argentumandcoins

Anybody can obtain slabs (if you check you will see they are freely available on ebay). The simple answer is GRADE THE COIN YOURSELF BEFORE YOU BUY/BID. I have had a couple from centsles over the years and had bought them on scarcity rather than grade. They were collection purchases so the slab got cracked as soon as the coins arrived, because as I have already stated "mahogany looks better than plastic" CGS is owned by Steve Lockett of London Coin Auctions, so in answer to Daves question, he has seen/handled/photographed hundreds of thousands of coins. I know that he will never give a coin 100 on the slab because he has said himself "how can you grade a coin at 100 (his top grading score)? What if a better one comes along?" A second grading house is the last thing we need in the UK. The members often talk on here about huge sums of money paid for Bun Pennies as being some sort of ego trip, when in reality it is a small group of collectors chasing a missing date/variety in their collection (Yes, I am one of the small group on occasion). Slabbed coins fetch a disproportionately high amount if they are the "highest grade slabbed to date", now correct me if I'm wrong but that really is a pissing competition? When people start paying 3 figure sums for George V common date coins just because "mine's better than yours" it's time to give up. There are a couple of benefits to slabbing, the main one being the fact that according to the slab your coin is not a forgery, unfortunately there are now Chinese slabs on the market which contain Chinese forgery coins!!! Ultimately you have to decide why you would want to buy a slabbed coin; If it is because you are unsure of grade or authenticity yourself, it's time to learn how to assess a coin. There are many ways to do this ( Dereks book aside ) and should be the first thing a collector embarks upon. If it is to protect your coin long term, fair do's. If it is the coin you want rather than the slab, I've done it myself and will again. If it is so you can have the best 1967 Penny recorded anywhere in the world.................

Looks like a toning spot, or possibly an ejaculating lighthouse? If you're getting into dots now Dave I can send you a book with loads of them in. If you join them all together you get nice pictures to colour in and stick on your wall

Not very often you get a Mag helping a Mackem

A quick look tells you straight away that it's a wrong un! If confirmation were needed, the spade type was last issued in 1800.

It's a base metal spade guinea token or gaming counter.

Many things can tone or stain silver in a way that makes it look base. Any time that you aren't sure the digital scales are the first thing to reach for. The edge tap is good on florins to crowns but can be used on smaller silver. Brass will give a thud and obviously silver gives a ring.

2 quick and easy tells are the weight and a tap on the edge with a pencil.

Hello Coindome, I don't know which dealers you have been to, but if I could make 40% profit on most of my purchases I would be happy! Have you tried an ad in Coin News? If you are a subscriber it will be free for you. Regards, John.

The London coins one sold 09/06/2009 so thats some time before the Heritage coin. Don't focus to much on the copper coloured spots. Heritage's extra lighting brings them out more. I have picked out and circled features in the toning that match up which makes me believe its the same coin: Heritage Coin ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, London Coins auction coin As I said on your site Hus, definitely the same coin. Question is, what do I spend my £90k profit on? I wish.....

Hello Paul, It is a 5 Reis of Jose I. You have the dtae wrong however as it can only be 1751 to 1776. John.

I was watching 'Take Your Pick'... I was a twinkle in my Daddies eye!

Here's one for you to deliberate over. Purchased last week in a bulk lot. Weighs slightly light at 13gms, but not a major alarm bell due to the wear. Sitting snugly in a newly formed space in the collection now, although I may send it for expert examination just out of interest.

That's what the members can deliberate over Scott. There are a few theories re this date and others between the years 1850 and 1874. Rayner thought it was a forger operating in the 1890's. Others think it was possibly mint employees tinkering with old dies after the 1887 issues. Some think they are genuine mint productions. A very nice find among a £300 lot though!

Dave, Rob is bang on with his assessment. Save yourself some stress mate and accept that you have bought a scarcer date half sov with a re-punched V. If you look at it any harder you'll probably see another shooter near the grassy knoll

So it does, never noticed that before. Well, in that case 99% of pennies described as UNC on dealers lists and Fleabay, aren't. Which is quite an important point really...... It's also presumably why Michael Gouby's highest grade is AU ? Also worth re-iterating for the 100th time, just how rare uncirculated pennies with full mint lustre really are. Spinks are quite a decent lot eh? I don't use their guide but I do use their auctions and I can tell you quite uneqivocally that UNC in their auction catalogue applies to lack of wear due to circulation ,as it should, rather than blazing lustre/colour/shithouse door shine or whatever else you want to call it. I think you are all totally missing the point on this, buy a coin because you like it and don't buy it if you don't like it. Let Cookes call them what they want, at the end of the day it is down to the buyer to decide what the grade and amount of toning is, as it is the buyer that is spending their hard earned cash. I can call an aligator a terrapin if I want, it just means nobody will buy it!

Maybe the bottom 2 offers were genuine? Perhaps Gordon Brown thinks it's a good way to invest his pension?

Spink prices will be formulated around this time of year as the book is out in October.

Wow, wrinkle cream! Is it any good for creased coins/banknotes??? Could you put a link up to verdigris cream? Or even better, hemorrhoid cream to get rid of pains in the arse?????????

He's had 12 offers. I might make him an offer of £20 see what he says. I wouldn't. He'll be in a foul mood. I just told him he should have said "If an offer is accepted..." (not "excepted"). Perhaps he has taken exception to some of the offers already made! I'd give him 20p for it

I would have thought that the much lighter colour in the field would indicate that it WAS there at some stage and had been removed, but what do I know about coins......

Thanks, I've seen these Maundy case, but looking for some way to conserve the complete set David David, The best long term storage is either the faithful mahogany cabinet or acid free envelopes for the coins. The paper is more of a problem as it is obviously very sensitive to dampness, so some form of airtight container is a must. I appreciate your sentimentality but you are sitting on about £1200-£1500 for the complete package, which will get split and probably sold piecemeal when passed on to more than one custodian thus decreasing the value and story of it's origin. I have a 1978 set on ebay at the moment which is nowhere near the complete set, so within 32 years the family have decided to sell up and move on (they must have kept a set of coins and the red purse as well as some of the documentation). John.

Yes. You have until a certain date to register your interest in a lot and then after the closing date, it's between you and whoever else has entered the minimum starting bid. You then keep going backwards and forwards until everyone else gives up and you are the last man standing. Can go on for a week or more. Oh right, thanks for that. Presumably the winner is the one whose bid still stands after say, 24 hours, with no further rival bids ? ~ and that everybody is still in the race until that point. From memory, last time I got an email every time I was outbid asking me if I wanted to continue. I think there must be a time limit if they don't hear from you, can't remember what it is though. I think it's called "taking the piss" I'll save my money for auctions where I know when it ends and where my first bid is my only bid (whether highest lowest or derisory compared to others). Some nice looking stuff so good luck to those of you who put yourselves forward for the hassle! Where's the coins? I see the announcement but can't see a link to view the coins There was a sneak preview ad in Coin News Dave.

6 to 15 in existence is what R18 gives us. But what I can't quite get my head round, and hopefully someone will put me right, is why a 6 would have been stamped on the second figure of the year anyway ? I can understand the last figure, as it would be a re-stamp of unused coins from the previous year. But the second number in, and not many in existence. Has to be an error, and why would they take the trouble to over strike them ? Why not just waste them ? It is the die that has been re-punched when a number is an overdate, usually to repair, replace or strengthen an existing number, but occasionally it happens to a virgin die. In this instance it was an error. The person punching the date must have forgotten it was a mirror image and put the 6 where the 8 should have gone. The error was noticed and overstruck with the correct digit, giving the 8 over 6.

Yes. You have until a certain date to register your interest in a lot and then after the closing date, it's between you and whoever else has entered the minimum starting bid. You then keep going backwards and forwards until everyone else gives up and you are the last man standing. Can go on for a week or more. Oh right, thanks for that. Presumably the winner is the one whose bid still stands after say, 24 hours, with no further rival bids ? ~ and that everybody is still in the race until that point. From memory, last time I got an email every time I was outbid asking me if I wanted to continue. I think there must be a time limit if they don't hear from you, can't remember what it is though. I think it's called "taking the piss" I'll save my money for auctions where I know when it ends and where my first bid is my only bid (whether highest lowest or derisory compared to others). Some nice looking stuff so good luck to those of you who put yourselves forward for the hassle!

maybe it's because the eye assumes that light comes from above (the sun). The reflections on the lower edge of the numerals must then be below the surface of the coin. If you look at it assuming the light source is from below, it suddenly makes sense. Perception is a funny thing! Looked fine on my desktop machine, but now relooking at it on my laptop, I get the incuse effect, however it goes normal if i turn the laptop upside down! so I buy your sunshine explanation Thanks David, I just put my back out doing a handstand in my office to see the image properly Getting back to the point, I think the problem is that your scanner has given a negative image? The coin probably has a re-punched 4 but even as an avid Penny collector I do not ascribe any great import to things such as that. A mis-punched number i.e. an incorrect number or an overdate is more my bag.