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Hi Mike, A quick scan through those 76 images indicates to me that about half were rubbish / very low grade, but there were about 10 in VF or even a tad better, and there were 2 that looked in very collectable better grade. I attach those images fyi

For anyone who is interested in Victorian Young Head penny sub-varieties. Yesterday I managed to acquire an upgraded example for my 1857OT Gouby Style B (Narrow Date). I knew this sub-variety was very difficult to locate, so I decided to update my ‘5 year’ statistics (all ebay YH listings). Some may recall I shared these on the forum about 6 months ago when there was a discussion about different numeral 7 fonts, and the rarity of the ‘long 7’ type of font in particular. A close up of Gouby Style B is pictured below, together with the revised stats from my ‘5 year’ study period. On this date style the numerals 5 and 7 are very close, and both exhibit repairs which can be seen under the microscope, but not so clear on the poor reference example on Gouby’s website. The stats show that I found only 15 examples of this particular date style, making it far rarer than the ‘long 7’ Gouby Style E. For comparison, during the same period I found 76 x 1856OT’s, 59 x 1853PT’s and 50 x 1844DFF’s. Now I need to just move on 20 years and find a few more narrow date pennies!!

When that supposed 1841 No REG Colon Proof sold at London Coins in 2009 I noticed that the obverse had some interesting features, in that the top bar of both I's in VICTORIA, and DEI, were very weak to the point of being missing; also the C of VICTORIA had been repaired. It made me think that the coin was perhaps NOT a Proof. Picture below refers. I have an example with exact same features in my own collection, which I can show tomorrow if anyone wishes to see. I would also sell my coin to anyone who wants it for far less than the $6.5K that Heritage sold theirs for in 2017.....and perhaps even less than the £900 that LC sold same coin for in 2009! 🤣

No problem Mike, glad to help. It's always difficult deciding to part with one of your nicest pieces, but when you sell to someone who you know will cherish it then that always makes it much easier. I am constantly under pressure to sell my collection rather than leave it one day to those who will not understand..........and probably sell for a fraction of what they are worth!!😨

I have a lower grade example of the 1854 No Colons for sale, which can do for around a third of what Mike paid for the above coin. PM me if interested.

That's a very nice one for a spare Richard!! 😁

Forgot to mention all 4 sets of Colons also same positions

Full pictures of my own coin for reference:-

I'm sure Jerry's is a 4/3, and also think it's probably from the same die pairing as my own example.............even though the hair is not as good on my coin. I think I can see that on the obverse there are legend similarities for example the numeral are all identically positioned in relation to teeth, and there is a small protrusion above the I of DEI:- Whilst on the reverse there are similar protrusions on the 2ns N of BRITANNIAR and the G of REG. The following pictures refer:-

I would appreciate input on an invoice before I settle please. I seem to recall there was another thread which discussed Customs VAT regarding purchases from abroad but cannot recall if there was any outcome. I recently won a lot at a Stacks Bowers Hong Kong auction. I immediately settled this about 4 weeks ago, and the lot was delivered by Fedex about 2 weeks ago. The original SB’s fees were bad enough for a lot with hammer of just $110, but when I received yesterday another invoice from Fedex for £43.29 on top of the original SB bill it was a complete shock. I have never bid with SB before now so wondered whether any member may have had a similar experience and, in particular, whether I should be challenging this Fedex invoice rather than just paying it and then trying to forget. Any thoughts would be most welcome thanks. I have written to SB but as yet no reply. The calculations are as below, hopefully make sense. I should add that this was for a banknote, rather than a coin………if that makes any difference to the VAT

Thought this would amuse. I sent off form BOR286 to the Revenue, as suggested by Pete in a separate email to me on 30th May 2020. This morning, almost 3 years later, I get a simple reply as per below, referring me back to FEDEX!! The attachment to their reply shows that they received my request on 8th June 2020. GREAT SERVICE FROM CUSTOMS

Might be able to help you with the F78 Mike. Thinning down the collection, and got a good example of ja reverse on my 1875.............so guess that'll do for my needs. My F78 is aUNC with some lustre. Email me if you want to consider buying.

Spinks e-auction now online and a couple of their penny descriptions aren't brilliant either..... including a far better than usual 1854 No Colons, Bramah 17a.

Again unimpressed with Noonans penny descriptions:- Coins and Historical Medals (4 & 5 April 2023): Lot 499 | Noonans Mayfair

Looks like he's taken the trouble to type up a Certificate of Authenticity.... so it must be bona fide....or maybe he's just going to put it in that lovely box when the coin changes address (COA).

Could anyone advise tax position if I were to win a gold coin in a USA auction please? I. E. Will import tax be payable, or is gold treated differently to my previous bronze / copper purchases? Thanks in advance

I was the under bidder, so won't find out for sure this time

Thanks Rob. It's a 1996 coin 99.9% gold (1000 minted) with bullion value approx $1600. Sounds like it should be zero vat then, do you agree?

Was it on ebay Richard?

I never knew that Dynamo collected pennies!! Victoria, 1862 Bun head Penny, 2nd portrait - VF, Obv #6..................[5632] | eBay

Hi Pete, I saw that one and was a little tempted but decided that, as I already have 2, I would give it a miss. You are right that it is a type that was seen more often 10 to 15 years ago than it is nowadays. I ought to do a count of the Bramah 26a's from my 5 year study period covering that period; hopefully will get round to it one day, but haven't done too much work on 1858's yet as just so many coins and loads of varieties!

Weather is a bit of a shock to the system this week, especially after the amazing Summer we had! We've had cavity wall insulation installed, have a wood burning stove and solar panels, and a smart meter to guide us with fuel usage. We also had a 3 day break away this week (with heating just on a low setting), but still managed to clock up £80 for the last 7 days.......here in sunny Bournemouth. Anyone know where we went:-

All very interesting..... but ebay's best offerings? 😁