Geoff T

It's me who's in Manchester. You could try Colin Cooke, who's just down the road in Brooklands/Altrincham www.colincooke.com (0161) 973 2395 Geoff

Those of you who are British and have a local Sainsburys may have one of those "Cash for coins" machines which converts unwanted change into vouchers. Next time you're there take a look at the coins illustrated on it. In the middle is a Maklouf head 2p piece with the Queen facing the wrong way. I thought the whole thing had just been reproduced back to front, but the rest of coins are normal and this one has the legend the right way round. Strange... Geoff

The outer medallions have the legend "Harsdorfser" or possibly "Marsdorfser" as far as I can make out. This is either a name or, less likely, a German adjectival place-name ending, although in that case "Harsdorfer" or "Marsdorfer" is what you'd expect. There is a suburb of Dresden called Marsdorf. I also came across a German dealer in British coins called Joachim Harsdorf http://home.arcor.de/joachim.harsdorf/ Kennst du den Name, Chris? Geoff

I'm flattered to be called an expert when I consider myself merely an enlightened amateur! At present I'm stumped but it's obvious from what I can make out of the legends that the one in the middle is completely unrelated to the outer ones. The legend isn't even Roman script. The guy in them is in 16th century costume and looked at first glance like Philip II of Spain until it became obvious that the woman (?) in the middle was no Mary Tudor! A bit out of my period here I'm afraid, but I'd hazard a pretty safe guess that these are repro and not from an English source. Sorry I can't be of more help here. Geoff

Don't all rush to the bank at once... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...9&category=3408 Geoff

I was in London yesterday and saw the 2004 coins for real in Coincraft. I'm fairly equivocal about them, but it struck me that one reason they've not found popularity elsewhere is that the designs lack the symmetry which we take for granted in many of our coins, even decimal ones. I'm sure, for instance, that part of the unattractiveness of the Churchill crown stems from its asymmetrical reverse (and the Ostbloc style legend). For the record, the four bridges to be featured on the £1 coins are Forth bridge - Soctland Millennium bridge, Gateshead - England Menai bridge - Wales Egyptian arch - Northern Ireland Geoff

[to Geoff: *killer* Avatar, yer Majesty!] Thanks Eliza. It's a very good likeness, I can assure Geoff

No excuse, Sylvester - so am I! Geoff

It looks like the Forth Bridge to me, which in fairness ought to be one of the most familar British bridges. London Bridge is completely nondescript. Are you thinking about Tower Bridge, Sylvester? I thought only 1960s Arizonan businessmen made that mistake :-) Geoff

This is going to be a medal, not a coin, and it won't be any later than 1936. That was the year the Duke of York became King George VI after the abdication of Edward VIII. The Duchess, or course, became Queen Elizabeth and in 1952 the late Queen Mother. Local medals commemorating royal visits are not uncommon. Can you send a picture and I'll do my best. Thanks - Geoff

I've not been able to find an up to date price, but I'd say £70-£90 depending on condition. Geoff

Hi there, Not so long ago I saw the cu-ni 1980 Queen Mother 80th birthday crown, which is 10 a (pre-decimal) penny, described as both "solid silver" and "rare"! Seeing so much confusion over grading, it struck me that maybe we need a new term for "uncirculated". The problem is, uncirculated in numismatic terms relates specifically to the condition of a coin, whereas literally it relates to its history. I get the impression that too many people haven't taken this on board. There must be plenty of coins - post 1902 crowns for instance - which have never seen circulation but which have been handled in such a way that their condition could no longer be described as uncirculated. Any others agree? Geoff

Me again... As you probably know, up to and including Victoria's coronation in 1838 medals were actually thrown to the congregation as part of the ceremony and the assembled peers etc. had to scabble round to get one. Disastrous, of course, from an exonumismatic point of view, although it's nice to think that your George II medals actually "heard" the first performance of Handel's coronation anthems. For Edward VII in 1902 they decided to follow the precedent set for Victoria's jubilees in 1887 and '97 and have an official medal which could be awarded, not just to those who who attended the service, but the great and good of the land and the empire. It would have gone as you suggest to top civil servants, diplomats, politicians and so forth. Mayors and the police had their own medal with a different ribbon. In 1902 virtually every local authority produced its own medal and you come across these all the time. Some share a common obverse, often by a leading designer, but all have an individual reverse which is often of very high quality. Sadly, because most of these are anonymous and the medals themselves in base metal, they've been seen as ephemera and never really given the attention they deserve by collectors. Geoff PS. I wouldn't dream of depriving you of something of sentimental family value!

Chris, I've consulted the oracle (in the form of Cole's "Coronation and Royal commemorative medals 1887-1977") on this one and, yes, you have the correct ribbon for the 1902 coronation award medal. It was made in bronze and silver, with a different arrangement of ribbon colours for specials (mayors, police etc.) and they all have the 26 June date on them. Quite highly sought after now as well. Thing is, this is one I don't have yet... Geoff

This looks like the official award medal. Since 1902 they've been of a standard design, with the monarch (and queen consort in the case of E7, G5 and G6) on the obverse and the royal monogram on the reverse. Each one has its own design of ribbon too. There were also slight variations in the design for things like the official medal given to the police etc. The medal certainly looks like the real thing - and the date is interesting - but I'll check the ribbon colour when I get home. I've a feeling that the official ribbon colour doesn't have the white stripe, but I could be wrong. I'm at work at the moment browsing in my lunch hour. I'll get back to you with any further info. Geoff

I've not seen anyway, although it stands to reason that some must have been produced. I suspect that they were recalled but a few escaped. Equally hard to come by is commemorative ceramic stuff produced at the last minute which has the August date on. Geoff

Yes, you can't beat Elgar's Coronation Ode for Edward VII or Parry's I was glad when contemplating a 1902 crown. As E.M. Forster said - Only connect... Geoff

Last year the King's Consort brought out a brilliant double CD of their reconstruction of the Coronation of George II, which is a feast of English music from the 16th-18th centuries and at the moment rarely out of my CD player... as I lovingly gaze on my George II coronation medals. What is this "Darkness" thing? Must ask the servants... Geoff

I always say that the only reason I got through O level maths was that I took it the year we went decimal and it was much easier to multiply things by ten. Having said that, I do remember mental arithmetic at primary school were we had to cope with questions like "If John buys 15 apples at 3 farthings each how much change will he get from half a crown when there's an R in the month" and I quite used to enjoy them - even if farthings by then belonged to history. I think it's great that there are so many young people on the forum. I know that the latent interest in coins was there when I was in my teens but it's only that I'm in my 40s that the the interest has really come to the surface. It's just that when your 17-year old son exclaims "Hey, this pound coin is even older than me!" with a note of genuine amazement or your daughther of nearly 21 can't remember decimal halfpennies that you realise how alien even early decimal coins must be to the the younger generation. Geoff (let's hear it for Grumpy Old Men

[William IV! Now that is what i call lucky... I bet they were seldom seen by the end of Vicky's reign, let alone after decimalisation! Needless to say, he swapped it for something more recent and still has it. Geoff T

In the early 80s, when shillings and florins were still in use as 5p and 10p pieces, I remember getting a George V shilling (1936 I think) in my change. I still have it. After that it was always George VI cupro-nickel, especially 1948 florins. A friend who is older than me once went collecting for charity and got a William IV coin. I never saw one of those in pre-decimal days, but later Victoria and Edward VII bronze was common. Geoff

A Victoria jubilee head crown or double florin in top condition is a joy to behold - and hold. The detail on the obverse is wonderful and in that size easily visible. Geoff

Hi, Yes, this is the official medal produced by the Royal Mint for public purchase, as opposed to the official Award medal which was only given to specific people and the hundreds of base metal medals which were produced by local authorities. This particular medal was produced in bronze, silver and gold (alas I only have the first two!) and in two different sizes. What's also interesting about this medal is that, unlike the unofficial ones, it has the correct date on 9 August on it. The coronation was originally scheduled for 26 June but was postponed because the king had appendicitis. Virtually all Edward VII commemorative items have the earlier date. Hope this helps - Geoff

Hi all, You poor things, never having been able to spend a half crown. I'm 48 Geoff