jelida

The 1934 went to a phone bidder, who clearly rated it. It did have quite a lot of lustre, but was quite streaky, perhaps due to uneven exposure to the toning solution during the artificial toning process. The halfpenny was again nice without being exceptional, so at about £300 inc juice was a tad high IMO. My only purchase was an 1886 penny to upgrade my current, nicer in the hand than the pics. The 1918KN with the verdigris made a couple of hundred less than when sold as part of the Elstree collection, despite quite successful removal of the verdigris in the interim. I suspect that sometime in the future it will be sold without the past damage attracting mention. Jerry

Tough luck Brian, but well spotted, far better condition than most. I totally missed it, otherwise it would have gone even higher! I always check the 1911's that pop up on my search, gonna have to work out what happened, as it looks clear in the pics. ☹️ Jerry

Is there evidence of the defective '4' punch being used in 1845 and later, or does the upper serif return at some stage? A return of the serif might reinforce the likelihood of a broken punch replaced, rather than deliberate font change. Jerry

Ah, of course. But receipts would not be very helpful anyway, unless to be insured on the basis of price paid, rather than current value. They would not even be definitive evidence of ongoing posession . Best an independent current valuation from an expert, or a photographic record with agreed value logged with the insurer. With regular review. As stated above, the collection may not merit separate insurance. I would get a decent quality safe, however, as a minimum. Jerry

I would say that from a numismatic point of view it would only make much difference to a coin that had previously been part of a well known or important collection, where the name might have attracted a premium. Knowledge of dealers who have handled the coin would make very little difference in the vast majority of cases, so I wouldnt lose sleep over the lack of records, though most of us would keep an acquisitions log or ticket note to keep track of outlay as well as provenance. Jerry

Thanks Pete, arrived safely this morning, very pleased to have it in my library. Jerry

What Pete says is right, buy the coin first on its merits, not because a dealer is 'recommended'. I have had several great bargains on Ebay, not surprisingly from inexperienced sellers rather than knowledgable numismatists. But of course there are risks, look at sellers other items and feedback to guage whether they are honest, and know your subject - if you dont, there are many fakes out there to fool the ignorant. What might be more useful is a list of Ebay sellers who are to be avoided, but should be created in the 'members only' section to limit public access. S*x*y would be top of my list, most of you will know who I mean. Jerry

Me please Pete, if still available. Will pm. Jerry

Drat! Missed that one! ? Jerry

It is on your site Richard as one offered on Ebay in 2015 I think. I bought it slabbed from an Ebay seller in California after negotiating a reasonable reduction from his initial price. I think I need to update you on one or two though, I will check and email in due course. Jerry

Needs a close-up photo Scott, but good luck! Here is a pic of mine for comparison. Jerry

I dont think the 1 need be re-punched, providing the impression on the die was deeper than that of the die clash. An interesting coin though, I've not seen one as dramatic. Jerry

What do members think of this guys stock? Some of these look iffy to me, the coins and most of the artefacts. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hammered-Sceat-Silver-coin-with-CROSS-Ancient-ANGLO-SAXON-circa-680-720-AD-/152183888123?hash=item236eddd8fb:g:px4AAOSwdzVXmQn2 Is this another Saxby? Jerry

Found one in 38 1964 pennies, but none among 39 1965's .

If it is a striking issue, it will probably be found with other dates. I will check more of mine. Jerry

Is this collection for you, as a hobby and pastime, Pete, or just to put away and forget, as an investment? If the former, the world is your oyster and buy what you like. Personally I like a well documented series where there are plenty available but also great rarities to be sought. Larger silver would appeal if I had the money, or gold hammered, wonderful. Or with beautiful designs and the hope of finding something new, maybe Celtic or early Anglo Saxon sceats. If for investment, whatever top quality material ticks the rarity , provenance and visual appeal boxes, less of a challenge as there is always something about if outlay is not a big issue. Go to a fair and have a wander. Good luck! Jerry

The alloy of the planchet 'flows' into the die under pressure of striking, and sometimes the high relief of one side draws more metal than the other side, weakening the strike on that side. In this case I suspect that the alloy has not 'flowed' fully into the die along the exergue, a slight differential being due to some alloy 'flowing' into the date digits causing even less fill locally and giving the wavy appearance. The digits might have appeared sharper and narrower ( ie greater depth, with the slight tapering of the section becoming manifest ) had the die been fully filled. The finding of coins of intermediate 'waviness' might support this, if the appearance is due to to a (variably) reduced striking pressure. Possibly. Jerry

Metal flow issues are all part and parcel of striking a coin, and strange effects do occur with some die combinations, take 'ghosting' on the earlier George V pennies, for example, an issue that took the mint years to resolve. Differing die striking pressure and therefore 'depth' of strike would also cause different patterns of flow and degrees of die filling. Under the high powered microscope this does not look like a sharp, re-engraved edge change to me. And the digits do not actually seem larger, though if they had been, the date digits could easily have been inserted a fraction of a millimeter lower in the exergue when preparing a working die from the master without the need to re-engrave the die. We would really need an opinion from an expert at the mint to clarify what might have happened here. Jerry

I have been through my curry container of 52 1963 pennies this morning, and only found one with an exergue as wavy as Terrys. However there were four more with 'waviness' distinctly greater than the norm, but less than Terry's one. I wonder whether this appearance is due to differing striking pressure, which might also fit in with the less sharp digit tops, perhaps with a degree of metal migration into the high relief shoulder region of Elizabeth's portrait on the obverse? The concavities of the exergue on mine do seem to be associated with some loss of definition of the edge. I dont really see it as a re-engraved die, but what do others think? Jerry

That's a weird one, Terry, I wonder how that arose. No other differences to be seen? Jerry

True, and I was taking Europe to include the UK, as it will continue to do despite Brexit; it is the European Union we hope to leave, tectonic plates are altogether more stubborn. Perhaps if we also left the European Court of Human Rights and repealed the associated legislation we could start to deal with the undesirables currently acting with impunity within our borders? Jerry

Very sad, and I'm glad you're safe. Assuming he was not an Islamist, but a disturbed youth, how does an eighteen year old get hold of a gun? Unless legally held, which I presume in Germany is unlikely, he must have made an effort to source one which implies a level of planning. I dare say in time the influences and pressures he was subject to will be known. Whatever his motivation, the fact that he is perceived as of Middle Eastern origin is not going to help community relations and the immigration issue. And I am afraid that Europe probably has more mass shootings,killings and bombings to come. Jerry

What date and reverse is it? It does look like obverse Gouby E, which is Freeman 3. Whether rare or not depends on date, whether 1860 (common) or 1861 (very rare). Jerry

That is very convincing, Ian, could well be the same reverse die after repair. And super close-up photos. Jerry

Colon after DG to gap, brooch complete....looks like an F13 to me, but a really nice one! The reverse die filling is interesting, would be nice to tie it to a repaired example, but would probably need die cracks etc to demonstrate continuity. Jerry