1949threepence

Then Belgium says "leave me out of all this", to which England, Germany and France reply that they're already in it up to their eyeballs, like it or not.

Possibly, although maybe there was a rush at the end, to get the premium ahead of demonetisation. Perhaps that is a factor in the scarcity of the early years.

According to Gouby:- It makes logical sense that there would have been very few high grade copper coins extant after demonetisation, for the early years, such as George IV's reign - the readily available high grade copper specimens gradually increasing for subsequent years up to 1859, which would have had only 10 years circulation at the end of 1869.This is based on an assumption, as you rightly point out, that they weren't too high up on the average coin collector's priorities at that time, and hence not too many early high grade examples hanging around in collections. The ones that did turn up being down to random chance findings of coins equally randomly deposited in various places.

Me too, Richard !

1861 die combinations can be very tricky, Mick. I've been trying to get my head round them for some time. Some are more obvious than others. But trying to determine, for example, whether a penny is a Freeman 21 from a worn specimen, is really difficult.

Sent this e mail off to dnw yesterday:- and received this reply:- I'm therefore assuming that the Hiram Brown buns will not be listed until the next dnw coin auction after June.

100% agreed. There are more and more of those infernal "retro souvenir" pennies on e bay. Anybody with experience can spot them instantly as fakes, but a novice might fall for it. Especially if artificially toned and touted as real. I'm sure some of the sellers will start passing them off as real before long. Depressing thought.

I think 4 is the "commonest", as it were, of the die No under date 1863's, Pete.

Good point.

Richard - I think you're right with the respective obverses, but the reverses I'm having slight difficulty with. It's one of those situations where ideally you're fully familiar with all the variants before you can feel authoritative enough to comment on one, purely based on Freeman's individual description. Unfortunately I'm not. I believe @Michael-Roo is a halfpenny guy, and he might be well placed to help you ID.

Some further pages been added since 21st April, but still not onto the bronze yet. Mostly Victoria copper.

The number of times I've agonised back and forth over an e bay pic, wondering whether or not it's a rare variety, and then almost invariably deciding it isn't. Pictures are often not good enough on worn specimens, Richard.

Incidentally, nothing to really spark my interest in the LCA. Massive pity the 1863 die No 4 under date, isn't at least fair. I might have gone for it - but a clear date washer? Not really.

Couldn't agree more. Plus with live internet bidding, you are the master of your own destiny in a sense. E mail bids are reliant on others not beating you to the draw. Obviously you can always attend in person, and make a room bid. But that isn't always a practical proposition for everybody, given distance, travel costs, other home/work commitments etc.

They're so difficult to get in high grade.

@terrysoldpennies Terry, was the 1937 sold to you as a proof?

The hair detail is stunning, and far in excess of what one would expect from a 1921 penny.

Freeman 73: 7 + H. Reverse I is as shown in Paddy's post above. Note the taller helmet plume and slightly bulkier, shorter lighthouse.

Yes, the number of sellers you see who will not send to Italy, as well as the other countries on your list. To be honest, I'd kind have expected better of Canada. But maybe that's a form of unconscious bias.

Probably a lone simpleton voice in the wilderness here, but apart from obverse 4, I find L C WYON an absolute sod to even make out. It seems to be half hidden underneath the base of the bust, and you have to really struggle to find it, even under magnification.

As I recall your F24 was a nice one as well.

There is no way I would ever part with such a piece, Ian. Irreplaceable, literally as well as figuratively.

Thanks Ian. Your F32, example 12 on Richard's site, is a stunning specimen.

Take the last digit of the price away, and it might be a more realistic ball park.

Absolutely. Clear cut error confirmed by the Royal Mint. Nice investment for somebody.