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I woke up this morning thinking about this coin, which I have had tucked away for a couple of years. The Swan (or |Goose) dollar was designed to be a candidate for the new Australian decimal coinage, but was rejected. A small number were minted by Pinches in London, and they are now quite collectable. Unfortunately there are now quite a few fakes out there. I found this one in a local auction and paid a fair bit for it as I recognised the rarity, but I got it on reserve as no one else bid. I am fairly sure it is genuine - I saw it when it was brought in to the auction house in a tin with a few other random British and foreign coins from a house clearance. Here is the Numista page on it: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia78083.html And the linked information on identifying fakes: https://www.australian-coins.com/collecting-coins/1967-australia-1-dollar-pattern-crown-goose-dollar-90-silver-copy-coin-counterfeit-fake/ I know we have a few Australian contributors on here, so I would be interested in confirmation that it is genuine, and some indication whether these are still sought after or the fakery has killed the market for them?

One possible explanation could be that the letters in question have been re punched to hard , which would result in a deeper indentation into the die resulting in a bigger wider and longer letter . I have seen this on the date digits on some of the Victorian pennies. Im sure I have a picture some where , I'll see if I can find it . Note the 9 in the two date examples below

Ebay is virtually dead these days. Nobody is willing to pay good money for good coins. On a personal level, I will only spend money on something decent if I know the coin, or is a particular seller I can trust. I put things on that are dirt cheap with a smattering of higher grade things, but the latter rarely sell. A couple of quid here or there is less of a problem, but don't expect bargains. From a sellers perspective, a few quid for something worth a few pence is a good margin, which is why I persist. If you bought the same from a dealer, you would still have postage costs, so nothing lost. TIP. Don't assume dealers are trying to rip you off and charging over the odds - that's ebay area of expertise. Do a lot of spadework and you will see that many are quite reasonably priced, and despite the apparent attraction of ebay's buyer/seller protection, like any insurance, the proof of the pudding is when you try to invoke the protection. It might work. Though to be fair, ebay's policy of buyer good, seller bad, means relatively little hassle for buyers. Any respectable dealer will offer to take returns in a reasonable time frame, allowing for people going on holiday, but to say you don't want something 6 months down the line because you just found better is likely to be viewed as tough shit. Responsibility/respectability is a two way thing. At the end of the day, most people on this planet are decent and honest, so don't lose much sleep over it..

It is unlikely that the issue would be with the master die, but it is possible that a working die was repaired either with fractionally larger ‘I’ and ‘T’ punches though I think die repairs with correct punches very slightly misplaced could have a similar effect. Jerry

Where do we start! I have given up buying or selling completely on Ebay. The coins I still need are all rare dates or varieties, which makes the chances of fakery or fraud very high. For low value items, it is probably still useful, or if you spot a rare variety that the seller has missed. I suppose my main thoughts are: If it is high value, assume a fake unless you are absolutely certain. Do your research. Check sold items - a tick box down the left of a search list. This will show you the actually sale price of recently completed similar items to give you a good idea of real value. (Sadly this does not include "best offer" sale values.) Research the seller. These days it is almost impossible to leave negative feedback, so the overall score is irrelevant, so check the actual words left by buyers. Also check that the seller has sold plenty of coins before with feedback. Someone who usually sells household good and suddenly starts listing high value coins is a worry. Check sellers location. Anything far eastern or Eastern Europe is a worry. Read the words the seller has attached. Often these are clearly AI generated or stolen from some auction site, in which case you know it is a con. If still uncertain, ask on a forum such as this.

Hi All. An elderly member of our club who is not in the best of health has given me his collection of threepences to sell in order to raise funds for his not very well daughter and a potential move to sheltered accommodation for himself. It goes from Charles II onwards, but don't have images as yet. If anyone is looking for specific dates, please drop me a line and I can sort out something. Not all dates are there, particularly the earlier pieces, but a fair number are are in collectable grades up to EF & UNC rather than the usual Christmas pudding grade. Ta.

If the signature is on the bust they are Obverse 2 if the signature is between the bust and the border teeth its Obverse 4 . They both appear to be Obverse 2's. Obverse 3 is same as Obverse 2 but the colons after D are in line with the border teeth and the R of REG points between two teeth

Die fill to the ‘0’, commonly seen. I still suspect that the dot is corrosion given its lobular shape and adjacent surface granularity. But a definitive answer could only take place under a microscope or by finding identical duplicate coins. Jerry

The 8 looks like it has a part missing, the shield looks nice, 👍

This looks to me like a corrosion product dot rather than a die issue. Again, better pics would help. Jerry

We really need much better focussed pictures I’m afraid to make a valid judgement. The close-ups are great and show a variety of die repairs - very common with these early bronze- but you need to take clear full resolution pics of the coins and shrink them with a program such as ‘Irfanview’ to get them to a size below 500 k suitable for posting. Good luck! Jerry

Congratulation Paddy, it's a very very good find, I wish I can find the same in auction or elsewhere at a fair price too. By comparing your pictures with those in link provided and also discussion in another forum and taking into account toning and minor rim nick, I think it's likely a geniue one.

Charles II 4th Bust Crown 1679

That sounds a good possibility. You quite often see 1866 pennies with the final 6 appearing larger. Jerry

Indeed, just damage / gouges, either deliberate or accidental, and associated metal displacement - see how the H of Half and N of Penny have also "grown" extensions to their limbs. And the gouge in the field below the H has resulted in a raised "hook" at the end of the gouge. Glaciologists would call it terminal moraine !!

Classes 1-10 are Edward I. Neither are class 15d (Edward III), so 11-15 would be Edward II.

The first is a Henry III voided long cross vlass 3b, moneyer Nicole on London. I think the second is a class 10 Edward I penny of London.

Neither are class 1a. The obverse legends put the first in the range 10-15 and the second In the range 6-13. Both are London mint.

Very interesting - could you post full obverse and reverse pics please.

No, repair is never done at the mint. It's much less hassle just to strike another piece than to repair.

The 1914 is AVF/GVF, the Gothic is GVF minimum, IMO.

Just love the cent

My shilling. I think what drew me to it at the time was the portrait. It got over shadowed when I eventually bought a Milled Briot Sixpence.

Portrait is fairly flat, which is typical. Is there any trace of solder from a suspension mount on either side or the edge? Spink ticket and price suggests it will probably be in the Circular, but when? I'd have to plough through them to find out. I can't see any case for it being a touchpiece, as these were typically angels - the combination of saint and king provided the cure and/or protection . The milled Charles II touchpieces were produced later than this coin FWIW, this is my 3rd issue shilling. Again, flat in parts, though the portrait is above average.