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I have to say that the young French lady at the PCGS stall at the Midland coin fair was extremely pretty, I felt obliged to take a brochure and would have taken more Jerry

Research on the web suggests that his name is Benjamin Stocks, there is a Jane Saxby at the same address, perhaps his partner. I am amazed that the police or inland revenue or both have not shut him down. With his feedback, and the average sale value of his fakes, he must have made tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds selling dubious stock as genuine over the years. How can he be stopped? Jerry

Here is another offering from this rather notorious seller, apparently graded by NGC, though the coin photos dont suggest that it is in the slab. It is however interesting that these particular photos are so poor and out of focus, wheras those of the rest of his sales are really rather good, crisp and well lit. Is he trying to hide something? Well, its certainly not high tide as described. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322148343756?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Jerry

Hmm, not sure about my photo quality; these are my first efforts with a digital SLR, more effort required! I might try a lighter background. Jerry

And secondly, a rather expensive 1862 overstrike from Baldwins. This coin has been sold twice before in the last few years, at Baldwins November Argentum sale in 2012, and then by Spink USA in January 2014, as part of the Gerald W Jackson collection. In both cases, the price with premium was close to that I paid. I trust it will stay put now, as I'm not likely to find a better. Jerry

A couple of my acquisitions in the last week. Firstly an 1894 that appeared as a b-i-n on Ebay at £49.99. So I bought it. Really lovely in the hand.

I got one, mid estimate, missed another which went way over. But I like the format. Jerry

Please..... But sadly I may not be able to play with the big boys for a couple of months, I spent most of my penny fund with Baldwins at the London Coin Fair yesterday. Hopefully photos in the appropriate place in due course. Jerry

That is an absolute stunner! I almost hate to ask, but did the vendor know what it was? I have still to spot one in any condition! Jerry

Well done Richard, I thought the 1922 might have headed in your direction. Jerry

That is lovely Pete, its one I'm still after in decent grade (let me know if you spot another!) . Jerry

Likewise. The unsold lots will be at the London Coin Fair on Saturday, so a chance to see the remainder in the hand. Jerry

The second 1880, beautiful coin but somebody wants it more than me, it would have been an upgrade. There'll always be another, and more auctions in the pipeline. My F69 is only AF, and still looking for an F76. Jerry

I bid on nine, seem to have won 7, lost out on 1 and 1 still in abeyance, may find out tomorrow. I'm going to pick mine up at the Midland Coin Fair , so I'll have something to look forward to. I am pleased with the F16 and F17 vhich are good up-grades, and I went for the grotty F41 1862 halfpenny date numbers, considerably cheaper than Steve bought it for at LCA. Verdicare will sort the green, eventually. The F66 leaves only the 2 'I' reverses to complete 1874 currency pennies in high grade. The 1918H looks nice, and the 1930 is an upgrade. I hope you all had something you wanted, and I hope Steve is satisfied with the result. Jerry

Hi Bob, and welcome. As you are in South Wales you could come along to the monthly meetings of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Numismatic Society at the Unionist Club, Malpas, Newport on the first Monday of the month (BH excepted). We are generally a friendly lot, and hold quarterly auctions where the prices are usually very competitive. Occasional talks, otherwise a good natter. Jerry

So it did, £5700. And the vendor was in Ireland, which is probably why it quickly went on the bay, before the state could claim it. Several bidders clearly happy it was genuine. Jerry

Ian Platt knew what it was , but the price was ok.

Just spent half an hour sorting my tub of ex circulation 1899 pennies. The result is as follows. BP1899Aa. 8 BP1899Ab. 30 BP1899 Ac. 5 7 coins unidentifiable. The first two figures are somewhat at odds with Michael Gouby's estimation, but does demonstrate the relative scarcity of the widest date. Jerry

? Beggars cant be choosers, not many of them about!

OK so they're not special, but here are my offerings from the Midland Coin Fair, an F77 and 1899 wide date. The former will fill a gap for the time being. Jerry

No. The first is a late 3rd century radiate, there should be enough letters to pin it down, maybe Postumus, Tetricus, Claudius Gothicus, that sort of era. There is little more one can say about the second than mid to late 4th century is most likely. Typical detector found grots, I have hundreds. Jerry

He's actually asking £1550, he's referencing the £1250 which was in EF. I did think it went cheaply at £317, but these prices are mad! Dave Craddock has had one similar at £500 for a while. Jerry

Looks mid to late 4th century from the portrait, but I cant be more specific. Looks a genuine detector found to me. Jerry

I have certainly seen lead hem weights, but with two holes, like large buttons, to sew through. And I agree, why the serrations? Do they both have only one hole? If two, I would have thought them to be childs 'whizzers', the musical toy that was spun on string and made a noise. With only one hole, they must have been nailed to something, or maybe spun like a top with a nail. Bit of a puzzle, quite honestly. Jerry

Yes, all 1860 N over N sideways are 2D, but two physically different obverse 2 dies were used with the one reverse die over its lifetime. The earlier obverse die has a much less dramatic 'A' repair. As Rob suggests, a sequence - or rather a number of interlinking sequences of individual dies- could be extrapolated in either chronological direction throughout the early years of production through obsessive study of large numbers of pennies, using progressive die damage as markers. Any volunteers? ? Jerry