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A nice penny from Ebay, 34 Euro including postage. Considerable residual lustre that doesnt seem to show in the pics - nicer in the hand! Jerry

Hello. This 1954 unique circulation penny was recently sold by Bernie Workman through Sovereign Auctions. In November 2024. I saw some speculation on this forum as to who the buyer might be who purchased this penny and a number of the other pennies at the same auction - and whether it may have been bought by an American investor. (I think it was someone called Secret Santa asking). Well i can put your mind at rest that i am neither American nor an investor - i am a private British collector who has specialised in primarily bronze circulation pennies for over 50 years (though i do now have quite a nice collection of copper pennies too). If you had designs on buying it you may actually have preferred an investor to have bought it, for as a collector i virtually never sell anything, and this penny will hopefully not be sold again or seen again, apart from being able to be viewed over the internet. I do believe that i have probably the finest collection of bronze pennies in the world (including the museums), though one or two of you may challenge that assertion, but my collection also includes one of the only 2 available 1933 circulation pennies and a host of other R19 and R20 pennies. Although i don't ever sell any of my coins as a rule, i am more than happy to share the collection with you through a link on here if anyone is interested in viewing it. Just let me know.

And I was surprised to spot this in a little tub of coins in my local auction at the weekend; somebody else must have too, as it went for £170 plus commission. But a bargain I think. Jerry

Can anyone please help with identification of this coin? Which king? Sorry for the blurry image, not my picture!

Looks like you can remove the coin without damaging the packaging. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167290014615?_skw=george+orwell+error+two+pounds&itmmeta=01JK6HTM6SF8PWAP23PB3D4C89&hash=item26f3430b97:g:5M8AAOSwASpnn3WI&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmvTe08BLcsHHmGCpGTD%2BuUgbAY4b0hCorVBKIHtlRdqKNfl9%2FgXD3anlOI5CVpSWF2ZLtxaEWs3jIISlK0dJaaR3%2FutQb%2BzHCRVHkmw8pKA1L%2BHnexk6sdCapAZS99KsD3uymK1ZGEg%2Bo4FWcB1MLwt2yAtoQt6Rz5WZ6QyuKjM3nz6rVLbj3pTDxyjxIW%2Bym5oagHxRlViyCOsIDNJ7Qu6BPdrDj6twE--RioTDKlRghIQ%2Fp18ahNhbpuZ4wk62iZEIMumH9KlhMWqKdkZVCyk7JSjcxMlq7FDU3tyc8HuWOeVT1MFgW8RkQrbkFo0fk%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8LD6tGZZQ

They were two good buys Jerry, well spotted 👍.

Wow, that's a lovely looking coin and from my finds impossible to imagine these found in such a great condition. thank you for sharing this so impressive to see, Thank you for pointing out the "C" Chester Mint, which is interesting to be able to discover more information from it being so worn out. Looking into this further the William III is 25mm across.... A Shilling I think is right.... once again many thanks for all of the input. Rgds "H"

If the coin was minted a few years earlier, then how about: "Doublethink is useful during Partygate"

Sure have to love Scottish denominations ie 40d. Largely a result of debasing the coinage and then revaluing it. England was fortunate that debasement only happened during the reign of Henry VIII - and the crown went back on the sterling standard early in the reign of Edward VI. In Scotland debasements started late in the 14th century and continued right up until the reign of Charles I when the currency was brought back to a fixed standard of 12:1 or briefly 13:1 during the late 17th century.

Just a note on contemporary counterfeits - they were made to circulate and not fool future collectors - as noted above the penalties were stiff if the forgers were caught. Any counterfeits found in circulation by the authorities would have been destroyed - as a result forgeries are often quite a bit scarcer than the authentic coins. During Queen Mary of Scotland's reign French troops were billeted in Edinburgh - it is believed they were the guilty parties forging low value 2d coins ie bodles with bronze instead of billon as the authentic coins. The forged coins are quite scarce but have a history and are worth more than the reasonably common authentic bodles.

Its quite a common thing to put a mixed lot on ebay mostly rubbish with a gothic crown fake, or Edward Viii penny in a prominent position to tempt the unwary - no surprise its happening in car boots now as well . They always state "No returns"

yikes as scooby doo would say

You just have to look at the coin to see it's not been hammered ,its totally centred just like hammered coins never are, the details are to sharp and there are no week spots on hammering - unlike any genuine hammered coin..

Agree with the above. The details are too crude and deep.

Agree with Copper.

Looks like a fake to me , sorry..