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Arrived this morning (crown)

Finally managed to obtain a choice specimen F148 1897 high tide, after many years of one just eluding me. Private sale arranged with Cooper's Coins before it went on their website. Special nod to Pete for the heads up.

... and this 1925 type 1 Sixpence:

Happy Easter! A very nice example

Here is a nice one, courtesy some years ago of Mark Rasmussen:

My latest sixpence for the collection a 1853 Victoria, superb crisp example.😁 I would grade this as Choice UNC what are your thoughts please? To be fair it does look far better in hand than my pictures show. So far this is my earliest example of a Victorian Sixpence.

I regard this 1849 penny acquisition as the pièce de résistance of my pre 1860 Victoria copper collection. Even though it's meant shelling out a lot of money, it was worth it to get something as nice as this. Unfortunately I'm still having issues shrinking the pics, so obverse and reverse will have to go on separate pages as the lowest I can get each down to, is 287kb, and the max is 500.

And another, this one a little better.

Hot Cross buns one a penny two a penny.

5p Varieties 1969 – 1990 At first glance there does not appear to be much of interest, just a coin with what appear to be identical obverses and reverses. As with all coins that have boarder teeth (bt) or in this case boarder beads (bb), its all about the “pointings”. There are however some interesting obverse varieties concerning the shape of the truncation, which follows similar changes on all the other decimal coins, especially during the period 1985 through 1990. It is also worth noting that the early coins were released before decimalization on 15th Feb 1971, so in both size and style at least, they truly belong to the LSD era. See the Summary and Details section following the pictures for precise descriptions. Obverse 1 1968 – 1977 2nd portrait. Obverse 2 1977 – 1983 Obverse 3 1984 Obverse 4 1985 3rd portrait with a long pointed tip to truncation. Obverse 5 1986 – 1987 Obverse 6 1988 Obverse 7 1989 Obverse 8 1990 Reverse A 1968 – 1980 Reverse B 1972 – 1983 Reverse C 1982 – 1989 Reverse D 1990 Summary and details.

A MAN'S GUIDE TO TOOLS DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh damn' CIRCULAR SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs. HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race. Its best use is for igniting new seat covers. TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminium sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms. PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50-cent part. HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent to the object we are trying to hit. UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use. SON OF A BITCH TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a bitch' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need, and at times must be retrieved from across the road.

Another 1915 halfcrown, I can't resist grabbing decent examples of 1911-19 halfcrowns at a good price

Here's a reply she sent to me last week when I suggested that she be careful not to give it away as it is an extremely valuable coin. "Hello im not going to give it away I don't have to sell the coin if I don't want to I have already asked ebay but I have read about the coin and mum really did live very near to the church and grandad lived at 25 acre road straight opposite the church I was going to do as mum asked but that was before they told my mum basically to sod off but the vicker was willing to stand graveside for 15 mins talking about God for 700 pound but wasn't willing to bless mum in the church that didn't go down well especially when people was still allowed in i was a girl when we used to look for the mice on the furnishings in the church and i know about the penny I looked it up myself but I dont know the authenticity so I can't list it as authentic ebay said i cant but im not about to send it in the post with what's going on there is nothing open thanks to boris and i really won't pop it in the post would you . And mum didnt like dealers So I don't have to sell it if I don't want to mum has other coins gold silver anyway I have to go to work Regards Michelle" This raises various questions, i.a. : - If not using commas was a crime would it result in long sentences? - 'the mice on the furnishings' - Robert Thompson? I wonder if Thompson is known to have made pieces for St. Cross Church? - Is a Vicker someone who is trained to apply Vicks? etc etc

Wife texts her husband on a cold winter morning "Windows frozen, won't open" He replies "Gently pour some lukewarm water over it and then gently tap edges with a hammer" 10 minutes later she messages back "Laptop really screwed up now"

This one just added to my Sixpence collection with nice toning. An upgrade to my previous example I listed recently.

Just found a picture in my archive of another 1917 sixpence which I must have owned (or maybe still do if only I knew where). It's a slightly better strike than the one I sold at DNW.

In that light...

Latest arrival (crown, LIX edge)

Although some consider that most of the 1935 pennies were mint darkened, the evidence shows that the normally lustred type form the great majority. So I was pleased to actually obtain a mint darkened specimen off e bay for the princely sum of just 20p !

Just brought this and awaiting delivery. I wanted to get a an example of the rarer 1912 or 1913. The strike is not great but I think that's fairly normal for that year.

Another 1920 Sixpence, nice example and well struck compared to what I have seen around. This is an upgrade and a keeper for me.😀

Well, here's a pretty good acquisition I think! It is an example of the 1860 penny F15 dies 4+D, but with the I of BRITT struck over a T (or vice versa). Ok, it is a detector find and has its issues, but the base coin is solid enough and not too worn, and the error is clear. Only one other was known, I believe, and is on Richard's rare penny website. Interestingly, I can confirm that actually it is the modified version of obverse 4 with central cut fishtail, which also would appear to be true of the one already on Richard's website, but not sure if this was observed at the time? Pictures below (and in next post too...) and feel free, Richard, to add them to your penny site. Not that I would ever contemplate selling it, but what sort of value might it have given on the plus side its rarity, but on the down-side its overall state??