Prax

I heard (rumour????) about an Indian eccentric who is bidding on some rare Indian coins purely to ensure he is the sole owner of some of the major rarities (supposedly the reason for bid war in LCA about the £700 estimate gold coin). Once he accumulates all known specimens of a rare variant he destroys all but one in a public showing. Things like this make me feel great sticking to GB bronze wherein the most scare bits hardly ever make it to the high 4 figures. It's still a lot of money for someone like me pursuing a hobby whilst clinging on to 9 to 5 job; but at least I get the odd rarity in my possession once in a while.

Acquired this today from Stan http://i.imgur.com/aHP4RXx.jpg http://i.imgur.com/YzKsH4d.jpg Also was happy to meet some of the veterans from the forum today including Mike and Dave at LCA.

H He must be from the future where inflation has caused a Churchill crown to sell for £ 600. That said he must be a good few 1000s of years from the future. Some people ehhh.

wow some copy that.

I seem to like Spink grades. According to their book the coin have to be close to MS 70 for them to be classed as UNC but our friends from across the border equate the MS 60s to UNC. So if the Spink auction house grades a coin as AU then it is perhaps already past the MS 60 grade of NGC or PCGS. I hope I am making sense here

True I have come across 3 1953 mules now.

On the first coin more than the die pairing the thing that intrigued me is the F over P on FD. I am not too sure if I mentioned it yet but the only chances of a R18 are with the third coin. It is slightly shameful but I purchased the coin through postal bid from Croydon Coin Auctions lot 278 - Auction 2 of 2011 as a 5+G (£ 126 + £7). However I think it is a 4+G. I still have the invoice :-) and it shows the perils of not researching well and that you can't trust even auction houses to be spot on with their descriptions. Some coins they sold to me as AU I found I would perhaps pass of of GVF at most. I hate to name people or organisations but I have had my fair share of being duped (accidentally or intentionally). Looks like most people are happy about how auction houses grade their coins while selling, so hate to be the lone voice against them. The third coin is testimony, that said I got the first coin for £ 22 so I guess I have had luck as well. Has anyone come across a F over P on FD on a 4+G please?

Cheers

My birth year... Yay!""""" Somehow I thought you would be in your early 40s :-)

We will know tomorrow but I am with azda.

1952 Penny

Reading some posts on this forum while chewing on your dinner can prove to be a choking hazard

thanks both

Cheers Gary

coin 1 http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#vn6PR6C http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#mwDCYMg coin 2 http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#p4PL08T http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#I2Fa0x6 coin 3 http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#6KvpUuJ http://imgur.com/a/ZCV1M#74hZyiK Many thanks.

coin 1

I am not able the add the pics so I will start a new thread. Nice coin Loose54 congrats.

I suppose I could add my 1861 pennies to here. I got 3 pennies one I purchased as a R18 3 years back at Croydon Auctions lot 278 since putting the coins in the same pouch I am having trouble identifying which it is. I have attached the 3 pennies that were in the same pouch. I hope you can help identify the varieties for me. I have very little experience with 1861 pennies. Many thanks in advance. Admins if I used the wrong thread apologies, I am still finding my feet here. Regards, Prax

editing

I would have sent it to the mint to confirm. Their service is free and impartial. If it were real and a new variety then imagine what you have missed. I would be skeptical on ebay but when I have purchased it as genuine from a reputed jeweler or from an auction house that listed the coin as genuine and I still have the receipt (so many ands), I would have taken a chance. As with the reputable dealers you can go back with the receipt and request an explanation :-)

Dear Kiva, During my early days of collecting I have purchased similar coins. At times I have also come across early pennies that I have detected and are of similar condition. I too assumed it was a problem with the minting process and I sent one to the mint in Pontyclun for an explanation. What they said was corrosion due to environmental damage. It is strange somehow these coins that reach the earth's crust corrode unevenly and form small lumps that swell in time and give the coin a look similar to raised dots on the surface. Sorry to give you the bad news but we have all been there. I would are not satisfied I would recommend sending it to the mint. Even if the mint do recognise it as being a fault with the platchet or say it is a raised dot the value of the coin wont appreciate over £ 2. Goodluck with collecting

Is that a detecting find? Some detected coins have sand grains that lodge themselves into the coin. There are other raised dots on this coin close to the Britannia's legs. Nevertheless something to look for in the future. All the best.

Fair point in any case I don't have 5 coins in the $ 3000 region that need grading and the other benefits are perhaps not worth the extra money forsomeone like me. I will settle for the lower membership tier. This is the very reason I thought I should ask someone.

Uh, surely you mean they charge you $40 for each of the first 5 coins and then however much per coin the the normal rate is after that? What are the benefits of membership? The entitlement to spend money with them? http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/benefits.aspx I feel it is actually better to go for the $ 249 tier because you can grade 5 coins upto $ 3000 each, which would itself cost $ 35 each as opposed to the $ 19 coin each for grading coins under $ 300 http://www.ngccoin.com/services/services.aspx#world

Scuse my ignorance, but what on earth is that? It is a measure of eye appeal that is it is an indication of whether a coin is RD (red), RB (red brown) or BN (brown). I have noticed that a coin that grades for MS 66 BN sells for almost the same price as MS 64 RB or a MS 62 RD. Now you can see why it is not just the number but the eye appeal quotient (you got to love Yankee terms) as well that matters