Diaconis

Using military grade search engines I was able to find this photograph of Numistacker on the dark web. Look out for him at your next gathering.

He does seem pretentious to say the least. My objection to slabbing and TPGs has nothing to do with my wanting to deceive someone for personal gain. It's the other way around IMO. I'm sure they would assign grades to grandmothers if there was a market for it. "Mrs. Edna C. Dutton. b1931. XF45, cleaned, wrinkled, spotting, titanium hip"

Davies, pg 17

They did indeed Peter, and there was me thinking I'd caught a glimpse of the Emperor with no clothes. We live and learn, it must be very expensive to polish dies these days😉

1/4 oz gold for +£1,600, did i read that correctly? Not my field of interest, seems like more of a bullion coin to me, i must be missing something🧐

So true, hope the price isn't astronomical

"Cast" your eyes over this ... £2,450 "No silly offers, serious buyers please"😂 https://www.ebay.com/itm/1658-Shilling-Oliver-Cromwell-1662-1816-Nice-Grade-Rare-Shilling-Coin/123679397647?hash=item1ccbddd70f:g:W8QAAOSwtM9cgOta

I had a wise landlord from St Lucia and one of his favourite sayings was “ya gotta hit it or miss it”, he wasn’t a numismatist and neither was he referring to coins but it still resonates with me in the wider context 😉.

Apt use of the middle English there👏🏼 😂

@Sword certainly is a beauty.

Very nice, i look forward to see his work

Going up a notch, King Edward VIII gave to his first mistress Freda Dudley

Looks great, i like it. 👍🏽 Logical to just replace the dial. I was thinking along the lines of those $20 gold coin watches where the whole watch movement is encased within the coin.

I hope he installed a movement 😂 Would like to see a photo of the inner gubbins if you get chance. Is the edge of the coin intact and movement mounted within or is the coin reduced to just the dial face? Mechanical or quartz?

Yes, the exact type, well spotted RCL35 Here's mine, it's still got a little luster around the periphery.

This is very interesting, thanks Gary & RCL35 for your comments. Below is an un-barred 'A' example I recently purchased and it appears to be centred between the lighthouse and the inner rim and more of a larger letter 'type' A when compared to the smaller 'triangular' A on your example which is contiguous with the inner ring. Gary's example appears to almost touch the lighthouse if I'm not mistaken and it too seems more of a triangular 'A' in shape.

Hi Garry, With regard to the ‘A’ variant, are all varieties unbarred? thanks Paul

Poor chap murdered for a 'haul' of Beatrix Potter 50p's, what is the world coming to? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6718067/Burglar-32-stabbed-coin-collector-death-stealing-rare-Beatrix-Potter-50p-pieces.html

or as dangerous as playing russian roulette, but then again, 5 out of 6 scientists say russian roulette is safe.

Yes, Peter, Eddie was a fine maker and created many wonderful items, I spent valuable and enjoyable time in his company.

Another of my pastimes /obsessions is conjuring since I was about 10 yrs old. Years ago, I asked someone I trusted to make things for me but he started making them up himself and selling them under his own name, water under the bridge now, but he did (and still does) make a lot of money at my expense. So, I decided to teach myself and purchased the contents of a clockmakers workshop, lathes/milling machine etc in order to make my own tricks and devices. Without giving too much away, there are a LOT of tricky coins out there, most of which remain in magicians hands but they occasionally get spent by mistake, you may have ended up with some in your change at some time and wondered what the heck it was. Double-headed coins, coins that fall apart and have another coin inside of it etc, etc. The variations are endless. Back to the thread, the graining on the penny looks like it was done to give better grip when executing a conjurers sleight called a coin roll-down (google it) where the flat edges of a penny would not ensure enough grip. I've seen several of these in the past, made for the conjurers of old. They are, imo, worthless. In the photo below you'll see some I made for that very purpose. Grained on a milling machine equipped with dividing head set at 2-degree intervals to give 180 grooves. (Btw, the silver coins are Morgan silver dollars and the copper is a fantasy piece).

Indeed. His ANTIQUE ENAMELLED 1866 VICTORIA FOURPENCE / GROAT is definitely Arts and Crafts revival and well worth a look. Astounding what can’t be done in your kitchen with a dremmel and an oven.

Biggest scam going in the numismatic world imo. Some years ago I purchased a Cromwell halfcrown graded NGC AU55. In the same auction was another graded PGCS MS62, it had attractive toning but was obviously worn and scratched. The AU55 example was in far better overall condition, under graded and without scratches or wear but not attractively toned. I purchased it for less than half the selling price of the other. It was no exception either, I regularly see such anomalies. On the one hand you can find bargains and on the other hand some people may be in for a shock when selling. I always liberate the coin and almost ceremoniously destroy the grading ticket. Sod their population reports I say.

Rob, Fr. Rude was a sculptor (4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) so it won't be him, unfortunately. Just completed a scan of Van Loon and did not find a reference to Rude or Ruud the Coyner either, the search continues...

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Beschrijving_van_Nederlandsche_historie.html?id=aRPtdIxD3-0C&redir_esc=y