Coinery

Sorry for the delay, it’s been a mad few days! Blimey, Rob, really sorry to hear you’ve been in with sepsis, that’s miserable. That’s a lovely halfpenny you have there, and at an excellent price, especially when the example I quote sold for £375. I did see it, but had my eye on something else. I know it’s nothing of the class of yours, but I picked up an anchor halfpenny not so long ago…plus very limiting resources are always going to force some difficult decisions. Yours is the same die as the Comber, Wilkinson & Lockett example and, what’s interesting, is what initially appears to be a double-strike of the portcullis, is actually the bottom half of it being re-entered, it’s identical on each coin. What’s also interesting, is that the oddities beneath your portcullis are less prominent on the Comber example, excepting a few dots here and there, most notably in the bottom 2 squares of the vertical righthand row. Equally the horizontal bar running under the anchor on yours, which possibly hinted at a key (if that’s what’s being referred to), is also not present on the other example. I wonder if some of what’s being seen on yours is the die becoming progressively damaged? Re your trip South, if I’m not on nights it would be great to catch up…there’s a lovely riverside Greene King pub, 1 minute off junction 13, if that suits you?

Your call, m’friend! Though I could argue that, in the context of this post alone, Rob’s comment appeared very much tongue-in-cheek to me? That’s how I interpreted the bandit emoticon at least?

With all due respect to Rob, I too have noticed that he’s coming over as being a little less tolerant than usual…I think this could be, in part, on account of the gulf between his knowledge and the cerebral challenges he getting on this forum nowadays, if ever, to be fair! Top tip, though…as infirm, elderly, decrepit, grey, miserable and grumpy as he may be…he’ll be worth much more to your numismatic journey onside 😉

Absolute classic! 🙌

Phew, thank goodness you don’t, this fella may have been a little too much for you!

Yes, as Coys says, 10cf2a, the same as the coin I posted in ‘coin acquisition’ recently. The 2 is for the Crown, and the ‘a’ is because the left ornament of the crown remains intact. It’s ’b’ when the ornament breaks and disappears. Here’s the ‘b’ version taken from Blunt’s website. https://www.rodblunt.com/edwardian-pennies-group10s

In another post he mentions he’s a beginner, 12 weeks into the hobby. Fair play that he’s navigating all the auction archives, retrieving past sales, in-touch with all the literature, and holding his own in the variety conversations, all in such a short window. You simply have to take your hat off to him/her, that’s very, very impressive!

Agreed re same coin

Many thanks for that, very much appreciated. Think I’m going to get the camera out, though, CGS haven’t captured the lustre or golden tone at all

I believe the legend of your coin is 10cf rather than ab, though there are the occasional exceptions. Your coin is missing a lot of information at key points, but the crown, whilst double-struck, is very much in the 10cf5 camp for me, with the left arrowhead ornament leaning left, and the left fleur in its broken configuration. See Blunt’s crown 5 examples here (one with the broken left fleur), with yours (next post) for direct comparison.

What was the book/document that contains a list of the known die numbers for each date? I know I used to own a copy of something that did, but can’t recall what.

You can also see the star on the breast, where the collar meets.

I third the suggestion, Class 9b2. The cross on the obverse is the ghosting of the metal being forced into the reverse die. It was an issue that troubled mints right up until the 1930s, at least. The modified effigy of King George was to deal with a very similar issue.

100% correct on all accounts 👍