loose54

Hi all, I am a keen observer of this forum, I do not say much on here but look at the forum daily. Some of the coins I see on here are beautiful and the knowledge that goes with them is incomparable. I have seen many pennies over the past few weeks/months and they have started to interest me but I have found myself to sometimes be following the threads and getting confused with the enormous amount of varieties. So, I recently purchased a copy of Freeman's Bronze Coinage of Great Britain and thought I would see if I could follow any of it! I have quite a large lot of pennies (pieces that have just been put in a junk box really) and thought I would try and attribute a Freeman number to them. I have tried on the 2 1861 pennies attached. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe some of the experts on here could advise me where I am going wrong/right in interpreting the differences in varieties that Freeman lists (some of them seem minor enough that I find myself struggling). I have gone for the first 1861 Penny as Freeman 21 3+D and the slightly better 1861 penny as F25 4+G. I am fully prepared for these attributions to be slightly/very/astonishingly wide of the mark but thought that I would give it a go and if anyone had a spare minute they could advise me where I am going wrong. Hopefully I can get a slightly better grip on this series as I really do find it fascinating. Thanks for all of your help and for continuously posting such lovely coins and useful information.

Hi Chingford, it is not the Alderley example, I am assuming it would have been sold many years prior to that one. If anyone does have the realised prices for the Alderley sale however, it would be interesting to see what it made against an estimate of £5000-£6000

Thanks for your opinions all. I have contacted Heritage and they have said that I can send it back to them and if it is a counterfeit they will obviously refund me. I will describe to them the pointers that have been discussed here and hopefully they will agree!

Hi all, I purchased this shilling recently from a Heritage auction. I have been looking for an affordable example for quite some time and ended up acquiring two in the space of a couple of weeks (always the way it goes)! I was therefore preparing to move this one on but after really studying it I have a slight reservation about it. I have never had a problem with anything I have purchased from a Heritage auction previously but this one just makes me question for some reason. The coin is worn and has previously been gilt but this is not the issue. My issue is that the lettering just doesn't seem perfectly correct to me. The serifs just don't look as sharp and 'pointed' as other examples I have seen and this coin has a fully struck 'P' in 'PRO' on the obverse, a characteristic that doesn't appear on even high grade examples as far as I can see. I never really doubted it as a genuine example because I do hold Heritage in quite high regard but I would hate to sell it on without being sure as to its authenticity. If anyone has any pointers I would be most grateful. Thanks as always! P.s the weight is 5.8 grams.

Hi Rob, thanks for your images. I agree, some of the spacing is slightly off. I am fairly convinced that it is not a genuine article. I guess I will have to get in touch with Heritage and see how they respond!

Thank you for the confirmation all. I must admit I do not know if I can make the commitment of collecting the series, it makes my mind boggle. But I find it incredibly interesting nonetheless and it is nice to hear I am learning. I look forward to seeing more wonderful specimens!

I'll be sure to post if I see another! Good Luck!

Does anyone know where I could find an example of the 1878 Wide Date Halfpenny in VF or above? It has been a constant nuisance to me not being able to find one, they never seem to be coming up in auctions or dealers lists and when they do appear in London Coins they are all only VG. I think it is an underrated variety personally, only judging by how hard I have found it to get one! Thanks to anybody that can help!

I bought one and paid £100 for it. It is better then the one he is selling but probably not by much. I bought it purely because I have not seen another one in ages! The Spink prices are certainly well off (off the top of my head I think it is something like £30 in VF). I guess it all depends on how badly you want one but I would suggest that it is a date difficult enough that it is probably causing a few threehalfpence collectors some difficulty so there should be a market for it should you move it on. Good luck!

Hi Jamie, one has just popped up on ebay. Seems rather expensive but I have only recently managed to get one for myself and found it genuinely hard to find! Just thought I would let you know as maybe you can make the seller an offer? Ebay - 231705394600

Evening All, I was just wondering if anyone has ever seen an example of the 1860 Bronze Halfpenny TB/BB Mule? I have seen many of the pennies and the farthings but I noticed that the Halfpenny was listed in the 2015 Spink whereas it has not been included in previous years. I would love to see a photo of one if anybody has one?

How very interesting, thank you for all of the information and particularly the photograph. It makes me wonder why the variety has been omitted from a major catalogue like Spink for so long and then all of a sudden gets included (I would understand this if an example had recently sold at auction). I suspect that in the coming years one or two examples may turn up ... hopefully into my hands!

Thank you for your suggestions guys, I do struggle with some of these hammered pieces, I don't know how some of you can read them so easily!

Good afternoon all, this seems to be the place to come to get some hammered identified! Any help with these two would be greatly appreciated, as ever. Thanks all!

The coin is genuine. One sold last month at LCA in a very very ugly state for £60 hammer (about £72 all in) and one similar to the OP coin sold in Dec 2014 for £110 hammer (probably around £135 all in).

Hi all, If anyone had a moment would they be able to get me the latest spink prices for the following coins please? I haven't got the new catalogue and was wondering how prices have changed: 1903 Halfcrown 1860 TB/BB Mule Farthing 1918 H Penny 1919 H Penny 1879 Halfcrown Thanks in advance for anyone that can help!

Hi all, Not a great picture but would you class this as the rarer high tide penny?

Thanks for your help Prax, I am glad to hear that I have finally grabbed a high tide!

Thanks Prax, I couldn't tell for definite from the sea level in the picture but am I right in thinking the other key indicators are the distance of the shield from the edge and the positioning of the letter P?

Thanks guys, that was very quick! Would it be possible to ask for the values for the 1903 VF - EF Mule VF Thanks

I am totally confused by the reports that the media are spreading. They all mention how rare an issue of just 100 coins makes the £2 and then quickly go on to say that the version 'is also on sale as a commemorative coin' for £10 on the royal mint website. Does this mean that the only 'rare' coins will be the 100 true circulation coins? Looking at ebay completed listings is seems there are hundreds of these sealed commemorative packs. To me it seems as if the Royal Mint has issued 100 circulation quality coins to spread the word as to their scarcity and then in the same breath note how a 'commemorative variety' (I can see no immediate differences) is also available for £10. My worry is that people will assume they can grab a £2 coin with a mintage of just 100 pieces for £10 when in reality the issue for the 'commemorative variety' would be thousands. If this is the case then that is some very dubious marketing by the Royal Mint in my opinion.

What does everybody think about this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1933-OLD-BRITISH-ONE-PENNY-COIN-/121380829663?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item1c42dc79df&nma=true&si=HCTIP1LDS82i9wPh3gKl%252Bawq6ic%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Sold a few days ago for £1550. It had a pretty interesting story line with it (not particularly well written and from a seller with very low feedback). I remember that one of the 1933 pennies known was stolen from under the stone of a church, the same church that this seller is claiming to have found this penny near. It does actually look remarkably like one of the Andre Laurillier proofs to me, maybe there's some substance in it! I tend to see people giving a rough valuation of £50k for a 1933 penny but just personally I think one would make much more then that if found today. However, even if this were the real deal I don't think it would be allowed to be sold. I seem to remember a few years back a lady took a batch of 10 1933 $20 coins to be authenticated and when they were found to be real they were all seized and taken back by the mint as they could only have been gained illegally. Surely that would be the case with this penny (again - IF - it were real) and the buyer would lost out on 1500 quid? What do you guys think? Interesting nonetheless!

Hello all, Have any of you seen the proof sets that are in the January Goldberg sale? You can take your pick from the 1839, 1853, 1887 etc. Alternatively, if you can't afford the entire set then you can just pick up the lone Una & the Lion (estimated $100k). Look at the toning on some of those sets ... stunning!!! http://www.goldbergcoins.com/content/ (Lot 1136 onwards) As a side note, I view the Una & Lion as a coin that appears to have done really rather well in terms of value, it was only 6/7 years ago I am sure they were selling for around the 30k mark and now they are getting up into the 70k's. Jack.

Hello all, I was just wanting to put it out there that I am looking for an 1840 farthing with the clear two prong trident variety. If anyone has one they would like to sell or comes across one please get in touch. Regards, Jack.

Hi all, I am looking to sell my 1905 Shilling. It's a fantastic coin and I was just wondering your thoughts on current auction prices of the 1905. I saw an example listed in a London Coins Auction in December 2013 as 'UNC or near so attractively toned with a small striking flaw on the lions tail otherwise choice, extremely rare in this high grade and desirable, one of the best if not the best we have seen'. It appeared to have a few edge nicks that were not mentioned but still a lovely example. It sold for £4,400 plus commission. One in 2011 sold for £2,100 described as GEF with contact marks. I was just wondering if any of you could offer some insight into what you think this example would possibly realise at auction. I am taking it down to London Coins on Monday. Do you think London Coins is the right place or can you think of a better way to sell it? Any opinions always appreciated. Thanks all, Jack.