Colin G.

Bob, I think it is a good thing and is on the whole a generally good part of our society that does not get the praise it deserves. However it has become just too big, and is now a bottemless pit of made up titles and managers, which costs us billions, whilst the front line medical staff don't get the support they require. The gradual increase in the private health care sector oevr here is definitely having a negative effect on the NHS due to the fact that like any other part of the private sector, it has grabbed most of the good staff and offered them better pay and conditions, so all that is left are the die hard carers who still believe in the system, or the not so good. Maybe a bit of a harsh view, but certainly what I have experienced over the last few years.

Yes I have spent a few over the years when encountered in bulk purchases, because they are not worth selling. You usually end up having to spend them at a post office or large store, but they generally get accepted, and no doubt go straight into someones pocket. My contribution to encouraging future coin collectors

I believe its something to do with the salts in the sweat. I tried an experiment on a 2p piece from a specimen set, and planted a nice big thumbprint on it, it took about 6 months for it to remove the lustre, so the bad thing is if the dealer handles your nice BU coin incorrectly, it could be 6 months before you find out!!

Thank you David - I think it must be an error. It's not that 1886 is a 'deceptively difficult' date after all! I've got 3 or 4 of the damn things, all EF or better. I will have to tell Chris that in this instance, CCGB is wrong. I would agree they should all be similar, if anything the 1886 is probably the easier of the three to get in BU.

Scott, The smaller tooth under the 8 in the date is not a definitive way of identifying the small date varieties because it occurs on other 1858 die varieties also, although it is a wierd feature, due to the fact that it repeats on several dies with distinctively different datal arrangements. I have had six pass through my hands, and they are a scarce variety, although I would state with some confidence that I expect there are several hundred of these floating about. I have one for sale on my site at the moment, which will give you an idea of price, and I have sold others in the past from £5 in poor condition to about £65 for a decent VF. Is this the one we have discussed previously or have you got another one? I can confirm it is definitely a small date

Yup its an Ionian Islands 1 Lepta - Dated 1848 - Krause Ref - KM34 13,483,000 minted Two varieties, one with a stop after the date one without. The one with the stop is a bit scarcer. F $3 VF $10 XF $30 Unc $75 The one with the stop after the date is worth about 10% on the above prices Bear in mind my Krause is the 2001 Edition

It is always easy to identify coins that are from specimen sets, they are always completely free from bag marks, and tend to be produced from polished dies. In auction you will always see decimal coin collections with comments that many are from specimen sets. If you hold a proof, a specimen coin and a currency coin in hand, it is generally easy to tell them apart, obviously do not hold them in hand because they will get fingerprints!!

Mark, It sounds like you have a gaming counter (imitation spade guinea) you can find a bit more info ion my site here http://www.aboutfarthings.co.uk/Gaming%20Tokens.html They are fairly common and worth a few pound generally, although there are some rarer varieties, but it is difiicult to find a great deal of information on these pieces. Thanks Colin

I have to say that there is definitely variety in the date spacing, but this is not uncommon, even in coins dating up to the 1890's. I am interested in such varieties on farthings, and you will see from my site there are plenty of varieties even in the later dates of the 19th century. The important questions are: Will it command a premium? - Probably a small increase over a typical coin of that date but until a variety is widely known and coveted by collectors the real market value will be unknown. Is it of interest? - To variety collectors like myself, yes (but only if its a farthing ) Just my humble opinion of course

Many happy returns Chris!!!

Other than books covering the copper and bronze coinage (Peck, Bramah, Freeman etc), there are no specific farthing books that I am aware of. It is a project I am looking into at the moment. The Colin Cooke catalogues are the only other literature that used to have features on varieties etc.

Hus, Where do you get yours from?

Hi, I have been trying out some slabs that you encase yourself, not yet found a UK supplier, and have to buy them from a guy in Canada, but my coins have been in them for 12 months without any ill effects yet. They are great because you offer some protection to the coin, but I like to re-examine my coins and compare them repeatedly, so when I need to photograph them etc I can safely take them out and put them back in when ready. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=120426034972 Added bonus is that I can also label them myself with my collection ref numbers etc.

Well you made a very good choice by getting that one!!

Scott, The 1858 is definitely a small date farthing, which is much scarcer than the large date variety. The trouble with them is that not that many people are aware of the variety, so you have to target farthing collectors to get the better price for it. I would not get too obsessed with book prices, they are good as guidance, but you will do very well to achieve book price for every coin you purchase. For example an 1886 farthing in Spinks at EF gives a book price of £15, if I could get £15 for every EF 1886 farthing I have I would be a very happy man!! Market forces determined on the day you purchased that nice looking 1840 farthing, that the price you paid was the price it was worth. Now it could be that other factors lowered the price that day and that is why you got it at a good price (sellers photo was not very good, cup final was on etc). If this is the case then you can get a better return on the coin you purchased. Spotting varieties is another way of obtaining bargains (such as the 1858 small date), and a good way of educating yourself on coin varieties. If you have a look at the 1858 small date varieties on my site, you should be able to match it up to a die combination, and I have one for sale in my shop which should give you a general idea on prices, but it has been sitting there for 6 months so obviously no-one wants one that much at the moment!!

Looks fantastic, order placed, looking forward to reading it. Congratulations on what looks like a job very well done!!

Never mind, it looks military so may yet have an interesting tale to tell. Definitely looks like a trade weight to me, might be worth having a look on UKDFD, it is a database for detectorists, you may be able to find a match with some of the identified trade weights

Very nice Bob!!

As standard the 1954 farthings do tend have a thicker rim than the other farthings in the series, and there seems to also be some variation in the thickness of the thicker rim, but there is no clear defined varieties, they really do vary in degrees of thickness. As Scott says some automatically stand out as being thicker, but there are not two clear cut varieties in my opinion, but a mix of thicknesses. Probably an area that warrants more research, to check the variance in coin diameters and rim thickness etc

I have a proof 1860 SL Dollar in an NGC tomb that I cannot photograph because of the tomb. Those new NGC holders with the nibs are even worse, they show the edges all right - at the expense of the face and reverse of a coin. I have to agree, what were they thinking with those latest holders, they are just ugly!! As for Slabbing in General, they are here to stay, and I think there is some benefit in a UK company slabbing (I have seen some bad mistakes made by the US companies when encapsulating English coins). I have to admit CGS do grade fairly harshly, and I think you can sit fairly comfortably when purchasing one of their coins regarding grade, however the premium that they are after seems a bit high to me. As has already been stated, some of the prices appear to be exceptionanly expensive, but I suppose market forces will determine whether they are acceptable. To some extent I can understand it on the GVI & QE2 coins, because they still have to go through the slabbing/grading process and therefore the costs must push the prices up on these coins to the £20 mark. I can agree with Tom that I prefer to see a coin in the hand, and grading does not take into account true eye appeal, but I am sure there is no way of cretaing the perfect system in such a subjective hobby. I have a couple of CGS coins, but they were bought in auctions at what I viewed as very good prices, but they would have been a lot higher if I had purchased them through the CGS website!!

Yes happy new year to you all!!

James I would say the O/G situation is caused by a die flaw, I have been fooled by similar things in the past, it is surprising how much a die flaw can look like another letter etc. The I and R look to have been recut, but they are only slightly visible. The early Viccy bronze coins are like the George IV series, there was alot of die tampering going on.

Those microscopes are great pieces of kit!!

Its too late at night for me! James, Thats the first sign of madness having a topic all to yourself and talking to yourself in it http://www.myfarthings.co.uk/Coins/Gerogeiv1821.htm Not convinced its the G/O but I will wait for closer images before passing a definite decision

Bob, I have seen a few examples of that one, and as you say it is very clear, yet very few people actually spot it