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My son arrived back from the USA today with a couple of my penny purchases in his luggage. The first is a 1864 plain costing £50, which I think represents good value and looks GVF or better to me. The second is a slabbed 1862, 2 over 1. This already features on Richard's rarest pennies site as a past Ebay offering, and was also off the Bay after considerable negotiation over price. Difficult to photo, in the rather scuffed slab. The microscope fares better, and reveals some of that waxy green gunge around the lettering which I would normally remove, but as its in a slab I will simply observe for now. Nice clear overstrike however. Still haven't got round to photographing my LCA purchases, will show some in time. Jerry

Silly price estimate, but as SS says some-one will go for it. I have never liked this portrait as much as the currency one, and it was nice to read the informative explanation of this piece in the Baldwin catalogue. It seems the RM heirarchy didnt like it either! Jerry

I think you are right. This dealer has a lot of these scent bottles for sale, very similar tops. http://www.bryandouglas.co.uk/silverware/scent_bottles/scent_bottles.htm Jerry

I would say die pressed too, and as before the rococco design suggests a late Georgian or Victorian date. A nice find, I presume as it contalned cork remnants, the cap of some sort of stopper, perhaps from a vanity set, eg a scent bottle. Jerry

Yes, looks like F1, double raised lines on the shield.

Bill came and sat with me while I was having a solo coffee at my first ever LCA last winter. He introduced himself and we had a really nice chat about coins in general, and we did touch on CGS, and he encouraged me to use their on-line database as a varietal reference. It has been useful on occasion. He struck me as a thoroughly pleasant man, and though I dont use TPG's I would have no issues on principle with those who do, it is a matter of personal choice, and ties in with issues of coin storage/protection, presentation, certification and confidence (in the coin and its grade). Also affordability, my choice is to buy more coins! Jerry

Perhaps I should re-consider, I'll look at them again, though the dealer isn't there every month. Perhaps he'll do a deal on two! Jerry

Well done. I watched that too, thinking it might be reverse I. But in the end, decided I wasnt sure. My loss, your gain, as it is one I need, the only other 1874 being F77. A guy at the Midland fair had a couple of F77 in fine-ish, correctly id'd at a ton and a half. Too much I think, to fill the gap. Jerry

That is far too expensive, about 1 in 14 1898 pennies in my small census. I have several, though none better than VF, but there will be plenty of high grade ones out there. Maybe a couple of hundred pounds value I would have thought. But I might end up eating my words........ Jerry

Most of the English jettons of this period (or perhaps somewhat later) had a central punch mark or perforation, but could look very similar to Edwardian silver pennies. Post a pic, as suggested.

As you say, any-one who wanted the variety wanted better grade, but still a total bargain. I'm sure had it been sold by LCA it would have fetched over a ton. Lot to be said for sticking on a low bid then forgetting with these low grade rarities, those that you do win you wont regret. Probably not a bad time to buy varieties, the forthcoming Freeman re-issue will raise awareness and perhaps bring some new collectors/money into the market. Jerry

Very nice, collectible weight, well done. Jerry

It definately looks like pellets over 1's, looks a good find to me, scarcer than the standard issue I believe, any of you hammie guys confirm this? Jerry

Nice find, probably C16 to C17 in brass (latten). These often had a mark stamped on the bowl below the stem, any sign? Many earlier ones in pewter came from the Thames in London, and more again from estuarine conditions in the low countries. Occasionally the stem and terminal/knop turn up. Jerry

Nice spot and nice photos, this overstrike so far eludes me in better than poor condition, but the clear proof of a number of different dies does suggest a systematic 'updating' of 1881H dies as 'good housekeeping' rather than an erroneous die repair. That in turn raises the possibility of yet more types yet to be found. There are certainly several different degrees to which the 1893/2 is displayed, for example. Jerry

Hmm, I am assuming that the surface is good, and it hasn't been cleaned, difficult to tell in the photos which are a bit contrasted out , if I was selling I would say VF, if buying GF. There is minimal wear to the shield, some to robes and features of Britannia, some light wear to Victoria's wreath, hair and bodice; perhaps VF in the hand? Jerry

Just checked, yes, its BP1860E, which equates to F6.

Looks like Freeman 6 to me, Obverse 1 and reverse B. I don't have Gouby to hand, but the eyeline is vertical and the rim is narrow so its not one of the 'pattern' obverses; the reverse has 3 incuse lines delineating the design on the shield. This is the most frequently seen 1860 beaded. Decent example of an attractive coin. Jerry

Shame, they look lovely in the catalogue. I would make DNW aware of your thoughts, looking to the future. Hopefully they will tone with time. A mate of mine always has a tray of silver basking on his window-sill, reckons it takes a few months depending on weather. Jerry

Excellent! Every collection should have one. Or two. Or three. Jerry

Looks like a nice coin to me, but a halfgroat rather than a groat, and I think it might be mm bell with the two dots (behind the bust, signifying value) overstruck on two I's, which makes it a rare variety. However I am not a hammie expert, so do get another opinion! good luck, Jerry

No, I don't have an F41, but I had so many gaps to fill at the LCA that I aimed for other things. I perhaps underestimated the rarity in anything over fine, but I have not been back into pennies for long enough to really get an idea of what's likely to appear on the market over a reasonable time-scale. I don't think prices are really necessary, any interested party can usually research these on line, and they are so volatile for these great rarities that they are little more than a talking point. Leave it to Spink to be the guide for sellers of these rarities (most of those prices would be thought under-estimates by you or I ). Jerry

Yes, nice find, havn't had one of these for years.

Yes, very helpful, Richard, I trust it will continue to expand as your time allows. Jerry