oldcopper

Just checked - the 1919KN actually went for £1600 hammer (September 2016). It looks a lot more lustrous in the picture than when I had it, may just be the lighting, and the distinguishing spot/stain on the reverse identifies the coin.

My mail sent before I'd finished, don't know which button I inadvertently pressed. Anyway, the vendor will probably put it in the next LC sale where it may well go for a good price. From recollection, I sold a 1919KN to a dealer (the one ex CC's Workman Collection) a couple of years back and it ended up in an LC auction, it didn't sell, but realised £1500, above estimate, in the next, so that shows the fickleness of the auction world. Also, someone should get a prize for transforming the horribly verdigrised proof 1868 quarter farthing in Pywell-Philips (Lot 831, £150 hammer) into the almost unrecogniseable coin (Lot 796) sold in this auction (£550). I'd like to know their secret!

Surprising for the 1827- I would have thought LC was a shoo-in for people paying silly prices for key dates, though it wasn't as good as the one they sold in September.

The 1827 was even more of a bargain in the Spink Pywell-Phillips sale when it went for £850 hammer. Someone looking to make a quick profit, perhaps they'll be slightly disappointed.

Sadly I realise it probably doesn't exist but just having a happy thought it might turn up one day! Perhaps some of these vanished varieties were made but disappeared through time. It's a shame the Royal Mint doesn't seem to have many records apart from yearly mintage figures from the early 19th century.

I'd love to see that 1836 penny footnoted by Peck (or was it Bramah?) as being in Australia "on good authority". Let's hope it wasn't a small silver one!

I went Saturday - never as good as the first day of course. The number of times I heard "that went yesterday" when enquiring about a coin.....I lost count! Still, I did pick up a nice one so not a wasted trip. As for the eye candy.......

Most of the auction stuff (apart from the RM decimal gold) came from a collector who seemingly collected mainly from Spink about 20 years ago, Their SNC and auctions had a lot of good silver back then.

OK, poor sap! Well, until it's slabbed as PF66 and sells for $6K!

DNW sometimes put in a minimum bid for a non-starter (ie put a bid on it themselves if none other is forthcoming), so possibly no-one bought the 1860 F6a proof penny. I know this because they offered me a swap for a coin I bought a few years ago (someone else had put in a considerably higher max bid on the internet but their computer system had missed it - oops). Anyway, their offered swap was a "discounted" coin that supposedly sold at their auction the day before. Fortunately I'd paid for the coin by then so I wasn't tempted - their swap coin was not very tempting either (a corroded tin farthing), discount or no discount! Probably most auctioneers do this - I knew LCA did.

I agree - but I think it looks more worn if there is lightness on the high points and is often graded accordingly.

Thanks, that's a new one to me. Perhaps a facet of US coinage more than here?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by die-adjustment strikes - is this double-striking?

If the worn high points are a different colour, it's "wear". If they've toned down to the same colour as the rest of the coin, it's a "soft strike". So I think in many cases it's a load of blarney - I don't think in many cases anyone can tell the difference, especially, say, of early copper. Anyway, to me it's academic, the coin should be graded in relation to a really good example, whether it's thought of as soft strike or worn. Same standards should apply, they're both a weakness and result in a bad appearance. Unfortunately, in the slabbing world, I don't think they've come across many really good examples (I'm thinking of 17th C copper here). That's why you see eg Charles II halfpennies, graded VF here, getting MS grades over there. In the case of weak areas on otherwise strongly struck coins, again this is a grey area with some people taking it into account more than others. And don't start me on tin! My advice is, find an example you like, and pay accordingly. Due to all the variables, the assigned grade can be somewhat random. I've seen examples change grade markedly over the years, and from the same dealers as well.

It should be 5%. I did manage to reclaim it a couple of years ago when Fedex mistakenly charged 20%, but it took some time. You've also got to insure the shipment yourself if you don't want to take the risk.