jelida

Super coin Jac, not spotted one of those yet. Jerry

Hi all, the 1863 penny did improve with most of the black residue washing away with acetone; at least I think its better! I have also posted a couple of snapshots with a penny from my wallet to try to show the tone- still a bit light, but tolerable, and I still cant get the lustre to show! Jerry

There is also the Laurence Bamford example, unless it is one of those mentioned above. The 'dirty' appearance to the lettering and some design was one of the reasons I had to see this before buying. The tone and overall colour are much nicer and more natural in the hand, with plenty of original lustre, but I suspect it may well have been 'dipped' in the past before it was lacquered, it was after all all the rage at one time, even I had one of those Lindner kits in the '70's consisting of 'coin cleaner', lacquer and lacquer remover in three wide-topped jars. Luckily I didnt have any decent coins at that time. Under the binocular microscope some of the 'black' may be old lacquer and some looks like waxy residue that could be removed with a cocktail stick, except that a cocktail stick looks like a fence post under the lens. I might try a further acetone dip, but overall the coin looks very acceptable. Jerry

My latest couple of pennies; firstly an F111 1882H in GVF from the Midland Coin Fair, a hint of lustre still in a couple of letters. Its the first I've come across, and will fill the gap until a better one comes along. These seem to me more difficult to find than the Spink pricing would suggest. Secondly, a nice 1863 penny that appeared briefly on Ebay until, inundated by offers, the London based dealer realized what he had and pulled it. After some hard negotiation and a tentative trip to London I have acquired it at a price that I am sure would be bettered at auction. Certainly I'm never likely to find another as good. Its the 'open 3' variety. The streaks on the field were caused by old lacquer trickles, now removed with acetone, though there is perhaps still a little in the lettering. Actually has very pleasing toned lustre in the hand, which does not scan well. Jerry

Minor degrees of misalignment are common. The edge looks OK to me, looks a nice coin but the weight will be the final arbiter. Jerry

I would go for an electrolytic method to remove the corrosion products. Jerry

This nice penny sold for £255 at the London Coin Auction barely a month ago; looks like a purloined picture scam to me...... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Penny-1882H-Freeman-115-dies-12-N-UNC-/271924021979?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4fef4adb Jerry

Is Mario Draghi a friend of Sepp Blatter.......? Same mould, perhaps. More money than morals. Bring back the Drachma, I used to love my Greek Island trips in the eighties (hands up those who had Dana Faracos' "Greek Island Hopping" and God bless Freddie Laker! Jerry

It will be interesting. And I agree with everything you've said tonight, Dave. Apart from the comments on that lovely Mr Cameron, of course........... Jerry

Well done, fingers crossed! Jerry

While interesting, the uniface halfpenny would only have value if it could be shown to have left the mint in that state, ie not been flattened later. You would need a micrometer thickness measurement and weight to fractions of a gram to determine the liklihood of a strike on a full blank. It is more likely to have been flattened later. None of the dates you list are given a value in less than very fine condition in the Spink catalogue, so I suggest that you familiarise yourself with UK coin grading parameters on the net, and post a group photo of better ones pre 1935. But good luck, 600 is a lot of coins! Jerry

Hello Tony and welcome. The crucial issue here is the condition of these coins, only those with no apparent wear and ideally some remaining mint lustre will have any real value, and then only a few pounds, with earlier ones faring better than later. Any that are polished, damaged or worn from circulation are worth only a few pence each. For those, selling as a bulk lot on Ebay would be the best bet. Post pics of any higher condition coins you might have, for a better opinion. Jerry

Dave, up until post 11 this was a bit of disagreement coupled with a bit of misunderstanding, and perhaps a bit of hope over reality on Flukes part, though from Colins post the grading isnt necessatily that far out, even if the terminology of presentation needed ironing out. But was your dummy/ pram statement really necessary, bearing in mind he knows nothing of you? He doesnt know about the broad Scottish accent and cheeky smile? And we dont know about his sensitivities, and perhaps as a group we should be more tolerant to newcomers. Either way we have lost potential contributer before we even got to know him. On the other hand it is clear that others think the approach was right; It is right that we all make our views felt, and I hope others do. PS Dave, dont be surprised at my contrary view, I too am a Scot by birth (Lerwick) and therefore naturally argumentative, though 45 years in the Land of Song has had a moderating effect. Jerry

That is good news, I was waiting for an update! Jerry

The 'fuss' is hardly about the coin, it is about the way members of this forum demonstrated singular lack of tact and encouragement towards a self professed novice coin collector who was asking for our assistance, and it is not edifying to see the main protagonists' attempts at self justification after the event. Truths can be told in such a way as to avoid being challenging or demeaning, if the desire is there. As a relative newbie myself, over the last few months I have come to know the various characters on this forum, and their likely approach to a topic, from whom a rant is likely and from whom a more considered opinion, and I wouldnt argue that one is less acceptable or necessarily less instructive than the other, but I do know which approach would get me more engaged in the hobby and the forum and give me the opportunity to learn. Is the forum to be merely a battleground between established personalities, verbally and numismatically, or is there a place for encouraging beginners? I am sure members who have thick skin and have grown a pair will not be offended by this suggestion. Jerry

I dont think it is as straightforward as die wear, other than necessitsting die repair/modification of the master. Gouby seems quite clear that this is a different reverse to Gouby "j" , and the alterations to the shape of the back of the helmet at the very least could not occur through wear alone. The difference in the shape of the back of the helmet is well illustrated in Gouby 2009, and pretty conclusive. However I concur with his view that die wear may account for some of the more minor variability seen with this die (as, of course, other dies). Jerry

You wont want to be paying postage on that lot! Where are you based? Jerry

All small date 1875 are ja, so quite easy to find an example to compare with a small date 1874. Jerry

I tend to look at the back of the helmet which is concave on earlier reverses but very slightly convex on the ja, the body of the helmet below the plume is also more bulbous. Best compared side by side. Jerry

Gosh! But sorry, not for sale. Will keep my eyes open. Jerry

I was pleased to find this for £35 at the recent Midland Coin Fair, it appears to be a Freeman 72 with the Gouby ja reverse, and it fills a gap within my budget. Gouby values it more than the standard F72, but as a newly described variety appears hesitant in ascribing a rarity: in the opinion of the penny experts on this forum, what level of Freeman rarity would be likely? Is it still scarcer than the norm? As you can see from the scans, it is probably GVF or therabouts. Jerry

This vendor has some nice shiny pennies with time on their hands http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1902-King-Edaward-VII-BRONZE-penny-Unc-Very-nice-tone-Loads-Of-Leisure-/301653011807?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item463bebad5f Jerry

I'll be at the Midland Coin Fair, it would be nice to put faces to names, what name do you trade under? (Looking at a list from earlier this year) Jerry

Sadly the £3 possible 'open 3' 1863 on Ebay turned out to be just another photo illusion, however here is one that I got for a fiver at the last midland coin fair. Just how common is this type ? Is it simply a case of them not previously being recognized, but being fairly plentiful in reality? Or are they truly as scarce as LCA prices might suggest? I have found two over the past 4 months, a 2 Euro one on Ebay and the one above, neither better than VG condition, but I hold out hopes of one in fine or better eventually. Have the other penny buffs on this forum come across them? Jerry

And I've been seething over this one for several days, but now its finished I can't spoil anybodies anticipation. THIS IS NOT AN OPEN 3 ! This is the same seller who has given us a selection of mis-identified rarities over the last couple of months,and made good money; we have already discussed his 1860 mule penny, for example. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331533723405?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Any collector aware of the variety should really check in Gouby before wasting his money, the variety identifiers are clearly described, and not present in this coin. And I didn't wish to draw attention to the type until an auction had completed on one that I think might be (at less than £3, a reasonable gamble, will update if correct). Jerry