damian1986

Okay don't mean to ruffle any feathers with this one, dealer is UK-based, many of their coins are better priced, seems genuine and am sure a pleasure to deal with. Dealer may even use these forums, but: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221299038370?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT "Slabbed and graded by CGS UK at 85 which equates to MS 65 on the Sheldon scale" and then later we have, "Provenance: Ex-Cheshire NGC MS64 RB" So it's not full lustre and there's a toning spot on the obverse. Ex-Cheshire is about as interesting as Ex-Damian. And it didn't make the grade at NGC. £125?

Perfection!

Anotherbellend.com made it for me 20 minutes of my life I'm never going to get back. I'll never forgive his use of the definite article, however much it sells for. I should register that domain and put something up there. Rubbish journalists, eBay scammers and people who make a living out of being friends with other people. The gutter press. People who use the word "like" as a coordinating conjunction. Ah no I'd have no time for anything else, like, there are other things to do like.

On 1940 how about VF for the obverse and gVF for the reverse? I've never known a grading company grade both sides of the coin but I prefer it when dealers grade both sides.

20 minutes of my life I'm never going to get back. I'll never forgive his use of the definite article, however much it sells for.

How can you have '24 carat plated'? If the 'plating' was anything less than 24 carat that would just mean that the bar had less gold plating. The unit of carat is just a ratio of (mass of pure gold) to (mass of material). This is like saying "the gold bit of this 8 carat necklace is 24 carat".

La Semeuse! A bit of porzellan, get a picture posted Scott? Still not too sure what to do with the notgeld / medals yet probably a small but 'representative' sample, whatever that means.

The darkened post-war pennies are lush and leave my darkened farthings alone

Yes quite a nice one isn't it! The Notgeld coins issued during WWI would have actually been spent but later on they were being issued purely to meet collector demand. The devaluation of the mark 1922 - 24 meant that they re-issued spendable Notgeld but I think that most of this was paper. With this one, yes I think it was just the bank showing off, they also issused silk notes during this period. There's a story about how shoppers would take wheelbarrows full of Notgeld to the shops during hyperinflation only for muggers to steel the wheelbarrow and leave the pile of cash right there. Pretty sure it's bull, but makes a point.

One of the nicer pieces of Notgeld but these were mostly issued to collectors and didn't really enter circulation, unlike the tatty old Notgeld of 1914-1918. Coin written about at length here (and their sample is nicer than mine :@).

I bet this is what every British collector of foreign coinage says to begin with... Liking the Marianne and Marianne-esque coinage you've posted nice theme to run with.

Thanks yes I have a copy of Jaeger. Not that I'm able to sit down and read it casually. It's really handy for post-1871 coinage since all the dealers use the numbers as a reference. It's also really good for doing bicep curls, with Spink in my other arm.

Be nice to see it. Here's an interesting half mark I got my hands on recently. Many of the half marks of 1918 and 1919 were darkened by the mints (geschwärzt) to prevent hoarding.

I've been thinking about buying saflips recently and potentially heat-sealing them. The cardboard 2x2s have riled me lately, one coin's edge slightly stuck to the adhesive, speckles of cardboard, inability to photograph (or even see) coins as well through the mylar screen. For now I'm sticking to the capsules where diamater <= 2mm that of the coin (means not having to buy one of every size at least). I prefer seeing the coins laid out in trays and 50mm per flip means fewer coins per tray.

Schöne patina! Doesn't score very highly on the flash index for sparkle though.

Nice and interesting story behind the coin. These don't seem that easy to get hold of.

I guess there's a good-sized market for coins outside of those who study and collect - for example those who can afford to buy lavish art and then spot this and can't resist: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1899-Great-Britain-Queen-Victoria-Penny-Nice-visible-necklace-on-the-queen-/221165087813?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item337e776c45 Compare the amount of hair in the queen head to see the quality. Take a look at the scans and the beauty of this note will shine your eyes wanting you to own it, nice as good as the the day it was made. Beautiful condition. That note coin isn't really in high enough grade for me though so I'm inclined to buy this more modestly marketed piece: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1899-UK-Great-Britain-Large-VICTORIAN-Penny-BEST-YOU-HAVE-SEEN-/321188574108?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4ac854b39c

Rob yes that example is in my collection... There appear to be nicks to the rim beneath the date too, and I would have thought that they should bring it down a grade or two.

You save: $199 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1874H-Farthing-1-4p-NGC-population-1-HIGHEST-GRADED-AND-ONLY-ONE-NGC-MS65-/321213132944?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4ac9cb7090

There are nearly as many mule 20ps listed as there are farthings. At what point can we replace 'mule' with 'first issue Dent' or something?

Hah thank you I guess it isn't too bad an effort (I'm my own worst critic) but definitely room for improvement having held the coin in hand. As I say the lustre is pinker / redder and I think the shadows are a bit misleading as to where the coin is very lightly toned. Something to experiment with - the link is excellent thanks. Seems to be a wholly hobby in itself I'm going to play around with a few (inexpensive) approaches. Thanks - yes I think some very quick post-processing can make the world of difference and fairly easy to do.

5 over a higher 5. Lustre is pinker than I've been able to capture in the photo. This is my first 'proper' attempt at a photo and not a very good one. Brightness and contrast altered in photoshop. Incidentally did a separate thread for photography get created in the end as I can't find it? Got my eye on a couple of lamps and would like your thoughts.

I've just finished reading an article written by Katherine Eustace entitled Britannia: Some High Points in the History of the Iconography on British Coinage. It traces the history of the Britannia designs and suggests that the designs evolution was greatly inspired by significant social, political and economic factors. It's an interesting read with a handful of plates. So I'm wondering - which of the Britannia designs is your favourite? Britannia first appears in Roman coins. With the restoration of the monarchy Britannia appears first in a medal (1660) and then in a number of farthing patterns.

I have a few problems with this statement so I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. The highest graded coin you can afford may be a 1905 shilling in BU but for what this costs you could pick up every other Edward VII shilling (and probably a handful of Victorian old head shillings) in BU. You collect bronze and copper but would like to put together a set of Edward VII florins for example - collecting only the highest graded florins would be at the expense of adding to your copper collection. Without actually getting your mitts on a whole bunch of coins you're not going to learn much about say, the British Sixpence or some other denomination outside of your main focus