Geoff T

Chance would have been a fine thing, but the 1698 farthing wouldn't have been legal tender in 1954 - whereas the 1945 silver 3d would have been and still is, if you can find one, let alone be prepared to spend it. The pre-decimal addition question took me back, but the answer, as Sylvester rightly says, is that you would have got 6/5 three-farthing change and the biggest coin you'd be likely to get would be a half-crown. It's a 1952 and you set off to the Dog and Partridge...

Hi, Just a rider to Sylvester's list. Even though there will be some years from 1971 onwards for which no circulating coins were issued, there will be proofs in the proof year-sets issued by the mint. So there are, for example, proofs for 1972 and it's not inconceivable that a set could get broken up and the coins enter circulation. They are, after all, legal tender. The 1972 Queen's silver wedding crown was issued as a non-proof commemorative as well as part of the proof set, so those could in theory be found in your change. As for the 2004 20p, I found one the other day, ditto a 2004 Bannister 50p, so they're obviously now in circulation. I've not seen any 2004 Forth Bridge £1s though yet. Geoff

I saw this on the Chard site too, but let's not get too pessimistic. While I'm no great fan of the 2003 crown, I think a rethink of George and the dragon could prove as elegant as some of the images of Britannia on the eponymous coins. And, like Chris, I have a soft spot for the rocking horse crowns. I've promised myself a 2005 proof sovereign as a golden jubilee present to myself next year anyway, so it looks as if I'll have to get to like whatever the reverse turns out to be G

I'm 265.

William is a pupil in the Junior Dept. of the college where I work and therefore attends every Saturday. I tend to see him when I'm in on a Saturday morning, which is about three times a term. Yes, of course we talk coins - if either of us has time

If these are medals, then it's very unlikely that they date from 1936. George VI only succeeded Edward VIII in December so it stands to reason that any commemorative triptych of medals could not be issued realistically before 1937. However, I am aware of a set which was issued (unofficially) around that time in a presentation case. What you have could be these or a modern. Franklin Mint-style, commemorative set. Do you have a picture? Geoff

I spoke to William last Saturday. He's alive and kicking and no doubt finding the pressures of secondary school don't allow much time for forumming. Geoff

A thing of beauty is a joy forever....

Why?

You also need to bear in mind that, although the Maundy was distributed annually, not all the relevant denominations were struck every year, so that in some cases the Maundy would have had to be made up from what was available, as Sylvester implies. It's generally reckoned that the striking of separate coins for Maundy distribution may have started sometime in the mid-late 18th century. Having said that, I know of someone who has what is claimed to be one of only three 1574 pennies with an acorn mint mark, which some people claim to be the earliest coin to be struck specifically as Maundy money. G

I also hated most of the books we were given to read until I got to A level. That probably accounts for my being in the odd position of having failed English Lit. at O level and then getting an A at A level. At A level you were even allowed to say you hated the books as long as you could justify it, which I would dearly have loved to have done with "Wuthering heights" at O level. Years later my poor daughter had to to it for A level, so my heart went out to her. In my day (cue violins) English language still had a marked emphasis on grammar and spelling, right from primary level - and I loved it. Even now I have people who can't spell or who write bad English for breakfast...definitely

Now I know why I only started collecting in earnest once I got divorced

My son loathed French. He got an A* at GCSE (albeit with a little paternal assistance...). I was just crap at all things I hated and hated all the things I was crap at. I couldn't wait for A level were I could ditch them all. G

Banks will take the older large 50p pieces and exchange them for new ones. They'll do the same for old 10p and 5p pieces and their pre-decimal equivalents the florin and shilling. G

If you register you can post some pictures. The George III penny is likely to be 1797 - I'm sure we'd all like to see these coins as value is implicitly related to condition. G

I said we should have had one at Leicester, or Leeds (there used to be one at Leeds it's now at Wakefield). Now i personally don't like Leeds so Manchester would be an improvement there. Since Manchester is probably the third largest or so city in England you think it would have one? I think Birmingham has one, but i hate that place more than i hate Leeds so you won't get me going there. I go the the Wakefield one pretty much every month, especially these days as my son is at university just down the road so I can visit him at the same time. You tend to see the same people (on both sides of the tables) and it's not a huge affair, but I usually come away with something. As with a lot of these things, the variation in price between sellers for roughly similar stuff is very interesting. There's also York in July and January - two days at the racecourse. GMEX is an obvious choice for a putative Manchester fair but it's a vast barn of a place which takes some filling. The Royal Exchange would be better. Maybe if enough people in the area wanted to sample Wakefield we could organise an outing. G

And I'm sure this is one I pointed out! It's a bit mean to point out typos once the book is in print - I have kittens everytime something of mine appears, particularly if I've proof-read it myself - but there is one lovely one on p.75 which tickled me. "Asterisk" has appeared as "asterix" Nevertheless, this shouldn't detract from all the effort that's gone into producing a very useful update to a an equally useful guide. BTW - I'm now thinking of changing my username to Geoff TT... G

You might be interested in/horrified by this e-mail I got today from Lockdales of Ipswich. Apologies if anyone has seen it already. The bold highlight is mine. www.certifiedgbcoins.com The most essential factor in determining the value of a coin is its grade of preservation. The process of finding and buying coins in the highest grades is full of pitfalls, even for those able to grade to a decent standard themselves. The British system has always been based on the opinion of the owner or seller of any given coin. This in many cases causes bias for financial motives, and tips the scales against the collector, and the investor. We deal exclusively with third-party certified mint state British milled coins, ‘slabbed’ and graded by commitee at the most prestigious American grading services PCGS and NGC. This adoption of the US system is something that British collectors and dealers will have to get used to. Once you have seen enough certified material yourself you will begin to apreciate just how rare truly uncirculated coins are, and how subtle yet crucial the difference is between the points of the scale. It runs from 1 to 70. The Mint State scores begin at 60, and so with ten points between the borderline to perfection, you can forget about the vagueries of ‘near Unc’, ‘about Unc’, ‘choice Unc’, ‘as struck’, and the all pervasive ‘Gem BU!!’ (which is almost never the case.) The coins we deal with are specifically British approx. post 1660. These having been machine made: their grade is quantifiable by comparison. Slabbing is mostly irrelevant in the case of hammered and ancient coins, as their market is driven largely on the basis of tactile historic interest. The handling of mint state milled coins is highly inadvisable as their value is contained within such fragile parameters. The slightest abrasion can mean a world of difference to a connoiseur. If you wish to test the system for yourself, go to one of the many trade fairs up and down the country. Buy up a number of catalogue priced raw coins graded UNC if you will, send them off to PCGS and await their return. We predict that a number will fall short into the AU50s, one or two will be rejected as having been ‘improved’, and some may reach borderline Mint State. Few will meet the standards of our merchandise. Post 1797 all coins within the framework of our company are MS63 and above. Pre 1797 we work with coins of at least AU58 or better. This is the ‘choice’ end of the market, and it ensures that whatever quantity of money you put into British coins with us, you can be sure it's going to be on the level that counts the most. If you have any coins you believe to be in choice uncirculated condition, you can get them slabbed through our membership with PCGS or NGC. To cover our administration and mediation with these services and customs, the charges are thus: £16 per coin up to £175 est. value. £30 per coin up to £3000. £50 each up to £10,000. For higher value items call for a quote.

There is enough in your description to suggest that this is a commemorative linked to the Montreal Olympics of 1976. It sounds more like a medal to me; a commemorative coin would usually have a denomination on it because it would still be legal tender. The presence of a legend in Spanish points to hispanophone country, not necessarily Spain itself. It could easily stem from e.g. Mexico or one of the hispanophone countries of South America. G

I've just acquired the 1953 proof set and notice that the farthing is a type 2A (the least common one). Collectors' Coins implies that the standard proof sets contain the common 2B farthing. Does anyone know what ratio of 2A proofs to 2B proof farthings for 1953 were minted? I'll also pick the brains of the other CC if I see him this evening. Thanks - G

I never mentioned disdain! I can have a genuine objective respect for hammered coins - for their age, their history, their rarity - but aesthetically they're not really my thing. To use the word "disdain" implies that I somehow turn my nose up at hammered coins and those who collect them, which is absolutely not true. I just don't get much of a buzz from the look or feel of them, that's all, just as some people don't get the buzz I might get from a really good George IV or William IV coin. Like I said - vive la difference!

It looks as though you're a man after my own numismatic heart; I'm mostly interested in the larger silver, especially half crowns, but of late I've found myself getting distracted by Victorian farthings. As with any hobby, what we do and how we do it can only really be answered in terms of where we're at. The future may bring changes of attitude or changes of direction. I think I've been aware of the need not to cast one's net too widely for some time now and, pace my above remarks, find that I'm narrowing my focus rather than expanding it. I've accepted, for example, that most hammered coins - and certainly pre-16th century ones - leave me completely cold. Some of you might want to wring my neck for saying this, but tough - I'm me and you're you. I'm also coming round to the idea that there's more than enough to interest me post-1816 (again, an unfashionable statement to some) before I dabble further back. I like to think I collect for fun, but there's a bit of the investor in me too. But then I'm that much older than some of our regulars and at their age I never thought of anything as an investment. It's fascinating to think why we do things, but the more we try to rationalise, the harder it is to come up with any concrete answers. Vive la difference! G

This sounds intriguing. Generally you would expect the standard coin to have a milled edge (if, indeed, this is what you mean by "etched vertical lines") and not a smooth one. I know that in the late 1940s with the change from silver to cupro-nickel the Mint did experiment with various alloys, but I'd have to see these coins to comment any further. One possibility is that one of your coins is actually not a British florin, although the differences between UK and colonial coins should be pretty apparent. G

...and it was on my desk when I arrived at work this morning. G

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