Unusual Elizabeth I threepence

[Unusual Elizabeth I threepence]

It was a really interesting evening, Chris Comber gave a talk on Elizabeth pattern shillings as I said. He bought along several coins that were handed around for all to have a look at, none were in protective sleeves or anything. He trusted us all to handle them safely. There were even some gold  coins of Elizabeth, amazing.I wish I had taken some pictures, will probably never have that opportunity to hold so many rare and beautiful coins again.

[Unusual Elizabeth I threepence]

Hi Coinery, Yes I did get to speak with him and showed him the coin . But from what I can remember he disregarded it as anything than just a ordinary 3d . It was quite dark in the room and it was just a quick look without a loupe so not really what I was hoping for as an answer. It didn’t feel right to tell him he was wrong and that he should take a better look, I’m not that brave😁.

[Coin cabinet]

I was speaking with Rob Davis yesterday on the phone about buying replacement felt discs for a cabinet of mine and he mentioned that he is making the cabinets for the Royal Mint.

[Henry VI penny]

Thanks Rob

[Henry VI penny]

Hi, I found this coin a couple of weeks back but have only just recently spotted that it reads Henrics and not  Henricus. So far I haven’t been able to find any parallels and was hoping you guys might be able to help, thanks.

Richard

[On the way back to the car]

Thanks Dave, I was going on the fact that it ends ANGLIE , I can clearly see the E. Withers only shows Henry IV types 3a and 4 ending so . All Henry vi halfpennys in withers end ANGL.. What do you think?

[On the way back to the car]

Couple of hours out detecting this morning until it started to rain really heavy, on the way back to the car a quiet signal had me digging my last hole. Out pops a little hammered covered in sticky mud. Thought I should just put it in my tin and wait till I’m home to see who it was.

Henry IV halfpenny I’m pretty sure, withers type 4. Can anyone confirm, many thanks

[Henry VI penny]

Coin sold for £160, I think my mate, who’s coin it was, is well pleased. The other coin I had in the sale,a Edward IV halfgroat Dublin mint sold for a very healthy £1600

[Henry VI penny]

Afternoon all, just an update on the Henry VI penny . its up for auction in this months DNW sale on 15th Nov . Lot 934. No picture of it in the printed

catalogue but think its on line.

As davetmoneyer said an unknown die pairing. "the exact variety apparently unpublished and presumably extremely rare" is their words. £80-£100

Fingers crossed

[Newspaper clippings]

A couple more

[Newspaper clippings]

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

[Edward IV York mint penny]

Just googled it and yes your right , thanks mate. Don’t know how I missed it

[Edward IV York mint penny]

Thanks Stu , haven’t got my book handy at the mo but did they mint penny’s at York with rose on breast? I seem to recall when looking yesterday I couldnt find one, could be totally wrong though 

[Edward IV York mint penny]

Afternoon guys, can anyone throw some light on this penny I dug at the weekend. I think I can make out a rose on the Kings breast, does anyone else see a rose or something else? The obverse at the crown area seems to be double struck and there appears to be something to the right of his head, which I suppose could be a result of the double strike. Also the mm looks vaugley like a rose. With these marks I can’t pin it down to a specific type. Can you help.

Thanks Richard 

[John short cross penny]

6 hours ago, Guest Guest 216 said:

I am really impressed with the work you did with the John penny that is the subject of this post

Thanks

[John short cross penny]

1 hour ago, Guest Guest 216 said:

Quote: "It would be good to see a picture of your Offa"

For my Offa penny, see here:

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-95356

Very nice and rare coin, doesn’t look to have much wavy ness but personally I wouldn’t attempt to flatten it

[John short cross penny]

15 minutes ago, Guest Guest 216 said:

Richard2:
Thanks for describing your method for straightening the coin.

I like your statement "PLEASE DONT DO THIS ON COINS THAT MAY BE RARE OR VALUABLE TO YOU. " I have a penny of Offa on a wavy flan and have wonder many times if there is a way to flatten it out a bit. Several dealers have told me how to do it (basically put between 2 pieces of soft wood and use a vise). However it is not their coin, and I cringe at the thought that it could be ruined.

 

No way would I attempt to straighten an Offa penny if I ever lucky enough to find one. These early broad flan Saxon coins are renowned to be very brittle . And just heating it is liable to crack it or shatter it. I have two Cnut penny’s that are bent but have so far resisted the urge to try and straighten them.

It would be good to see a picture of your Offa

[John short cross penny]

Thanks Stuart, 

I went up to DNW on Friday to drop a coin off to them, and showed Chris Finch the John coin, told him what I had done to it and he was well impressed, lots of eye appeal ,which is selling well at the moment.

Its gone from a bent coin worth a few quid to something well over a hundred he reckons. Result.

[John short cross penny]

7 hours ago, Coinery said:

Richard, do you reheat them and let them cool naturally after you’ve finished?

Yes ,thanks for reminding me. I should have mentioned that.Heating to cherry red again and allowing to cool naturally leaves the coin in the same metallurgical state it was before you started annealing it. The other thing of course is the coin can/will discolour during the process of annealing. So after you have flattened it to your liking it’s then time to retone to a desirable state. At the moment I’m none too sure of why it discolours , probably due to impurities in the metal or on the surface, mud etc. At the moment, the method I used on the two coins shown in this thread is very simply to put the coin in a small amount of household bleach, just enough to cover it and wait till the coin darkens to a desired colour, usually a minute or two. Wash thoroughly in water and pat dry. Have a look at the coin and decide if your happy with it . Next I wet the coin again and put between two small pieces of flattened tin foil.( shiny side on coin). Hold between finger and thumb for a bit, you should smell rotten eggs(sulphur). Then gently rub the coin, in between the foil still ,in a circular motion. Check the coin to see if the desired effect has been reached and stop. I then put coin in distilled water and using a cotton bud , gently go over the coin to further clean it. Then dry.

Now I know a lot of you may be cringing at my method of straightening and re-toning coins this way and I don’t blame you. The bleach and tin foil method is very basic, and I’ve read it can be/ is very damaging to the coin. There are other methods out there ,and I’m willing to learn. So if you know of another method let me know.

PLEASE DONT DO THIS ON COINS THAT MAY BE RARE OR VALUABLE TO YOU.

please read the disclaimer in the terms and conditions 😉

Here endeth the second lesson.

Richard

[help identifying half cut short cross]

I find it difficult identifying stuff when I’m half cut😂

[John short cross penny]

As I said Craigy  it’can be hit and  miss , I got lucky with those two I think

[John short cross penny]

On 8/10/2018 at 5:57 PM, Guest Guest 216 said:

Would you please describe in more detail the process you used to straighten the coin out? Thanks.

Well I’m still learning myself, maybe I got lucky with the two I’ve put up here but it can be a bit hit and miss I’m afraid. The method I’m using at the moment is a heat source, I’m using the wife’s creme brûlée torch, a pair of tweezers and a bowl of water. Firstly though try and get the bent coin clean of mud using distilled water and cotton buds, if you can run a soft wet cloth between the joint if folded right over. Dry it. Darken the room, this makes it easier to see when the coin reaches cherry red when you heat it. Next I set the flame on the torch, I’m still playing around with that setting at the moment. I’ve read if you have it too fierce it’s not good and that you need a slight green flame to heat the coin. So then using the tweezers pick the coin up and play the flame over the coin from about 3 inches away. Keep the flame moving and don’t heat at one area. When you see the whole coin turning dull red, drop it into the cold water straight away. Now comes the part where it can go horribly wrong, so don’t blame me. I suggest you have a go on some grotty looking hammereds to start with. Then using an assortment of different diameter round wooden sticks like chop sticks or kebab skewers, starting with the smallest first, I use a small wooden tapered wedge, slowly push the stick between the two sides of the coin. The coin should start to part quite easily, if it doesn’t you haven’t annealed it properly and so will have to go back and reheat it again. Basically you keep doing this , slowly opening the coin a little at a time using slightly bigger diameter sticks, each time heating and quenching till the coin is nearly flat . The last bit I put the coin between two bits of soft wood or lead and squeeze together in a vice. And with a bit of luck the coin stays in one piece. 

Here endeth the lesson

Good luck

[John short cross penny]

This coin was folded completely over like the Edward penny in my previous post. Rather foolishly forgot to take a photo of it in that condition and started the process of unfolding it.the first picture is about halfway through the job

At this point I could see it looked to be in very good condition . It was pretty easy to continue annealing and quenching the coin till it was flat. The annealing process did discolour the coin quite a lot so I had to re- tone it. And the result I think is amazing . Moneyer RICARD ON LV class 5a2 I believe

 

[Badly bent Edward I penny]

Thanks Dave, you make it seem simple, but years of studying I presume makes it seem so. Yes really pleased with the way it unfolded, slight stress cracking as can be seen but the Kings head detail must be one of my best Edward pennies I’ve dug.

Spurred on by this success I had a go at another folded penny, this time a John short cross. This one has,I think, came out better than the Edward. I will post up pictures later if I get time.

thanks again Dave,

Richard 

[Badly bent Edward I penny]

I thought I would have a go at trying to flatten a couple of hammereds that have been sitting in my coin cabinet for ages. I brought the coins up to cherry red and quenching to anneal them to make it easier to very slowly unfold them. Here’s one that I’m particularly pleased with. I haven’t been able to pin it down to a class, I’m thinking class 2. Any help would be appreciated.

Richard