Paddy

Wives or coin fairs?

Yes please Pete! I'l PM you... Paddy

Or Lead? They look a lot like the lead seals that have been in the ground for a long time...

Welcome to Predecimal Coins! The 1852 Britannia groat is the second scarcest of the regular Victoria groats (after the 1853). Loking at recent sales online I guess yours would make around £200 - one sold at best offer under £220 on Ebay recently in slightly worse condition than yours, and there is another for £200 "buy it now" there at the moment. (This one is better in the reverse than yours, but worse on the obverse...) In the end it is what someone is prepared to pay, which depends on how bad they want it.

I agree absolutely that they have interests far beyond the internet, but they still see themselves as above the law! You only have to see their attitude to paying tax - if they stumped tax commensurate with the business they do in the UK we would go a long way towards bringing austerity to an end.

"Publicity" is the key. Ebay, along with most of the Internet giants (Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google etc) see themselves as above the law and routinely ignore national governments, let alone some small academic group. Bear in mind, through Google, they also have a stranglehold on online media. What might get their attention would be publicity outside their control - a BBC expose on something like Watchdog might get their attention as this would knock the confidence of buyers and so their revenue stream.

I picked up this with a few other coins during the week from a non-coin auction. These are not my area - anyone with thoughts/comments as to whether it is right or not? I don't know any markers to spot the fakes with these - I just feel the metal is a bit too bright to be silver, but I may be wrong.

Hi Will, OK - I got it through google searching on "id occulte fere" in quotes - only three hits and two refer to the Americn Journal of Numismatics. This is number 1: https://archive.org/stream/AJN1896Vols31to32/AJN1896Vols31to32_djvu.txt and then if you do a search on "occulte" within the page you will find the article. It is very disjointed - I am not sure of the context, but definitely implies an inscription on the edge. Another thought - if you do a translate on "Fere id Occulte" you get "Mostly within herself", which could also be "Mostly hidden in herself" - which seems a fairly Freemason/Knights Templar sot of motto. Good luck!

I am also getting other translations: "This almost to herself" and "ie almost to herself" which fits better with the motif.

Is there anything written on the edge? I have found reference in the American Journal of Numismatics online where they were discussing any Masonic relevance to a very similar medal, but that had "john broadley ld elect may 1" engraved on the edge.

Unfortunately I think the RM has caught the disease from the numerous other "numismatic collectable" con merchants out there. I was called to a local shop yesterday to help evaluate a coin collection someone had brought in. My heart sank as I spotted a box full of leatherette cases from a range of the usual suspects. The usual cons: "Gold" coins that are actually layered, "limited editions" of 10000+, "collectables" that are anything but. The unfortunate owner had paid out over £8000 over a number of years as, he thought, an investment. He had sent them to one of the posh auction houses in London (I don't know which one) in expectation of a profit - they had returned it - "not interested". Hence he had tried his mate in the antique shop and I had to break the bad news. There was some gold - the world's smallest gold coins collection - and some silver (Olympics ingots). The bulk was base metal with gold or silver plating and the hideous coloured enamels. I believe he would make less than a tenth of his investment back. I left with my blood boiling. Surely it is time some ombudsman got onto these racketeers?

Once upon a time First day covers came out only a few times a year, were avidly collected and were deemed a reasonable investment. Then they started producing more and more, increasing the value of the stamps so that one could easily spend £30 or more on a single issue, with sometimes a dozen issues in a year. Unsurprisingly people got p*****d off with it. Now pretty much any first day cover from the 60s onwards can be bought at auction for an average of 50p each. Nobody wants them! If you speak to the stamp dealers at fairs, they won't even buy them - they have attics full of stock they cannot shift. Killed the goose that laid the golden egg...

With the increasing plethora of off-kilter stuff the Royal Mint is producing I have decided to restrict myself to coins from circulation only. I feel I am being taken for a mug when they bring out more and more outlandish products at exorbitant prices. I think they are in danger of "killing the goose that lays the golden egg" in the same way the Post Office has killed the First Day cover market.

Yes - you need to have a minimum of 30 posts before you can post or reply in the For Sale section. Says so in the rules in the thread pinned to the top of that section.

Maybe, but I suspect as you have had it graded, the price will be too high for me. I am always short of money, but I do a lot of scouting for bargains! Graded coins are not my thing really - I prefer to be able to handle the coins and make my own mind up as to how good it is, not have someone else tell me.

Good - we have some common ground. I don't do the gold but otherwise milled British coins as far back as I can get. Are you looking for any in particular? Quite a few people here have spares if you tell us what you need.

Welcome @Platinumskies1 ! I am not on any the other places you mention - what coins are you into?

I think the thing that gives away the value changes since then most is that Registered Post was only 3/6 - 17.5p in modern money! I think the other coin that must have been very much top whack back then was the 1904 Half Crown for £140. Even in EF that seems a lot and not far off what you would pay for one now.

As you know, I am no expert at these yet, but it looks right to me. Interesting that the H seems to be offset to the left - is that a regular occurrence?

Very nice looking coin! I downloaded the images and blew them up. I think I see traces of yellow overlaying the coin - particularly to the right of the reverse, which is what I would expect to see from a thin layer of varnish on the coin that had mostly been cleaned off. I guess that was what the seller was describing? If so, Acetone should certainly remove it, but you might want to be cautious in case it changes the colour balance of the whole coin? If the varnish used was very old it might have been shellac, in which case alcohol should remove it too - surgical spirit is what I use.

Hi PNMY, welcome to Predecimal coins! I can't say I know the answer to your query - it took me a moment to work out what your query was. I certainly know nothing of the William Booth forgeries you mention. I have one dollar of my own, pictures below. I believe this to be genuine, and the leaves at the top of the head do point slightly to the right of the letter E above. Does this help?

I can let you have Aquatics, Athletics and Badminton for face value plus £1 for postage and packing, if you are interested?

Could one of you experts on halfpenny varieties help me out with this? I have a very nice 1799 Halfpenny, but wehn I count the gunports I always come up with 7 relief - whereas Spink lists varieties 6 and 9 relief, 5 incuse and a couple of plain hull. Am I misreading it, or are there more varieties than Spink lists?

I am pretty sure these are brass gaming tokens of the mid 19th century. Designed to look like the Gold guineas of the late 18th century, they regularly cause confusion! There are collectors of these, but not at great value. The one on the right is particularly nicely struck on the reverse.

Welcome to Predecimal coins! I can't say I can help you a great deal with the coins you describe, but hopefully others will chip in. Being a mainly British coin forum, I suspect you won't get a great deal on the Libyan or Korean coins here, but the Australian ones will probably work. A list of what you have from Australia would be a good start, with pictures to follow if they sound good. Good luck!