Peckris

Welcome to the forums Roy We would need to see a scan or photo of the coin - a description is rarely enough, especially of a worn coin. It's easy to upload pictures : use the Attachments section below.

I am unsure about this, due to the fact that it was after my wife had torn the plastic bag open and tipped the contents into the till that she noticed the coin and put it to one side. It now sits in a bag with the undated 20p's that I have found. (sorry about the photo) Oh right - so your coin is smooth and shiny, like an unstruck blank? In which case it is an interesting curio - whether it has value depends on whether an eBay buyer is "in the mood" (numismatically speaking ). But it won't be a fortune. A uniface piece would be worth more, perhaps up to £100 at the right auction?

Thanks for the kudos ! And it looks good - WTG choolie - I hope you and it will have a long and successful future together

I have taken the coin to the bank and they weighed it for me on one of their machines. They said it is 8.00 grams and that this is the correct weight for a coin of this denomination, they also said that it is possible for coins like this to 'slip through the loop' but it does not happen very often due to stringent machine checks at the mint. My 'acid attack' response was made after looking at your picture - which shows a very rough surface, quite unlike what an unstruck blank would look like. You have to account for that.

Good point ... but perhaps the total weight of the "eroded" design is not enough to make the coin register underweight? Or not enough to affect the bank's scales?

The likelihood is, the 5p was struck on a blank intended for a like-sized Commonwealth coin. These curiosities do occur from time to time. The E/S shilling question will just be a design feature I should think? I have to say, I'd never noticed that before!

Pictures would be good.

I don't know very much about Saxon coins, but a recent(ish) Spink catalogue gives coenwulff pennies values ranging from £800 to £1700 in VF - which yours certainly is, minimum. Hi Peckris Thanks for your reply I dont know if you can tell from the photos but there is a slight bend in the coin with a few stress marks very faint hair line cracks and the edge is nibbled so I didnt no what grade it would come under thanks again guildy. The hairline cracks don't show on the pictures, and the edge isn't the worst I've seen (the coin is still essentially round and hasn't lost any design). The bend sounds the worst thing - are you able to show it edge-on? Hi this is the best I can do hope its ok. Hm, that's a noticeable bend, isn't it. I'm not too sure how that would affect the value of it, maybe one of the other guys here would know? My guess - and that's all it is - is that it would probably downgrade it a whole grade to Fine or F+.

Thanks I will try that and see how it goes, cheers future In FileMaker Pro I have an external database that has scans of both sides of each coin; linking to my main coins database I have a unique relational identifier. Using that relationship field I can display each coin's pictures in one layout of my main database (or - which is the main point - any other database too), without ever having to import them. Hi Peckris, presumably I would be able to do the same thing in access? I don't have filemaker pro, is it an expensive programme? you think it is better? I now seem to be getting somewhere with access I have managed to make a field for attachments where I can put a photo but I am learning how to use the programme at the same time. no doubt I will have further questions, but pleased with my progress today I would think that Access is probably very similar to FileMaker (FM, being originally Mac, is easier to get started with, is all). You would need to find out how different database "files" or "tables" RELATE to each other - it will be using a unique identifier, so one thing you could do is create a unique ID Number for each coin you have, then import a table of ID Numbers to your pictures database. Then in the Pictures database, make sure you have a layout that can display a minimum of two images - obverse and reverse - and that's where you will store your coin pictures. Then, back in your coins database, you create a similar layout, but instead of having the actual pictures, you link to the other database using the ID Number (it's a lot easier than it sounds!) The good thing about this is, it means your basic coins database won't be too large, i.e. quicker to open and work with. (I just had a look at my own Pictures database, and it is 96MB so that too will easily fit onto the modern Flash drive. You can get a 1GB or 2GB for under £10 these days.)

I don't know very much about Saxon coins, but a recent(ish) Spink catalogue gives coenwulff pennies values ranging from £800 to £1700 in VF - which yours certainly is, minimum. Hi Peckris Thanks for your reply I dont know if you can tell from the photos but there is a slight bend in the coin with a few stress marks very faint hair line cracks and the edge is nibbled so I didnt no what grade it would come under thanks again guildy. The hairline cracks don't show on the pictures, and the edge isn't the worst I've seen (the coin is still essentially round and hasn't lost any design). The bend sounds the worst thing - are you able to show it edge-on?

Thanks I will try that and see how it goes, cheers future In FileMaker Pro I have an external database that has scans of both sides of each coin; linking to my main coins database I have a unique relational identifier. Using that relationship field I can display each coin's pictures in one layout of my main database (or - which is the main point - any other database too), without ever having to import them.

Proofs should never be washed, even if toned. However, early Mint proofs are notorious for toning, from 1970 to 1982, and the early years are the worst. The alloy was quite normal - cupro-nickel didn't change, even with decimalisation. It was probably more to do with either the foam inserts in the plastic sets, or the glue they used. I'm afraid you will have to live with the toning, but if you want to upgrade your coin, 1970 proof shillings are only a couple of pounds. I have a 1970 Proof set in the plastic case they were issued in and they have no marks at all, this is what made me think it was the alloy. It looks more like a Grey fungus than toning. Not EVERY set gets toned. It also depends on storage conditions. As for the "grey fungus" look - that reminds me of the worst set I ever saw which was a 1973 proof set, in which the 5p in particular was quite horrible, and your description is perfect. I found a buyer at 10p though!!

She did however have 13 children, so somebody must have liked her (can think of many ribald comments on this particular subject which I'm far too polite to mention). I think if it could somehow be proven that William was indeed gay, it would destroy the Orange movement in Northern Ireland and go a long way to solving Ulster's problems. Those guys are to the right of Atillah the Hun and to see the Rev. Ian Paisley actively marching for a known gay monarch makes me drool in anticipation. Did you read the disgraced Mrs Robinson's views on homosexuality? I don't like to stand in judgement, but if gayness is a sin, what is adultery? Still doesn't explain why the coinage portraits of the luscious Mary II were so unflattering. We must not forget the "gay conspiracy theory" view of the world. I once worked in Blackpool for a season (in catering, before you ask!), and the guy ... er, gay ... who ran the main bar was an outrageous old queen who had views on every subject under the sun. One of his favourites themes was how EVERY male in the Royal Family was gay, but the Press weren't allowed to say so So, that's Philip, Charles (ESPECIALLY Charles!), Edward, the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, etc etc. Only Andrew, it seemed, was genuinely into women (or "bi" ). So there you have it - in the Pink world, everyone else is Pink too, even if they don't admit it, even to themselves.

What do you want for it? (My own currency twopence sounds identical to the one you used to have! I got mine in - I think - 1997 or 1998, when did you offload yours?)

Proofs should never be washed, even if toned. However, early Mint proofs are notorious for toning, from 1970 to 1982, and the early years are the worst. The alloy was quite normal - cupro-nickel didn't change, even with decimalisation. It was probably more to do with either the foam inserts in the plastic sets, or the glue they used. I'm afraid you will have to live with the toning, but if you want to upgrade your coin, 1970 proof shillings are only a couple of pounds.

I don't know very much about Saxon coins, but a recent(ish) Spink catalogue gives coenwulff pennies values ranging from £800 to £1700 in VF - which yours certainly is, minimum.

Could be a normal 50 pence, victim of an acid attack (complete immersion ). You could weigh it and see if it is underweight? (Or just weigh it and report back - people here will tell you if it's underweight).

I would suggest (without confirming evidence) that bronzed proofs are not the rarest 1797s, though I'd certainly love to have one. I think a genuine BU currency 1797 twopence is incredibly rare (I've never seen one, though I have seen bronzed proofs), and would quite probably realise £1K at least, at auction. Just as a rider Chris - I do believe your prices for 1797s have always been on the low side! Especially the EF and Unc values.

Moooove on

Ah! Takes me right back to the days when as a schoolboy I would hand in my 5/- pocket money to pore over bags of pennies from the banks. And the moment of increased heartbeat when I found a 18H or 19H ! Mind you, in those days the value of "rarities" (ok, key dates!) in average circulated grade was higher in relation to ordinary dates - which added to the thrill of the chase.

I agree, I also have the Edward VII 1902 crown with less toning and I think it looks a little bland in comparison. 1902 Crowns are quite rare....however crowns are not my first choice (they get a bit expensive before 1887)and between 1927-34....and a few varieties.Personally I prefer your 1902......but each to their own. I have a genuinely BU (full lustre) 1902 crown - I didn't know they were rare?

That would be Silver Dip, a propriety chemical tarnish remover. It's actually not a problem, but its use by many is a problem. You see, it works very very well, and will remove unsightly tarnish, leaving no trace. But the first instructions I ever saw about dipping coins were the best I ever read, and thank God I did. If you are going to dip a coin - you lower it into the solution for a few seconds only. Then you remove, rinse and examine. If you judge it needs a few more seconds, then you repeat. And that's it! A coin that's been dipped in this way is as near undetectable as makes no difference. Sadly, people think "Oh Silver Dip - great! I'll drop my coin in and leave it a few minutes,then come back to see if it's worked." Yes, it will have worked. Your coin will now have a uniform silver appearance : flat, dull, and utterly undesirable. It won't look polished, far from it, but that's the best you can say.

He's wrong about ÇCGB - it's £340 in UNC not EF. So if he's wrong about that...

I've never even seen an UNC '58E, or '59S. Bought many that looked close, but none of them were. I have an Unc 58E, but sadly it also has that cupro-nickel 'red streaking' you sometimes get. No wear though.

Hey, what's wrong with that 1895? Looks fine to me! Er, I mean GEF!!