Sword

A really nice story. If it were me, I would keep the 53 in the tin. The coins are in nice circulated condition and have already lived in the tin for a long time. It's already quite a good number and I probably would not want to add more to the tin. Any new ones can go into a separate container. You always have the option of mixing them later if you so wish.

I just can't bring myself to spend a lot more on this "inverted 1" variety when it is now well known it is due to a filled die and so not a "true" variety. The correct thing to do is to delist it as a variety. But there is no inclination to do that of course.

I rather like the double florins myself but they are somewhat unloved and can be obtained significantly more cheaply than crowns. The main varieties for the 1887 is the "Arabic 1" (like you 1889) and the "Roman I". These are my examples: (1887 is the Roman and 1888 is the Arabic)

That's the main reason I keep my coins in quadrums - in order to protect them from friction and dust. I do admit that quadrums are not so appropriate for hammered...

Crowns were not struck for George III until very late into his reign in 1818. The standard of striking of these crows was very high and they were delivered to banks wrapped in soft paper. Pistrucci placed his whole surname on both the obverse and reverse to indicate that he was the engraver for both. This was considered to be self indulgent and he was obliged to use just his initials B.P. in future. The St George and Dragon design became iconic but the garter belt was removed for later use. You won't be able to see it on your example due to wear, but the letters WWP (initials of the Master of the Mint) was put on the buckle of the garter. I imagine your example is worth about £100. The edge dinks would have taken the price down a bit.

These are honest examples. No problems with them. The edge inscription on Charles II crown reads "DECVS ET TVTAMEN ANNO REGNI VICESIMO OCTAVO". The phrase "DECVS ET TVTAMEN" was first used in 1662 and translates to "An ornament and a safeguard". The presence of an edge inscription would stop people from clipping the coins illegally to get some silver as mentioned in the above post. Hence the word "safeguard". The Charles II is perhaps worth £80. The 1892 is worth about £35.

Agree with the above. The details are too crude and deep.

If I am ever lucky enough to be able to build up a hammered collection, then I think I would concentrate on Charles I and the Tudor. Such fascinating periods of history! The usual translation of "CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO" usually is "I reign under the auspices of Christ". Charles I very much believed in the divine right of kings, meaning that kings only have to answer to God. Like you have pointed out, this didn't go well with parliament and resulted in his execution. You might already know the legend of the Elizabeth sixpence " POSVI DEV. ADIVTOREM. MEV" which translates to "I have made God my helper" and refers to Psalm 54:4. Both coins were once bent and then straightened. This is very common with hammered coins and many reasons have been given. E.g. it was a way to detect forgery as silver bends easily, they were bent to make love tokens etc.

Could be due to a filled die.

It's so irritating when a nice coin is damaged but at least it is still worth its bullion value. Selling it would probably be best as it will irritate you every time you look at at, knowing how the damage was caused. But it would be infinitely worse if the coin is a high grade early shilling.

Easily identifiable Tudor coins with readable legends and dates are certainly not junk! They are pieces of history and can be fascinating to beginners.

Doesn't look suspicious to me. If I want to make certain, I would check its weight. Can also see if it is the correct thickness and diameter by comparing with a genuine half sovereign. But I wouldn't want to keep it because of the scratch.

I think the increased in demand might be due in part to the Wallace and Gromit film which came out in Christmas? In my view, it would be worth keeping if it makes you smile a bit (because you like the characters or because it reminds you that you have made a few quid).

That's the automated message. Let's see if they give a different response this time.

I have got a reply back from eBay and they said that they "didn't find the listing to be in violation of our policy". What a joke! But they will take notice once they have got more reports.

There is a report the item link above the "item specifics".

Hopefully, no one would be crazy enough to fall for that... Just reported to eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186874500037?_skw=1933+penny&itmmeta=01JGRYS2YCJVC4PXVE4DGWNXJ0&hash=item2b829693c5:g:CRgAAOSwrRFneSIA&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnF3Q3fYucxxY6swpUitIN2vEedSoyiOfoEncHlr0ehRFMkWG6e6CACI2coFtVO%2BuhYAysM%2Fd15EgeLD49lidE15qg90bjtmrzAMTbPqA7ZS7f2CUAVrpyqtH5sNZN4UyKPCSEx3t83NCwzYX9C4mwjjcMTHa%2F7X33%2FAuGFFoHuXtCHY84x1AKkPeLntCsgfCYnuTvDBGtRZmZf1AFz1Ci3XZ6fsGUSjy8MOuXfa2hUsL2yBwzexLwK7f%2Bc%2BXv2f6qgWdGyqwqvABfD2kMFI6z70IrH51AZr2ca4BxNjfs44Q%3D%3D|tkp%3ABFBMpK_knoZl 1933 penny using photos of the coin currently held in the Royal Mint Museum.

But I think the groove at the edge has to be made specifically (for whatever or no reason). Also only the obverse has been rubbed which might suggest it was once mounted or just someone has got bored after cleaning one side.

I think a smuggler's box wouldn't normally have a raised rim. Just did a web search and coins with raised edges appear to be quite common. Here is a video showing some examples.

Merry Christmas and to all! Hope you will have a fantastic time with family and friends.

https://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/learning/learning-zone/the-tower-of-london/hand-striking/ From the Royal Mint site.

I doubt I will ever achieve 5. But it is a hobby for me and I know better not to devote "serious" money to it given my limited knowledge. But judging how high inflation has been in the last few years, I might not have done too badly with coins compared to savings in the bank.

Nearly all coin collectors are sentimental and prefer to collect coins from their own countries. For example, an English collector might pay 2K for an early milled crown but would just say "meh" to a continental taler of the same age and condition. With regard to your shilling, I imagine it does have sentimental value given it is one of the first coins you brought. My suggestion is that if you still like it and want to keep it, then don't worry about how much it is worth or whether you will get your money back. Just enjoy owning the piece and it is a rare variety after all. But if you don't get pleasure from looking at it, then sell it on eBay and get what you can. You won't think about it anymore once it is gone. We all (hopefully) make money on some purchases and lose money on others. They do kind of cancel out in the end.