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Yup, madness. I bought the Marshall coin in 2004 and I am perfectly happy with it - £87 delivered. I did have a go at the Lockett piece that was sold recently, but that made silly money,, and I like mine for the quirky shape and outrageously large distinctive tickets that came with the Marshall coins (44m dia).

Tower Mint Charles I, 4th bust, Group D 3a1 penny, mm. pellet/2 pellets (assuming no extra pellets off flan), inner circle obverse only, garnished oval shield with no CR, standard legends both sides CAROLVS D G M B F ET H REX / IVSTITIA THRONVM FIRMAT with single pellet stops both sides. S2846. The bust is not directly comparable with the larger denominations, but broadly follows a style which can be dated 1632-1635, with a preference for the last couple years. It is a single arch crown, but the Gp. E bust typically has a double arched crown and is in any case a very cosmopolitan mix of styles given the introduction of the 'Aberystwyth' bust from 1638. Pennies were struck with pellet(s) as initial marks for most of the reign from 1630 onwards, meaning there is much dating conjecture. Stylistic comparisons seem to give the best results. I will do a bit of digging through Dave Greenhalgh's reference collection when I have time and see if I can find a die match. Chas. 1 pennies are a bit of a b**ger to find in high grade, with yours being a typical example. Lots of mucky detail, but not much really clear. Your best bet for a good penny of the reign is the last bust which crops up more frequently in thoroughly acceptable condition. Typical examples shown of a few busts.

Teeny, tiny, somewhere around 0.25g! You can’t even detect the weight on a fingertip…a miracle they even survive at all in collectable grades.

those must weigh practically nothing

Those are all ones I have sold in the past. I only have 2 hammered (1st issue and portrait) and 1 milled (Briot) in the collection, nothing spectacular, just presentable examples. The first issue is always relatively easy to acquire in reasonable grades, but portraits are a problem. Trust me, for all its shortcomings, the last issue was an upgrade. Briot not included as they are invariably ok and it was too big to add to the post. It is probably more difficult to find a dog than a presentable example of the milled coinage.

I spotted two nicely struck and very acceptable Commonwealth halfpennies at the MCF last Sunday, asking price about £225 in both cases. I bought my own one from a European auction early this year, fully struck up and less than £180. There are nice examples out there but one on a Timeline Auction went for over £500 IIRC. Jerry

You’ve compiled a highly eclectic collection of coins! Great stuff!

I also recently discovered these 2 commonwealth coins amongst my box of Hammered Coins, rubbed but nice to have all the same, ......£737.48 😲 gosh!

wow, I spent ages with Spink, was right at the point of giving it a Group letter.. then discovered no inner circles, were as mine has.......! I couldn't find mm, however I did read pellets and was wondering..... Rob your examples are nice...in typical fashion mine leave a lot to be desired mucky detail an all .... 🤔 however! again pleased I've manged to slot another one in the page of Pennys. many many thanks Rob its been a great help 👍

So one of my other areas is French coins. I love their big silver coins. From 1974 to 1980 (killed by the Hunt Bro's attempt at cornering the market) they had a 41 mm & 30 gram .900 50 Francs coin. I still need a 1979 for that series and was looking on ebay. Now melt for them today is $60 USD and I see one at $72. Ok, reasonable. But bad feedback. Look at his other listings and lots of obvious fakes - an 1812 Napoleon 5 Francs for $65 (!) and even more humorously, a Kingdom of Hawaii 1883 (46,538 remain of 499,000 minted) in seemingly UNC condition. If real, an easy $1600 coin. $65 as well. Yeah, I think I'll get my 50 Franc coin somewhere else... The original I looked at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/800122943117 Clicking on the seller's other items is when the "fun" begins.