Colin G.

As some of you may know my other hobby is metal detecting, had a couple of hours on a new farm today, first good signal out popped this Charles I Sixpence Never found a hammered sixpence before so I am quite pleased with it despite its condition

Fibula ? Can you get a signal off bone ? The roman brooch version

That certainly seems a logical explanation, fascinating piece of numismatic history there

You definitely do stop and ponder who dropped it and how, but it is the artefact side that really fascinates me as well..I have found a couple of fibulas and a medieval seal over the years which are very personal items Definitely not a money making venture though Some of my finds from the last few years. A good place for a bit of coin reseatch as well. Tom I bet there are a few on the main database that may fascinate you http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showcat.php?mcats=all&si=&what=allfields&name=saddlers&ukdfdnumber=&when=0&whenterm=&dist=&radius=&low=&high=

Tom thanks for the info, if it's not a farthing, I struggle

Will do

I don't know... the colour of the obverse is similar to a well-worn specimen that I have (http://pennycrowncoins.co.uk/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=103&=SID) whilst the reverse colour is either in need of Photoshopping or has already been 'shopped. Purely on the strength of the photograph I'm going for genuine. I agree, I think it is genuine, but the image has been altered making it look a bit dodgy

Peter, Timber is much more hard wearing, but as with anything will require maintenance from time to time. Laminates are great if the floor is going to get some stick. I have used B&Q Loc I think it was called before and as long as you have the water resistant one it does take a pounding and wears really well, comes up a treat every time it is cleaned Never used timer personally to date so perhaps someone who has used it may be better to comment

That would never fit in my bath

I should have asked before hand would have been nice to put a face to a name!!

That is one thing where they have got it right, you have to prove it got to him, he will have to prove it got back to you I believe. That's why agree about the refund but do not issue it until the ocin is returned. Make sure you also start a dispute to get your fees back.

Our time will come!!

I think you are correct, that as the variety market grows, collectors end up having more than one coin bearing the same date, which inevitably has an effect on the number of coins out there. As more varieties are identified it also creates a new market for finding higher grade examples of that variety. If you look at the bunhead farthings on my site, there are 32 dates to collect, but 155 varieties detailed. I know some collectors will debate whether some varieties are in fact varieties, but even if you take away the smaller varieties, there must be 100 different types

Definitely George VI, if you google "Edward VIII Threepence" and click on images you will see the rare one, which is a different design

Exactly the response I expected I reckon I must be getting to know you. Good luck!!

Dave if he has paid via paypal the emphasis will be on you to prove the case. If you want to stand your ground make sure you have no funds in your paypal account, and no link to your bank account from Paypal, because they will remove the funds and then not return it until the dispute is resolved. You will also probably lose your paypal account. I know it may seem unfair, but it is usually easier to offer a refund once the coin is returned, and just re-sell, you will get your fees back if you dispute through Ebay and Paypal

Colin G, Prices from the 2011 Spink are: F - 20 VF - 80 EF - 275 UNC - Not Quoted. Cheers Dave!!

Definitely looks like it has been machined/tampered with at the edge, you might have expected this on a fake Mule to try and cover the join, but does not make sense on this one, unless it's just some kid tampering with a coin, I know I have shot, drilled, grinded a few in my youth

Tim, Sorry for the delay the images ended up in my spam folder!! http://www.aboutfarthings.co.uk/images/forum/crash1.JPG http://www.aboutfarthings.co.uk/images/forum/crash2.JPG I have altered the Obverse to try and make it a bit clearer

Nice of them to come back, and another bit of information now stored by the rest of us

Very sensible. Going down the individual die collecting route would be unwieldy. A back of the fag packet calculation using the 1863 & 1864 etched tonnage figures on pennies gives approximately 134 tons of pennies struck up to the end of 1863. Assuming average weight of 145 grains as per Peck and say 100,000 coins per die pair would imply about 144 die pairs used in the first 4 years of the bronze currency. Depending on teething problems with the new currency, that number could and almost certainly would increase. It's fair to say you could be a while. So what you are saying Rob, is the entity we refer to as a DIE which may or not have flaws etc, is in fact a machine tool cloned from a MASTER, the MASTER being where design changes occur. Which explains the differences in date widths if numbers were added later to the working DIE So question, how were working DIEs produced from MASTERs? What was the life of a MASTER compared to a DIE? And why do we frequently have more than one MASTER in use concurrently? Very confusing in that we are all appear to be using the term DIE for two different entities David I seem to remember there being a video on youtube from the USA showing how a plaster sculpture of a coin design which was about 500mm across was reduced down to form a "hub" as the American's call them (which is in relief. From this the working dies were struck. I believe the process commonly has another two steps in between to form master dies, from which working dies are struck. This exmplains why a master die may have features that span across several working dies, whilst some features are only present on an individual working die. Ahh found the video I was after, it is the modern process, but I think the principles were the same just the machinery might have changed a little

Rob, Fascinating question, I keep adding to my collection, and whilst it is getting there I have a few cooments to make..... Excessive cost? - Some titles are expensive in my opinion for what they are, but others are worth every penny. However I would be willing to spend a fair amount on a book if it covered the right topics Are people unaware of what is available? - I think this is an issue, and it is only as you start to focus your collecting that you start to become more aware of what is out there. Do people refuse to buy books as this eats into their coin purchases fund? - If it is a choice between the two and a set amount of funds, I usually end up getting the coin Do people find it easier to use books or web pages? - For commonly used references it is the book every time. If it is literature that I look at from time to time or for a specific issue, then I am willing to browse. I also think a major factor is whether you "collect" coins or "study" coins. To research coins properly, you need to have a very thorough library and be able to build upon thoughts of previous numismatists before you. It is essential to have a library for these purposes. There are several mint reports I would like to have a look at, but I doubt whether I would keep referring to them, so I do hesitate when looking to buy these, it will inevitably be a case of me purchasing one and then seeing what I think!!

Tim, Send the images through to my e-mail address on my website and I will host the pictures for you

SNAP

Hi, The first thing to establish is whether they are genuine (how were they found, where were they found and might be worth getting one checked by someone with token expertise to authenticate them). If they are genuine they appear to be a very collectable token, these larger tokens tended to be susceptible to edge damage. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Staffs-NETHERTON-Withymoor-19th-c-1d-token-1813-GRIFFIN-/150510266940 However bear in mind a find of that quantity will inevitably flood the market and will lower the prices, because what may have been a scarce token has now become less scarce