Gary D

As always it's a question of where you draw the line. for example the the 1918KN penny exists in at least 4 micro varieties - narrow and wide spaced KN both exist without and without the "bird's foot". I have examples of each as a "completist"; but I'm happy with my EF "normal" example, and wouldn't actively pursue a higher grade of the others Does anyone have a picture of the bird's foot in high grade? David

Thanks for the interest VS, I might be sending a PM soon, but I have emailed a few people to get some more answers first, as I am a wee bit intrigued to say the least! A couple of extra pictures, Its approx 114mm in diameter, 21mm thick and weighs approx 580 grams, it also appears to be possibly made of brass? I am awaiting a reply from a few sources including the Mint but I am sure I may be waiting a while! With the cushioned base undoubtedly a paperweight.

happy nights Now wasn't that a missed opportunity. When I was about 15 I went out with a girl who would always brought her best friend......... What was his name? Paul.....ine

happy nights Now wasn't that a missed opportunity. When I was about 15 I went out with a girl who would always brought her best friend.........

Does anyone know off the top of their head what our DG added to the Freeman and Davies catalogue? Just out of interest, Steve, do you also draw the line at the F numbers, or do you fish out the extra Gouby's and Groom's? 1959 1/S 1944 1d 1918 farthings 1915/16 recessed ears 1912 halfpennies 1911 6d 1911 1d 1911 halfpennies 1911 farthings 1906 1/- 1904 1/- 1903 1/- off the top of my head (kinda). Sorry if I missed any, Dave! That's just got to be worth a I collect 20th century varieties I think the biggest help would be for someone to list values. You can sort of work some out by doing a ratio calculation from Davies which is a start and the Freeman reprint helped for a while. Getting a variety recognised is the key though. Once it's in the likes of Spink your made. Just look at the 1953 proof 2/6, mine sat in my collection for several years valued at £18.56.

I would suggest only curiosity value unless it's a very rare coin. It would normally just be a reject. By the way the coin in my avatar is a classic weak strike due to the wrong sized planchet. I beleive an Irish 6d was used as it is Nickel.

Stamped into the edge, I suspect it's actually passed between rollers and the lettering is rolled into the edge. If the coin skips in the process you will get gaps/closed up lettering. I would guess everyone would be unique.

The second one looks like acid damage, is it thin and under weight.The first struck through grease or someone having a laugh.

I have often thought about getting my PL67 crown re-slabbed and sent of to the likes of Heritage. The problem is the slabbing, to get it put back into it's PCGS slab is very involved and expensive for a one off unless you are a member.

I just checked my collection, thinking I had one : turns out it's a 1900. Checking in Spink, it seems that none of the 1901 silver is rated lower/commoner than earlier dates. I should have been clearer. What I meant was, comparing the 1901 to Victorian shillings in general, with exception of the 1887, 1893 and 1897, it's price in Spinks would suggest an UNC would be an easyish find. In truly UNC most coins are very difficult. There have been several very high grade 1901 shillings go through ebay in the last few weeks. If they were truly UNC well that's the question though. I was actually replying to Nick's point about them being not easy to find in high grade. Spink seems to concur - it isn't an 'easy' date unlike the bronze (but not MORE difficult than earlier) Oh, dear, and I can't even blame the iPhone for not reading it properly, not this time! Maybe they are viewed in the same light as the 1902 or the 1936, and nobody is bothering to pick them up, as I can't find anything Top Grade displaying on the 'net or on any of our dealers' websites. If anybody spots a non-Heritage one, I'd appreciate the nod!

I will admit to having a chuckle when I saw that description. The more so that the close up photo of the coin does not really match the hyperbole. As a sixpence collector, this and other coins in the auction do interest me. But the prices are completely over the top. Which is a shame as I would have been willing to drop a decent number of dollars at prices which more accurately matched what I believe to be the value of the coins. I have bid and won a few times at Heritage in their weekly internet auctions and, usually, the prices are more or less what one would expect. But this particular auction seems to be completely over the top. I don't know if this is due to unrealistic reserves being set by sellers or by an auction house trying to manipulate market prices. It will be interesting to see how much success they have. You've hit the nail on the head Jaggy, OTT prices coupled with market manipulation. I said it before in a thread a few months back, but Heritage normally start the bidding at Spink book for grade and work upwards from there. Just because a Common 1853 sixpence is a Good UNC does'nt mean i want to pay 3 times over Spinks price guide. Of course, a quality soecimen i would have thought in the £259-£350 range, but over £1300 is a bloody joke if it Hits top estimate, in fact the £650 start price is a joke, thats Double what spink Rate a UNC at , and checking back on Londoncoins previous auctuons, best i can see sold for £160 in 2011 and another in UNC or near so in 2012 for £135 I don't have an 1853 sixpence so naturally I was interested. But, as they say, patience is a virtue so I am happy to wait for one that is appropriately priced. I was also quite interested in the 1887 pattern sixpence ( I already have the aluminium one) but, again, the price is way over the top. A similar one sold at London coins for £380 (or $600) in 2009. I might have gone to $750, $800 or even $900 but $1400 which is the Heritage minimum is out of the question. American collectors may be willing to pay silly prices but I am not. Even though I live in the USA, bidding and buying from the UK is perfectly possible. As I have said elsewhere on this forum, the internet has made this a worldwide market. Heritage should take note. The problem is that I get the impression that the average American collector will not touch a raw coin with a barge poll so they are willing to pay what to us seem like stupid prices. Mind you that leaves more for us.

Would I be correct in thinking this is only the second one to come to market, the other being the CGS 85. I like the idea that it's still in it's set and would perhaps increase it's desirability if not it's value. I shall be looking on with interest. Yes - that's why I've kept my proof 2+A farthing in the set it came in. I would have preferred to have bought the set containing my 1+A proof halfcrown, but it was only offered as a singleton. Was it identified as a 1+A when you bought it. Freeman rates the 2+A farthing as R9 and 2+B as R6 so out of 40,000 sets that's 30,000 2+B and 10,000 2+A. In my opinion he should perhaps put the 2+A up a notch or two to R11 at least which would make them about 10:1, even then they don't come up very often. Could the Half Crown be as common as the 2+A Farthing and has any of the other denominations ever come to light. I thought I had the Obv 1 Scottish Shilling but I now think it's more likely to be a very early strike akin to the proof-like Crowns you occasionally see. Colin cooke farthing catalogue cites the 2+A farthing as extremely rare and I think they have only sold two in the last ten years or so - the second one around £300 if I recollect correctly. I have rescued several off of ebay over the last few years although not seen one recently. They have usually only made £30-40 once identified so the one CC sold must have been very special. Are you talking about the proof? That is supposed to be very much rarer than the currency, which makes Freeman's rarity rating rather strange. yes the proof

Would I be correct in thinking this is only the second one to come to market, the other being the CGS 85. I like the idea that it's still in it's set and would perhaps increase it's desirability if not it's value. I shall be looking on with interest. Yes - that's why I've kept my proof 2+A farthing in the set it came in. I would have preferred to have bought the set containing my 1+A proof halfcrown, but it was only offered as a singleton. Was it identified as a 1+A when you bought it. Freeman rates the 2+A farthing as R9 and 2+B as R6 so out of 40,000 sets that's 30,000 2+B and 10,000 2+A. In my opinion he should perhaps put the 2+A up a notch or two to R11 at least which would make them about 10:1, even then they don't come up very often. Could the Half Crown be as common as the 2+A Farthing and has any of the other denominations ever come to light. I thought I had the Obv 1 Scottish Shilling but I now think it's more likely to be a very early strike akin to the proof-like Crowns you occasionally see. Colin cooke farthing catalogue cites the 2+A farthing as extremely rare and I think they have only sold two in the last ten years or so - the second one around £300 if I recollect correctly. I have rescued several off of ebay over the last few years although not seen one recently. They have usually only made £30-40 once identified so the one CC sold must have been very special.

Would I be correct in thinking this is only the second one to come to market, the other being the CGS 85. I like the idea that it's still in it's set and would perhaps increase it's desirability if not it's value. I shall be looking on with interest. Yes - that's why I've kept my proof 2+A farthing in the set it came in. I would have preferred to have bought the set containing my 1+A proof halfcrown, but it was only offered as a singleton. Was it identified as a 1+A when you bought it. Freeman rates the 2+A farthing as R9 and 2+B as R6 so out of 40,000 sets that's 30,000 2+B and 10,000 2+A. In my opinion he should perhaps put the 2+A up a notch or two to R11 at least which would make them about 10:1, even then they don't come up very often. Could the Half Crown be as common as the 2+A Farthing and has any of the other denominations ever come to light. I thought I had the Obv 1 Scottish Shilling but I now think it's more likely to be a very early strike akin to the proof-like Crowns you occasionally see.

So CGS do slab cleaned coins link

Would I be correct in thinking this is only the second one to come to market, the other being the CGS 85. I like the idea that it's still in it's set and would perhaps increase it's desirability if not it's value. I shall be looking on with interest.

I've never seen it quite like that but 1920 especially is known for it's streakness

Ever optimistic ebay grading. link

Glendinings sale on Wed October 30th 1974 sold one, lot 356 graded as "practically mint state" and sold for 1500 quid hammer Mmm, sounds good now, but back then I bought my first house for £6000, so £1500 was quite a price. £1500 in 1974, that's probably around £40,000 now so it wasn't much of an investment

Hammered now, eh? Interesting. Although since I can buy six EF Charles I shillings, a meal for two and some chateau bottled Burgundy for less than £30 is a fair chunk of coin budget for me ... I'm not going to be hammering at their door for them to grade my coins just yet No, I'm sure it's reasonable compared to US TPGS. And I guess hammered are trickier to grade ..? But I'd like to see some results on that! I would have thought that the foremost experts in the country would struggle to accurately grade hammered coins. We have had multiple threads on here about this very subject and the general concensus was "buy on eye appeal or rarity, NOT GRADE" Just how 2 blokes, a row full of previously graded coins and a computer program will accurately grade a hammered coin remains to be seen! I really struggle in this area and even when you consider weak strikes, worn dies, planchet quality, environmental factors etc etc it is virtually impossible to arrive at a grade that is acceptable to 2 different collectors.... Yes, I do believe that no amount of discussion will ever satisfy a hammered collector that a hammered coin could ever be encapsulated 78, realistically! I for one will not enter into the debate, at least I don't think I will! I don't see the problem, just think of a number and put it on the label. The sheep will follow.

I don't think you can tell by looks alone. One way of obtaining a definitive answer is by doing a specific gravity experiment. Ringing them is one way, but will need one of each to be able to tell which is which. The 925 will have a duller ring.

even if that aspiration isnt a reflection of all coins available, but just those within that particular system. coin collectors have long aspired to buying items from notable collections with great provenance when theyre sold on, you dont need a slabbed coin to get your name in lights.....a best known slabbed coin is still only a best known slabbed coin, and not neccasarily a best known coin ever. So........the changes to the cgs system....is it CGS coming of age?......NO. is it a step in the right direction.....i really do think so...........but theres soo many steps still to take...We think here cgs are the better tpg co...i do too...better value for money and maybe a better grading system.....but it only satisfys a small percentage of the coin collecting community in the uk. More than this, change needs to be made to bring on board those who are maybe synical ( myself included ), those who are diehards for the raw market, and above all else , those who collect coins for the love of holding a beautiful piece of our history and heritage, without some damned need to score some numerical advantage over another with a similar ( maybe even less desirable ) coin. and thats whats wrong with the whole tpg systems. Viva la difference Perhaps what we really need is an authentication and slabbing service, forget the grade leaving that to the collector.

I wonder if nonacceptance in the US is a concern they are trying to rectify. I suspect the average yank with treat a CGS slab as raw and cross it the moment they get it.

Yup that's where I started

Perhaps if they had an ebay presence they could clear up all the washers on there. Certainly save me the job of endlessly trawling through it.