1949threepence

Having now completed my Victoria copper penny series (with the exception of the Medusa and 1858 large rose, small date), this is how difficult I've found the difficult dates/varieties (a matter of availability rather than money):- 1839 proof - kept eluding me. Very difficult and the ones that did show up, very pricey. Had to eventually take the price plunge, otherwise I'd wait forever. Although if I'd waited, there's 2 at the upcoming Australian Noble auction. 1841 colon after REG: Scarce in mid grade. Very difficult in high grade. 1843 (all types) very difficult in high grade. No opportunity so far for anything above VF. Only sub fine for no colon after REG. 1845 - scarce at all levels. Finally got a decent one very recently (Interesting that although 1844 is technically, roughly the same as 1845 in terms of scarcity, there always seems to be 1844's on offer, but very few 1845's) 1847 Medusa: only saw the one on offer by Coopers Coins. Didn't buy for reasons now forgotten. 1849: A few available in the low to mid grades, but the high grade ones are excessively rare. I was extremely lucky with the one I got. Other than that I've seen an EF specimen, and the aUNC Waterbird example. 1853 PT: have to say, very rare, especially in high grade. I'm convinced Keith Bayford made a mistake offering a GEF example for just £125 1853 PT italic date: you just have to jump if you are lucky enough to see one. The fine example I bought from John (Stephen) Jerrams was sold as a PT specimen only. He didn't mention the italic date. 1854/3 - the real deal ones are extremely rare, and even more difficult in grades above fine. 1854 no colons - again very rare. Seen two, although probably a few unattributed ones have gone under the radar. 1856 OT - managed to obtain a fine example, and that's it. Dave Craddock did have an a/UNC with lustre specimen on offer for £1600 about a year back, but not surprisingly, by the time I called him, it had already gone. Excessively rare for availability at any grade. 1858 large rose large date: not seen one yet. 1860/59 - not as desperately rare as I'd feared, and did get an EF specimen with slight residual lustre.

Nearly all Heatons. The book is based on them. It's a good read, although the latter two thirds I've not really bothered with as it's all about the Heaton coinage issues, most of which are foreign. The book is "A numismatic history of the the Birmingham Mint" by James O' Sweeny, published in 1981, by - would you believe - The Birmingham Mint !!! Although printed by Pardy & Son of Ringwood, Hants.

I've bought two books from Rob. The first was a re-bound auctioneer's copy of the 1854 Cuff auction, and the other was quite recently. A book about the Birmingham Mint, which was from the collection of the late David Roberts-Jones, which Rob was disposing of.

Thanks for solving the mystery, Jerry. I assume it was Bruce I was speaking to. He sounded a little hesitant when speaking, but was keen to add me to his mailing list.

The more I think about it, the more suspicious I am. Somebody with his experience is going to know exactly what it is, and won't be letting it go for such a low price. Something a bit fishy here, but not sure what.

Well, just scrolling through July's Coin News, which arrived earlier today, and noticed that "Goulbourn Collection Ltd" were offering an 1863 slender three penny, in Fair to NF, for £250. Intrigued, and a little sceptical, I called and the guy told me that (unsurprisingly) it had already gone. I asked if it was the real deal as in my view £250 for a slender date 3 is a ridiculously small amount, given they are vanishingly rare. He told me it definitely was. "A little manky" he said, but a surefire slender 3. Would have been interested to see a pic.

Unfortunately you will get cat haters and those who regard them as a nuisance, in every country. But generally speaking the public attitude to cats in Greece, is exactly the same as in Turkey. Hence well fed colonies in their towns and cities. Probably the main difference between the two countries is down to the fact that in Turkey, cats are more protected by law - link .

Exactly like the Greeks read and learn

Not many collectors get every last variety of their specialism, Bruce. Even if they have the money, very often the very rare type they want just doesn't come up for sale. You can literally wait decades in some cases. Or they might lose at auction. But of course, the missing pieces remain an aspiration, which is half the fun of coin collecting.

If anybody has visited Istanbul, they'll be aware of the street cats. Thousands of them living independently on the streets and all look in great shape. Nearly all tame and often run up to you meowing for food. The locals feed the colonies and many of them have erected cat houses for shelter, in their gardens. There are even vending machines for cat food. Turkey may have its shortcomings , but I love the fact they take such care of their cats in Istanbul.

Thanks Bruce. If I see another one, I'll PM you so you are aware (in case you haven't seen it).

Very pleased with this 1845 penny. Quite scarce and underrated. A difficult coin to find - in high grade especially. This one is near UNC, albeit with a few minor marks.

Very interesting thoughts. I wonder if the metal used to make the H pennies was harder than the KN metal, and wore out the dies quicker. Bit far fetched I know, but theoretically plausible?

We're all certifiable on here then.......

Overall, It balances itself out Chris. Some you get as real bargains, others you pay over the odds for. Having 1919H and 1918KN together is probably about right these days.

Well, you say that, and I do agree that many 1919H pennies look, not just worn at top grade, but also distinctly blurred. But I did manage to get this nicely struck specimen in February 2019 for just £50. The seller started it at that amount, and I was the only bidder. Had he started it at £0.99, I reckon it would have been bid up more than £50.

Yes, as you say it should have started 5 days ago on 7th June, but it's still greyed out. Not good and doesn't inspire confidence. I've not seen anything of interest on their website for a very long time.

Very pleased with this 1918H penny. It's clearly not UNC, but takes pride of place in my collection, for the simple reason that it's an unusually sharp strike for a 1918H, which even "UNC" with full lustre, are often very poor strikes, with all the attributes of a worn coin. This one has a good breastplate and also reasonable hair detail.

Peter Morris appears to have a hard copy version available. link

Now found - thanks Richard. For some reason, it's never appeared before ! Does the job I wanted. I wonder.......probably not, but you never know.

Had a reply from Ian Anderson at Noonans, to which I replied. No further response. Beginning to get slightly irritated with the issue now. I find it extremely difficult to believe that the "Head of online services" doesn't know what I'm referring to by "search facility", as it's so basic to most websites. He knows now, or is not competent for his post if he still doesn't. So I'll leave it where it stands. "Hi Ian, No, I mean the tab usually at the top of every page which says "search", typically has a magnifying glass symbol next to it, and a space for freetext to be inserted. So if I was looking for say, 1853 pennies, I could find all the ones you've sold by inserting "1853 pennies" into that search box. This was definitely available on your old site, but is missing on this one. Bit like this (from another website). (appears below post) The blank pictures in the special collections, eventually load if you leave the page about 15 minutes. Gradually the blanks are filled in one by one. On your old site they were all there as soon as you went onto the page. Not my PC, same on tablet. Sincerely, Michael Hi, I note that since your website re-vamp, the search facility has vanished. Or if it is there, it's incredibly well hidden, such that I'm unable to find it. Although interestingly, under "Help and information" "General", you have search tips, which might lead one to believe you do still have a search facility (see screenshot above). The other point I've noticed is that many of the pictures in your special collections are blacked out. Are you able to advise and/or rectify? By the way, your website was great the way it was - just a thought for what it's worth. Thanks

Did you get an acknowledgement like this? I e mailed them over the weekend about the search facility issue. If I don't get a reply by next Monday, I'll re send the same e mail with the above one copied in, asking when they intend to reply. To cap it all they obviously got the Queen's platinum jubilee confused with Christmas !!!

Difficult to say with absolute certainty, but what appears to be an upstroke is in the right place. II I'd realised at the time it was a 111, I'd have gone for it myself. But either way, it's still a very nice coin.

Well worth it though. That's the thing with these rarities, you've got to be prepared to "splash the cash".

Pic isn't brilliant but I think it's a 114. I reckon somebody's taken a chance on it, hence the high price. Photo was not definitive enough to take a chance on though.