Coinery

Grade is complicated by that same big issue that affects hammereds. I think this is where the points system of grading works really well, because it considers so many other factors that aren’t just about wear because, as with hammereds, these coins all left the mint as individuals. All that being said, I’d be very happy paying NEF for it all day long, and the grading companies, using numerics, may well judge it better. The soft centre doesn’t bother me at all, it’s weak quarters I personally do not like, and it’s very well compensated by its other qualities. Lovely example! (yes, Dave, a lazy copy and paste from me! Time is precious )

Hi anyone ( @Peckris @Peckris 2 ), an old coin I’ve had for years that I want to put on a leather necklace for my 10 year old son. Question is, I know so little about these coins that I don’t want to disappoint him with a lie from someone he believes to know a thing or two about coins? Namely, I don’t want to tell him it’s roman and one day, long after I’m gone, he discovers it’s Greek or something! Is there enough info here to give me a broad ID?

Re the flaws, there are definitely genuine coins out there with those flaws, the fakes were cast from at least one of them. I’ve had a couple of those fakes in the past and whilst they are good, they are not great in hand. The 8 o’clock flaw in the OP coin is very much sharper than the clear fakes...seller may have a point! Difficult to say without seeing the coin in-hand? It does look good though, in the images at least!

New commemorative 50p

I’ve got a couple of mint cupronickel and one copper coin that have been in these flips for around 10 years without change. I’ve never found any issues with the many hundreds I’ve used over the years either, I personally think they’re superb. One thing I have always been obsessive about however is cleaning the coins with pure acetone before sealing them up. For anyone who has ever run a soaked cotton bud around the outside rim of a coin to remove the gunk of a thousand careful fingers, you will already know the kind of residues you are locking away with your coins. This incidentally has always been one of my main issues with slabbing. I have broken out and ‘cleaned’ slabbed coins that have left cotton buds looking like they’ve been picked up off the floor of a garage.

Thanks, Chris, much appreciated

Thank you, gents, very much appreciated! An old Roman coin it is, then, much obliged! 😊

I’ve never heard of this phenomenon before, how does lustre ghosting come about?

Mayday, Mayday!

Hmmmm??? Fortunately I can console myself that we are a diverse body of peoples walking this planet. Also, just a small clarification from me, I wasn’t talking about ‘sides’ seeking glory, I was thinking more of individual ambition. 😊

Another VERY relevant set of stamps planned for next spring!

Forgetting democracy for a moment, it wasn’t something “I” applied for, and neither did nearly every other man/woman you will pass on the street. If you make a charge on the battlefield and subsequently find obliteration faces you, the sensible thing is not to go blindly on when you could retreat and fight another day! You have to remember this vote got through on the back of a red bus and a number of glory worshipers seeking to take advantage by lies. If they weren’t lies, and they believed it was all true, it equally demonstrates the level of ignorance these political experts/leaders are capable of! It was the lies that won the votes, nothing else.

An example of your coin, @Rob, but sadly nothing to shed new light on it. I’m not convinced by the evidence of this thread, and will find an answer to it one day.

Jerry, I’d give your fantasy coin NVF, maybe more, but agree with the others that the donor coin is near fine at best. It’s tricky isn’t it with hammereds, you have to take them as a whole. A great many can have one or two as-struck devices, yet are worn everywhere else. This can be due to a slight curvature in the flan that protects a small part of the design, or a heavy strike to one edge of the coin that fills up the die, creating a nice chunky cross to protect the surrounding devices, whilst the weaker, less-filled, areas quickly wear away. The reasons are as many as the coins. The winner for hammered is eye-appeal every time! As you know, an ugly VF coin will not be worth more than a pretty, nicely struck, GF or NVF. So for me grade has never been a big factor in judging hammered coins, you’ve either got an eye for a quality coin or you haven’t. I do recall you having an eye! 👍

Do you have an image of that reverse handy, Dave, your reverse E (the die match without the lion)? What’s on the obverse of it?

So, did we find a pm rose obverse die to match yours? I lost the thread a bit.

Did we look at this on another thread at some point?

We have, I thought I recognised the coin. I have a day of leisure tomorrow, so will did out my images, engage my brain, and see what I can match up for discussion. Ah, the life of a numismatist...son to collect at 20:30 from scouts, wife to feed when she gets in from a late shift around 21:00 (nursing, Peter), and then the fire to sort out after that!

“Rob's Sun coin shows the same sort of 'pared down' artistry.” Have to agree with that, TG, not dissimilar; the jawline and moustache!

It would definitely be described as a square flan, though, tooling or not! 👍

Incuse beard on cheek the big stand out for me? It’s clearly a coarse bust, so I make this judgment only on face value, and based only upon seeing this one coin in isolation. If that beard is standard on other busts of that type, then it’s just a coarse bust punch and nothing more...however...

I’ve just taken a look...in the absence of other dies to compare, my first instinct would be the same.