MikeCoin

At the local carboot I spotted a guy selling coins. He had a number of them for a couple of quid each and one that caught my eye was a 1799 US dollar. Well, he had two of them, and a 1796 'Trade Dollar'. I picked them up because they were cheapish and more out of curiousity than anything. But, alas, too good to be true. The Trade Dollar, now, is obviously a fake since they never actually started trade dollar until the mid 1800's. And the 1799 'silver' dollars. Well... easy test, they're magnetic. D'oh! But still, interesting to have. Unless anybody's interested in them?

You don't happen to have a photo of it, do you?

Unless anybody on the forum wants it?

I might put it on eBay. See if anybody wants a filler coin for their dollar collection. So long as I get back what I paid for it.

It's possible. It looks like this damage was from a blow from above, and not a smack from the side. I've just not seen such a mark on any coin really, let alone one that's barely a year old.

I was going through the small number of 2008 old-design 20p's I have when I spotted something on this particular one. There appears to be a rather nasty gouge in the metal. What does it look like to you? Could someone have just caught it with something (the rest of the coin is very clean) or could it be a prequisite to clipping down at the mint? Thanks in advance!

There are some completed eBay auctions. One here sold for £1,000 with a single bid. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Martini-1983-Present...alenotsupported

My father has always maintained that somewhere down the road he was told that the 9-hand EEC 1973 50p was originally meant to be issued with 7 hands but soon afterwards two other countries joined and so the design had to be bumped to nine. I've attached a photo to the design in question. I've looked all over the Internet trying to see if this coin variation is out there but I can't find it anywhere.

Please, PLEASE tell me that this one is a joke... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UNDATED-20P-2008-ON-...alenotsupported

It's pretty much a legal requirement so that there's no chance of forgery. Meh, maybe it was unnecessary, but who's taking chances, eh? It didn't hurt the example or anything. On a related note, An HA £5 was handed to me yesterday, better condition too.

Apologies that this isn't coin related, but I hope this is interesting... Since getting a copy of the book 'Check Your Change 2008' I've kept it handy when working so that I can get a sneaky glimpse at serial numbers on banknotes to check if they're rare / collectible or not. Today this note came into my possession. In CYC it says that the earliest serial prefix for Lowther was HC01 yet this note starts with the prefix HB. It also looks like the serial numbers are rubbing off which I've read was a initial problem for the new design. What do you reckon? Shall I quit my job tomorrow?

Was this shrinkage just on the 20p or did it affect every value?

Thanks for the heads up! (pun... maybe intended! )

Was this a shrinkage of the Maklouf design or the transition from Maklouf to Rank-Bradley? Just asking because the 2008 Check Your Change book gives 1998 as the portrait change. You don't have a piccie if it's the former, perchance?

What were the two types?

Probably a silly question, but is there something about the 1992 20p piece then?

When I'm done sorting everything out coinwise here (organising it all before it gets too much) I may have a few spare 2008 old design coins. When I know for sure I'll get a list here if case anybody is after some. Incidentally, today at work me and the others managed to find the old design 2008 1p, 5p, 10p, 20p and £1! It's the 2p and 50p that are the real sods to find!

I was going through a bag of £1 coins a friend at work had bagged up before banking (with his permission, obviously! =p), and inside was this pretty unusual £1 coin. It's either 2008 or 2009 and it just looks weird! Could this be a fake? Without coin scales I can't give the weight but the writing around the side is crisp and square. The crosshatch detail in the shield on heads is also crisp and clear. Heads: Where's the writing? Why's the detail so faint? My initial impression is that it someone could have scuffed it up on the floor with their foot, but the look is completely inconsistant with that sort of defacing. Tails: Where's the "One" on the left? What do you make of it?

Unable to edit post. So extra sentence... Would this be a part of the 'special first run'?

Here's a photo I've just taken of the edge lettering. One thing I initially spotted when I compared the coin to a standard 2008 pound was that the lettering around the edge was flipped. On this coin it's tails side up for the lettering (as you can see in the photo) but the comparison one was heads side up. I did a check with all the other pound coins I had (dated through the years) and this seemed to be a 50/50 occurance though so I didn't really consider that much to be concerned about.

Would that classify it as an error coin? Do you think it has a value (not that I'd sell it)?

I found a 2009 penny today in my change. Don't know where I got it from as I wasn't paying too much attention but it's truly immaculate in condition. That one's going into the new and growing collection.

A 2008 Britannia 50p just sold on eBay for £2.85. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=310155076700

So the 700,000 mintage might have been primarily to cater for the setpacks that they're selling. Perhaps that's why the 50p is such a pig to find. Although saying that, the 2p is also a sod to get ahold of too. Do you think that the 2008 Brittania 50p might be worth more than it's face value, or might do in years to come, because of its low mintage? If I were to sell a complete set of 2008 old design coins (inc. 50p) would it be better to sell now or hold onto them for a year or so?

I was telling someone about how the pre-1992 2p coin was made of bronze and non-magnetic when I discovered that two 1998 2p's in the box were also non-magnetic. I've found online that for a couple of months in 1998 the Mint reverted back from copper-plated steel to bronze in the manfacture of the coin. I probably know the answer to this already, but are the non-magnetic 1998 2p's worth anything? Apart from 2p of course.