Peckris

Needless to say, I was talking about the Online Coins link in my reply, not the coins that Chris has for sale !! His are not overpriced at all.

Mat, I clicked those references but they aren't links (I think you forgot to add the url to make them "hot"?). If you fix that I will go and have a look as well.

One of the big clues - if you can solve it (I can't) - is the M below the portrait; no two pound coins were struck in Melbourne, and anyway the M would be after the date. It COULD be the initial of the person who made it, to show it's not intended to pass for currency, but the design though authentic-looking is very weak. It's may have been impressed from a mould formed from actual coins. It doesn't look like a casting, but I suppose it could be.

And just looking at the way the seller is holding it in the first 2 photos doesn't exactly add to confidence, does it?

I'm not convinced about the errors, though that certainly does look like an 8 underneath. It's actually a very nice crown, lovely plumage toning (some scuffing at closer inspection) - but even at half the price he's asking I'd still be very hesitant.

The "marking" you speak of is the letter H denoting it was minted at Ralph Heaton & Son instead of the Royal Mint. In other words it's an 1875H penny, which is a rare date! In that general state of wear it would normally fetch up to £20 on eBay. However, the defacement (it's been unofficially stamped by someone by the look of it) would definitely affect its value quite seriously. There would still be a market for it on the 'Bay, but if you're collecting by date, I would be tempted to keep it until a better comes along.

Now on site http://www.myfarthings.co.uk/victoriavh1897.html Something wrong with that link : "Safari can’t open the page “http://http://www.myfarthings.co.uk/victoriavh1897.html†" Too many http's I should think.

Interesting - I have generally found them rather expensive, looking at their prices? However, I believe they are reliable dealers (one of them is Rendel Ingram who also has his own mailing list and website). You probably have to keep checking, unlike Colin Cooke who update theirs once a month.

OMG, do people really go through forums, looking at 6-year-old posts? I must say it would never occur to me, but I suppose if I had a free evening ...

I could see it was toothed both sides from your first pictures - these just confirm it. Steer clear - and tbh, I would steer clear of that dealer altogether. He is either ignorant, stupid, or a crook. Whichever, you don't want to put your hard-earned his way.

On the other hand you had dear old souls like Mr Hutchings who operated his small business from the back of an antiques shop in Uxbridge in the 1970s. No question was too silly, and he had all the time in the world it seemed to me. And his friend John Dunkerton (Windsor Coins) who was still operating in 2002 and may still be for all I know. Salt of the earth types, lucky to encounter.

Anything before 1947 is 50% silver, before 1920 is nearly all silver. 1947 onwards is copper nickel, very little scrap value.

Anyone else think the colour looks wrong? Or was Mary one of those Tudor monarchs who cheerfully debased the silver coinage?

Any dealer will accept an offer, but it's more likely with (1) higher value coins or (2) coins they aren't shifting. And the more you spend with them, the more they will likely offer you a discount. Ironically, they may also offer you a discount on their 50p £1 £2 £5 trays - the markup on the contents of those is eye-watering so you can often get money off.

Good luck! Tell us what happens

Appologies for the above quote i did try to edit it before it went on upload but it froze. What i meant to say was..."If the coin isnt worth more than a £1.00, im not going to loose sleep over it, if for whatever reason it will enhance someone elses collection then they can have it for the postage, or if they are lucky enough to have a buyer for it ..good luck to them" Oh dear digger, you are about to fall victim to my infinite pedantry, but you wouldn't believe how irritated I've begun to get by the epidemic all over the internet, of people who can't spell "lose" !! sleep and the patience of a good woman are what you LOSE teeth and some women become LOOSE Do forgive me, I've become a one-man quest to eradicate this blip before it finds its way into the official dictionaries. :( Dear Sir, I promise to correctly spell the word LOSE, and use it in its correct context at all times in the future. Dear Sir, I promise to correctly spell the word LOSE, and use it in its correct context at all times in the future. Dear Sir, I promise to correctly spell the word LOSE, and use it in its correct context at all times in the future. Dear Sir, I promise to correctly spell the word LOSE, and use it in its correct context at all times in the future. Dear Sir, I promise to correctly spell the word LOSE, and use it in its correct context at all times in the future. Five lines as promised Mr PECKRIS :D Hahaha all the best mate! LOL - now I hope you did those lines without using Copy and Paste ... ?

The answer is "yes" and "no" "Yes" in that most dealers adjust their SELLING prices by it, and in that most insurance companies make payouts based on its values "No" for the reasons Rob has set out. There is NO fully accurate price guide, for one very obvious reason : there is no uniform coin for which a price can be given (they all vary, even Unc), there isn't one location for which all prices hold true, there isn't one auction that realises a standard set of prices for every lot, at every sale. The market for a particular coin is what the market will bear at that precise moment. Spink lists a BU 1948 penny at ... what? ... £6? £8? Whatever, it's totally unrealistic, they are common as anything, you should be able to get one for £4, £3 or even less. Quick rule of thumb : the commoner the coin, the more likely it is to be overpriced in Spink or any other book. The rarer the coin, the more likely to be undervalued. Spink is a good enough book, but the CCGB series (see panel above) lists more varieties and if your interest is in coins from 1797 onwards, costs about a quarter of the price.

Then my judgement is that W&W have changed while Peter Viola hasn't. W&W used to slightly undergrade, and were always ready conscientious about errors - in fact, Peter Viola was one of their trusted 'forgery spotters'. I bought some fantastic coins from there between 1997 and 2002, though sometimes the bidding did go a bit 'silly'. Peter was always good - he'd point out some of his best stock, and when I was disappointed with not getting W&W lots, he'd sell me good coins at a discount : I got a VF 1696 crown, GEF 1797 twopence, AU 1819 crown, and two beautifully toned, prooflike, early strike bun halfpennies from him, among other things. If W&W have downhill, then I'd go to Peter first, ask if he's going to the auction, get his advice, and in any case, buy something good from him!

First of all, I'd like to say that this is a handsome coin - slightly scuffed on rear (doesn't look deep enough to warrant "scratch"). Very attractively toned. If it was one of the more common crowns of this series, you could pay between £150 - £200 easily, and if you're a type collector I would wait for one of those. But if you're in the market for rarities, and if this is 20/19 (doesn't look evident from the photo, but then I've never seen one anyway), then your 400 euros is a bargain really. CCGB lists it as £350 in VF and this one seems very close to EF.

Appologies for the above quote i did try to edit it before it went on upload but it froze. What i meant to say was..."If the coin isnt worth more than a £1.00, im not going to loose sleep over it, if for whatever reason it will enhance someone elses collection then they can have it for the postage, or if they are lucky enough to have a buyer for it ..good luck to them" Oh dear digger, you are about to fall victim to my infinite pedantry, but you wouldn't believe how irritated I've begun to get by the epidemic all over the internet, of people who can't spell "lose" !! sleep and the patience of a good woman are what you LOSE teeth and some women become LOOSE Do forgive me, I've become a one-man quest to eradicate this blip before it finds its way into the official dictionaries.

For wear alone I'd put it AEF (there is less hair on that obverse than on earlier ones), but it's a bit discoloured. Having said that, 3 Euros is a major bargain!!

Oops I've just re-read mine and it looks as if my last comment was suggesting you'd been UNfriendly. Not intentional, I was just hoping he might take an interest and come back, and if he did, he'd find we're a friendly bunch (unlike some forums). Wasn't trying to say that you ... ok, I'll stop digging now.

If it's the one I think you mean, then it's a good-humoured joke - if you read it right through, you can see the guy is not being totally serious, and it gave me a laugh. I actually complimented him on his style in eBay and he gave me a knowing wink back, so I'm guessing he is just having a laugh, and it will raise his profile perhaps.

My thought also. For the record, I couldn't afford a 1934 Crown but I do hope you get the proper price for yours. (I'll settle with my 1928, 1931, and 1927 proof ).

:huh: Silly question time fella's What exactly is W.W and where on the coin can i find it? Appologies for the stupidity of the question but its gone straight over my head? Not at all stupid. There's a whole specialised glossary for coins which it takes time to pick up. Once you know what a "1926ME" or a "1919KN" penny is, it's easy but until then, we might just as well be talking gobbledygook.