Martinminerva

I cannot easily make any judgements or spot any distinctive differences about the hair to shoulder for the two reverses - I'll leave that to you with two more photos, reverse G first, then I. The sea/rock line is the diagnostic for me. But you're right that reverse I is considerably rarer and quite an underestimated scarcity in my opinion. Happy to help! PS another diagnostic is that both arms of the H of Half point to spaces on Rev G and beads on Rev I...

Definitely reverse G. Easiest way to spot is the sea meeting rock level at the extreme left of the exergue. On Rev. G it rises up slightly and does not cross the linear circle. On Rev. I it is pretty much level and does cross the linear circle. See enlargements below...

See it just sold for £189. Way too little if genuine, way too much if a copy 😳. I know which way I'd tend to lean and think that someone isn't going to have such a merry Christmas... If anyone here bought it, and it turns out to be fine, happy to be proved wrong!

I am VERY suspicious of it. There are an awful lot of modern copies of this and other rare date coins out there these days and would always want proper provenance or a dealer's guarantee or willingness to take returns if I was not able to see the coin in hand. This seller, I see, won't take returns and that just doubles my suspicion. Coins like this really need to be seen in the flesh by experienced eyes - one cannot tell a thing for sure from photos and so personally I would avoid...

I have two specimens of 1874H Reverse I for sale on eBay, finishing this afternoon (Sunday 12th), if anyone's interested! One is a F69, 6+I and one a very worn but even rarer F76, 7+I. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?item=284552412594&hash=item4240a53db2%3Ag%3Ab44AAOSwRephqPIj&_ssn=1970kit&_sop=10 No bids yet!!

Bid £800 on Lot No 2148 - hammer price £800!!! I won two of my five bids at - guess what - my maximum bid price!!

Not necessarily... !

It looks like a 13*, let's see the reverse ! is it J, K* or L ? Definitely not 13* or 13# then - back of bun and TT in BRITT wrong (see Mal Lewenden's pic below). Also, don't think it can be 13 as the visible berries are the same size - markedly different on 13, but same size on 11 and 12 as was pointed out above. Colons a fair shout, though, and not sure I can explain, unless wear or re-entering could account? I'm still going to plump for 11...

Oh, that wasn't long, then... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255237698933?hash=item3b6d5a3575:g:5VYAAOSwyLZhf~do Oh, and yes, there's a lot more balderdash to go with it!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255221659808?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 The listing has been ended due to "an error in the listing" 😏 What, only the one?! Any bets as to how long it will be before it gets relisted along with some more cock and bull ?!

What is 13* and its reference? Not Mal Lewenden's 13# ?? (Now 2 known, I understand). The latter has the two Ts of BRITT touching. For me this is obverse 11, but willing to stand corrected with further info on 13*... I agree that the reverse and date would be good to see to help tie it down!

Yes - all the watchers will have received this "offer" of a 90% reduction!! But in her blurb she bangs on about not accepting £720, and her dad not accepting a £300 offer from a dealer originally etc etc. From an £8000 "bid", down to a £3000 Buy it now, down to a £300 offer.... All this proves that she knows that it's all a load of b****cks. I'm going to wait until she has dropped to £3 before making my purchase... About the scrap value of the silver and bronze in the pile 😏

Here's the latest addition to her balderdash... "I''ve been messed around once and cancled it the second time this is the last time I list them dad was offered 200 for them by a dealer he said no then 300 he still said no and was asked to leave them with him. That one he did refuse. Now the first time they hit 8000 By a bidder then the second time a freemans..1 bidded 720 and I cancled the order sorry I won't take 720 for them when the coins hit 8000 pound so im now listing them at a buy now price because dad suffers from PTSD it ain't doing him any good and the coins are a total pain in the seating area. and me and dad wish we didn't find" Apart from her poor use of English (and what on Earth does she mean by a freemans..1 ? Maybe an 1860 penny 😏), who does she think she's kidding? There's only one person who's messing around! "This is the last time I list them" - yes please! At least that'll be one fewer nonsense listing to wade through when looking for interesting stuff. Somehow, though, I don't think this will be the last time she lists...

She must be losing her touch. "Only" £720 this time, less than a tenth of the previous "sale".🙂 Any bets on if it will reappear yet again?!

And so the silly bids (or non-bids, or more likely shill bids) start to roll in... Looking at the bids and feedback scores of the bidders, clearly some are the same as last time, including a suspicious "private" bidder. Smells decidedly of fish, methinks...

It certainly is, and quite a find - well done! (The easiest identifier is the less bulgy forehead than obv. 15) The condition is smashing too! I believe this might only be the fourth known? Is it yours? An eBay find? Hats off to you!!

I have done another one of my image plays as best I can, making the image a negative and tweaking a bit, and I think one perhaps can just make out vestiges of the LCW (ringed in red in the top image), plus the lighthouse top also does look way too sharp. Non-inked negative image also attached so you can form your own opinions...

Whoops! I meant to say a bog standard F29 6+D of course!

Glad it's not just me who has serious doubts over this. I considered posting a similar query when it finished; over £300 for what I believe is just a bog standard, if nice, F33, 6+G. Like you, happy to be proved wrong if the buyer can post better pics (the eBay photo is properly poor), but I think two potential buyers have convinced themselves this is something it isn't... Where's the narrower helmet to plume gap? Where's the little vertical extra bit of dress near Britannia's shin? Where's the rounded lighthouse top? Etc etc. Or are we all missing something else??

Is that not the same coin as the London Coins one?? The diagonal scratch from north west to south east from the exergue line above the second 8 would suggest so...

I'd not seen that - many thanks for the link. Really interesting.  Richard Hear, hear! Thanks for that link. I shall print it out and store it in the back of my Peck !

Had a bit more of a play using the original London Coins image... There does seem to be something there, even though I agree it's not conclusive either way. But I wouldn't be happy to have paid a large sum for it. My money would still be on removal or die fill.

I thought these were a famous Peck "miss" ? Certainly not in his original book - 1882 he logs as numbers 1726 - 1729 and all have an H mint mark. Or did he pass comment in a later work??

I agree that this is NOT a no ' H '... If one inverts the image to a negative (often a good way of revealing hidden detail) IMO there is a definite vestige of an H - either removed or not struck up well due to die fill. Does anyone have pictures of the two specimens @VickySilver mentions above? Surely VF condition would be good enough to be conclusive?

So, currently at £620 with a day and a half left... A fool and his money, eh? Or is it deliberately being bid up with no intention of paying?? ETA: just gone up to £940 in last two mins since posting... The world is mad! EETA: and now £3000 in another two minutes... I despair...