Peckris

There's definitely a few penny heads in this forum!

Sure you weren't bidding on a 1797 gold proof twopence?

It would have helped if the RM hadn't changed the crown from a 5 shilling/25p denomination to £5. The listing says a £5 coin. Whether they realise or not, I don't know, but they are clearly expecting the buyer to think it's a £5 coin. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the illustration crudely copied from a Coincraft ad? (The best of all possible worlds )

I wish things could have stayed that way: it would have made things a lot easier. I guess it still wouldn't have been easy, as you would then be required to choose between a matt-coloured, uninspiring-looking, Fine, and a weakly-struck UNC, which would likely have that bejewelled look of a lustred coin. Even beneath a deep tone, the full-lustred coin is supremely prettier, and a far nicer coin! Which would you choose, how much more would you pay for that? Also, a weak strike isn't an absolute thing - it could range from horribly noticeable which might result in a Fine downgrade, less horrid (VF) or barely noticeable (EF).

The ones that bob?

I know that standards are slipping at the Royal Mint, but I don't think they would produce one quite so shoddy. Given that somewhere up to 5% of all one pound coins are fake, it's fair to assume that you have yourself a fake. 5 percent wow!! thanks The fact the planchet has different thickness or is tapered could that change the weight or explain it being over weight? Also the planchet if it wasnt rolled out correctly surely the result would be something like this? For example the extra weight comes from the thickness, The lack of detail and weak strike on the reverse could be becuase the round didnt sit square when it was struck etc etc Or its part of that 5 % So its effectively illegal to spend counterfeit money?? Planchets are normally stamped out from a sheet of rolled alloy, which is wide enough for several blanks across that width. Given the variation of planchet thickness you have within a single blank, the rolled sheet would have to be mm thin at one side and a few cm thick at the other. I'm pretty sure that the Royal Mint machinery is not even capable of producing such a sheet. It is illegal to spend counterfeit money, as it is fraud, although proving intent in the case of a single £1 coin would be difficult. Ah good point! Is it illegal to sell circulating coinage as counterfeit money.... not that I have any intention of doing so. Yes! It's the property of Customs and Excise I believe - and if known to be fake, should be handed in to a bank or police station. On the other hand, if you sold a non-counterfeit currency coin as a counterfeit, you could be done under Trades Description.. (Heads they win, tails you lose ) No joke! I once flicked a coin for heads or tails like you shouldnt do on a pool table it was a 20 pence peice and it landed on edge!!!!!! Il do my bit for England and hand it in! Il sleep easier that way Or do like the rest of us - keep the coin and keep schtum ("schtum" = "quiet")

The real bonus is the strict pricing applied in the US where a 61 is a non-coin and hence can be purchased cheaply. Number collectors will turn their noses up at excellent examples of coins simply on the grounds that another example has been graded higher. Again a perfect example of how difficult it is to see anything useful through a slab. It certainly doesn't stand out to me and my feeling is there are flat areas on the reverse (rims, tail, nose) where I'd expect more detail for an MSAnything. But I've come to the conclusion a lot of coin collecting in the US is just completely different from over here. From recent threads on CCF I've gathered that some collectors would replace a coin because it's in the wrong sort of slab to match the others and that once slabbed with a decent grade, people start to get .. expectations.. about value. I'd really hope nobody here would turn down a nice coin at a good price because it was graded by the 'wrong' TPGS. Not even the CGS enthusiasts! I'd agree 100%. It clearly suffers from the 'photo through a slab' thing, but has anyone noticed the scratch down the entire bust? There's some lovely blue lustre on the reverse, but it's a common date, and the fact there were 0 bids says it all really.

Cabinet friction? Let's not go there...

For the beginner there's two in particular (both available through this forum and no, I'm not on commission!) : 1. Collectors Coins GB (annual) - a price guide from 1797 onwards, but also with a wealth of detail about mintages, varieties, etc. 2. Guide to Grading British Coins Both published by Rotographic - see banner advert above. When you're more confident, there are specialist tomes we can recommend on whatever field you want to know more about.

Some ripe Stilton before you go to bed, with a Spink as your bedside read. That should do it! Ahhh, that'll be it, I've been drinking a bottle of port every night! Alchy lol. I only have penthouse at the side of my bed and an old sock So THAT's where you store your coin collection!

I know that standards are slipping at the Royal Mint, but I don't think they would produce one quite so shoddy. Given that somewhere up to 5% of all one pound coins are fake, it's fair to assume that you have yourself a fake. 5 percent wow!! thanks The fact the planchet has different thickness or is tapered could that change the weight or explain it being over weight? Also the planchet if it wasnt rolled out correctly surely the result would be something like this? For example the extra weight comes from the thickness, The lack of detail and weak strike on the reverse could be becuase the round didnt sit square when it was struck etc etc Or its part of that 5 % So its effectively illegal to spend counterfeit money?? Planchets are normally stamped out from a sheet of rolled alloy, which is wide enough for several blanks across that width. Given the variation of planchet thickness you have within a single blank, the rolled sheet would have to be mm thin at one side and a few cm thick at the other. I'm pretty sure that the Royal Mint machinery is not even capable of producing such a sheet. It is illegal to spend counterfeit money, as it is fraud, although proving intent in the case of a single £1 coin would be difficult. Ah good point! Is it illegal to sell circulating coinage as counterfeit money.... not that I have any intention of doing so. Yes! It's the property of Customs and Excise I believe - and if known to be fake, should be handed in to a bank or police station. On the other hand, if you sold a non-counterfeit currency coin as a counterfeit, you could be done under Trades Description.. (Heads they win, tails you lose )

Consider a coin that is less than fully struck up as always less desirable than a sharp, clear specimen. A strong and attractive EF might even fetch a higher price for example than an UNC that was a weak strike. But I remember in the old strict days of grading when Fine was described in the usual way then it said "or design weak through faulty striking". From UNC to Fine in one fell swoop! Bear in mind also that some designs are notoriously weak, but also some dates: 1917 sixpences being a case in point.

Some ripe Stilton before you go to bed, with a Spink as your bedside read. That should do it!

I think you should look for a better example. I would say as near to Fine as you can afford, if not actually Fine. nVG implies there are parts of the legend that may be difficult to read if not worn flat, and Edward's head is not much more than an outline. Do put a picture up if you can, but I would say that a fully "VG" example should not cost much more than £50-£70, and "nVG" (how "n" is "n"? seller's optimism?) ought to be no more than about £25-£30. As I say - put a picture up here and let us judge, but even a 1905 halfcrown in less than VG is not rare. thanks for that I will upload a photo when I get one This is my 1905 - you don't want a 1903 much worse than this, which is actually sub-Fine.

What, no-one ever had a dream about coins??

No WAY is that a Rolls Royce!

That's worked out fine - obviously a recipe for success.

Get yourself a tripod, or decrease the shutter time. Both of these help to reduce the effects of camera shake. You can easily reduce the shutter time by using A or P mode (Aperture priority or Programmed Auto) and then choose a small F-stop number (ie large aperture => short exposure time). Or even use S (Shutter) Mode and just adjust the shutter speed!

Can't be much more than 2 hours drive from your place. Straight up the A1 to the 614 roundabout, cut across to the M1 at jcn 31 and you are nearly there. Yes, but you still eat missionaries up there. Depends what they're selling Jehovah's Witnesses are especially nice inside a chip butty.

You still can. It's 18% grey that is the 'standard' shade for accurate WB calculation. You could try turning the auto WB off (if the camera allows) and setting it to the 'right' value for the type of coin you're shooting, using a mid-grey background. Even better if you could save that setting for future use.

I think you should look for a better example. I would say as near to Fine as you can afford, if not actually Fine. nVG implies there are parts of the legend that may be difficult to read if not worn flat, and Edward's head is not much more than an outline. Do put a picture up if you can, but I would say that a fully "VG" example should not cost much more than £50-£70, and "nVG" (how "n" is "n"? seller's optimism?) ought to be no more than about £25-£30. As I say - put a picture up here and let us judge, but even a 1905 halfcrown in less than VG is not rare.

Well, obviously there's the romantic (particularly for Americans) value of a coin dated 1776. As for worth, well, you'd still have been able to buy a loaf of bread with it (a pennyloaf in fact!), though by that date it would have been poorer quality. A proper meal would cost you about a shilling. As much as that? We must be talking about fat cats then, because I'd guess a shilling would keep one of the working classes in food for a week!

Don't think we ever got to the bottom of that did we? Some guy came on here and accused him of all sorts of stuff then got huffy when we took it with a pinch of salt. I do know Chris from auctions, coin fairs and the like and find this all hard to believe as he comes across as a perfectly reasonable guy, and the few professional dealings I have had with him have gone off without a hitch, although to be fair they were very few. Conviction or not, I would judge him purely on his coin dealing activities and reputation. Whatever else he has done, however unpleasant, has nothing to do with that IMO.

Nothing wrong with your English goomolique! Considering he's from London ...

Welcome to the forums Woodsman