RobJ

Doh! Of course it is! lol Sorry, I have done a lot of travelling today and I don't think that my brain has caught up with me yet. lol

The only way that it may depreciate is if hundreds were found and the market was flooded with them. As pointed out they are uncommon, so I think that your purchase would be quite safe.

That is an interesting find! Perhaps you have discovered a new variety? lol

Thanks for that Peckris. I thought that it may have been that set, but as I said, I didn't know I do agree with you. I do think that Proof Issues are very nice, but I also think that they should be reserved for 'Special Occasions' such as a Coronation or a new Coinage Issue. Although it is nice to have the coins contained in them at the highest Grade, I think that it takes something away from them when they are produced each and every year.

I currently have Spink, CCGB, Red's Grading book, Check Your Change and The Coin Yearbook. As someone who is still new to Coin Collecting I have found them all most useful and interesting. I do intend in the not too distant future to purchase a couple of books on varieties for Silver and Copper/Bronze.

I tend to agree with what has already been said here. It does look to be a genuine Proof Issue, however I imagine one of its previous owners has mistreated it as I can't imagine it leaving the Royal Mint in any condition close to that on a bad day or not. Perhaps someone was checking to see if it is a Gold Proof Issue, as that may explain the very nasty 'Chunk' taken from it, also the lettering looks as if it has been rubbed against something, which may explain the discolouration? I have also seen various Circulation and BU Issues with misaligned edges, so I do not think that is anything to worry about. Although with a Proof Issue you may well expect them to be aligned perfectly, so I do think that is an oversight on the Royal Mint's behalf. lol

Nice coin. I am sure that I read somewhere before that the average wage for a 'Skilled' worker in this country in around that time was somewhere in the region of £50 - £60 per year. However I can't remember if that was converted from L/S/D to a modern equivelant or not.

It has been very interesting reading through this Topic. I certainly know where to look now should I encounter any 1911 Pennies to check if it is a 'Hollow Neck.' Great work Gary. Well Done.

They certainly are nicer now. I also have a feeling that the card itself may in some way add to the toning of the coins in some sets. Pehaps that, the plastic casing and whatever the 'Insert' is made of? I had heard that one Proof Set has a red 'Insert' and it is apparantly quite hard to find those Sets with no toning. That may be set mentioned here, but I honestly do not know. I think that the Royal Mint offer the Proof Sets in three different cases these days. The Executive Issue is rather fetching, but then again so is the price.

Thanks for that Azda. My Browser would not let me open the Link for some reason, so I did not see that information. Which is why I thought I'd ask.

Indeed. I have a 1969 50p Coin which looks really beautiful.

Please excuse me if I sound impertinent here, as I neither intend or wish to. Are you sure that you mean Gondorian (Of Gondor) and not Gondarian (Of Gondar)? The reason that I ask is that Gondor is a fictional place within 'Middle Earth' (J.R.R. Tolkien) and Gondar is a real place in Ethiopia. If it is a Gold Gondorian Coin, then it must surely be a 'Fantasy' replica piece? I am sorry to question you, it is just that I wanted to double check. The reason that I ask is if is a 'Fantasy' replica piece is that you may be better trying E-Bay or perhaps contacting someone who specialises in such items, as I can't imagine an average Coin Collector being interested in such an item. If it is a Ethiopian Gold Coin, then again, contacting someone who specialises in such items would be the better option, or perhaps even contacting a Museum.

I must agree, the 50p Coin Design was very elegant. I also rather liked one of his earlier ideas for the Design for the 50p Coin. I believe that it was based on the 'Royal Arms.' A very talanted artist! I have a Proof old large 50p coin and the Britannia Design is really shown at its best on there, much more so than a coin meant for Circuation. Beautiful.

I have a sideline Collection of £2 Coins including Commemorative Issues and I have seen a fair few with problems with the Edge Inscriptions. As already stated, unless it is 'Mint' condition, ie, from a Royal Mint Set, then the value is nothing but face other than curiosity.

If I may add a comment, from the perspective of an outsider looking in so to speak. The only knowledge of Hammered Coinage that I have is from what I have read here on the Forum and in one or two other places. So I may be speaking nonsense here. lol But it does seem to me that it has a very strong, centered strike upon an almost perfectly round flan. (That actually sounded like I know what I'm talking about. lol) It may be that some coins of this Era were produced in such a a way, as I know that there was some experimentation with 'Milled' coins during Elizabeth's Reign. Although I would imagine that they would be rather scarce and highly desired by Collectors. As I said, this may be nonsense, but I thought that I'd add the comment.

I had been looking around for a little while for a nice example of one of these sets until I recently found one that I liked. I'd agree the asking price is around £5 to £10 depending upon the toning on the coins. From what I learnt, the plastic encasing the coins becomes hard and brittle over time and can crack, thus its not unusual to find some coins in the set nicely toned but others very much worse for wear. Also as these sets were produced in large numbers the coins really do need to be in a well preserved state for them to have any value. With the sets that have all of the coins with a nice even tone being worth slightly more. Also, as touched upon earlier, £5 - £10 is the price that a Dealer would sell for, not purchase at.

It sounds from what you have said that the price was most reasonable. Although I would imagine that such a coin would only hold and demand its premium in higher Grades. I would think that with lower Grade coins, as already pointed out earlier in the Thread, that it would be hard to show it was a definite 'Straight' 1888.

Thanks for the insight and information Rob. Both of the coins that I saw, the 1888 and 1888 8/7 were very attractive and appealing (To my eye at least.) Certainly EF with nice lustre. Although I do understand what you are saying about not all EF coins being 'Equal.' Just out of interest the Dealer was asking for £25 for the 1888 8/7 and £45 for the 'Straight' 1888. I had no idea of their existence let alone scarcity. lol It is yet another piece of information to add to my already over capacity brain. lol

I am sorry to revive an old Thread, however I have a question on this subject and thought it better to use this Thread rather than create a new one. I was at a Dealers earlier today, and he showed me a 'Straight' 1888 Shilling which he had obtained for one of his Customers who collects Victorian Shillings. It was in a high Grade, EF, but he was asking quite a large premium over the 'Normal' 1888 8/7 Shilling. Almost double the asking price of the 8/7 which he had for sale also in EF. I had no idea that they existed until he showed me it. So I was wondering just how scarce these coins were? Also what type of premium should be added to the price due to this?

That just goes to show how an attractive coin can be relegated instantly by someone being thoughtless and careless in giving it a wipe to make it 'Look better.' I have heard some horror stories about people cleaning very nice examples of coins only to ruin them in the process. I heard the story of one chap that put a load of coins in a Dishwasher to 'Spruce Them Up' before selling them. It goes without saying that the chemicals in the Dishwasher Tablets all but ruined the coins. I personally tend to think about it in this way. Coins tone and develop a Patina naturally over time. Each coin tones in a different way and I believe that it adds character to a coin, and that it makes each coin very individual and unique and that is how they should be. Give me a toned coin full of character any day.

I wasn't sure where to Post this Topic but I thought that here was as good a place as any. lol On a recent visit to a Local Dealer I happened upon a conversation that he was having with another Customer about the cleaning of coins. The Customer was saying that he uses 'Baby Wipes' to clean his coins. He said that he swears by it, and said "Well if it doesn't harm a baby, it won't harm my coins will it?" I asked him what about the longer term effects? I understand that it may clear any excess dirt or grease from the coin but what happens to the coin a month, six months, or even in a years time? He said that he has been doing it for a very long time and that it had never affected any of his coins be it Gold, Silver, Copper or Bronze. He said that after he had used the 'Baby Wipes' he rinsed the coins in warm water (Which I thought actually defeated the object in the first place. lol) and that he let them dry natrually and that it "Worked Wonders!" I am not so sure personally and think that it isn't a very good idea, as I cant imagine the 'Wipe' itself being very friendly to the coin. So just out of sheer curiosity I was wondering if anyone had actually tried this? If so, what were the results? Let me just state here that I personally think that cleaning coins in any way - Except perhaps in certain cases a very gentle clean in warm soapy water for Silver Coins and gently patted dry with Micro Fibre cloth - is a very bad idea and I would never entertain the thought, as I would much rather have a dirty toned coin than one that has been ruined by cleaning!

Just out of curiosity I decided to put this 'Baby Wipe' theory to the test. Don't worry, I only used coins that I found in my change to experiment on. I gently rubbed a few coins including an old and new 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p, with a 'Baby Wipe' and then rinsed them afterwards and let them dry naturally. I also gently wiped and rinsed a similar set of coins in just water and let them dry natrually just to compare both sets afterwards. If I'm honest both sets of coins didn't look much different afterwards, they did appear to be 'Cleaner' but I assume that is just that any surface dirt was removed from them when being wiped and then rinsed. The only thing is, after a few days the ones wiped with 'Baby Wipes' have started to discolour and have taken on a greenish hue. The other set do not appear to be any different. There was obviously residue of some description left behind on the coins, even after rinsing and this has reacted with the metal on the coins. As I suspected, this is a very silly idea!

Not a problem at all. I'm glad that I could be of some help.

I did a Google search for 'In Memory of George The Fourth Medal' and I saw a website named 'NapoleonicMedals.' I had a little look under 1830 and there it was. It was just guesswork but knowing the Inscription helped to identify it. As for value, I have no idea in the slightest. Sorry.

That is so very, very true!