1949threepence

That's actually very good value for a PT 1853.

Wonder which were minted first from a pairing with that unique die, Ian - the OT or PT type. I'd assume it was the OT, then the PT, maybe right at the end of production for 1853. Rare for both.

I wondered that. I think their grading standards are slipping somewhat.

True, although I doubt many would have noticed - and the seller in this case definitely wouldn't have noticed. I'd lay odds on that. To the majority of buyers and dealers it would just be an OT 1853 italic 5 penny. Still massively overpriced either way.

As I see the situation, it's companies like Heritage and others asking ridiculously inflated premiums for slabbed items, where all the serious money is migrating, and not much is ever said about it as they trade under a facade of fair trade and respectability - and as far as the coins themselves are concerned that is true, but equally true is that you're being royally ripped off. . All numismatic concerns are profit driven, but especially some of those based in the USA, and especially when it comes to slabbed items. Take this 1853 OT penny - it's about EF, and to be honest nothing truly special and certainly not rare. I got one in slightly better shape than that from a dealer in Sussex for just £75 last July. Look what this US based dealer is asking for a slightly below equivalence coin - £400. That's a mark up of over 500% on what I paid a UK dealer for a better (raw) coin 7 months ago. In my opinion it's nothing short of bloody scandalous.

Could it be a repaired F? The appearance bears some similarity to the repaired F in the DEF of some 1841 pennies.

In which case the edge should be dark - although if the coin has been in a collection and frequently handled over the years, the edge will be dark rather than lustrous anyway. An added complication.

Interesting. Thinking back to previous times when the mint darkening process has been discussed, I know that both Pete and Chris have 1932 and 1940 specimens respectively, which are apparently mint darkened - and Pete referred to one (although not sure which year), where, like yours, one side was darkened and the other side lustrous. So they do occur, although precisely why remains a mystery.

They seem to vary in depth of tone. You can tell when they've been done though, even if the hypo is very light. Clear distinction with ordinary golden lustre.

I think you're right Ian. The majority do seem to the the normally lustred type, so it does seem odd that such a mistake was made by knowledgeable writers. It certainly wouldn't have been difficult to check out at the times of writing. As far as your coin, you do find. for whatever reason, that some go extra dark anyway. So I'm wondering if yours is an originally mint darkened specimen, that has gone extra dark. Hence its current appearance. A metallurgist might be able to explain the precise chemical/environmental reactions which cause a coin to darken naturally, but suffice it to say, some do. Incidentally, I've now bought that mint darkened UNC specimen I linked to last night, as I suddenly realised I don't have one. It's not like they're expensive, so worth buying.

mint darkened 1935 normally lustred 1935

Ian, Peck noted that the majority of 1935 pennies were issued artificially toned (mint darkened) (EC), and that only a minority of those issued were untoned (with the usual mint lustre) (VR) (page 505). Freeman states at page 17 of his 1985 book: "The dark finish given to pennies from 1944-46 before issue, was achieved, in a similar way, by the use of 'hypo', as was that on pennies of 1934 and some of 1935". Alexander in the August 1977 edition of Coin Monthly (page 67) says of the 1935 penny, that "the great majority were issued mint darkened". Personally, I think Freeman is closest. Whilst there is no dispute that 1934 pennies were all issued mint darkened, normal lustred 1935 pennies seem to be commonplace. This is mine, a bog standard EF with residual lustre specimen, and not in my opinion, ever mint darkened -

That's the fella we're talking about.

He was a true inspiration, and arguably saved his greatest achievement for the last year of his life. A real hero from the time you see him as a young guy in that photo of him serving in the war, to now. Unfortunately he couldn't have the covid vaccine because of the medication he was on. RIP Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Received today. Apart from very slight foxing to the cover page, it's immaculate. Doesn't look like it's ever been read. Interesting to see Michael's opinion on rarity plus the remarkably low 1986 prices (even taking account of inflation). A great buy.

Somebody on facebook just posted this really interesting pic of the VICTORIA ON AN 1894 halfpenny. Looks like an inverted G for the O. Or it might just be an issue with the die.

100% agreed. Quantitative and comparative stats are incredibly useful.

Ian, thanks for those really interesting stats. Indeed, the additional embedded rarity of the PT italic 5 is obvious from those figures. Also thanks for the link back to the earlier discussion of the topic. Anyway it's here - any lingering doubts I had about the 5 were dispelled when I noticed there was indeed a dot between the I and A of GRATIA. For such a scarcity I think £68 was a reasonable price, Just slightly surprised John (Stephen) Jerrams didn't spot it himself.

A definite bargain. Very pleased. Just made another interesting ish purchase. An 1853 PT penny (very much the rarer of the two) but with an italic 5, which also seem scarce within an already scarce variety. Whereas with the OT 1853, the italic and plain 5 seem equally as common. Only fine but problem free. Of course, I may be wrong. But this is based on personal observation from a limited population seen. All the other PT 1853's I've seen, have been plain 5.

Thanks Richard. Well you could knock me down with a feather. I'm amazed that Michael was bidding for his own book. Being the author you'd have thought he would have had a few spare copies squirreled away somewhere for future reference. Plus he must surely still have the original manuscript. Maybe he could arrange for a limited print run to accommodate collector/dealer demand - and himself ! Indicative of just how rare it's become.

There was your clue.

Thanks for the heads up, Richard. Been after that book for a long time. Just won it for £21 - not a bad price for something as rare as hen's teeth. Never once seen a copy on Amazon or e bay.

I found it very interesting as well, Ian. The fall seems to be from about day 13 after the jab, onwards. In the article they expected it to continue falling as immunity builds further. Of course the other good news is that they can tweak the vaccines to fit the new variants. Moreover, the existing vaccines will still prevent severe disease even if they don't stop everybody from catching it. Yes, I'd much rather be in Australia - their high Summer - than here during this most dark, wet and depressing Winter. Later next week, according to the forecast, we might also enter a spell of severely cold weather, with persistent frost - deep joy. Although we will soon begin to see the effects of increasing day length, especially towards the end of next month, and you might not see the worst of the cold, being on the sheltered South coast.

Incidentally, this graph showing the fall off in cases among the older age groups after vaccination is hard evidence that the vaccine is working:-

Hmmm, yeah. I think the EU are panicking big time because they full well know we have raced way way ahead of them in vaccine rollout, and it really doesn't look good for their image. They fully expected the UK to fall flat on its face after we left, and that hasn't happened. I'm so glad we decided to go it alone on the vaccine procurement. If we'd gone along with the EU, we'd be in the same position as them, cancelling appointments because of vaccine non availability. From the link above (wonder why Russia is so low in rollout considering they've got their own - Sputnik V.