1949threepence

Absolutely. Coins like that don't come along every day

I'd rate it an average of VF (obverse not quite there, reverse a bit better) I'd say just about VF as well. Note the rubbing to the letters on the reverse near 3 and 9 o' clock

ROFL! I'm struggling to see what's means to be so interesting about such a coin as that! and me......

Absolutely stunning. You really are getting your hands on some superb stock, Dave.

I agree, Peck. The actual price of copper might have a knock on effect with the bulk sale of low grade coins en masse, from any era. It would not explain the current craze for buns. However, apart from the very rare examples, like the 1869, 1875H, and to a lesser extent 1864 crosslet 4 and 1871, collectors are pushing strongly for the very high grades, which have a premium on them orders of magnitude greater than their pro rata value to lower grade examples would indicate. Maybe that's due to their increasing scarcity as more and more find their way into private collections and therefore permanently or semi permanently withdrawn from trade. You could argue that has always been the case, so maybe there is some other factor at work which we can only speculate on ~ or a combination of 2 factors only one of which we can readily indentify. That's a good point. I wonder if the same fever has extended to the commoner dates in high grade, i.e. 1887 - 1893 - anyone noticed? Not to the same extent, no. I found those dates much easier to obtain in high grade at a not too high a price. It seems to be from 1881 back, where the really steep prices begin. Interestingly, even the 1877, an UNC (40% lustre) example of which I bought last year for £75, has shot up, and buy it now instances of the same coin at the same grade, are being offered for over £200. That said, the 1882H, which I got UNC with about 80% lustre for £73 last year, was being offered for £325 in about the same grade recently. That coin has now gone, so I'm not sure what it went for in the end. It went for £325, I was the seller. You cannot confuse ebay auction prices with BIN prices. The auctions on there are so unpredictable that sellers sometimes end up giving stuff away. You also should not confuse ebay prices with market value. Some people only buy from coin dealers and are willing to pay a fair price, whilst others scour ebay in the hopes of building a collection on bargains. One thing you have to bear in mind with ebay is a sort of "peer pressure" or "blind leading the blind" when it comes to BIN prices. An example would be me listing the same 1882H penny today for £325. Mrs Miggins from the Pie Shop in old London Town finds one that looks the same in her dearly departed fathers sock drawer. She sells odds and ends on ebay and decides the coin is going the same way. She hasn't heard of Spink, Coin News, Coin dealers et al and doesn't know what it's worth. Rather than give it away she does the sensible thing and checks for like coins on ebay. She finds mine and decides hers is the same/better/worse condition and prices hers from mine. She doesn't know mine cost me £380 in auction with a halfpenny, nor does she know that mine is tip top Tommy, but I have now become the price setter for her and those that follow with the same coin. Look at something relatively common like 1927 proof sets. The price on ebay has gone nuts, the price in auction has gone nuts. Is it ebay sellers trying to buy in auction pushing the prices up, which in turn drives up the ebay/dealer selling price due to their having to pay more? Chicken and egg scenario. All that you say above, John, is spot on for the most part. However, it is still possible to net the odd real bargain, either as a BIN or at auction. Recently, I got a superb aUNC 1875 narrow date penny, really sharp strike, for just £53, probably because I took a chance on what was a really poor pic, which inhibited bids. In hand the coin is a beauty. I've also grabbed a number of bargains via BIN, probably through sellers who didn't appreciate the true value of the coin they were offering, combined with the fact that I got in before anyone else. Moreover, some non e bay dealers are still offering coins at bargain basement prices, and are either very ethical, or have failed to uprate the price of a coin which has been on sale maybe longer than it should, and still carries a 2009 price tag possibly. I got an UNC 1892 with about 75% lustre for just £35 last February (2010), from a private dealer. Even accunting for the rise since then, I still reckon that was a real bargain. Obviously, from all that is being said, many people are being blown out of the water at auctions, as silly money is exchanging hands. Will the bubble burst eventually ? If so, when ? Like the housing boom of last decade, nobody knows.

Hmmm, very unusual piece. Wonder how precisely it happened, and what happened to it after striking. I'd keep it as a curio.

The Midland is not a million miles from where I live, and I know they do the major fairs, quarterly. So I might well go to the next big one in March. "Closed shop" ? ~ hopefully, it will be worth attending.

I agree, Peck. The actual price of copper might have a knock on effect with the bulk sale of low grade coins en masse, from any era. It would not explain the current craze for buns. However, apart from the very rare examples, like the 1869, 1875H, and to a lesser extent 1864 crosslet 4 and 1871, collectors are pushing strongly for the very high grades, which have a premium on them orders of magnitude greater than their pro rata value to lower grade examples would indicate. Maybe that's due to their increasing scarcity as more and more find their way into private collections and therefore permanently or semi permanently withdrawn from trade. You could argue that has always been the case, so maybe there is some other factor at work which we can only speculate on ~ or a combination of 2 factors only one of which we can readily indentify. That's a good point. I wonder if the same fever has extended to the commoner dates in high grade, i.e. 1887 - 1893 - anyone noticed? Not to the same extent, no. I found those dates much easier to obtain in high grade at a not too high a price. It seems to be from 1881 back, where the really steep prices begin. Interestingly, even the 1877, an UNC (40% lustre) example of which I bought last year for £75, has shot up, and buy it now instances of the same coin at the same grade, are being offered for over £200. That said, the 1882H, which I got UNC with about 80% lustre for £73 last year, was being offered for £325 in about the same grade recently. That coin has now gone, so I'm not sure what it went for in the end.

There can be no doubt you are correct as of now, and hopefully will be going forward, John. With regard to your point about disposal of one part of a collection to bloster purchases for the denomination you really want, I did think about selling my shilling collection, but decided I was too fond of them

No pun intended over the bun, of course I agree, Peck. The actual price of copper might have a knock on effect with the bulk sale of low grade coins en masse, from any era. It would not explain the current craze for buns. However, apart from the very rare examples, like the 1869, 1875H, and to a lesser extent 1864 crosslet 4 and 1871, collectors are pushing strongly for the very high grades, which have a premium on them orders of magnitude greater than their pro rata value to lower grade examples would indicate. Maybe that's due to their increasing scarcity as more and more find their way into private collections and therefore permanently or semi permanently withdrawn from trade. You could argue that has always been the case, so maybe there is some other factor at work which we can only speculate on ~ or a combination of 2 factors only one of which we can readily indentify.

Thanks Accumulator ~ that is something I will really look forward to listening to Although I wonder if they meant the half crown, as the Crown was not a circulating coin in February 1971.

....and me. I'm currently forming a collection, and the apparent lack of stable pricing is quite a worry. Although I'm collecting for interest rather than speculation, it would be a bit irritating to say the least, to have paid tip top prices now, only to find they fall back later. Although you have to look for bargains, we're all lucky with some coins, and not so lucky with others.

As good an argument as any for always getting the highest grade possible of any coin.

I don't trust them entirely either, certainly not over such a protracted timescale. Not sure we're really comparing like with like, but a very low value coin whicever way you look at it. Interesting point.

so how much is it worth ? my son likes it and thinking of collecting coins haha Funnily enough, it's worth £2! An excellent way for your son to start a collection though. haha lovely i thought it was at least 7 pound from what i have read thanks for info everyone I thought at first it might be quite a rare issue, but it's actually quite common and easy to come by in change. Not sure what the actual mintage is yet, though. I don't think that the 2009 £2 coins (both Darwin and technology types) were actually issued until last year.

Beautiful coin & using the conversion chart kindly supplied by Geoff, I'd say that it was worth the equivalent of about 2p in today's money ~ employing the RPI.

I'd say from the pic it was about GEF ~ for reference I paid a flat £50 a year ago for a choice BU one.

Somebody got burned! Ooouch! I sent him a question too - "is the coin in the picture the one on offer"? Predictably I got no reply, Only 94.1% positive feedback I noticed. Not a good spec.

He's actually a friend of Michael Goubys. So i would assume he knows exactly what he has, i spoke to him a few times about some of his coins, he's basically selling his doubles of what he has from upgrades. His name is Ian Fall His username of alfnail being an anagram of his real name. I've actually bought from him myself, and was very pleased with the item

Isn't F106 without the H, which leaves only F108? Yep, you're right. I got carried away with the examination details. As you say, it only leaves F108, F106 not being possible with an H.

I definitely think obv 11, but am slightly undecided on the reverse. Although the date position in the exergue is indeed slightly lower, as suggested for rev M, the drapery of Britannia's clothing parallel with the shield, seems too detailed for that reverse, and although the shield appears flat, it doesn't appear to be heraldically coloured. So is it rev J ? ~ I can't tell properly from the pic, but the topmost part of the plume should be 1.1mm from the point on the linear circle nearest to it. Not sure about the reverse, but if it is rev J, it could be a F106, with a rarity factor of 14 (251 to 500 known specimens). If rev M, then it's a commoner F108 R5.

I bought a BU 1931 shilling from Richard a couple of years back, at an absolute bargain price. Very pleasant and considerate guy to deal with.

Seems to be a refuge for the exceedingly banal most of the time. I joined it to see what colleagues were saying about whom, in their spare time. I figured if I was there and showing my face regularly, they couldn't say too much about me

I've added a "like"

I really can't understand the apparent increase at all. London coins are massively overpriced IMO.