1949threepence

Interestingly, gold coins are exempt from VAT - link The rest are covered by HMRC notice 362 which basically says that items of numismatic interest over 100 years old, come under the umbrella definition of "antiques" and as such are entitled to a reduced rate of VAT, presumably 5%, although no actual figure is quoted. Unused postage stamps over 100 years old are VAT free, whereas (conversely and by definition, one would assume) franked postage stamps and coins over 100 years old are not, providing they are not a collectors piece or part of a collection - if nothing else, it might be worth getting this latter point clarified with HMRC, as they could all be described as collector's pieces or part of a collection. So on the face of it Ian, unfortunately I think it is VAT at 20% for your banknote.

The fact that the US economy was doing well. But the covid 19 pandemic has really found him out for what he is - a madman. Plus his deliberately incendiary remarks following the cold blooded police murder of George Floyd (and let's be frank, that's exactly what it was) has put the cap on it. Quoting the words of a known Miami racist police chief from 1967, "when the looting starts the shooting starts", was not the most positive and harmonious way forward. Quite the reverse in fact.

I've recently come to the conclusion that Trump is not a full deck of cards mentally.

Good luck Ian.

It's like a maze, Ian, but I did find this bit:- The above is from the government's website here Obviously no idea if your item is over 100 years old, and quite how they draw any meaningful conclusion about whether it's part of a collection or a collector's piece, I've no idea. All items of numismatic interest are potentially part of a collection, so I've no idea what they mean. Nor do they state what the reduced rate of VAT actually is.

Looking at this government advice it appears that any VAT charge is made in advance and applied before you can receive the item. In this case Ian has already taken receipt of the item. However,. despite the government advice, it seems that Fedex routinely bill recipients, post delivery - link to that interestingly the £12 "advancement fee" is generally considered to be a rip off, and should be disputed - this link is very informative on that score Was there any reference to VAT on your original SB invoice, Ian?

OK, so from the list of figures above, which is the actual one which now needs to be paid? If I received that, I'd just assume it was a "for information only" notification, because nowhere does it say "pay this", or words to that effect.

Also the seller could either give their personal phone number out in a message or ask the potential buyer to - or maybe the buyer has already supplied their number in the first personal e bay message to the seller.

I'm no expert on these things, and the invoice above doesn't exactly look simple to work out. In fact looking at it, I wouldn't even know what amount was actually payable. But what strikes me is that the shipping company have come back at you for an additional fee several weeks post delivery. Why wasn't the correct total charged with delivery at the time, and were you advance warned that another sum might be chargeable at a later date? Maybe that's a naive question, I don't know. But I'd be damned annoyed if I got something like that when I thought I'd already paid the due amount in good faith. It's never happened to date for me, and I've had several items delivered by Fedex. Personally, Ian, I'd ask Fedex for chapter and verse before paying. Good luck with receiving a response that's intelligible to a normal person who speaks normal English, if you do decide to go down that route, though.

It does now, but it's obviously been re-set to zero. There were quite a few.

Anyone else notice how often this happens when a really choice piece is on offer:- In this case it was an 1871 penny. A very nice coin. I didn't actually want it myself, but was keeping an eye on what it would fetch, out of interest. It had reached £82 with 5 days to go. I wonder if an offer is made privately to the vendor, that's then dealt with outside e bay? link to item

Cheap rubbish. They should be able to withstand a bit of Sun without falling to pieces.

Thanks - useful info, but although that was obviously going to be the case, I'm just surprised it wasn't actively mentioned anywhere. Maybe she thinks it's so obvious it doesn't need referring to. She may be right. Of course, no in room competition and no real time internet bidding does alter the dynamics somewhat.

Very good

About 10 days to go, and the auction is still (apparently) going ahead as normal at the Grange Hotel, with the public in attendance - link Extraordinary that not one word has been said about the lockdown, and what other arrangements are in place, so close to the event.

They may be short staffed due to the pandemic and lockdown, but if they can't even be arsed to leave a recorded message for callers, with further signposting, they really aren't worth bothering with. That is strongly suggestive of contempt for customers. A message saying the inbox is full is meaningless.

Nothing new there. By the way "think"? that's almost as bad as "could" lol

Couldn't agree more (no reverse pun intended). All guidance, especially any with legal ramifications, needs to be crystal clear and set out in terms which normal people can comprehend. That means not using odd terminology, at variance with conventional use of the English language, which can be open to misinterpretation. erm, what do you mean by "could"? - dunno really, might do, if we feel like it on the day, depends what mood the agent's in, if we can be arsed to bother, if the agent is properly trained. Depends on a range of options which we won't worry your little heads with by bothering to list here, etc etc (along with the words "might" and "may") "Will" - it happens regardless. You know where you stand.

But then you dig a little deeper and you find this which explains the real position. Although no date is given (unless it's in invisible ink), so logically, one must assume it's current policy, not one prospective to an unknown (precise) date in 2021. Although the bit I've emboldened doesn't make sense (to me anyway) if it applies to photos of coins in e bay approved company slabs.

Your place will look a dream when it's all done. Looks pretty good now.

I love seeing cats in the garden. My own cat normally sees them off though.

There you go, Jerry -

I once stopped at the Denewood Hotel Bournemouth, which is on Sea Road. Undercliff Road runs off Sea Road as you go down the hill towards the beach. Can't beat Bournemouth for looks and atmosphere in my opinion. Holidayed there quite a few times and always enjoyed it.

Quite obviously been cleaned. The marks are clearly visible. Might be acceptable to some, but definitely not to me. Poor TP Grading.

I reckon I can live with the very superficial marks. But thanks for the advice anyway.