1949threepence

Getting a decent strike, as opposed to just nominally UNC, is the real toughie with the H's and KN's - especially the H's. I'be been incredibly lucky with three of the four, with the 1918H still outstanding

Well I've managed to locate and buy one in "mid" grade. £19.95 and issue free. The scarcity is probably akin to the 1879 narrow date penny. Not that difficult in VF and below, but incredibly tough in EF and above.

Bit disappointing from the penny enthusiast's point of view, although there's a very nice Freeman 1 on offer for someone. You can forgive the carbon spots on such a rare coin There is, however, another penny which I might go for as a meaningful upgrade. Interesting that the estimates on the UNC 1902 LT penny have gone up substantially on the one they put up for bid in the March auction, and I won with a £240 bid. Probably because the bids were well above the estimates then. Although the specimen now on offer isn't as good as the March one, which was virtually flawless. As well as the carbon spot which they mention, there are also a number of other very visible tiny spots, on the obverse especially.

Well it does seem a remarkable co-oincidence for one to suddenly pop up after 70 years, post slabbing.

Indeed - sounds as viable a possibility as any. Interesting topic.

Thanks. I do know that "carbon spots" (be that a misnomer or otherwise) are very common on bronze/copper coins which are close to uncirculated. Often multiples on the same coin, some tiny, others much larger. They seem to disappear if the coin is circulated - a process I know obviously occurs, but I've no idea what the explanation is. Nor why they never seem to appear on coins once circulated. Does the handling of circulation and the build up of other matter on the coin's surface lend some protection against this, I wonder? Whereas verd can appear on any coin, circulated or not. ETA: Interesting article Another observation (please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm manifestly no expert on this topic) - verd seems to be contagious to other coins in contact, whereas "carbon spots" don't. Nor does a single carbon spot spread to other areas on the same coin, unless a separate incident occurs, unconnected with the appearance of the first. Not as far as I'm aware anyway. So there does seem to be a significant difference between the two, both in scope and effect?

Ah, now that's interesting. I know that saliva droplets cause carbon spots to develop. So why - scientifically speaking - would one droplet of saliva cause a carbon spot, and another cause verd to develop?

You mentioned his name on a PM you sent on 19th April, Pete. But there was no telephone number.

That would be consistent with Gouby's explanation. Do Golbourn coins have a website? I did do a search, but couldn't find them. Maybe the name spelling is adrift?

Right.......... ...........So anyway thanks for the very useful link. For me the relevant bit was this:- 1944 to 1946 - Officially dark toned by 'Hypo' However some survived with varying degrees of lustre by being trapped between other coins!

As the base of the 4 is broader than the tooth, you could look at it either way - over a tooth, or over a gap between teeth. What's the significance of that anyway?

I'm wondering if this is one:-

I'd agree with that. I use Chrome and ad blocker quite compatibly.

Possibly, but not definitely it would appear. Doing a bit of research and it would appear that despite the "no slabbing of verd coins" mantra, coins with verd still do get slabbed. I'm no chemist so I've no idea the extent to which slabbing protects from the initial development of verd to the point where it becomes visible. Presumably if there are contaminants present when the coin is slabbed, these will subsequently have a deleterious effect on the coin. Bit of a chicken and egg situation.

Thanks Pete - glaring and bad. How could they have missed it?

Just seen this post. No - can you post the pic again, or link to?

Scrubbed - it was my imagination.

Funnily enough, even as I was typing out the suggestion you contacted them, Pete, I thought you might encounter communication issues. I certainly have in almost every recent attempted contact with a major concern. To get a reply with literally just a telephone number on it and no other explanation, or even a few words asking you to call, is a joke. Best most straightforward trading contact I've had in recent years (in any field) was Dave Craddock, who just says "hello" in the old school way when he answers the landline phone. What a refreshing change that made.

Why don't you just ask them Pete?

Yes, something there. But it seems to be a slight discurvature of the linear circle, as opposed to to the actual edge. Maybe a minting anomaly of some description?

Well H and K are close to each other on the keyboard, so maybe you I advertently pressed the wrong one. It happens.

There may also be a narrow date version of the 1890 - although it's not in Gouby. The poster @scott posted this nearly three years ago. Not totally convincing, but no harm in showing.

Some silver coins seem much more susceptible than others to toning.

It's a pretty good specimen Blake. Well captured. For those who haven't heard of them, take a look at this picture from Gouby's "The British Bronze Penny 1860 to 1901", page 86.

Just remembered this one and looked it up to see what eventually happened. It was withdrawn prior to sale. So it looks as though your e mail was acted upon after all, Paddy. link