1949threepence

Keep your fingers crossed. I'd love to see the look on Arsene Wenger's face if Town beat them

Thanks Peter & Declan. I take on board the point about over grading, and the photo problems.

Can I just add that I never knew about the pre 1881 convex shield on bun pennies before I read Derek's book. Indeed, all the advice on the bun obs and revs have proved incredibly useful for me in judging the grading of these pennies.

Thanks chaps ~ very much appreciate the input & advice. I'm 50/50 on whether to take a chance on one of these

This isn't so much of an e bay laugh, as an e bay query. There is a seller called lucido 8 who currently has some nice buns on offer. He just sold a very nice looking 1869 for just over £500, and has a superb 1874H narrow date. The only thing that slightly disconcerts me is that all of them (apart from one or two he's had for sale longer) have a strongly reddish look, for years where you might normally expect a very dark appearance once the lustre has died out ~ such as 1871, for example. Can anyone account for this appearance ? link to the coins lucido 8 has for sale

I think that with anything new there is a learning curve, often a steep one to begin with, but hopefully I am starting to get there. I am trying to look at as many coins as I can, in as many different denomonations and in as many different grades that I can. That way I can hopefully start to attain the knowledge that I will need to have when considering my coin purchases. I think that at some point in our lives we will all be burnt in one way or another, but hopefully by learning what I can and if I continue asking the questions that I need answering, the blow will not be as severe as it may have been. It is a steep learning curve, initially. But if you have always been interested in coins, you learn very quickly, and almost get an instinct for what is genuinely good stuff/dross, and can see through window dressing very quickly (usually anyway )

As a penny collector, I find it difficult to counter that argument Another horrendous thought ~ although I kind of see what you are getting at, Colin.

They are quite tatty but still good value. The £65 one is the 1960 edition. And pretty ropey as well. 2nd ed. 1964 is the one everyone wants, and they rarely go cheap. There were others that were second Edition that were less than £100, someone must have grabbed them already!! I'd like a Peck, but they are horrendously expensive, and if you don't collect or deal in pre 1860 copper, you can get all the detail you need from Freeman, or even Gouby.

That was my initial thought too 1949. I found the design to be reminiscent of the £2 trial issue. I actually really liked the design of that coin. If I ever find a set for the right price I think that I will purchase it for my collection. Exactly my thoughts too, Rob

I agree with you, Rob. I much prefer the Mary Rose. It bears a slight resemblance to one of the original template £2.00 coin designs from 1994.

I think that in 50-75 years time we will have seen a catastrophic failure of a sovereign nation, so a question such as the one you pose, probably will get lost in the wider scheme of things. From an economists point of view, I thought the most fascinating act in the first round of the credit crunch a couple of years ago, was Russia's genuine offer to buy Iceland. It was rejected by the international community, but it does illustrate the way the future superpowers of the world are thinking. Can you imagine the implications of the UK going bust and being bought by, say, India ? You would have to say that we are sitting ducks - we must be quite attractive in terms of potential savings/profit that a competent regime could bring just by running the country efficiently and effectively in a way which we are no longer able to do ourselves. What a horrendous future shock scenario. I sincerely hope that never happens and that we never ever lose the pound.

What a pity they're not all shown on the website. Although I'm not desperately far from the location of the auction, I really wouldn't fancy travelling there in this crap weather.

There's always one !!!

I agree with you in terms of WW1 silver strikes being relatively weak. When I was in the midst of assembling my shilling collection, I found it literally impossible to get specimens from 1915 and 1916, with decent hair detail ~ despite the fact they were otherwise totally BU. Yet I have BU 1912 & 1919 (either side of WW1), with fantastic hair detail. I'm sure there are examples from those two years with good hair detail, but I never encountered them. There are some very honest dealers on e bay as well. Indeed, many double up as non internet dealers, and/or internet dealers totally independent of e bay. That said, you're right in that dealing with e bay sellers, can be like dealing with pirates on the high seas. Some absolute gems exist out there, which can be bought for next to nothing. Conversely, there are those who will employ all manner of trickery to sell you a coin that is much poorer than made out. The point you make about a no quibble money back guarantee is a very valid one. We must be especially wary of the traders who have a "no returns" policy. You will actually get to learn quite quickly, Rob, the pitfalls you need to look out for. This is particularly the case with a series you have been collecting for some time. Occasionally, you will get burned, but with experience, the bargains you get will more than compensate for the losses.

It's possible, yes. Unlikely, I admit, but possible. Maybe I'm too much of a "dream on" type of guy

Very interesting. Thanks for that. Who knows what delights might be discovered in such a box.

Thanks for that, Rob. I'd bet the vast majority of people had absolutely no problem at all with the changeover. Obviously the media then, as now, honed in on the few that did, to make it look like a potential problem area. No scanners in the supermarket then, I noticed. Just the girl on the till ringing up each item on a cash register.

As far as I know Scott the Royal Mint started to circulate the new 2012 Olympic Commemorative 50p issues in the past month or two for us all to collect from our change. As for the 2011 date, I think.- Although I'm not exactly sure on this - That they are all dated 2011. Very interesting. First time I've ever known the Royal Mint to issue coins of a given year, in advance of that year.

Yes please peeps I have many thousands of coin I wood luv to sale.Email me at benttwat.com Best reply I've seen in sometime, Peter

Welcome to the forum, Jay. Sorry to hear you had to sell your original collection. From what you say, it sounds as though you are looking to collect coins from each reign, rather than a date run ?

Absolutely fascinating insight. Thanks Hussulo

I have managed to obtain three of them in my change to date. I have also noticed that on each of them that they all have the 'Scuff Marks' that you mentioned 1949. In particular on either side of the Queen's head, but also above and below the Rev design image. They do seem to follow a pattern and I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed this. I'm wondering if this is something to do with the minting process itself? Or perhaps it is to do with the way that the coins are transported? Maybe they are 'Rubbing' against each other in the rolls? I have enclosed some images for comparison. Thanks for that confirmatory info, Rob. Until I read your post, I wasn't sure whether it was just my individual coin, or a pattern. I had half suspected there might be a pattern, but now I've seen yours, I'm certain there is. Indeed, the scuff marks are in exactly the same positions, sort of North East and South West. As to what's causing it, well I'm tending towards the cause being due to transportation ~ "rubbing" as you indicate. I don't think it's the minting process, as such marks obviously won't be present on 2009 BU or proof sets. No marks on the reverse of mine.

They seem to be don't they. I received one, which looks like it might have been busted out of a proof set. Not sure. It also has scuff marks to either side of the Queen's head. I'm looking forward to knowing what the mintage actually is. Unfortunate.

In addition to the excellent & very comprehensive reply supplied by Peck, I'd also add that die problems lead to some coins showing evidence of a poor strike in certain areas of the coin. For example, I've got a near uncriculated 1885 penny, which shows Britannia's fingers as a worn down blur (ie: no fingers visible) and an 1891 penny, in which the "9" in the date appears to taper off to nothing, long before it should. See pics.

Anybody received a 2009 Darwin £2 coin in their change yet ?