RLC35

Isn't the only difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom...the addition of Northern Ireland? The way I am told it works is: Great Britain includes: 1) England, Wales, and Scotland United Kingdom includes: 2) England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. I think there are also some small Islands included in the above. There is a explanation of the differences somewhere on the internet (Video), and that is the way it is explained. Then there is the Commonwealth of Nations....but we'll save that one for another day. LOL!

Agreed. If anything it may even be a slight OVER-estimation. If your coin has no lustre VS, I would put it somewhere between £100 and £150 depending on crispness and eye appeal. The halfpenny is much scarcer of course. Peck, You are right about the 1/2d Low Tide. It is much harder to obtain than the 1d LT. I just sold a Rassmussen 1902 LT in Red BU for $299, to a client in Australia. That's about twice what a 1d low tide would bring.

Nice to get everyone's input. All of the comments have brought up some good points. Thanks!

One of the things I noticed was the lack of varieties. It also is a little difficult to use...but it's free! LOL

Here is another 1903, Open 3 on eBay now. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300555026949&category=3397&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619#ht_2860wt_1139 I have sent a note to the seller, noting that this coin is not an open 3, but he continues to advertise it as a open 3. Maybe he needs a few more respondents! LOL!

That's the real McCoy (open 3)...the top of the three (3) points toward the "0." On the normal 3, the top of the 3 curls downward, toward (between) the 0 and the 3. That example is also the best one I've seen.

I was really disappointed with Knightsbridge Coins. They didn't bring a single coin to the Bourse! They only had one page passouts on their St James Auction Service! The Chicago show was pretty good overall. It seems like it gets bigger every year. The hot thing was silver, it seemed like everyone was buying it! BTW Colin...only saw three (3) 1848 Farthings, and none were the overstrike you pictured!

I'm at the "Chicago International Coin Fair" today, and I am going to go through all the 1848 farthings to see if one is in anyone's stock. BTW...Knightsbridge Coins, from the UK is here on the Bourse Floor, does anyone know them?

the 1903 might be an open 3, I have to see a closer pic of the date to be sure.

Mal Lewendon is a member of this forum if I am not mistaken. I seem to remember getting my copy of the disk from him via this forum. Last seen sunning himself in France I believe Agreed, invaluable but I feel there is room for improvement. Sorry Mal. Gary, You are right, Mal is located in France, or at least the last time I heard of him, he was. I believe he is a aviator.

Gary, If that is a fake...then it is really a good fake. It looks like the real thing! It would be interesting to send it in for slabbing, and see what happens.

If anyone is going to pursue a Half Penny Reference, you might be able to enlist the help of Mal Lewendon. I'm not sure of his email at this time, but he has a disk that has a lot of the varieties of the Half Pennies already identified. Chris has even used some of his images for the GBCC reference. Just a FYI!

Don't they just give it a genuine tag and not a grade, or has that changed? Not sure about PCGS, but NGC/NCS gives you your choice, if has been cleaned. They will either slab it as "Authentic", without a grade, or give it a "Details" grading with a notation that it has been cleaned.

Cool...Thanks Peck!

Nice coin Azda, the Kings ear is really strong. It is also very hard to find a 1905 with the "P" and the "I" showing completely on the reverse, as yours does.

Rob, Your Forum mailbox is full (not accepting messages). Please send me pricing info (to the USA)for the Davies Book, to RLC35@aol.com.

Cracking out a coin, and re-slabbing, hoping to upgrade the resultant grade has been very popular of late. I know a lot of collectors that do it. I can see the benefit, it the coin is on the cusp of a higher grade. It would seem that it might get expensive though at $20 to $50 per coin! I have never done it myself.

He is not the only grader at CGS, there are a panel of graders, who determine the grade depending on the denomination, it is no different to PCGS or NGC, I remember when it was being set up receiving some literature where they were actively looking for graders to cover fields they specialised in. I always find I am defending CGS on this froum for some bizarre reason, but it is not the case, just that the experience I have had with London Coins and the very limited experience I have had with CGS have been very positive. It was an old topic on here previously about an 1860 mule farthing which put me off the US grading companies http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3156&st=0&p=24942&hl=+1860%20+mule&fromsearch=1entry24942. I have to admit I would rather have an English coin graded by an English company/dealer, I know it does not guarantee a positive result, but it must improve your chances of getting someone with expertise on the coins of England Colin, I remember the controversy about the 1860 Farthing Mule on this Forum. The Person from PCGS, who supported the PCGS Grading of the Mule, was an Officer of the Company, and he was supporting what was obviously a mistaken ID on the Mule. He even went further to give the seller a letter stating it was genuine, and there was a second try at selling the Mule for 6 times the original price of $600! After that, I have had nothing to do with PCGS. The only American Company I deal with now is NGC, I just don't trust PCGS anymore! As for the difference in grading between USA and Britain grading, you are always going to have that, as long as one uses a 70 point system, and another uses a 100 point system. BTW...in the USA they are toying with the idea of a 700 point system, instead of a 70 point system. I am not sure of the value of a 700 point system though!

The value added, especially with rare Half Crowns, would be the authentication of the coin as genuine! This is especially important with a 1905 Half Crown, where many forgeries exist! I am not a fan of slabs, but I can see where a slabbed 1905 would attract more bids, and higher sales, based on the knowledge that it was guaranteed to be the "Real McCoy!"

Aardhawk, Interesting article, thanks for posting!

Derek, Is he also a member of the Forum? If so, I think I know who he is! LOL!

Hi Dan, Welcome to the Forum. Being from the U.S. I can tell you that the 1884-O Silver Dollar in your collection, is a very common date, and has a value of about $27.00 for silver content alone. The 2011 Redbook places the value as a collector's coin at $22.00 in VF, so it is worth more for the silver content. Your Dollar would grade "Fine" by U.S. Grading. Regards,

I use the colon after GRA as an identifier of the ME. On the ME, the bottom dot of the colon almost touches the A in GRA. If it is a non-ME, then the bottom dot of the colon is centered between the A and the B, of BRITT.

Bob, you have 2 rolls of 1912H's? That sounds like mint rolls, but surely not? I presume that's the US expression for two of those coin tubes full of used 1912H's? Still, that's a lot of coins! I wish they were mint rolls! But they are circulated rolls of 25 coins each. I bought them 40 years ago, at the same time I bought the 1926 Pennies. Most are in Fine condition, some a little better.

Just for the fun of it, I just went thru 2 rolls of 1912H Pennies, and I didn't find any Gouby-x's either!