coinan the barbarian

I assume it has the London 2012 Olympic logo stamped on it. Spinks quote the mintage as 95000 Thanks for the info on mintage - much obliged

Hello again after a long absence. My main interest is British Decimal coinage and being a bit of a completer I have been acquiring (as and when funds permit) the Celebration of Britain: Mind, Body and Spirit series of silver proof £5 coins. These are the ones for which the RM charged £99.99 when they were first issued and can now be picked up at around £20-£25. I recently picked up the 2010 coin depicting the River Thames with the quotation "Tameless, and swift, and proud". According to the Royal Mint and the London Gazette announcement this is a 2010 dated coin. Mine is dated 2009. First question - Has anyone else come across this incorrect dating on this or any other of these commemoratives? Second question - Does anyone know what the mintage figures are across the series? Thanks for looking, and hopefully replying, your interest is always appreciated.

The 1996 movie "Jerusalem" is set in 1903? Or this, taken from a review of the same film : "an exploration of how human passion can ebb and flow and turn bitter in the face of "divine" pressure" Your passion as it ebbed and flowed after input from Forum "Gods"?? Totally wrong! I will put you out of your misery. In the film Kingdom of Heaven, Balien of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) on meeting for the surrended of Jerusalem and safe passage for the citizens, says to Saladin (Ghassan Massoud) "What is Jerusalem worth"? Saladin replies "Nothing" and as he walks away, turns and says "Everything".

Hello again, just to respond to Gary who asked about some weights of 1876H pennies. Just checked out my scales again by weighing 2 x 2011 1ps. One came in at 3.52gms and the other at 3.58gms with the Royal Mint desired weight of 3.56 this would show that my scales are still OK. So the 1876H Wide date which is only Good Grade is 8.32gms and the narrow date which is Fine is 8.95 gms. On the subject of coin catalogues/price guides - because I am collecting for my grandchildren's grandchildren and because I enjoy it, I felt that I needed a cheap point of reference around which to collect so CCGB was the choice, along with Check Your Change. I have no pretentions that my coins are worth megabucks, but I need to value them somehow for insurance purposes and so I keep a spreadsheet with the usual, I presume - condition, variety, etc and a valuation date and amount based upon recent ebay transactions (the true value being only what someone will pay for them) often this is in excess of CCGB or CYC but nevertheless a valid method. Only when I can not find a recent (12 months) transaction will I resort to using price guide valuation. I also record the source so I know where I am. If I ever come across something really rare or something for which I haven't a clue, I'll take a better picture - God how I hate cameras - and talk to the Forum Gods, thrones, powers, archangels, angels, heros and anyone else with an opinion (Thank you all so much "and I really mean it friends"). The black 1903 thingy is now on the spreadsheet without value but it does have a note of "Jerusalem" next to it. If anyone can guess why it says Jerusalem, I will send them the black 1903 thingy to keep! Clue - I also enjoy films. Garry

Are we talking pennies here? The 1876H is commonly the narrow date variety, whereas the wide date is quite rare. Hi, Yes (silly me), we are talking pennies. I thought it was the other way round from referencing "Collector's Coins", but thanks for the update - I am happily corrected. So the one I had originally was the rarer one. Bitten on the bum again! The wide date is G to F and the narrow date was at least F so a slight diminution of overall worth. The ebay purchase was still a bargain but less so than before. Thanks again, Garry

Thank you all for responding and especially to Rob who has given me that which was sought - some idea of variance percentages. I will now record my EF-ish black thing in my collection as a possible underweight flan and look for another 1903 specimen. Thanks for putting up with an old newbie. Just as an aside - Ebay bargains do come along more than once. I have just picked up a 1876H narrow date (definitely at least fine condition) in with a load of other Victorian coins which although most of the others are at best fine, they fill gaps (and I'm a bit of a completer). I'm doing the lottery this weekend on the basis of luck coming in threes! Thanks again for your help on the "black thing" subject. Garry

The blueish tinge was also in the air after the 93rd setting of the camera with no instructions! But I got there and sometimes small is beautiful or at least I consider that picture a minor personal triumph, though it is nowhere near the magnificance of azda's accomplished work. So next question, O wise ones, what are the weight tolerances for minted coins or more specifically, does anyone have any idea what they were in 1903, based upon personal experience, anecdote or fact? I presume that they were more tolerant in 1903 than today as the technology wasn't around to pull out the underweights either pre or post production through automation - don't know if automated weight checks take place today, but it would certainly be possible - so, I am guessing that quality control on weight in 1903 probably came in the form of bulk weight (bagged) within tolerances rather than individual coin weight. Potentially, there was no post production control, only pre-production. All comments most welcome! Garry

Hello again, Tried the scanner to no avail, but managed to play around with the camera and came up with this one. All advice and comment gratefully received! Garry

Hi Again, It's me after a minor rant - put it down to a bad hair day - funny how you spot all of your typos when you are much calmer. First, let me apologise to those I may have offended. I used to moderate a couple of lists on Masonic jewels (medals) and Masonic ephemera and when I made a point about newbies and what they look for, I had returned to a previous life. I should have also looked at the advice being given - mea culpa! To answer one question about weighing, I used jewellers electronic scales and weighed an EF halfpenny which hit the right weight before weighing the dreaded underweight black thing. To answer the question about comparison with the excellent BU photo posted for comparison, my black thing is just as detailed and without blemish as the BU but it is matt black. So - I am going off to learn to photograph coins with my cheap camera and hopefully will post to this thread again with a decent picture. Thanks for the help so far! Yours, no longer grumpy or self indulgent and looking forward to participating further in an excellent forum, Garry

Hello again, Thanks for the help and advice. I am more than happy to go with the ultrasonic bath and keep the coin as a filler until I find a valid replacement. I didn't join this forum just to get cheap shots about my photography or about my ability or not to grade coins or to get values for "rarities". I joined for advice and perhaps even a little hand holding and mentoring from experts. When you next chat to a self confessed newbie I would advise some of your expert just to remember where the newbies are coming from. Perhaps one more question on this thread - how did the mint blackening process work? I have been unable to find anything on the net about it. Was it a heat treatment? Best regards, Garry

Hello again, I have already apologised for my photography and sadly this was the best I could do. The coin is NOT corroded. Every hair on Edward's head and beard is visible, every fold of cloth on Britannia, etc, etc. From my knowledge of acid treatments in another field, it would have destroyed features as well as the body of the coin, I believe. I also have to consider one other aspect - why would anyone deliberately acid attack and then blacken a 1903 half penny? By the way, my definition of EF was taken from Collector's Coins and maybe I am interpreting the English incorrectly, but I think not. So back to the original question, or rather shall I pose two new ones - 1. Do underweight coins slip through and are there any records of such for Edward VII half pennies? 2. Is there any record of a 1903 half penny being blackened at mint? Any help would be grately appreciated

Hello everybody, I am a relative newbie who picked up the following coin in a small collection I purchased. It is a 1903 halfpenny, in EF to Unc condition (some small scrapes on the rim) It appears to be blackened at the mint. Really superb condition in every respect. BUT it is underweight at 5.21gms rather than the 5.67gms. Diameter is spot on at 26mm. I have attached an image, but it's not brilliant and I have had to play around with the contrast to make anything visible. Your views as to its validity and even its worth would be most welcome.

You are too kind!

I understand where you are coming from with the micro varieties, but for me it's so easy to spend some retired time sifting coins and if they will make a bob or two for the grand childrens grand children when I am long gone, then it will have been worth it. I was a coin collector many years ago but had the uninsured (couldn't afford it) collection stolen and I can't afford to invest heavily in all of those William IV shillings and some lovely hammered pieces, any more. So this is the nearest I get to former glories, but I enjoy it nevertheless. If I can pick up the odd bargain at boot fares or even on ebay I still do, but I am limited to just that - boot fares, ebay bargains (very few) and coins in circulation.

Many thanks for the help. I like the 20p as a coin for some obscure reason, and I have lots of varieties/errors including the extra 1 or i, the queen's mole on her face, the lion's knobbly knee above and the knobbly knee below, but my flabber is ghasted because I have never encountered a small head 1992 20p! I'll just keep on looking.