Colin G.

Debbie, I have seen a few with the Lord's Prayer on. Fantastic to think of the writing size, the coin is from British India, and is probably a quarter rupee at that size. I think some of the British India coins had some stunning designs, and can be picked up relatively cheaply. Very nice

Most coins that have been buried will show this patina. Whilst it can be uniform and even appealing on some coins, it generally will evolve into verdigris in areas, especially at the edges for some reason.

Has anyone had any success with removing lacquer from better grade copper coins? I have a farthing in my own collection which has lacquer on it, and whilst it does not affect it's eye appeal in hand, it certainly does under a lens or when photographed. I know I am unlikely to do anything with it, but wondered whether anyone had tried and what results they had found?

Happy Birthday Tom!!

I think I will leave it for a while I may try some acetone on some of the more common coins just to see how it goes

Does anyone know how to remove the privacy setting on my e-mail...I can't find it in the forum settings There ya go link to file!!

Thanks for the comments guys....off to get my eyelashes done

Thanks Garry. Apart from the first page, that first one has come out fine. (But the site I had to get it from ... GAAAAAH! Don't the stupid people who create those 'captchas' understand that a robot can't read ANYTHING in a picture? On the other hand, if they put a wavy line through the characters, then humans can't read it either!! What a bunch of total pillocks!) Anything on 1887 £5 or £2 in there. I can't get it to download. Garry, How big is it? E-mail me a copy and I will host it for those interested

Actually I have a couple of lower grade with lacquer which I can try and test it out on.....I haven't got any nail varnish remover Dave, mine are false

I've not had much success, probably due to not knowing what type of lacquer was applied. Once the lacquer has gone off and is as hard as nails, many solvents will soften it, but will require a specific solvent to produce the best results. Depending on the lacquer, you might find that any of turps, ethanol, methanol, acetone or any other solvent may work. As there are going to be several formulations in the market place, without knowing which lacquer was used it is difficult to know the appropriate solvent. That was the worry, I know my luck and whilst it is not a stunner, or the most valuable coin it is the best example I have of a scarcer variety.....so I am really hesitant...mmmm thinking time. I would feel like a criminal if I damaged one of my "precious" coins....starting to sound like Gollum now!!

It has been a great thread, does anyone know if we can access the grading companies photographs at all? 60 quid is an aUNC price for my 6d so it's a fair price, but I think I will be hanging on to it as my best example of an Eddie 7 6d type, thanks all the same! Create an account at CGS and if the members have requested photos at the time of order then there will be photos, but they are not that large on the website, you may be better looking at some US auction results for the better pictures, but then you get the US grading.

The smaller denominations issue definitely needs to be taken into account, for two reasons: As has been mentioned as we magnify to standard image sizes to fit our monitors, the imperfections on a smaller coin will magnify further than larger denominations because the factor magnification is increased. When looking through a lens obviously the magnification is the same and therefore the imperfections etc will be the same, but as a proportion of the coin size they will also magnify. Additionally if you took at a small rim knock on a farthing, because of the dimension of the coin it mayl look like a substantial issue, but if the same size fault was transferred to a penny, it would not be as noticeable, because as a proportion of the coin's surface/edge it becomes smaller. The same occurs with carbon/verdigris spots. Secondly the die detail has to be finer with smaller denominations and therefore does not always fully reproduce when struck. Whilst finer details such as the lighthouse brickwork/windows, Britannia's face etc clearly strike on many pennies, I would suggest the same percentage of coins do not share this feature across the farthing range because the features are smaller as a result of the design being reduced and are therefore not always visible. I am not too familiar with silver coinage but would expect the same differences to occur between sixpences/halfcrowns etc.

I would agree that weak strike should not affect the technical grade, but be aware of people trying to explain away wear with the justification fo a weak strike.....however having said that, a weak strike will usually affect the price, because it always more favourable to have a well struck example

I would classify myself as "mishandled with a few edge knocks on an uneven flan"

Anyone is entitled to challenge the valuation that has to be carried out by a private company and can also obtain their own valuation as part of the process, and then the coroner will consider the case. It is just that many people do not challenege what they assume will be a fair system. I don't think there is a perfect alternative, a lot of private collectors have deeper pockets than the museums, and some items of national importance would soon disappear into private collections overseas never to be seen again. I am a private collector and do not agree that the "normal everyday" items should be purchased and stored away by the museums, they will undoubtedly provide a better basis for study in private hands than they ever will locked away in a drawer somewhere, but the risk of a national treasure such as the Staffordshire hoard disappearing into a private collection is just more of a risk. It is important to understand what is recordable, I have beenn detecting for about 6 years and have yet to find a single treasure item ......it is not as easy as you think. I have found hammered coins, celtic coins, roman coins, roman brooches but none of them fall into the description of treasure, but they are voluntarily recorded by me through UKDFD. Some of my more interesting finds http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showcat.php?cat=500&page=3&ppuser=4937 I would probably not even be able to cover the cost of mine and my wifes machines if I sold all my finds from my time detecting!! But it is a hobby I find fascinating and again I have dropped on a great group of people to share it with. "I have a big empty field next to me" get some permission and get out there, it is a great hobby and gets you out in the fresh air, gentle exercise etc. Look up FID (Federation of Independent Detectorists) or NCMD who are the hobbyist groups who represent detecting, membership also includes insurance which is required by some farmers and a majority of the rallies. Your machine is still widely used and has a great reputation. What is classed as treasure, but this is a brief summary by me so should not be used as gospel!! You are basically looking at gold/silver items over 300 years old, or groups of gold/silver coins over 300 years old found as a single hoard, or a larger group of base metal coins over 300 years old.

I was under the distinct impression that we had a takernment, not a givernment got too excited whilst typing!!

I was also unaware of the auction story!! Garry I am a detectorist, and would say that I think we do have some of the best treasure laws about. It can be a bit complicated, but the givernment can not seize anything you find. Even if you find a coin hoard that constitute treasure, there is only a responsibility for you to declare the find to your local finds liason officer, but at that point in time unless agreed separately between yourself and the landowner, the finder is entitled to 50% and the landowner 50%. As part of the treasure process the items will be independently valued and if any museum etc is interested in them, they have the first opportunity to purchase them at the valuation price. If no museum is interested then they are returned to the finder, and are yours and the landowners to do with as you wish. The process can be drawn out and I have known people wait two years for the items to go through the treasure process, and the odd valuation has seemed a bit ropey to me in the past, but on the whole it is a good system. A lot of countries demand everything is declared, even north of the border, many of which never returns. One thing this country has got right....I think

Well done Bob, always good to grab something unexpected!!

It looks like a die crack (or several close together). Could be - but what's coming down through the middle of upper loop is what looks like a vertical downstroke at a slight slant, with raised edges on either side. And at the base of the proper downstroke there appears to be something curving to the right and up, like the bottom of a B. What do you think? I can see what you are pointing out but it does not follow the shape of the other B. Does the slanted vertical have the same beaded infil as the other letters or am I seeing things? I think it is another case of a cluster of die cracks...but........

Sorry Dave I mean you could do with another 3d so that you can see what a normal C should look like. It may help determine whether it is a rotated C or whether we could discount a C altogether

This was also my thought Peck, how would it add metal? It wouldn't add metal, it would be incuse on the die. Therefore a die crack that is incuse would result in a raised link between the curves of the C. I agree it could well be a sideways O but you would need to look at the letter styles on a coin of the same denomination to be more certain. I have seen die cracks in all shapes and sizes and that have made all manner of things look like they have appeared, but you need to be certain.

Looks like it to me, nice catch Azda Looks like a damaged C to me. If you look at the O it thins top and bottom whereas the broken C only thins were the gap between the upper and lower jaws should be. I agree it certainly looks like a die flaw/crack has extended between the curves of the C to form an "O" shape. This is based on the assumption that the style of the O is different. However having said that it could be argued to be an "O" if you can prove the C on a same denomination without the overstrike is also a different shape which it appears to be on the comparison. Are the photos of two coins that are the same denomination? or are they different denominations from the same maundy set?

I can assure you they're not but thanks for the vote of confidence. You get my vote of confidence any day Clive!!

I tend to grab them when I see them on farthings, which is quite unusual, as Rob says it was definitely more popular on larger denominations. The more ornate the design the more collectable they tend to be. I don'tt think I have ever paid more than £10 for one, and the Victorian examples I can usually get for a few pounds.

I don't think I have the patience to focus on a specific period at a time, so farthings as a denomination are ideal for me because a majority are within my budget range and therefore this satisfies my urges for multiple frequent purchases, with room for constant upgrade. Whilst specific periods have been studied there is still a lot more room for further study which allows me to satisfy my numismatic side. The denomination covers such a wide period in time that I get to dabble in silver hammered, the copper James & Charles tokens and the milled coinage. With a scatter gun approach I don't feel I would be satisfied because I would not get to "master" a specific denomination, it just does not appeal to me. Sure there are times when I see something outside my field of collecting which appeals but that resistance is part of the fun I get to see my collection bloom over a period of time, and I know it is definitely an endless goal, so I will never achieve a point where I fell I have to stop. I know my views may vhange with time, but I still get all of the buzz I need from those little farthings