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Some months back I bought a stamp album from my local coin and collectors club on one of their bring and buy nights, I’m not into stamps anymore but it was what was inside that persuaded me to part with £3 to buy it . Somebody in the past had used it to collect together a load of newspaper cuttings and stick them inside. Many were about coins or hoards found by farmers ,workmen and joe public. The one I like most is the farmer who found the Mildenhall treasure

A couple more

I think you need to know what you are doing when buying a slabbed MS65 coin. A PCGS or NGC MS65 often has premium attached and can be expensive. (That’s my reason for avoiding buying slabbed coins in the UK). It is a moot point whether one should crack open a PCGS / NGC MS65 slab. If the coin has been somewhat over graded or not particularly attractive in the first place, then one should not have pay over the odds initially. Cracking such a slab would would mean less money when you eventually sell it on. I personally won’t crack open an PCGS / NGC MS65 slab unless there is good reason to. I fully understand that advanced collectors might want to crack open slabs to store in cabinets with the rest of their collection. Then again, they would only have paid what the coin and not the slab was worth.

😉 All this talk of varieties reminds me of a recent conversation with the wife of my work-colleague, who lives round the corner. One night she came round to my house and invited me out for a drink in the local pub. Her husband was out of town and I assumed she just wanted a bit of a chat. During our first drink, she was telling me about a small raised ‘dot’ that she thought I might like to investigate, and kept mentioning the letter G. Given the conversation, I naturally assumed that she must be talking about a Farthing, and it must be some sort of ‘G spot’ variety. I hadn’t realised that she was a fellow numismatist, but she reminded me that she also had a couple of delightfully toned thruppeny bits. She assured me that that her G spot variety was very pleasing for the grade and told me that she was currently keeping it in a tight pocket near the top of her thighs. She also said that the variety was best viewed after a light rub. Now I know the forum’s views on cleaning coins, but she said that it had seen plenty of circulation and further rubbing would, if anything, enhance the eye appeal. We agreed to adjourn to my place for a close visual inspection of the variety, and she suggested low light and closed conditions. I carefully opened the tight pocket and, following clear instructions, proceeded to administer the light rubbing. I found this was best done in a gentle circular motion, followed by more vigorous strokes (clear guidance from her did help). I tried to take some photographs of the variety to post on the forum, but despite a great deal of digital manipulation, they all seem to have come out a bit blurry and damp. Not worth sharing… And so, while she is adamant (indeed very vocal) that the variety exists, I am unable to confirm it, as it was impossible to remove the G spot from its snug pocket. Perhaps it’s a bit like Schrodinger’s cat (or perhaps more aptly, Schrodinger’s pussy). In any event, she says that she has another couple of specimens that she will hold in the same pocket, and will let me know when her husband is next out of town, as that seems to be the best time for her to squeeze me in. I told her that I was nothing if not a keen and thorough researcher, and would therefore be delighted to probe further. Just doing my predecimal duty… 😉😋

At what point do you start to think "it's getting a bit narrow down here"? Lynton / Lynmouth on Sunday.

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