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And may you all have a healthy and prosperous new year . Terry

I took this pic- got a T adapter so my telescope became my cheap camera's lens. No tracking, quick snap, no stacking software to build up the image. Even though it's not up to the standards you see a lot, I'm chuffed I caught the fact that Jupiter is striped! No moons visible- had to stop it right down...

I often get asked how hammered coins were made (beyond the 'hammered' bit), so put together a quick, light-hearted step-by-step guide. Thought it might be handy for those new to the field. Step 4 is by far my favourite.

Hello, New to the forum, Ive been interested in a multitude of items over many years and now I have time on my hands so need to play catch up as time is catching up on me as well. I've had a stroke in April 2024 and need to keep my head working as some time its broken. I have a collection (of sorts) of coins and will show and tell what I can remember, a few years back a pile of worn out silver ones were sold for scrap and a bought some others to replace these. many thanks for adding me to the forum I really need a new this in my life now, all the very best "H"

F176

I thought I'd share a couple of rather nice rare finds . Both the rare 1913 mules. F175 below

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

Not oft are medieval mints still around that minted coins during the hammered era - here is an example of an Irish penny from King Edward I that was minted in Reginalds Tower in Waterford Ireland. Reginalds Tower Waterford

Ditto to you all. My 2024 wasn't good, and this Forum helped a lot!

I have now got hold of one of these, in pretty presentable condition too, and can confirm the high final 6 and a date spacing of perhaps 10.75 beads (definitely narrower than Gouby BP1866Aa.) Interestingly too, this one has a dirty big die crack through the ship - maybe that's why the die was discarded soon on and not many specimens escaped?

I sometimes wonder whether, if I won the lottery and bought a big pile of rarities at an auction, which lets face it, is rather easy to do, I would get half the pleasure that I get from finding a worn rarity at the bottom of an old tin of crap like has happened on occasion...... ...and I can show off the found gem on here, instead of just hiding a pile of expensive bronze in a bank vault where no-one can see them.....

Have been looking for a decent one of these on ebay for years. Have only seen a couple of lower grade ones, and I'm thinking the variety is 'rare', rather than 'scarce' as per Gouby.

Hello! Ooo, that looks bad doesn't it. Same happens for me from the main predecimal.com root (without /forum/ etc). Sorry for being slow with this. I was away in GB for some of the time. The forum software is quite old now and could do with an update. The problem is, it requires a newer version of something in the background (php), which isn't normally an issue, but I know that other stuff won't work with the newer version. I think the way forward is to turn predecimal.com into just a forum. I don't really buy/sell coins at all anymore as it became less practical since brexit and also I wanted to concentrate on on the books and app, as they are so much simpler to manage, which is what I've been doing for some time. It should be possible to separate the forum, have it work from the root predecimal.com/ and upgrade everything in the background so that it all functions properly again. There may be some issues along the way that will need to be ironed out, but I don't really see an alternative.

Hi Geordie582, nice to hear from you after all these years, indeed since 2016. And I note from your Omnicoin profile that you are 95 on the 5th, so Happy Birthday for two days time. I also infer that time had been rather unkind to you since you seem to have adopted American language idiosyncrasies and started using the dollar and cryptocurrency, Cumbria must have changed alarmingly since my last visit and our mutual love of good old £sd! The Trump effect, I presume - 52nd state? You have to be so wary of anything you read nowadays. However thank you for your generous offer but I have just agreed to send most of my money to some African lawyers who are processing an inheritance of millions of dollars from an apparent late friend of my late mother whose name I cannot pronounce, so bit skint at the mo. Good luck with your sale, Jerry

And back to the original topic. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of Svitlana landing at Manchester after fleeing Kherson. Time has passed very quickly and I will say it's been a pleasure, with not a single argument arising from her staying with us. Good mannered, clean, we all muck in and I don't think it could have gone better. A few things have happened which were unwelcome, such as her father dying last year, but was unable to get back for the funeral. And this year her mother has finally had enough of the drones and bombing of her village (Bilozirka) not too far from Kherson and gone to live with Svitlana's sister. 3 years on and nothing has changed. The Russians are still lobbing 3 or 4 dozen shells a day into Kherson and drone dropping on anything that moves. They don't want peace. It's Russia. Please Europe, wake up now that Trump has shown his true colours and support Ukraine to the necessary level. We can afford it and Ukraine would make a more reliable friend than the US in the current political climate. Ignoring Trump would not have much of a cost, given his lack of support for the cause, and we can all hope that once he has gone, some sanity will return to US politics, with support for democratic policies and countries. As an astute businessman, he should be embracing Ukraine's offer to purchase a couple of Patriot systems, but his loyalty to Putin and all he stands for has scuppered that one.

1826 Penny, Rev A, purchased from the Huddersfield coin fair.

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.

One thats arrived today off eBay and much better than most. 1909 DOT.

Yuletide felicitations to everyone. I hope 2025 is a happier and healthier year for all, and that we all manage to find a little unnoticed gem tucked away in an auction catalogue somewhere.

I recently finished cataloguing someone's excellent Victorian Copper Penny collection and, as a result, felt that I was now in a position to have a go at listing the 1843 varieties which I know of. It may not be a complete list, but I think it will be pretty close. I now know of seven different types of 1843 penny, and I have summarised these into a one page jpeg image which I now attach. The actual image on my own computer is over 6 times the size of this attachment, so if anyone wants a copy of the full image then please PM me. I thought that this may be of interest to some other members (and so did Jerry), as I am unaware that anyone has ever tried to do this with a rarer date in the YH series.

1908 Freeman 164a e,bay find , rare in this grade much better than nearly all finds out there

Big piece of British bronze from the Birmingham Workhouse - quite possibly the largest numismatic object struck for actual circulation by Matthew Boulton's steam powered machinery - this weighs almost 2.5 ounces.

...my mate told me that I needed a boy to help me in the workshop, but so far I can't see any advantages....

All so amusing, and reminding me of a lost time when you could have, when we were all much younger, for example's sake, a model aircraft club. All the members swapped info, ideas, and build techniques on how to get the most out of any model they own, or have built, or are hoping to build. In the village there was The Model Shop. For many years, in the window, was the most magnificent model plane. An unattainable plane. The shopkeeper had to clean the window often, because our noses were pressed to the glass so regularly. Then one day it vanished.... Later that week, a kid turned up at the club, and announced he had all the models that Airfix made, and now also owned the Plane from the Window. We were all very interested and excited and couldn't wait to see what this new kid was offering. All we got was a promise of some pictures, but no plane to admire in the clubhouse, no chance to see it fly, no, we were told it wouldn't be seen again. Those in the Club who liked the new member were described as 'intelligent and rational', and those who though him a bit of a pushy upstart who really should know his place as 'bitter, irrational and ignorant'.... Hmm.....I've been here years, and I still feel an outsider, and from day one I've been respectful to members who know way more than I ever will about coins. Piling in in the way we have seen this week, and saying what has been said is like the dealings of a petulant child. It crosses a line with me. Just because Trump does it doesn't mean anyone else should.

An exciting Ebay listing for penny collectors seeking the 1863 with die numbers - the first example with minus 1 (-1) under the date. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356491300476?itmmeta=01JJ5H9EW45WNYWTVKMXTG816F&hash=item5300898e7c:g:Oy4AAOSwWS1nj~eK&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlmKrLpByFK3NCH5LpfdrzNdV8QOMQvZOkA9KHBdFYpZf%2B22CKYOwtY5SzdG41OU5lzTamqMvLWCKwCT%2B5o6Ubr7WzTw4bib88BMHIRH689xsTWKwFjwupAPGchYDWdjDFknqaecWQTY90QZbrnYTIhoZEUzBGa9vKJC5sl5z%2FGWgn0FZdKwgRvaOksMKux0sckksjF0TGMpqC445MhuNGbBaQRGOdWSeV4gjRN8RxZFg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5jupbGRZQ

The 1862 plain-edge proof Gothic florin (2849 in Bull, who records it as "not traced") sold for $21,600 (including buyer's premium) at Heritage yesterday. At least we know that it exists now.

Merry Christmas you lot.

Time to wheel out my favourite, I feel:

Bah humbug! Just give me the prezzies and some beer. At least I can start commenting ‘evenings getting later’ from tomorrow. I try to be the first. And I do like New Year. But I gladly send my Best Wishes to you all. Jerry

Yes. Best Seasonal wishes to all.

Hope you all have a brilliant Christmas .... and once again many thanks to everyone for their help and support Best Regards

This is the 1885 penny that you really want. I could kick myself for missing out on this a few years ago.

This post has unfolded quite unexpectedly, really nice when that happens. I’m definitely 1 & 2…primarily 1 & 2…but knowledge and the vanity that accompanies it, sometimes gets me a little excited by 3, in the hope I may one day achieve 5, as I endlessly haemorrhage in pursuit of this staggering beautiful and fascinating pastime!

The date run:

"Rear coins", my arse! Never a truer word spoken, ironically!💩 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335864676756?itmmeta=01JPFXGTJTN1RG45Y420E50A97&hash=item4e33184194:g:z6YAAeSw3gRn1tFb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4MHg7L1Zz0LA5DYYmRTS30mrq7ZxPzDEwuz8dTR9vNwPjzLW%2FuMX5XltgQFtpMHHmnRKnKSwHS2EHGaBuZZTzeAyo7vBCaNXWE7rC0eUs1a3UAPqSfoxMXUhGYBRxRctI1SzZkz%2F87wmmn7PLVuqilJL2Hnpyum2FXPyagkamcmyk19tRXQ1uYhivX%2F%2BQ5MpVwJR4wrVH884T3OqmdtYRy%2FMBYuL99oc2ot7nkkIQkglog9iV0i6hktsrzfkuOT9Vj8D4SESULXQdPk7VyUd5VA36awsPuW0yS638Fe%2BmT45|tkp%3ABFBMyKnD_bNl

I rather like the double florins myself but they are somewhat unloved and can be obtained significantly more cheaply than crowns. The main varieties for the 1887 is the "Arabic 1" (like you 1889) and the "Roman I". These are my examples: (1887 is the Roman and 1888 is the Arabic)

Merry Christmas all. May your collections grow, your lives prosper and your 2025s be uneventful but pleasant. 🌲

And to you, Terry, and all forum members!