Sword

Indeed! Great item.

I have done GCSE Chinese and can give you some information. The first one is indeed Chinese. The portrait is that of Sun Yat-Sen, the founding father of the Republic of China. The Chinese characters translate to "25th year of the Republic of China" (1937). Dr Sun died in 1925 and so this is a commemoration item. The reverse states finess 98.00 (98%), Weight 1.000. The logo is that of the Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong. I won't describe it as coin coin weight but (if genuine) as a silver ingot issued by a bank. The second silver weight: this has characters for Hunan Provence. The weight is one Tael which is a traditional Chinese weight. "In China, there were many different weighting standards of tael depending on the region or type of trade. In general the silver tael weighed around 40 grams (1.3 ozt). The most common government measure was the Kuping; "treasury standard") tael, weighing 37.5 grams (1.21 ozt). A common commercial weight, the Caoping "canal shipping standard") tael weighed 36.7 grams (1.18 ozt) of marginally less pure silver.

Sounds a bit like the episode "Long John Peter" in Family Guy... "In the episode, Peter steals a parrot from the vet and becomes convinced that he is a pirate. He becomes the scourge of the neighborhood, terrorizing every corner of Quahog until he accidentally kills his beloved bird..."

Park sign in Amsterdam pointing out the obvious.

3 to 6 millions at auction? It's only worth just over half a million euros if all the coins are made of pure gold!

From their T & C: "You are strongly advised to examine the images provided online and if in any doubt ask for condition report that is available on request." So it might not be possible to view any lots in hand. In addition, 20% seller's commission and another 20% buyer's commission look excessive to me for the service offered. Does look like a higher class ebay.

Most of us have been amused by the standard of English in foreign hotels. Here is a selection: Japan Is forbitten to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read notis. You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid. Information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner: Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself. Guests are requested not to smoke or do other disgusting behaviors in bed. Depositing the room key into another person is prohibited. Germany Berlin cloakroom: Please hang yourself here. It is our intention to pleasure you every day. Greece: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily. France Please leave your values at the front desk. Name of a hotel in Lectoure: Hotel de Bastard. Wondering what to wear? A sports jacket may be worn to dinner, but no trousers. Romania: The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable. Poland On the menu of a Polish hotel: Salad a firm’s own make; limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country people’s fashion. Switzerland Because of the impropriety of entertaining guests of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it is suggested that the lobby be used for this purpose. Special today – no ice cream. We have nice bath and are very good in bed. Mexico: The manager has personally passed all the water served here. South Korea Choose twin bed or marriage size; we regret no King Kong size. Measles not included in room charge. Italy Suggestive views from every window. If service is required, give two strokes to the maid and three to the waiter. It is kindly requested from our guests that they avoid dirting and doing rumours in the rooms. Hot and cold water running up and down the stairs. Finland: Instructions in case of fire: If you are unable to leave your room, expose yourself in the window. Ethiopia: To call room service, please open door and call Room Service. Please call quiet, people may sleep. Spain We highly recommend the hotel tart. Take Discotheque with or without date, in summer plus open air bonging bar Turkey: Flying water in all rooms. You may bask in sun on patio

😀😀😀

The Rotunda of Mosta. Note the damage to the dome where a bomb dropped through during WWII. The bomb did not explode thankfully. A replica of the bomb is shown inside the church.

Some photos from Malta. The St John's Co-Cathedral.

One thing to be careful about is that many auction houses has a clause that "bulk lots" might contain items that are not genuine. This is fair enough if a bulk lot contains 20+ items but somewhat harsh if it contains just half a dozen. I have never brought a bulk lot before and certainly won't do so by looking at photos.

I personally think that the shiny non frosted version is better for circulating coins as the surface marks would be less obvious. Also shiny coins looks "newer" and nicer to receive in change.

I do like it and think it's funny! It certainly made me smile 😄

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/rarest-20p-ever-snapped-up-13922434

The year is different though...

I have been watching the voting live and the government did well in the amendments tonight. Government won all but two. It is looking at least a bit more likely that Theresa May might actually pass a Brexit deal before 29th March. Parliamentary vote on options to prevent UK from leaving without a deal: rejected Delay Brexit and rule out no deal: rejected To give MPs the chance to vote on several different options before the end of March: rejected Delay Brexit if a deal is not passed by 26th Feb: rejected Rule out leaving without a deal: passed To seek alternatives to Irish backstop: passed

😀 did you missed out the word "not"? "Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class Letter." Even he knows it is junk

In the Brexit debate, I think it is inappropriate to talk about the views of the "left" or views of the "right". The fact is that the country was deeply split in the referendum and one can hardly say that Remain was the view of the "Left" or Leave was the view of the "Right". Just because the Cameron government campaigned for "Remain" did not make them a "Leftie" government for example. The pie chart showing the contribution of Income Tax and NICs to various areas should be familiar to every UK tax payers. We get the diagram every year on our Annual Tax Summaries. It comes from HM Revenue & Customs and is not "supplied by the left which is intended to mislead". It tells me that about 0.7% of the income tax and NIC I pay each year go towards the UK contribution to the EU budget. If you want actual figures, they are easily obtainable: In 2017 the UK made an estimated gross contribution (after the rebate) of £13.0 billion. The UK received £4.1 billion of public sector receipts from the EU, so the UK’s net public sector contribution to the EU was an estimated £8.9 billion. This is a large amount of money of course but Peckris was only suggesting that it is a small fraction of what we spend on other things. E.g. £264 billion on welfare in 2017. I already had my say about Brexit and so will be not be commenting further in this tread for a while.

I don't think she appreciates that your offer of £1 is literally a million times closer to the coin's true value than her asking price (of a million pounds).

This is currently being reported in BBC news: "Mr Tusk said Mr Cameron thought a referendum would not happen because of the coalition government with the Lib Dems. "[He told me] he felt really safe, because he thought at the same time that there's no risk of a referendum, because his coalition partner, the Liberals, would block this idea of a referendum," Mr Tusk said. "But then, surprisingly, he won and there was no coalition partner. So paradoxically David Cameron became the real victim of his own victory." Mr Tusk said he was "really amazed and even shocked" to learn from Mr Cameron that he decided to hold the referendum because of his own party." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-46951942

He only offered £1 for the £1 coin and so not much risk there.

😀😀 But she wrote that "I AM OPEN TO OFFERS AS LONG AS IT WILL BUY MY HOUSE" ...

Has anyone seen this item she is offering? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-OF-A-KIND-MAJOR-ROYAL-MINT-DIE-SHARD-STRIKE-ERROR-2017-12-SIDED-1-COIN/123577251129?hash=item1cc5c73539:g:kxAAAOSw11Bb3aql:rk:16:pf:0

No, a real sovereign would not have those initials. My opinion is that the initials could be "AG" (Ag) meaning it is silver. Alternatively, it could be the initials of the person who copied the design of a real sovereign for use in the "sovereign style" rings. If the ring is hallmarked gold, then the "coin" might have some gold content too.

Every four years, we have a general election. On each occasion, we are effectively asked if we are reasonably happy with the current government or do we think another party can do better. Each party tend to have one or two flagship policies which the public can evaluate. In 2016, we were given lots of reasons / opinions / speculations / trash / scaremongering for remaining and leaving but the issues surrounding Brexit are complex in the extreme. Frankly, even having a PhD in European Affairs coupled with years of research is not enough to enable someone to make an informed decision. Hence I think holding the 2016 referendum was a very flawed decision. Margaret Thatcher once quoted Clement Attlee that referendums are "a device of dictators and demagogues". As it is, there is probably no way out except holding a second referendum. And yes, I do see the extreme irony.