Chris Perkins

My pleasure. I've also updated some other stuff in the background so if this message gets through, that's also a good sign! I may also completely update the forum software to the newest version. I'm always nervous about that as it tends to change things that make little sense and can negatively affect some users who use a particular feature etc. In some cases it can also introduce new errors, but the last update was 4 years ago so it's probably due one.

Out of print, but not out of copyright etc and the work belongs to Michael Freeman so it could not legally be made available for free by anyone but him. Incidentally, is anyone here in contact with him?

There was a little issue identified by my host where the master global config setting for the forum path was set to the non SSL version (i.e. http not https). That may have caused the forum to get mixed up trying to serve both http and https and that may well have caused problems. I suspect that may require users to clear their caches or just the files related to the forum - or it may well slowly sort itself out (if that was the issue).

I'll check with my host. As far as I knew, the security cert covers the whole website and I'm not aware of anything being changed a couple of weeks ago.

Hello everyone. As far as I know the forum should be https, just as the whole of the predecimal.com website is. TomGoodheart sent me a link to this page, but the link was actually just plain http and that seemed to work but did show 'not secure' in the browser. Can those experiencing a problems manually change what appears in the address path to be prefixed with https instead of http? Does that help at all?

It's out of print, as you may have gathered. Printing it again worked out so much more expensive than in 2016 so I put it on the back-burner for now.

There will be a Kindle version in the next few weeks (and of the new decimal book).

It's printed and available now! Expanded to 1760 (up to 1970) and I really have taken extra special care updating the prices, correcting a few silly things and adding stuff that you good people suggested last year. The Kindle/ebook version isn't quite ready, but I have printed stock and can send them from here if anyone wants one.

The variety is often called a 'leftie' as the milled section when you look under the hologram with the Queen' side facing you is usually to the right of the hologram. On lefties it's obviously on the left and there are actually some where the point is slightly milled (like a middly :S). It is certainly not a 50/50 thing like with the writing orientation on £2 coins and is no doubt due to the collar/dies not being fitted 'properly' although I think the RM have stated that there is no wrong or right way, so it's just an interesting variant. Here's my page which has more info: https://www.checkyourchange.co.uk/the-six-new-1-coin-varieties/ They seem fairly common for 2016 and less so for later years.

Firstly, condition is everything. Coins of most dates are very common in normal used condition and tend to be very low value. The best book to gauge condition is this one: https://www.coinpublications.com/product/the-standard-guide-to-grading-british-coins/ And a book for values is this one: https://www.coinpublications.com/product/collectors-coins-gb-2018-1760-1970/ (both also available on Amazon). It is a lot to take on at first!

Actually, that's a little bit of a security hole that I've just fixed! Guests were able to start topics within the technical support area and were allowed to reply to stuff elsewhere. Guests can no longer post anywhere and for the last couple of months I manually approve every new member. I did not approve Andeson because his email address looked odd and his IP is from Bangladesh, which is more well known for its spamming bots than it is for collectors of British coins!

Actually my new theory on the coppery coloured 20p's (they seem to occur a lot more for the 20p than any other current denomination) is improper annealing causing the atoms to migrate. First proposed in the USA by Mr Diamond, who really knows error coins. More info here: http://www.error-ref.com/improper-annealing/ These days the RM also charge £20 to look at coins, so no longer worth doing for minor things like this.

Note that some may experience bugs on the forum for the next day or so. I am trying to update and old version of the software to the latest version but only got as far as updating the server PHP version today, which may cause (and in fact already has caused) problems for some depending on browser and so many other factors these days. Sorry about that. It'll be worth it in the end!

Oh look, it's all new and has all new bells and whistles. It was a bit fiddly but I got there in the end. Hope there are no issues now.

This all seems to have gone a bit non-coin.

Interesting stuff.

Where did that come from Zookeeperz? Peckris is sound as a pound and really does know his stuff.

Thanks! Yes, those and the coin ID cards are pretty much all I do now in the way of accessories.

I don't actually anymore Rob! It was a lot of work for low financial rewards. I tend to recommend Andy at http://www.coingallery.co.uk/

Many of you have probably heard of and even seen the odd Spink commissioned fantasy pattern coins made by INA Ltd of Birmingham and auctioned in 2001. I know that they were originally UK monarch obverses designed for some African commemorative issue of coins that never went ahead and that the obverses were then paired with newly designed reverses similar to contemporary coins (both UK types and colonial) and that they were issued in various metals/thicknesses. Donald Golder did the obverses and I think also many of the reverses. The quality is actually very high (for most of them). Some of the Edward VIII issues use a bust by Percy Metcalfe, which is interesting. A few seem to have sterling hallmarks on the edges too. They were controversial at the time and many have been passed from dealer to dealer ever since! Most sell for just a few quid. I've ended up with some and would love to know if anyone here has the original auction catalogue (Rob?) so that I can get to grips with them just in case I have a rare one among the few-pounds jobbies before I pass them all on to another dealer! Some of them have very, very low mintages, there are known mules and some can sell for decent money. A couple of the '1879' young head Victoria crown sized issues are attached below. I think the silver coloured one is silver.

Peter, stop winding people up. Just ignore him PWA.

I get a lot of comical emails from people that are just plain ingorant. This was one I got yesterday: hi i was given a 1965 coin of winston Churchill and looked it up on verious sits and books and was woundering if u would be intrested in this on the other side of the coin there is a picture of queen elizabeth 2 and i latin the sayin DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D. and i was woundering if u would be intrested i have recived a offer for it for 600 pounds but you cum highly reccemended so please if u wud like this i wll let u for 600 or 550 To which my reply was: What are you talking about?? No one that wasn't in a straight jacket or on serious medication would pay £600 for a Churchill Crown!! They are the most common modern crown and probably the ugliest coin in the world. You must surely know from looking at other websites that mint examples can be purchased often for less than £1?? I've just sold about 6 scruffy ones for less than face value (which is 25p). Are you trying to pull my leg? His reply: no to be hounest i have seen it in a book that this coin is valuled at 500 pound mate So he obviously saw the Satin VIP coin in a Spink book and completely ignored the normal one! In my experience, people that do that normally cannot write or spell properly, and this gentleman has just proved that yet again!

The Kindle version has been known to have alignment issues. In the printed version it is clearer (and the £30 is properly under Fine), but it is possible that a tab is missing there too. I will make sure they are moved over and adjusted next time.

The answer is that the 2018 predecimal book already available (since the 8th December). The 2018 decimal book will come in about Feb/March, as I need to wait for the RM to release the 2018 sets first, something they now seem to do on the 1st Jan and no longer in the previous November. I do often quote silly newspaper gossip, but the actual prices are real ones at the time of going to press.