Peckris

Thanks for the enlightenment. But the rarity of the narrow 3 penny cannot be less rare than the 1882. Satin only knew of one, and this is presumably the second known specimen. Which makes it rarer than the 1933! (Though I do know that bun varieties never come near to matching 1933s I'm price, however rare...)

How are you getting such a good picture? I'm afraid my scanner will not do that kind of justice to a coin's tone, so I'd be interested to know how you did it?

Does it mean "BU"? "Red" seems an odd way to define a BU coin which, as you point out, is usually yellow or orange or coppery gold, but rarely red. I've never heard that term before and I've been collecting for 40 years.

Doesn't surprise me it went for so much. It's such a good forgery it's almost like having the real thing Bargain.

Not sure I fully agree. I love an even dark patina - some of the handsomest coppers/bronzes are almost black. In fact, I even prefer such coins to those EF types with patchy lustre.

It's hard to say, there's a little dirt in the letter. But, I'd say it COULD be - the left hand upper serif of the F is not simply a horizontal bar as it should be, it looks 'squared off' as if it was once a T.

Would someone explain to this Brit of Small Brain what is the significance of the "red" in all those coins listed above?

My ONLY reason to get a coin graded by the likes of CGS would be to add considerable value to it (a mere 10% wouldn't do it for me, but it does seem that the graded high quality coins seem to double in prices realised, and I cannot ignore that). Apart from that, I agree with you - after many many years as a collector and quite a few as a dealer, I don't need anyone to tell me what a coin's grade is, nor how appealing it is. I don't think coins change so very much, especially not if they are looked after carefully. As for those who are only interested in a quick buck, the coin won't be in their possession long enough to alter its appearance methinks ... a few truths : (i) those interested in grading to sell will ensure the coin and photo match as closely as possible (the photo would have to be of superb quality of course) (ii) those who keep hold of their coins but don't look after them well wouldn't be buying the kind of coins we are discussing, and probably wouldn't pay the kind of fees involved either. Let's face it, only serious collectors will pay out £10 minimum for this kind of service. (iii) the whole point of slabbed photos mean that the coin DOES remain free to be inspected for research - that's what I'm saying, how can we keep coins out of slabs And if slabbing a photo isn't a starter, then a good printed certificate (suggestion 1) might be better? As long as such a certificate featured photos of course. Then the dreaded slab could be avoided altogether. ---------------------------------- It does seem a shame that slabbers enjoy such a markedly higher resale value than non-slabbers. Perhaps we should hope it is just a fad, like the encapsulated coins of the late 60s. Or maybe we should set up a high quality grading service of our own? With lower fees and no slabs!

Good bargain, that halfpenny, scott I think there are two good strategies to buy coins : 1. go for the best and highest grade you can afford 2. look out for bargain basement items like that halfpenny (you'll always be able to sell them on for a bit of a profit).

Come on guys! Don't be shy. All I'm asking is your opinion. What do you think of these two proposed alternatives to slabbing? If such an alternative was introduced, would you consider using it? (NO commitment!)

I believe the last issue was 1970. I think you would be lucky to pick one up for £70 although you could have mine for that when the rumoured reprint arrives Lol havent bought one my self hence me posting the origional question. I have seen 3 or 4 advertised for around £70 and there in fairly used condition. I ordered a copy when I was a schoolboy, it would have cost me £5.15s if I'd gone back to collect it. I actually got my copy from auction a few years back - £95. Funnily enough, the £5.15s.0d was more valuable to me as a schoolboy than £95 was a few years back You might be interested in the news that Predecimal are in negotiations to reprint Peck - there's a thread about it here.

There are no 1972 currency coins, except the 25p Silver Wedding crown. Which is why the proof set for that year is more expensive than any other early decimal proof set. BU sets didn't appear until 1982, so there are only proofs to fill any gaps before then. There were actually pennies minted for each year between 1860 and 1922. None were minted in 1968, 1969 (well, they were, but were dated 1967).

London Coins have one for sale : http://www.londoncoins.co.uk/index.php?pag...amp;d0=FA#coins

Yes, but this ignores the fact that many serious collectors (particularly those over a certain age) keep their coins in cabinets. Who is going to throw out their gorgeous mahogany cabinet(s) just on the transient whim of fashion? Which is what they would have to do if they got their coins slabbed. What we need - unless it already exists? - is a reputable and professional grading service that does NOT slab coins. A service that returns your coin along with a good colour photo of both sides of the coin, that also shows the grade and other relevant information (and watermarked in some way that is difficult to fake). (Or a slabbed photo!) . . Oh GOD, I hope not. How many of us here are collectors - even dealers also - of many years standing? I don't need a professional service to tell me - the grade - the eye appeal - the desirability of a coin, unless it's a series that's new to me. . . You could only peg rarities to each other of broadly very similar types. Otherwise there is no correlation. We all know that there are many varieties in Freeman that are at least as rare as the 1933 penny, yet would struggle to realise a tenth of that value. And then there's Maundy, which is extremely scarce yet never makes much over £100 a set, despite being as rare as 1934 crowns. A coin's value is an index of rarity * popularity, and usually that second factor is equally as important as the first. . . . I was surprised to hear that those LCA values are being set by Stephen Lockett. I bought off him many times at the Midlands Coin Fair some years ago, and his prices were realistic then, and in discussion with him, he seemed to be a very sensible dealer.

Barrington Smith in Leicester, suppliers to the trade, used to sell bags of assorted BU modern foreign coins for modest sums. Perhaps you could get a trade catalogue of them and see if they still do them?

scott, your "unknownfront" coin on Image Shack, is a Maria Theresa thaler, they've been continuously minted since 1741. In the Middle East until recently, certain States wouldn't trade in anything other than those as they knew exactly how much silver they contained. I bought a FDC proof at a coin fair a few years back, and it was pretty cheap. Beautiful coins though.

Now that one is interesting for being much cruder workmanship - less common I'd say. I have a 1916 shilling similar to that - no silver left on it, but it is exactly like a copper version of the real thing.

Somebody either knows a good forger or a good website! Nah, just great with Photoshop You really have F169 scott?

There may be a lot of truth in that - but it begs the next question, Who in their right mind is going to pay £10 to grade and slab a coin that is so common and so low value it defies belief? Well, quite. And as many serious collectors keep their coins in cabinets, they are the very people who won't be using the services of PCGS etc. Why pay good money to get your coin back in a wad of perspex that can no longer be placed in a cabinet???

But how can you ignore those prices? You have to ask yourself, who is a £20 1967 halfcrown or a £15 1966 penny aimed at? It can't be the likes of us, as you would hear us laughing all the way from the moon. So who, then? Gullible novices? I would have said London Coin Auctions were too reputable for that kind of scam. So who, then? It makes no sense, none at all. The more I think about this, the more baffled but also more annoyed I become. It's like they're either taking the mick, or trying to con someone as yet unidentified. I wish one of their representatives would come on here and give us the benefit of their thinking.

Why so many? If minor changes in design don't count then we have only one reverse and eight distinct obverses. It's really a case of what turns you on, and I'm afraid hyper-varieties just don't do it for me, I'd rather broaden my horizons and go collect roubles or something. If you have 500 varieties of penny, then that's fine if it's what you want. 120 does actually include a fair few varieties if you work it out. I'm sorry if I sounded a bit dismissive, I didn't mean to be, but for me a collection that I couldn't make interesting to a non-numismatist (and few would be enthralled by varieties of the 'pointing to gap or tooth' type) just wouldn't do. I'm with you there Red. I would like the 1897 high tide, and the 1903 open 3, but after that, the ones I REALLY want are impossible : 1922 with 1927 reverse 1933 1952 1954 !! I guess with buns, some people make a whole career out of the things, but I can only get excited by the more obvious variations.

There's a lot of contemporary silver-washed forgeries of that series. They aren't worth much, but they are interesting additions to a collection. The workmanship (if you ignore the metal) is often amazingly accurate.

That's a fair price, in both cases ! ? I would have said that nVF and NVF are the same? Just a matter of personal preference? But I'm willing to be corrected on that...

It looks distinctly possible.