I think its about an hour from me on the Sbahn, its Garmisches Patenkirchen area The hill is above Garmisch, but the village is near Fussen. I just remembered the name of the village on a sign and it appealed to my warped or childish sense of humour not sure which. Clearly a popular name. Just googled this, and this for further entertainment. I don't understand why the Brits didn't take the cheaper option of visiting Uckinghall, south of Worcester. Whitehall already have Rob, I think there is a large region called Uckuall just North of Watford

It had crossed my mind that Kings Norton may have been producing for other countries at that time on smaller blanks. I suppose that Michael is right and the RM would have to be the first port of call.

You're not going to believe this Dave, but, I have been there thousands of times!

The 1937 is only rare if it is the Edward VIII issue and that clearly is not I'm afraid. As for the other dates they only have value if in uncirculated condition and even then they would only be a few pounds.

I wonder how many people pressed the 'enlage' button! Was there a coin there? I must have missed it, better have another look

I have just sold a near mint Second Edition for £185.

ESC is pretty much your starting and finishing point for the milled series. Davies is a more specialist look at silver coinage but only from the recoinage of George III in 1816. If you can afford it you should buy both.

Another edge picture. It can sit in the oddities tray along with the milled edges and 1933 pennies!

so how much is it worth ? my son likes it and thinking of collecting coins haha Funnily enough, it's worth £2! An excellent way for your son to start a collection though.

If the Mint museum only have one example left it would appear that somebody managed to sneak out a considerable number of passes at the time they were replaced/made obsolete!

Hello Tom. Artificially lit and on the tilt don't help, but I would give it at least EF. If you pay an EF price and the coin is better (probably is) you cannot go far wrong. John.

oops "uncirculated" Hello Jim, They often turn up in auction but the postage costs would be very large. I never touch them as they are pretty much unsaleable. I can PM you if you wish the next time I see any listed at auction? John.

Well if there's one thing the Scots do know about it's alcohol!

I am just under the 250 mark I guess, probably 50+ books, which I continually expand upon as and when I find them. The more you spend on good reference material the less you should lose on bad purchases in my opinion. You can never have too much information!

Welcome back young man. There are a lot of varieties/mints for Ed I pennies so you would need to upload scans/pics before anybody could even guess a value I'm afraid.

I visited a public toilet in France once and that seemed pretty third world. But even if the risk is with the purchaser, it doesn't stop them ripping the money out of your hands through paypal! I use common sense based on a mental value/place/buyer feedback/history with buyer equation, as to whether I send recorded or take a chance. I use all of the above Chris, but the latest hit is a Russian buyer with good feedback on a £13.50 sale. Hardly worth the extra £4 whatever it is that the Royal Mail rip you off for, just for their website to say "with overseas postal service" I know I would be covered with paypal but £4 is probably the profit in the sale! I wonder how many of these "buyers" have a rapidly expanding collection without ever paying for any of it? My very latest kick in the nether regions happened on Wednesday when my darling wife collected a 2000 millennium silver proof set that I had won in a general auction. I checked it when I returned from the auction I had been viewing and found that some rather clever chap had kindly bought the 50p, 20p and 5p off me. He had kindly left the 2007 50p, 2006 20p and 2000 5p currency issues that he had paid with inside the capsules alongside the other silver coins of mine that he didn't have the money for. I really do like enterprising people, whoops sorry, I meant THIEVING LOWLIFE SCUM.

Hello Nick and welcome. Without re-reading Davies I am guessing that the dies are the same. The easiest tell for a maundy threepence is the toning. Currency issues tend to tone like all other silver coins whereas maundy issues tone with that lovely gun metal/steely blue tone. The coins have to be in high grade to differentiate. For B UNC coins the maundy usually appear prooflike with mirrored fields. I have sold a couple of early B UNCS and had to sell them as maundy issue becauase they looked like proof strikes. The currency, as I'm sure you will know, was worth about £100 more than I asked. Hope that is of some help.