brauereibeck

Yep, you're right. There's no difference. Case closed. Thanks for the photoshop work on this one.

The Machin head first went into circulation in 1968 on the decimal 5 and 10 pence coins, at that time, the queen would be 42 years old, the portrait looks like the queen when she was 20 years old This was the first effigy to show Lizzy's trademark '50s curled 'up' fringe. Annie Walker eat ya heart out!

Brasso will polish perspex very nicely... I've tried it on motorcycle fly-screens with surprisingly good results.

Probably worth something as silver scrap but not that much as collectables, maybe £3 - £4 the lot.

Michael Coins is Michael Gouby in West London, I have been really pleased with his prices and grading, highly recommended. Sometimes a little frustrated with the absence of pics on the low-mid priced coins he has listed, but very friendly and helpful. I bought my first coin from Michael Coins in Ladbroke Grove when he used to sell stamps too (before the internet). Second time I went in there he said he'd got rid of the stamps as they were out of fashion (or words to that effect). He gave me a good piece of advice which has stayed with me which is not to collect date fillers but go for high grade coins. I think that's generally good advice for relatively plentiful and even scarcer coins, because there's always another one round the corner or at the next auction. Even if you are a strict date collector then it may be worth waiting for a better one. Where I beg to differ is where I need a specific coin for either a date or even type run and the likelihood of another turning up is remote. For example, I've got a poor (at best) 1689 halfpenny, which cost a huge amount for what is basically a flat, but attributable piece of tin. I've only ever seen one other come up for sale and that was way beyond my price league. Similarly, I recently bought a 1724 WCC shilling in fair condition - I've never seen this WCC date before in any grade and in top condition it would again be out of my price range. This leaves a dilemma. Do I fill the gap with a poorer coin and hope for a better one somewhere in my lifetime, or do I just accept the gap? I hate the gaps, so I usually opt for the former, especially as I can always shift the rare but lower grade coins without too much, if any, financial loss. I'm sure some of the purists on here would take a different view, but that's my thinking. Finally, to again illustrate the point, I need a 1686 tin halfpenny to complete the date run (excluding varieties) and the gap has been nagging away in there for years now. So, if one comes along I'm liable to go for it regardless of condition even if that is lower than I would normally accept. My mentality would definitely go for gap-fill but, as you mention, don't gap fill with ANYthing that couldn't be moved on, without loss, should THE ONE suddenly materialise! I basically agree. What I think Michael meant was that back in the day (I guess he meant the '60s) people used to fill Whitman folders with low grade coins just to the sake of filling the hole in the card. I think he was steering me away from this sort of collecting, maybe to build a more discerning and therefore bigger spending customer. By the way his shop is of course in Notting Hill and not Ladbroke Grove as I mis-remembered.

Michael Coins is Michael Gouby in West London, I have been really pleased with his prices and grading, highly recommended. Sometimes a little frustrated with the absence of pics on the low-mid priced coins he has listed, but very friendly and helpful. I bought my first coin from Michael Coins in Ladbroke Grove when he used to sell stamps too (before the internet). Second time I went in there he said he'd got rid of the stamps as they were out of fashion (or words to that effect). He gave me a good piece of advice which has stayed with me which is not to collect date fillers but go for high grade coins.

Also worth a look... Item number: 320898171670 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320898171670?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_500wt_1054

I've just seen a listing on ebay offering a 1951 penny for sale in what looks like just minted condition. Looking at the photo I can see a ghosting from the effigy which is visible between the trident and word PENNY. If this coin is genuine then this is a mint error I've never seen on a 1951 penny. If it isn't genuine then it's surely a worrying development.