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It's got the dropped 90 as per Gouby's book. Nice one.

The reverse is much better - definitely not far off VF

Just received this:

I think you have really dissed the probable best way of saving for old age which is either a personal or works pension , this is really the best way to get a decent return for yourself and help yourself in your old age . Remember the tax relief on contributions which is very generous and also the 25% tax free lump sum bonus at 55 or older. To me the only bad thing about pensions is that you have your best years behind you when you begin to enjoy the defered wages from your youth , which is what a pension is anyway. I am certainly glad I saved for many years mostly in the eighties and nineties . The small amount I saved in the noughties and later have not amounted to much as they have not had time enough to grow. Pension cash beats any saving (Or so called investing) hands down.

Gratifole from the bottmoly heartage Blakey

For what it's worth, I graded the subject coin about VF too - Wayne bought it via me, although it was being sold by someone else - who graded it as VF ! The reverse is sharper than the obverse to be fair, maybe the portrait is only a Fine+ or a "bold Fine". Of course, under the old strict British grading, this coin is only Fine - and if you went back far enough, it would be Fair to Fine, or just Fair to the Victorians. But modern grade-to-market is a lot more generous. Here is a coin DNW graded aVF a couple of years back. It seems similar or worse to Wayne's coin. Also worth noting the obverse die on Wayne's coin is very worn - look at the die break from the portrait to the rim, the extensive signs of die-clashing. Even if the coin was FDC you wouldn't get full portrait detail with these sorts of die states. Having seen the coin in hand, it looks better from the surfaces etc. than it does for surviving detail.

To clarify: List price was £98 plus p&p, but the seller was offering a seasonal 10% discount on all coins so my total, for a very nice good fine Gouby X, was £91. And I still have the one I'd grade fine, also bought from eBay a couple of years ago, for £1.50 inc p&p.

You just got unlucky. Royal Mail don't examine everything that comes into the UK, but on this occasion they chose something of yours. I've probably bought several hundred coins from the US over the years, but I have only been caught for customs duties etc. on a couple of occasions. It's a lottery!