Coinery

Can we look at the obverse again? Photobucket is kaput, so just an ordinary size piccy Pwhooar! What's the plan with that one, Dave? I totally related to a comment you made about wishing you could afford to keep them all. I think we're singing from the same hymn sheet with that one!

Very good. Tripod, no hands and a Nikon using autofocus(?) link Not so good. Colour's good, and the reverse is pretty damn sharp, just a little out of focus on the obverse, that's all!

Can we look at the obverse again?

For a date that's thought to be easy or common, I am surprised at how few 'smart' unblemished UNCs there are, especially the farthing for the bronzes! Also, type 1901 shilling into eBay...nothing to write home about! The dealer sites also corroborate my suspicion that 1901is no longer the poor man's Victoria type set! Anyone got an UNC 1901 farthing for sale without blotches or spots? I'm in the market for one!

I just checked my collection, thinking I had one : turns out it's a 1900. Checking in Spink, it seems that none of the 1901 silver is rated lower/commoner than earlier dates. I should have been clearer. What I meant was, comparing the 1901 to Victorian shillings in general, with exception of the 1887, 1893 and 1897, it's price in Spinks would suggest an UNC would be an easyish find. I was actually replying to Nick's point about them being not easy to find in high grade. Spink seems to concur - it isn't an 'easy' date unlike the bronze (but not MORE difficult than earlier) Oh, dear, and I can't even blame the iPhone for not reading it properly, not this time! Maybe they are viewed in the same light as the 1902 or the 1936, and nobody is bothering to pick them up, as I can't find anything Top Grade displaying on the 'net or on any of our dealers' websites. If anybody spots a non-Heritage one, I'd appreciate the nod!

I just checked my collection, thinking I had one : turns out it's a 1900. Checking in Spink, it seems that none of the 1901 silver is rated lower/commoner than earlier dates. I should have been clearer. What I meant was, comparing the 1901 to Victorian shillings in general, with exception of the 1887, 1893 and 1897, it's price in Spinks would suggest an UNC would be an easyish find.

I'm assuming that the streakiness above wouldn't have been visible until the lustre wore off? It's hard to tell from the images, but looking between the crook of the first N in PENNY, and below the Trident Hand of Britannia, it looks as if the light-coloured material is all 'sitting' in deep pockets/flan flaws (for want of a better word). Also the unusual lines, radiating out from GRA across the bust, and the fact that the worn surfaces all appear to be uniform in metal colour, makes me wonder if there's more to it than meets the eye. Is it a possibility that the flan has been atrociously rolled, leaving pits in the fields, and more shallow depressions where the devices have forced the metal into new form, and what we can see is lustre sitting behind in recesses and pits? Only thinking out loud, as I can't get my head around how a poor metal mix, after being rolled into sheets, would manifest itself as 'flecks'???

Would certainly up their SEO if they haven't copied and pasted it from an Encyclopedia, that is! I might list a 1966 penny with a description like that, just for the email responses from bemused collectors worldwide! "This 1967 penny is the finest we've ever seen - and we've seen many! Almost full iridescent lustre, this coin is virtually in the state it left the Mint in 1969. (Yes, note the historical drama - despite carrying the date 1967, this penny was actually minted in 1969 due to the quirky law passed by Great Britain's Chancellor, Jim Callaghan. This minting of a coin bearing the incorrect date was unprecedented since.. the year before). The generous size of these old pennies puts today's hastily struck minor coins into perspective. Remember - a 1967 penny is the last of its kind, redolent of that lost era between February and August 1971 when - already doomed - it and its peers could be seen gasping out the last weeks of their existence. This particular specimen is 100% guaranteed genuine, having been taken from a receipted Mint Sealed Bag which lay forgotten in the cellar of a 1960s coin dealer who went out of business in 1972. All the other specimens in the bag were damaged by environmental factors, but this miracle specimen emerged virtually unscathed and we offer it - slabbed and annotated - as an artefact of a lost age of coin collecting." I think I will list one Peck with your exact wording, just for the craic! (with your permission!) Feel free! (Don't mention me, though ) :lol: I might have a bid myself if it's 100% guaranteed genuine and is indeed a miracle specimen!

Would certainly up their SEO if they haven't copied and pasted it from an Encyclopedia, that is! I might list a 1966 penny with a description like that, just for the email responses from bemused collectors worldwide!

1901 shillings aren't easy to find in high grade, nor are 1898. It's odd isn't it, as the price-guides would have you believe otherwise! Having a quick scout around, revealed nothing in UNC across the web either!

Really pretty little series, I never paid it too much attention before!

Just a table-top tripod would do it! I got mine second-hand from a camera shop for £10. You'd probably get something for a similar price on eBay. It wouldn't surprise me if most camera shops had a couple of second-handers hanging around!

I wonder whether this is actually a metal-mix issue, as all the components showing circulation wear appear to be displaying normal-toned metal? The lighter colour appears to be seated in some obscure field (maybe poorly rolled planchet???)and device recesses. Really odd!

Another way is to upload your images to photobucket, or whichever image host you choose, remembering to resize the image if needed (otherwise the coin will be off the screen of the PC on the forum...only trial and error here will assist you in what size). Then if you click on your uploaded image in say PB, you'll see a box of links, I just click on 'IMG Code' and paste it directly on the page here within the text. Welcome aboard!

Sorted on the farthing!

Know anyone, Rob? I'll have one if you do?

Hmm .. an interesting challenge! Best I can do on a quick search. Not really perfect, is it? It's not what you'd expect, really, I was surprised at the lack of quality for a supposedly easy date! What spurred it was Dave's beautiful Old Head coin, recently posted on the forum, and my landing a nice 1901 HP last month. I suddenly thought I'd put together a 1901 UNC type-set, to include the gold, thinking UNC's the only option for 1901, but not so sure now? I obviously want to snipe the set cheap from eBay and/or the big Houses, but would certainly pay top dollar for a farthing, just to see if they really are out there. Makes me wonder whether the Old Head coinage is seriously underrated?

I have two E7's with that mother-of-pearl-'black' you get with an UNC mint-darkened bronze!

Maybe hoping a scrap metal merchant was watching?

Hi Justin, Speaking for myself, I also can't seem to settle on anything at all. I didn't think I'd ever go anywhere near George VI, and then suddenly found myself with close to a 100 of them. I too thought I quite liked the pennies...but also the farthings and halfcrowns so, before you know it, I'm accumulating the entire series of G5. I also like the hammered Elizabeth, Charles copper, Victorian Old Head, and so it goes on. The moral of the story is, I'm not sure if some people will ever settle, though I do envy those penny and farthing chaps! I think you must go where your heart is, within the confines of your budget, because, as you've said, you can always sell-up and change direction if you fancy it. Only two tips, really...don't leave gaps in folders or trays to fill, as it will eat you away (the Whitman folders were genious as addiction traps), group them together and then spread them out to make the space for a new addition inbetween. Also, if you think you are going to be chopping around a lot, then you might have to rethink your grades, as selling poor grade coins won't leave you as much to spend on your next passion as you might hope, especially if your outlet is going to be eBay! You're obviously well into it, so enjoy the ride, wherever it takes you!

Sorry it's just numbers, but this really cheered! 190819665797

Wow! 370786722066 A really nasty split along the inner beading at 9 O'Clock obverse! Good grade, but could you live with the split? Not me!

You could always dig the diamond up later, once the investigations have cooled off?

Even with the slightest possibility that a coin could have a 90 day turnaround is curtains for any further submissions from me! Even if there is a slight advantage in sale-price, it'll be less than the profit made from turning the cash over twice in that 90 days! Rubbish performance, and a shame given the slight improvement in credibility that Bill has just given them.

Pah!