secret santa

By whom ?

I have an 1863 penny with exactly the same tuft of hair.

This is the obverse and there is also an additional tuft of hair at the back of Victoria's neck which suggests die clashes are involved..

The descriptor "extra plumes" is really only a handy identifier to describe the feature of additional spikes of metal appearing from Britannia's helmet.

I've just checked and it is the F66 that I've previously seen and recorded.

Ian Your pictures saves as an F73 variant - are you sure that it's not an F66 variant ? It's reverse G and I've seen another F66 with identical extra plumes. The extra plumes crop up occasionally and Gouby describes the 1862 3 plumes as "an improvised repair to the plumes" but I'm not convinced that is the cause although I have no alternative suggestion. Richard

Look at my varieties site.

Me too. At first he he said he'd counted the border teeth and it was genuine but when I sent him pictures with the teeth numbered, he relented.

Another replica penny on Ebay - I've messaged the seller but he hasn't taken it down. I hope no-one falls for it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/287481861974?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e111028.m43.l1123&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=ee1821cbf0274276908e6d80f2933171&bu=43154646029&osub=-1~1&crd=20260724145657&segname=111028

It certainly IS (both) !

I wasn't aware that Gouby had produced specialised editions for monarchs following Victoria.

A "must have" publication for penny collectors.

Sadly, I think you're absolutely right. I imagine most penny collectors became interested during their school years in the sixties and are now in their twilight years (me included) and it seems that the interest in copper and bronze will fade away with them. I shall probably sell my collection next year and am resigned to losing money on many if not most of the coins.

Interestingly, I bought a heavy 1967 penny (13.43 gm) at London Coins auction in September 2013 along with a couple of decimal errors for £95. Mint Errors (3) Penny 1967 struck on a thick flan and weighing 13.43 grammes EF, Decimal Two Pence 1978 uniface Obverse only NEF, Decimal Penny 1976 VF with raised unusual collar.

I wonder why Freeman included the 1897 dot in "The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain" but not the ONE ' - maybe because the latter looks like an extraneous piece of metal whereas he postulates that the perfectly round dot on the 1897 might be some kind of identification mark. Either way those two example are much easier to describe concisely, just as you have done, than the other spurious dot types which can appear anywhere on the coin.