azda

Ask John Stephenson, i think he has one

Nice, just wonder what they're going to do with coins that are not marked as COPY, IE: the fakes made to look like the real thing, herein lies the problem and Ebays more than difficult way to report such items.

Hello, I can confirm that Delcampe.net is fighting fraudsters and fake items (as well coins as stamps, etc) for a long time, and will continue. As visitors of the site, you always have the possibility to use the link "Report this item" located top right of each sale. And if you want to better contribute, because you are an expert or a specialized collector, we have a Moderator program where between 30 and 50 moderators are watching the site. Kind regards, Seb Delcampe Thats good to hear Seb, its a pity ebay does'nt take the same stance as you, all they are interested in at the end of the day is their cash and don't give a toss if a coin is a fake or not. Keep up the work. Have you found many coins to date, can you list by Country what's been found. What action do you also take against those who are selling fakes?

Thanks, Azda! You really will have to forgive me here, as my knowledge of these things are ZERO, but are there any reasons why a camera is better than a scope that could do the full job? Also, was there a particular scope you were referring to? Many thanks for any further info. Sometimes a scope can get closer than the camera could, this is only to check if a letter or digit is stamped over something else, that's the ONLY reason i use it, camera is for pictures alone. Gollum mentioned a usb scope in another thread somewhere and i gave him another ebay number to which the scope i have relates to which is selling on ebay just now at 20 quid or so

Sneaky? Why sneaky? It looks a good deal at $10 for the year, i might give it a nibble myself.

I have a cheap one, i only use it to check any annomilies of a coin, mine won't take a full picture either but there are scopes costing up to 200 quid that do the whole job.

But that still doesn't explain why coins in UK auctions that are sold by non-EU residents attract the 5% VAT instead of 20%. As I said before, the 5% rule was in force last December, so barring a change in the law over Christmas/New Year, this should still apply. I still suspect that someone somewhere in customs or their agents doesn't realise that coins are taxed at a reduced rate. I vaguely remember someone saying it is something to do with them being classed as collectables or artefacts, but can't think where I read it. As far as I'm aware coins fall into the same catagory as antiques and are only subject to 5% VAT. no customes duty. Rather than just put coin etc on the customs form you should put the customs comodity code for that artical on the form then no confusion. The codes are available from the IR website. I doubt an American will know the customs commodity code Gary, even i don't know it, but i think this should be investigated further for future reference should it happen to anyone else.

Long and short of it is, up to 18 quid is free, after that you Pay 20% on the total value plus insurance plus postage

Just an update. Got my brother-in-law (he's an accountant) to do some digging on this subject very close to my heart, here's what he found. I have been charged VAT and duty for goods bought over the internet, why is this? All goods imported into the UK from countries outside the EU are subject to Import Duty and VAT at the rates applicable.However, import VAT is not payable on commercial consignments if the total value of the goods in the consignment does not exceed £18 (£15 with effect from 1 November 2011). If this tax was not applied, there would clearly be an unfair advantage to foreign businesses over UK trade. This limit is raised to £40 for personal gifts between private individuals.Where the value of gifts is below £630 per consignment, a flat rate of Customs Duty of 2.5 per cent will be applied – but only if it is to your advantage.Customs Duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.Please note if your goods are subject to customs charges, there may also be a handling fee to pay to the carrier.For further information see:

Very, VERY, nice! Azda, what is your photography set-up? I'm in the middle of researching a good set-up for myself, just for coin photography. Do you know enough about the hobby to offer any suggestions? Coinery, you may want to look at the ebay link Gollum has above, thats more of a professional setup for taking coin picture, camera seems mounted. I personally do nothing special, just the natural light (outside) I have a balcony on the house with a large ledge which is where i go (sometimes freezing my nuts off if the weather is cold and i have a few coins to do. I think basically its allabout the feel of your camera and knowing when the picture is right. Larger coins you can get quite close to, smaller coins need a little more distance or else they can look blurry after cropping

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about. The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was overkill then http://www.ebay.co.u...605910369268540 This is what i've got http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Microscope-1-3-Megapixel-Camera-Traveller-/180797585224?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET&hash=item2a18603748

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about. The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

I doubt it would be misleading, it came froma large US dealer and i doubt he'd do that. I'm gonna call my buddy tomorrow and tell him to hang fire and not pay until this is cleared up, although saying that, i phoned my brother-in-law earlier (he's an accountant) and he said 20% applies, so i'm fooked if i know right now. Also if you look at the wording in the 1st picture, it states that parcelforce are unable to enter disputes............ Coins imported from outside the EU attract 5% import VAT. That is the same 5% charge applying to imported lots in auctions such as Spink or DNW. e.g lot 107 in Spink's last sale (13/12/2011) was marked with an x, signifying VAT of 5% would be applied to the hammer price and 20% to the buyers premium because the coin was imported into the EU under temporary import rules, but the buyers premium was incurred entirely within the EU. Unless the rules have changed since the middle of December, the 5% rule should still apply. Parcelforce collects the VAT for HMRC, but a mechanism still exists to challenge incorrect taxation. Go to the PO counter and get it sorted - quickly because it might take a few days and the parcel will only be held for a week or two at the most. It says on the paper (the picture i uploaded) 20 days. I'll ask the brother-in-law again about import charges, is the 5% just on coins outside the EU, or everything?

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

No, but it's definately BU, just ask Peckris

I doubt it would be misleading, it came froma large US dealer and i doubt he'd do that. I'm gonna call my buddy tomorrow and tell him to hang fire and not pay until this is cleared up If still at the PO, you could question why the excessive charge at the desk. If the description says coin, then the RM have screwed up, but if the description is misleading, then the RM are perfectly entitled to charge what would be the appropriate rate. The application of 20% vat suggests the value inserted on the customs form is correct, so the description is also likely to be correct. I'm going for the shared brain cell making a balls up. And you only have a finite time to challange it before the package is returned. It will be held until the correct tax is paid. Time is of the essence. 20 days. My buddy is'nt the sharpest tool in the box though, so either he's gonna have to give the paper to my brother-in-law or i'm gonna challenge it from here. Will perhaps start morning

I doubt it would be misleading, it came froma large US dealer and i doubt he'd do that. I'm gonna call my buddy tomorrow and tell him to hang fire and not pay until this is cleared up, although saying that, i phoned my brother-in-law earlier (he's an accountant) and he said 20% applies, so i'm fooked if i know right now. Also if you look at the wording in the 1st picture, it states that parcelforce are unable to enter disputes............

H the bill he sent me over the iphone, its in 2 parts but the same bil. Now bear in mind its a $167 coin and i'm paying 24 quid for import charges, i still think its wrong

Here in Germany we're allowed €22 thereafter its charged at 7%. The coin i bought was $167 and i've been charged 24 pound odd import charge and 13 something clearance fee, which is as i've said f*****g outrageous. They've based everything on the 167 dollars, not on what the dollar is to the pound, so charged like it was 167 pounds and not what it should actually be, 108 quid

Well, me being Scottish (apparently we're tight) thought, to get around always paying tax in Gemrnay on every purchase outside the EU i'd get a friend of mine in the UK to buy a coin for me from the USA: Today he tells me the coin has arrived and parcelforce have gave him a wee letter saying i'm owing another 38 f*****g quid for tax, i would have been cheaper buying it myself and letting the Germans tax me 7% instead of the near 30% that i've had to pay. I really thought Germay was bad for taxation, but that just pales into insignifigance as to what i've just had to add to the UK Governments coffers. 7% German tax or near 30% UK tax, hmmmmm thats a toughie

Head, brick wall and beating all come to mind, along with groundhogday and circles, eventually its Not BU as stated Even if i said EF, i could have also said VF or Poor but it will still never make the coin BU which when we eventually come Full Circle is what i've been saying all along FFS!!!

Which is still not BU as the seller is stating, even if i'm being harsh at EF,we could go AUNC and its still not BU, so again, i rest My case that its not BU

My case was rested that it was not BU

Yes it's a nice coin and from one who has quite a few of these you are off to a good start, but which one is it? Now there are several 1887 crowns and it is difficult to tell from your photos but you can see on the coin itself; 1) is the plume to the St. George head double struck or double engraved? 2) is the bottom right serif missing on the 1 of the date? 3) what is the distance between the R of VICTORIA and the T of BRITT? The range is from 34.65mm down to 33.59 for the proof. 4) is the top of the first 8 missing? Now that has whetted your interest there are at least ten or more different sizes in the 1887 Crown as the dies were made using a pantograph to reduce from the master plaster mould. As a guess by eye I would say yours if quite close to 34.00 or less. You will need a vernier calliper to measure it and also need to take at least 10 readings to get any meaningful average. All a bit anoraky for most but that's what we are here for isn't it? Sorry at number 3 it should read T of VICTORIA to R in REG Where exactly should it be measured from? Top of the T to top of R, bottom of T to bottom of R?

I understand that Nick, but there must be some other distinguishing feature other than the rim, especially if impaired