Ch2toWm4

I may have posted this one a few years ago. (Not as nice as the one posted here but the same error). Bill

Some years ago, I assembled a date set of half pennies, 1672 to, I think, 1836. I wanted coins grading VF or better, though probably some are in a lesser grade. Most dates were readily available but some, like the tin pieces, were not. Time to sell. What is the best way to go about it? Many thanks, Bill

I've been trying to acquire at least one dramatically doublestruck English coin, every type, copper and silver, from Charles II to William 4. Here is my latest - Bill P.S. - Yes, it is slabbed. (I didn't do it). <grin>

Thank you all! I am having trouble parting with these old friends but now have good suggestions to decide between. By the way, I do have a 1686, Peck 552. (A fully lettered edge and well struck up, but has rough surfaces and its plug is not copper-colored). The 1687, Peck 554, is much better. Again, thanks. I'll get them out, see what's what, and hopefully act soon. Bill

Thanks, HistoricCoinage. I have a great many (he said, hedging a bit), but most are not as dramatic as this. Here (since is at hand), is the obverse of my Young Head 6d, (rather a late date for me) -

You are all invited to drop by http://www.WorldErrors.com .

Your new site is nicely done. I especially like the notes on coin specs for each type. Very handy. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. (Perhaps a picture showing misspelled Monarch's name, or ?). Bill

I've received the following question - "Hello there I am trying to gain some info on the 1951 Festival of Britain crown, specifically with regards to the lettering on the edge, I have several crowns and one of them has a large gap of almost a compleate letter between INDUSTRIA & FLORET. I would welcome any help with this matter Yours Mark" Any thoughts can be posted here or sent directly to Mr. Greville (mark.greville@virgin.net). Thanks, Bill

I think that they are quite nice!

Thanks for the invite - top quality site, well done. I like your George I farthing Obv. brockage, I wish most of my normal coins were that quality. The date (If it had one) is almost certainly 1719, the shape of the I in GEORGIVS only occurs for that year. I have a picture of a 1719 coin that seems to be from the same dies. You have a nice double struck George I farthing as well - 1720, but labelled as 1721. Thanks again Teg Thanks, Teg. That it interesting about the date of the George I farthing brockage. (I'll fix that 1720/1721 mistake)!

No sooner said then done! Here is an Obverse example. http://web.infoave.net/~bsnyder/1853_Gothic_florin_ob.jpg A larger picture, and another Florin image, are to be found in my Gallery section called "Gothic Florin errors." P.S. - I just can't seem to remember how to include an image in the message. Sorry about that )!

And 2 full dates!

You can get a paper filtered mask that fits over your nose and mouth, that stops your condensation from getting on the coins. In addition get some cotton gloves for handling the coins. These should be available in a home improvement store. For imaging the coins - Since they are proofs and valuable as such, do NOT scan them. I don't place anything too good on the scanner, but rather play with the new digital camera until I get the image just right. That way you save yourself placing coins on glass(safe by itself, unfortunately not with finger oils, dust, glass cleansing agents etc) With a bit of practice with a decent 4.0+ MP camera, you can take amazing shots of coins. You will achieve much more satisfactory results with a camera over a scanner any day. The only reason I still use the scanner often is that it is less time consuming, and for most of my images I can give a bit on the quality. I only started photographing my coins after some of them looked terrible when scanned, especially darker bronzes, I have some ancients from Syracuse Sicily that absolutely refuse to be scanned, but I can image them with the camera. The second coin, second AE from Sicily on this page is scanned, all the rest are imaged with a 4.1 MP camera(now replaced by a 6.0 MP) Notice the difference in the images? Thanks Scottishmoney. It all makes perfect sense. I'll give it a try with my digital camera (a Canon 610A 4 megapixel).

I am intimidated by a set of coins. (Yes, I know, "Get over it")! It is a 1937 gem Proof Gold set (in the red case). I bought it just over 20 years ago at the Chicago International Show from a major English dealer. Knowing the possible problems of handling, or even breathing over, unprotected Proofs, I have left the set untouched in a safety deposit box. I opened the box some months ago and saw a new toning spot on one of the smaller pieces. My fear is that if I remove the coins for scanning, more spots will appear. Or worse. It's time to sell. I have much experience scanning coins and selling on eBay. So what to do? Just remove each coin for scanning, hold my breath, and hope? Bill PS - I am nowhere near a large city or coin show.

I am troubled by the use of PCGS, NGC, and ANACS doing "Market Grading" rather than "Technical Grading". In other words, "What is is Worth/" rather than "What is It?" There is an interesting discussion on this point by a Canadian grading company at http://www.coinoisseur.com/GradingPhilosophy.html

Humm. I have a 4 megapixel Canon too. However, mine won't take a macro lens. Thanks! And another slabbed coin I croped on photoshop.

Nice photo! You have done a great job getting the color right. What kind of camera is it? (Brand and model)? And, are you using a copy stand?

I am bothered by the fact that it looks cast. I know that these were overstruck on Gunmoney (many of which were cast), but I've never seen one that, after the restriking, still looked had a rough surface.

There are several things about eBay 160077510732 that are troubling.

Here is a 1696 halfpenny has the "I" and "A" transposed. (No, I don't deliberately look for low-grade coins). I am aware that it may be a contemporary counterfeit. I seem to remember that Isaac Newton was prosecuting counterfeiters at about this time. In any case, this worn coin weighs 138 grains. Peck says that the weight range for this issue is 136.5 to 180.7 grains. http://web.infoave.net/~bsnyder/BRITANNAI.jpg http://web.infoave.net/~bsnyder/BRITANNAI_inset.jpg

Here is a 1674 farthing in which the first "C" in the obverse legend looks like an "O". Colin Cooke has a similar farthing. He indicated that, since 2 were now known, he would probably include this variety in a book on early milled farthings that he was writing.

They had a security problem at the Britiish Mint in 1964 and 1965. There are many hundreds of major English error coins dated in one of those 2 years, and only those two years. Included are brockages, doublestrikes, caps, and more, all in mint state). However, I hadn't heard of a gold off-metal before. I wonder if the perpetrator who made this one made only one? Bill

Quite right! A wonderful Tin coin! Thanks for showing it to us! Bill

Has anyone mentioned the problem of Tin Pest? It is my understanding that tin 'comes' in two allotropic forms. At temperatures above about 13 degrees C (about 56 deg F), it is a stable metal. However, at cooler temperatures, it changes form. White blisters appear and grow). Here is a web reference (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin) to these 2 forms - "Allotropes Chemically tin shows properties intermediate between those of metals and non-metals, just as the semi-conductors silicon and germanium do. Tin has two allotropes at normal pressure and temperature, gray tin, and white tin. Below 13.2 °C it exists as gray or alpha tin, which has a cubic crystal structure similar to silicon and germanium. Gray tin has no metallic properties at all, is a dull-gray powdery material, and has no known uses. When warmed above 13.2 °C tin changes into white or beta tin, which is metallic and has a tetragonal structure. Converting gray tin power into white tin produces white tin powder. To convert powdery gray tin into solid white tin the temperature must be raised above the melting point of tin. Gray tin can be a real problem, since metallic white tin will slowly convert to gray tin if it is held for a long time below 13.2 °C. The metallic surface of white tin becomes covered with a gray powder which is easily rubbed off. The gray patches slowly expand until all of the tin in the object is converted from the metal to the powder, at which point it totally loses its structural integrity and falls to pieces. This process is know as tin disease or tin pest. Tin pest was a particular problem in nothern Europe in the 18th century as organ pipes made of tin would sometime completly disintergrate during long cold winters. The transformation can be prevented by the the addition of antimony or bismuth.". Bill

I just posted pictures of some milled Scottish crowns of the various monarchs. They ended up in the Gallery backwards (newest first; oldest last). Oh well, what can I say . . . .