Stuntman

Hi Pete, I guess I don't post much at the moment because I'm out of work and currently can't really justify any potential new coin acquisitions. Hopefully this state of affairs won't last much longer though. Am drinking a small glass of Aberlour 10 as a nightcap, very tasty...

I'd say the Obverse is Fair, the Reverse Fine or near so. None of the Vicky Young Head halfcrowns is very common but 1884 isn't particularly rare, there were nearly 1.6 million minted. The commonest mintages are 1883 at just under 3 million and 1881 at about 2.3 million. If you like the design, it might be worth looking to spend say £50-£75 on a nicer one, or perhaps spend the same £20 budget on say an 1887 Jubilee Head halfcrown? As an example, I bought this 1885 halfcrown from an online dealer about a year ago for £66 delivered. The seller graded it GVF, the coin is nice in hand.

1-0 Germany, first goal 43 minutes.

I bet you're right! Does the coin roll over to the next match then Pete?

Is this going to go the same way as the Brazil-Germany World Cup semi-final two years ago? I'm voting 7-1...

The Iceland comeback starts now! Puts England's performance into perspective, sadly...

I would also have said 2-0 France, but as Nordle has that scoreline I'll say 1-0 France.

What an abysmal penalty shootout at the beginning! Dramatic, though - and once again the Germans prevail...

By the sounds of it, your Father had an interesting and varied collection. I'm sure that quite a few of us might be interested in seeing more of these coins. I'd certainly be interested in seeing pictures of anything pre-Victoria, particularly the William & Mary coins. By the way, another way of posting photos is to upload them to a photo sharing website (I use photobucket) and then post the link. As an example, here's my George IV Farthing from 1821:

Yes please too, if there are any left! I've looked at the UK & Ire auction list for the last few weeks, but haven't placed a bid so far. Hope it continues to go well, Declan.

Oh yes, forgot about that one! I have an 1888 example.

You need a shilling and a farthing to complete the set of circulated coins (ignoring fractional farthings). A two pence would be a maundy coin. There are plenty of nice shilling and farthing coins available for reasonable prices, both from online coin dealers and elsewhere. Decide which 'head' of Victoria you like the most, and then find a nice one in your price range. Good luck. I'd forget about the two pence if I were you!

Similar dealer examples appear to be priced in the £80 to £110 range I reckon, before negotiation. So perhaps £50 to sell and £80 to buy?

Cracking shilling there Paulus I was aware of the WCC shillings but not the EIC, nor the reason behind the Elephant or Elephant & Castle. Great stuff, thanks!

Some stuff about Vigo Bay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vigo_Bay And Lima silver: https://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=limacoininfo.html

Rob might come along with more detail, but it's to do with the silver being used in the coins. I think the VIGO silver was captured by Admiral Rooke from the Spanish or French (accounts differ) in Vigo Bay, and the LIMA silver was captured from the Spanish by Admiral Anson. Also, I think it's correct that VIGO was the first time that a word was used on a coin to denote the origin of its silver, as opposed to Roses, Plumes etc. I wanted one of each, because of the historical interest. I have a 1723 SSC (South Sea Company silver) shilling and a 1739 Roses (West Country mines silver) shilling, both of which are pretty common. I would like a Plumes (Welsh mines) shilling as well, ideally a Queen Anne one of 1707 or 1708. One day!

A couple more new acquisitions. A 1745 LIMA shilling from the Midland Coin Fair again, and a 1703 VIGO shilling from a local auction recently. Again grading opinions welcome. I suspect I overpaid for the VIGO shilling!

If you like them as BU coins, then your 23 quid is money well spent. I wouldn't worry too much about their future value either way.

Purely on their subjective eye appeal to me, I think 2694 is probably the best all-round proposition of the three, but number 2691 immediately above them is much nicer altogether and possibly worth trying to find the extra cash for it. Good luck either way!

I'd go a little higher on your 1817. It has bags of eye appeal as well. I agree with Garrett!

You will probably already have seen it, but there's a nice shilling on eBay at the moment. Price may be a bit toppy, but there may be room for a deal to be done? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUEEN-ANNE-1703-VIGO-SILVER-SHILLING-BEAUTIFUL-TOP-GRADE-VERY-RARE/281991895098?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Dc007dc03f4ec4383b97577247c44d46f%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D311441682438

I'd go with at least EF for Mynki's 1890. I have a couple of Double Florins - an 1887 Arabic 1 graded GEF by the seller and an 1889 which is Fine, maybe slightly better. the former coin is very pleasing on the eye, I bought it about a year ago from a dealer who is a forum member here. The latter coin was a birthday present over about 35 years ago when I was a schoolboy!

1872 is the commonest I think. Guess which single date I have!

I really like the Widow Head shilling design too, on both sides of the coin. In fact I think the shilling, florin and halfcrown of that era are all lovely. 1883 is pretty reasonable in terms of price I think for a Young Head (4th Young Head). For the different types of Young Head in the lower grades that I tend to collect (VF to GVF), I have found that 1856, 1874 and 1883 have tended to be lower priced. I've never seen an 1839 WW so I suspect that 1838 is the lower priced option for the first Young Head?

At least GEF for me too. The obverse in particular is lovely.