Accumulator

I picked this 1874 penny up at the recent London Coins auction: Here's an inverted view of the date: The coin was described thus: "Penny 1874 inverted smaller Arabic 1 over 1 in the date, as Freeman 72 dies 7 + H and Gouby BP1874Kj but the date configuration similar to Gouby BP1874Nj (Heaton mint) with 10 1/2 teeth date spacing and backwards tilting 7. The 4 of the date is also double-struck. Overstrikings on the figure 1s in the date usually only found on the early issues of 1861, and then only on the last 1, clearly struck and a significant discovery previously unseen by us. CGS AU 75" I have to say, that the overstruck smaller 1 is even more noticeable in the hand. I can try to get better photos.

contd....... The same with the 4 ! With NOT a hint of a repair entry – just the original undamaged numeral. It is an amazing coincidence that both the 1 & 4 have been ‘damaged’ in the same area ‘top right side’ and by a similar amount but if we knew how the damaged happened it would probably explain why !! This so called variety is NOT a ‘smaller inverted Arabic 1’ over I – in my opinion. Sorry if that is not what you were hoping to hear. Now back to my pile of emails. All the best Michael (I had to split the email due to the limit on image numbers)

....... contd. I think that the 1 & 4 numerals have received some slight damage to the die on their right side edge or that some ‘foreign’ matter has got trapped in the die – giving this result – prior to striking the coin. I have taken the ‘damaged’ 1 and with the help of Photoshop I have in filled where the damaged area is and now as we can see we have the ‘original’ 1 restored ! contd.....

Following our discussion here, I wrote to Michael Gouby about this coin. I'm very grateful for the time he took out of a busy schedule to reply and, with his agreement, am pleased to post his response on this forum: As I was out of the country for last sale in Bracknell I missed being able to examine this 1874 penny you mention or to bid on it. Since I came back yesterday I have had over 100 emails to try and answer and I am still trying to get through the pile as more keep coming in ! Right now this 1874 penny that “appears to have an inverted slightly shorter Arabic 1†!? I have looked at the date area and the numerals and I can understand why Paul or Steve have come up with that description for their catalogue – that is what that error might look like – so as to make it seem like an interesting “NEW†variety and thereby feed on the desire of so many penny “variety†collectors to fight for this ‘amazing’ unlisted variety. Ok, this is my attempt at a opinion of what I think has happened. I could very well be WRONG and sending the coin to the Royal Mint would be the ultimate solution. Having looked at the date numerals I can see NO attempt anywhere that any of the numerals having been repaired. It would be virtually impossible to get that perfect depth of strike and accuracy without some overlap ‘somewhere’ on a repair re-entry ! contd....

So you're not a Buddhist then? I love rice, the solitude of mountains, sitting under trees, and have an expanding waistline...I'm in! ;-) Me too! And don't forget the getting up at 4 AM ... oh, wait... Happy Easter or whatever you celebrate, one and all A happy secularist Easter (from Venice, hence the lack of activity!)

I got the same two wrong, so just 5 for me Only 4 for me. I got these wrong and the halfpenny too... my memory is going!

Do you know the origin of a certain pervy greeting in English? It goes back to the days of the French Navy. Before a sea battle the crews were allowed to hit the red-light district en masse. When it was time to embark they sent a messenger round all the brothels to call out (in French) : "To the water - it is the hour". Dick Emery! ... which reminds me of another joke!

Amazing - they have morphed into "MR" Brain's faggots now. There was definitely no 'Mr' when, as a schoolboy, I worked in Sainsburys and stacked them in the freezers! Perhaps younger generations may think they actually contain brains, hence the name change?

You would probably need your own oil well. Somebody above mentioned Stags. I had one late nineties/early noughties. Lovely styling and sound superb but required a bottomless pit of money. Nothing was built to last and it began to seriously erode my capital, so sadly had to sell and bought a big brute of a Riley 2 1/2 litre saloon instead. Built like a tank, weighs a ton and a half and very much made to last. Will do nearly the ton but might take 5 miles to stop and at 17 miles a gallon... Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread. I just lit the blue touchpaper and retired! I do like the Riley's, especially in the two-tone coachwork. Most classics require an uncapped oil well or two!

P.s. I should have made it clear that all the pennies I mentioned are copies, to my knowledge!

A Daily Mail article from 1972:

There have been a couple on eBay, plus one on Antiques Roadshow (which was a dreadful copy). I have pics of these somewhere. I also have my own one (apologies to those who have already seen the pics):

Am I missing something? What mint error, that's amazing and unique?

Did you notice the seller's username? Probably explains a lot... Simples!

Now I understand the 'Red Riley' moniker, Derek. Luckily I bought into a classic, from one of the brands you mentioned, at the bottom of the market in the early 2000's. Mine's also red and not been a bad investment despite the heavy annual service costs though, as I only drive it on the odd sunny Sunday, the cost per mile is something I don't want to know! There must be a few classic car owners amongst us? I always regretted not buying an Aston Martin DBSV8 back in 1986 or so, when it could have been had for £17k. By 1990 the price had leapt up to around £90k, before coming right back down again during the late 90s, to more the sensible £20k mark. However, instead of buying one and looking after it, I succumbed to the entreaties of my missus and bought a white Volvo P1800 - remember the Saint? Still got it and last year spent many happy(?) hours dealing with seized brakes and a blown head gasket, quite apart from the 'fun' of dealing with it's instruments, most of which seem no longer to work. The net result of ownership over some 13 years is that is that the value has probably increased by about 10% if I'm lucky, and that doesn't take account of all the costs of parts etc. By comparison, Astons have near on doubled their price over the same period and are going off into the stratosphere again - drat and double drat. I shall have to wait for prices to fall again before I can afford one. Even the more reasonable classics, such as the E-type are going off the scale. The only ones that aren't are Volvos! I've always thought the Volvo P1800 a stunning car, much like the Karmann Ghia. I was never a fan of the DBS, just too big and bulky for my taste. My Aston favourite will always be the DB5. I agree about the styling - I can't believe that Volvo ever came up with it, let alone put it into production. However, it also has stunningly lousy performance, even by the standards of the day, probably because of it's weight. Mine is a 1965 model and when I recently took the door panels off to sort out the window runners, I was amazed to find that even back then it had side impact bars. The body work steel seems to be about a half inch thick, so all together it's no wonder the performance is poor. By contrast the 5.4 litre Aston engine - sighs in delight - for me it's the difference between a BU 1689 halfpenny and a VF 1845. No contest. I must say that if I do go for another classic, I might just be tempted by a Jensen Interceptor. Performance isn't much short of the Aston, parts are much cheaper, cubic capcity is enormous and the styling again is brilliant. And more importantly, the price is under half that of an Aston. On the other hand, that's a whole lot of coins I shall have to forego! Mmmm, tricky decision. The V8 Aston engines are gorgeous and I've always had a soft spot for the Jensen. The engine in my classic toy is different altogether

Loved those cars. As a youth, one of my friends had the Vitesse. Bit like the TR6, way too much performance for the chassis though.

Now I understand the 'Red Riley' moniker, Derek. Luckily I bought into a classic, from one of the brands you mentioned, at the bottom of the market in the early 2000's. Mine's also red and not been a bad investment despite the heavy annual service costs though, as I only drive it on the odd sunny Sunday, the cost per mile is something I don't want to know! There must be a few classic car owners amongst us? I always regretted not buying an Aston Martin DBSV8 back in 1986 or so, when it could have been had for £17k. By 1990 the price had leapt up to around £90k, before coming right back down again during the late 90s, to more the sensible £20k mark. However, instead of buying one and looking after it, I succumbed to the entreaties of my missus and bought a white Volvo P1800 - remember the Saint? Still got it and last year spent many happy(?) hours dealing with seized brakes and a blown head gasket, quite apart from the 'fun' of dealing with it's instruments, most of which seem no longer to work. The net result of ownership over some 13 years is that is that the value has probably increased by about 10% if I'm lucky, and that doesn't take account of all the costs of parts etc. By comparison, Astons have near on doubled their price over the same period and are going off into the stratosphere again - drat and double drat. I shall have to wait for prices to fall again before I can afford one. Even the more reasonable classics, such as the E-type are going off the scale. The only ones that aren't are Volvos! I've always thought the Volvo P1800 a stunning car, much like the Karmann Ghia. I was never a fan of the DBS, just too big and bulky for my taste. My Aston favourite will always be the DB5.

Here it is (back in the day):

Now I understand the 'Red Riley' moniker, Derek. Luckily I bought into a classic, from one of the brands you mentioned, at the bottom of the market in the early 2000's. Mine's also red and not been a bad investment despite the heavy annual service costs though, as I only drive it on the odd sunny Sunday, the cost per mile is something I don't want to know! There must be a few classic car owners amongst us? I became a Triumphophile for a while. I had a 1200 Herald saloon (two-tone green), a 13/60 white Herald convertible, and a 1500 Mk IV Spitfire. My one and only mechanical claim to fame was rebuilding a 13/60 engine around a rebored crankshaft using a Haynes manual. Well, I did it once - why ever do it again? I would have liked a TR6 and a Stag, but those were out of reach. Back in about 1980 I did a full re-build of a 1968 Porsche 911S engine using a Haynes manual... yes, they really did publish one! Can't imagine many owners doing that these days.

Now I understand the 'Red Riley' moniker, Derek. Luckily I bought into a classic, from one of the brands you mentioned, at the bottom of the market in the early 2000's. Mine's also red and not been a bad investment despite the heavy annual service costs though, as I only drive it on the odd sunny Sunday, the cost per mile is something I don't want to know! There must be a few classic car owners amongst us?

Never been cleaned.... just sandpapered!

"...I have other other interests. Please see photos." Not sure what I was expecting to see in those photos!

Yeah, it's like A and A* at exams. The As are getting so common everyone GETS an A* now. Sorry Tom, I had to correct you... I think Tom was talking about employers, university admissions, etc.... And I think Cerbera was making the point that exams have become much easier.... 23 years of continuously rising grades

If anyone of us could answer that question, we'd be millionaires tomorrow. For my part, I'm in the pessimist school on this one. Remember the 'never-ending bull market' and 'the end of boom and bust' we heard about at the Millennium? Look what happened in just 7 years. Philately - once ever more popular than coins - is now a shadow of itself. Economics dictates that demand simply cannot continue forever. The only reason for optimism (unless you're building a collection now) is that the supply of predecimals is not only finite but ever-shrinking; that doesn't guarantee that a demand will always be there (just look at stamps). Also, it would take forever for late 60s UK coins to find a demand to outstrip supply. Like many, I collected stamps and coins as a boy. The stamps are now almost valueless and extreme rarities that could only be dreamed of 40 years ago can be purchased for comparatively little. I often wonder why coins have held up while stamps have sunk in value? One significant reason may be the grading of coins but not of stamps This creates a rarified micro-market, even for relatively common coins. Or maybe the popularity of philately was driven more by young collectors, and it's no longer cool to collect, whereas coins (being money) always attracted an older enthusiast who are more loyal to the hobby?

You must get a whole lot of change! I've had one 50p in my wallet all week...! Still, it is a 'Uber-ultra-mega rear queen with a nekless' type so I best hang on to it! Rear queen variety? Ooooeer missus!