blakeyboy

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bic-Crystal-Ballpoint-Medium-Point/dp/B000JTOYLS Wonderful.

So much clever shill bidding goes on to achieve exactly that. Very sad.

I was going to comment on how I hate all the 'made for profit' rubbish that various mints churn out, but then I decided not to.

Only ever seen one- in a group of hi grade 20th century pennies, years ago, on ebay. I left a high bid, but was way off.... I'd leave a bid massively higher today. 20:20 hindsight......

Well, the first one is very familiar to me - my workshop is in an old cowshed, on a farm still fattening steers..... The second one, as used in coins, I couldn't find...Oxford, Cambridge, Macmillan, not even Merriam Webster or Funk and Wagnell...where is it from? Why 'cud'?? It seems to be an Americanism primarily.....

Pardon my ignorance, but I see this word sometimes on US sites- what is a 'cud' ? I suspect it's just a die break fill, but i could be miles off.. Is there a simple British equivalent word?

Well done. I found the 1944 in good nick way more elusive that one would think.... Wonder why?

Can anyone explain to me why, with silver at say 11-12 quid an ounce, this coin is called bullion?

I think you've got s point there....

I can see your point, but if you have a pile of anything that has rocketed in price for _any_ reason you have gained enormously from business practices that you feel are a 'bit sharp'. The same has happened in my field of old audio/studio gear. My stash of old gear went up in value more than I earned last year, because of crazy dealer markups such as above. However, would I follow the 'sales weasel' approach of some audio dealers? No. I like my customers to like me, AND pay my bills. but that's just me. It depends on your level of psychopathy. Many of my customers are now good friends and still dealing with me after 30 years etc. Does this still make 'sharp' dealers 'wrong'? Difficult.....

I came across the word 'gruffalo' for the first time on this forum....... I still have no idea what one is. Not that I care....:)

Oh- and if anyone wants to try this- start with the right coin. The edges on this were hard and relatively intact. This is a good starting point. If, however, the coin is a green detector find, you can often see the edge crumbling. In the cases, the bronze has converted down, so underneath there is nothing. Even if the condition look EF, you touch the surface and all the detail vanishes. The 1908 had crud ON it, not IN it......:) Innit?

Well, it was that rare and cheap I felt like having an experiment- it couldn't get much worse!! First thing- heated on a steel plate till 200˚C plus, when the carbonate changes to dark oxide, which is mechanically softer. When it's up to that temperature and the colour changes, the coin is dropped into cold water. The thermal contraction shock makes the black layer fall off. Soft copper tools are then used which won't touch the bronze underneath at all. I have copper brushes made from fine multistrand electrical cable, and stubborn spots can be flicked off with a tiny copper chisel made from a piece of copper wire with the end sharpened to the right state. If needed, contrast of the high spots on a flat looking specimen can be achieved by keeping the coin in your pocket for a bit! And voila!! I know it's all bit past what people like to have happen to any coin, but it was a satisfying experiment- if it was the only F164A I had, it would be in the collection filling an expensive gap......:)

What I meant to say was that these high thumbnails appeared at the same time the zoom box went odd...

This is what was under the crud- still a horror... That auction is odd- I've told the guy that he's already sold it but he isn't listening....