1949threepence

The best shilling I have is the 1905 I won at Spink in April, 2017 - NEF and totally issue free.

She gave me the coin today (cost £5 not £10 so got a fiver back). Whilst I was very pleased to receive the coin, I was a bit disappointed as the die it was struck from, was obviously very worn. Much of the lettering is unreadable, having been almost entirely worn away. Oh well......

Very nice - and 1924 is a very difficult year to get in top grade. Even more difficult than the rarer 1925 IMO.

Not that I personally know of, but do keep an eye on London Coins Auction. They've had a few down the years. Indeed a very nice no issues specimen approaching VF, went for the bargain basement hammer price of £450 in March 2014. Of course, their December catalogue will be up in just...what.....2 to 3 weeks time.

Strangely enough my 1921 has got much higher relief than any of its 1920 to 1926 neighbours. In the photo, you can just about discern the more raised lion in the 1921, and the flatter lion in the 1923. Much harder to get a good pic of a shilling than of a penny, because of increased glare sensitivity. I took this one in natural light a few minutes ago, on the window sill. ETA - did the 1923 again, as it appears half chopped off in the first one. Further ETA: With all that said, I think I'm deluding myself, as the pre 1920 obverse is of palpably higher relief, than any subsequent, including my 1921. Even so the 1921 reverse lion is definitely higher relief, as stated above.

That's true. My early 1920's shillings have a very shallow relief - especially the 1923 - so it's no wonder they "wore out" so quickly. Many of them probably down to <fine within 10 years at normal use.

Has to be yours. Not only does it have the brighter lustre, but additionally, as you say, the three lions on the upper shield are well marked on yours, whereas with LCA's specimen, they are indistinct (especially the lower two), probably due to advanced die wear. It's a major flaw on that coin, which does detract.

Gave a friend who was visiting South Wales a tenner to get me a coin struck, as she was visiting the Royal MInt at Llantrisant. She went yesterday and called me to say what a fantastic experience it was. The coin she got struck for me was the Mary Shelley £2 commemorative, and she was told that currency coins of the same type "probably" won't be issued for circulation, which surprised me. I did a little bit of research but could find nothing, other than there seem to be two other 2018 commemorative £2.00 coins, one for the centenary of the RAF, and the other for the centenary of the 1918 armistice. Not a biggie, but out of interest is anybody able to cast any light on whether or not these commemorative £2.00 coins will be issued as currency strikes for circulation? Thanks.

It looks like a Gorham glove pomander. If there's any of the marks shown in this link you might be able to date it.

Are they still in circulation, or did they go the same way as pre 1947 silver in the UK? (collected up and melted down for their silver content)

Ah, so they remain up to EF only, Pete. Was worth the call anyway, if only to know the facts.

Would he give you a pic of it to post on here, Pete - with anonymity assured?

The F69 isn't as rare as the F76, but like the F76, it's extremely difficult to get one in decent grade. I was very lucky to get one at auction in GVF when John Stephenson auctioned his late Father's collection in August 2017. There is an EF F69, and the F76 from the Laurie Bamford collection is about GEF.

Also, why does the recent visitors section of a given profile show:- recently? You can see your own, but everybody else's is blocked for other users. Not me being nosey, by the way, just curious as to why changed.

They are a super looking series, with undoubted coin charisma. Just give me the kudos.......

I'd still like one though, but they are damned expensive. They do come up, but not nearly as regularly as Crowns in the surrounding dates, as might be expected.

Yes. They do add a rider after their distinctions for the 1925 halfcrown, which states;- "Always considered very rare - this may be rarer than some, but not as rare as 1923"

Rarity can also be sub-divided into rarity by condition/grade. For example, a given coin can be relatively easy to access in grades up to say, VF, but disproportionately more difficult at EF+ and impossible in uncirculated with full lustre. Whereas others with roughly the same absolute population extant, will be easier to obtain in the very highest grades. Gouby does touch upon this scenario, but only briefly. A book which makes a much better fist of these rarity grade distinctions is "The standard catalogue of English milled coinage, silver, copper and bronze 1662 - 1972" , by the late Geoffrey M. Cope and P. Alan Rayner . From 1974, it unfortunately doesn't cover all varieties, but is well worth a read.

Kev, You might find these images useful. They are the respective rarity scales used by Gouby and Freeman. First one is Gouby and second, Freeman. Apologies for quality, but book pages are a sod to get a decent pic of. Incidentally, Freeman has the F76 as R17, not R18. Although I think in reality it probably is R18.

There were faults on both sides of the divide to be fair. Neither side can take any moral high ground. The unions because of their lousy, truculent attitude, and ultimately Thatcher for being over ruthless and dogmatically obsessed with privatisation in a naturally mixed economy. However, where I think Thatcher went badly wrong was in closing all the mines (or the overwhelming majority any rate) in the so called "dash for gas", which exhausted our North Sea supplies for electricity production at what had been coal fired power stations. She should have kept most of them open. Not only would that have saved whole communities, but additionally, investment could have been made into clean coal burning. We would also have still have a good reserve of natural gas and not have to buy any from the Russian Gazprom (how's that for the law of unintended consequences, for Thatcher) nor any need to start fracking.

Yep, 76. The tall helmet plume gives it away.

If it's that bad, Pete, how can you tell it's a F76? What are the visible indicators?

Never got one of those in my change. But prior to the main issue of £2 coins in 1997, a 1986 Commonwealth Games £2 would occasionally turn up. But not seen one since about 1995.

Never imagined for one second there were.

Very nice - yours? I hadn't realised there were two.