Geoff T

I don't give a Churchill crown who wins - tennis is almost as boring as cricket and football is just a load of overpaid thickos being watched by low paid thickos

Anyone familiar with the Bredbury/Marple side of Stockport as you recently let slip you were will know that we're too upmarket to keep pigeons. After all, we have carpets...

Actually, you pay for the blue plaque and they throw the house in for free, but you're not allowed to keep whippets or pigeons and you have to provide your own coal for the bath

Literally round the corner from my house is the one where the last British player to win the men's singles at Wimbledon was born. It's also up for sale, so if anyone fancies living in Fred Perry's birthplace, complete with blue plaque, get round there. Sadly, most Stopfordians think he's just a designer label.

Does your knackered watch have hands which fit on a square pivot rather than a round one? If so, save them before you bury it. Lack of a pair is holding up the restoration of my 1899 pocket watch. Thanks - G

Sorted now. G

BigBear, I tried to reply to your PM but it didn't recognise your user name. It could be that you've only been registered a few hours or so. I'll try sending it again later. Geoff I'm not a hammered expert at all, but there will be others on here who know far more about hammered coins who can help you.

Thanks for that. I know he's going to try it out on some modern cupro-nickel, so that if it all goes pear-shaped he won't have ruined anything of value. I think he uses it on his wife's jewellry as well.

Can you post a picture?

What a great idea! Why not paint them all in different colours and use them as a cutting edge ornament. Very Changing Rooms. (Of course, I've never watched the said programme but people tell me about it).

Well, if you will drive a museum piece V-reg Fiat Puntos (Punti?) don't have that problem...

A week on Wednesday I shall commence my fifth decade as I attain the great age of 49. With age comes wisdom...(well, that's my excuse).

Probably a silky shine? Yes - I was thinking Dulux, emulsion etc.

There were a number of "satin"-finish VIP proofs made of the 1965 crown and if you come across one it's worth around £600. They were struck in very small numbers to give to specific individuals. I've yet to come across a definition of "satin" other than as a term descriptive of the finish but I suspect it's the absolute opposite of matt.

One thing I've found with gold is that you can often find it in jewellers who sell it at around bullion rate. That means you can get some real bargains because they don't always take grading into consideration. There are two such shops where I live and I've bought gold in both. One appears to have extended its recent 30% off everthing sale indefinitely and usually has a good crop of gold coins. Be warned though, it is highly addictive

I'm not sure what Colin's policy is regarding his catalogue. I get one as a member of South Manchester Numismatic Club and Colin brings them along in the hope that we'll all flock to buy things. He usually comes armed with "samples" to tempt us. Last time I was tempted big style, so I reckon I've earned my free catalogues for the next few years

That depends on how strongly we feel a sense of injustice, and the English are very good at moaning but not very forthright in complaining. Somebody has to speak out, even if it means that they go against the grain and make themselves unpopular. Imagine if nobody had stood up and condemned slavery or campaigned for women to have the vote. We may not always approve of the actions people take to draw attention to discrimination in society (Fathers for Justice is a good contemporary example) but that doesn't stop us approving of the ends if not the means. As the women at Greenham Common said - we have to take credit for getting the cruise missiles out of here because nobody is ever going to give it us. In the present climate some people might think it un-PC to condemn either a minority where it clearly acts in an unacceptable way, or the concept of what the Americans call "affirmative action" and we call positive discrimination, but which is still discrimination however you look at it. But, in the immortal words of I can't at this moment remember who - in order for evil to flourish it is only necessary for good men to do nothing. The best thing we can all to is to try and lead lives in which we respect individuals for what they are. Ultimately, behind these articial social constructs we call the black/Asian/gay/disabled etc. communities there are individual people who are unique, whoever they are. Isn't that amazing!

Frankly, this is the sort of one-sided propaganda which the right-wing tabloids love to spread around - pure Daily Mail-speak. It's on a par with all the Europhobic trash which tries to tell people that the EU is all about not being allowed straight bananas. Scratch the surface and you find it's mostly tenth-hand "my mother knows a woman whose husband's friend's brother..." stuff. Throwing somebody out of a public place for being white - assuming it actually happened - is as bad as throwing somebody out for being (insert colour of choice). But how often do such stories get reported selectively? Before we react in the way the Daily Mail types would have us react we need to ask what the circumstances are in cases like this. There is a world of difference between an innocent person being "thrown" out of an institution for no good reason and a person being racially abusive to non-white staff being politely asked to desist or leave. Anti-discriminatory law is designed to apply fairly across the board. The fault lies, not in the legislation, but in the way it's applied. There appears to be a growing fear of intervening in or criticising unacceptable behaviour by any members of a minority for fear of being labelled racist/sexist/homophobic etc. Where this is involves public bodies like the police or social services not wanting to intervene on "cultural" grounds there is a real danger that crime goes uninvestigated until it's too late - witness the case of Victoria Climbie or the frightening increase in honour killings among Asian communities which was publicised only this week. Legislation plus cultural difference produces an ethical minefield in which we all have to tread carefully. Running in full tilt with our eyes shut helps nobody.

dont get drunk, otherwise you may end up spending one On the extremely rare occasions when I've been drunk, all I've wanted to spend is a penny - albeit repeatedly...

A true brockage surely is where the coin stays in the die and one side is therefore struck twice as both an obverse and reverse. That's slightly different from a double obverse/reverse.

Yes, the English produced some brilliant dance music in the 1590s, just as the Viennese did in the 1790s and 1890s.

Half crown. (...and it's Dei Gratia, not Grattia).

No, as the last sovereigns minted for circulation were 1915 here and 1931 in colonial mints (South Africa in this case). When Britain came off the gold standard gold coins ceased to be legal tender and it actually became illegal to own them, but this was always a grey area. There is a fascinating article in this month's "Coin News" about how this grey area and various loopholes were exploited, leading to the reintroduction of bullion gold coinage for export in the late 50s to combat this. Even then loopholes remained until closed in the early 1970s, leaving the situation as it is today. It's no longer illegal to own, buy or sell gold coinage, although you'd be mad to try to spend it. Cf. the situation regarding the ending of the gold standard in the USA and the consequent saga of the legality of the 1933 double eagle. Geoff

..which means "By the industry of the city the state flourishes" 1551-1951. The 1551 refers to it's commemorating, not just the Festival of Britain in 1951 but the 400th anniversary of the first silver crown of Edward VI. Technically you can still spend it at a face value of 25p, but I suspect you don't intend to

If we're being purist here (i.e. excluding chunks of opera), then my favourite song has to be "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" from Mahler's "Rueckert Lieder". Goes for the emotional jugular every time. Sung by Janet Baker, of course.