Chris Perkins

Another Sterling example of the forum being greater than the sum of its parts! Chris

Glad you got it, i'm sure someone expert enough could remove the silver loop and it would hardly be noticable, but then I suppose it is original exactly how it is. Anyone else that makes 100 useful, well placed posts will also get a free coin! (I have a number of Churchill crowns gathering dust!) Chris

No idea Meredith, i often get asked about tokens but don;t have any books on them yet. I know it's quite a wide subject. I wonder if Sylvester the history student can help on 'Willian Brewster' Sylvester, are you out there? Chris www.predecimal.com

Just to put an end to this one (hopefully)... The programme that started people emailing about their bloody 2 pees on the BBC did state correctly that it was the 1983 Two pence with 'New Pence' on it that is the rare one. Perhaps the programme should have made clearer that none of the other are rare or valuable, but it didn't. So it seems that the Great British public must be either completely stupid to think on average 3-5 of the 2 pees in their pockets are worth £400 each, or the story seems to have evolved in a Chinese whisper style. 'My brother told me 2 pees from 1983 with 'new pence' on were rare, he saw it on the telly'. 'I told my Mum, Dad and 6 friends all 2 pees with 'new pence' on them were rare, because I couldn't remember the date and it probably doesn't matter, my brother saw it on the telly so it must be true!'. Those 8 people with the wrong information told 10 people per week, and those 10 people told another 10 people the following week. But just to make absolutely sure, those 800 people within 2 weeks that have the wrong information decide to look on the internet to see if the rumour is true....Just to make sure that this months mortgage payment or the years car insurance can actually be paid of with a special rare 2 pee that each of the 800 people coincidently own at least 5 of... Those 800 people find my website and about 600 of them are observant enough to see the link on the top of the home page that points at the correct information about the 2 pee rumour that I posted there about a week after the rumour started. What about the other 200 people? The other 200 people are far too concerned by the fact that their 2 pees MUST be worth almost £1000 that in the whipped up frenzy they don't really look at my site, they don't read it, they don't notice the bloody link at the top of the main page. Instead they grab my email address from the contact area, or they use the message facility on the site, and they write me a charming email.... 'i have 5 of those rare 2 pees how much will you give me for them?' At first my replies were quite polite: 'I'm sorry, it's only the 1983 2p with 'New Pence' on it that's rare, see here: http://www.predecimal.com/newpence.htm After about 50, my replies were along the lines of: 'I'll give you 10p for them! They aren't worth anything more than 2p, see here: http://www.predecimal.com/newpence.htm That's about as sarcastic as it got and after 100 or more what I really meant to say was: 'What are you talking about? They made 100's of millions of the bloody things. Did you not see the link at the top of my home page? Your coins are worth 10p. What are the chances 10p can suddenly turn into £1,500? The information is on the site, read it, leave me alone!'. So for those of you that still think your 2 pees are worth £300, SEE HERE: http://www.predecimal.com/newpence.htm Or i'm likely to get very nasty! Chris www.predecimal.com

Well that's that one solved then! I would have no idea about a value i'm afraid. Chris www.predecimal.com

Post the essay when it's done if you like, I for one would like to know about the achievements of AEthelred II! Chris

Oh no no, I will always have a GB£ account and will always welcome GB£ wherever i am. It does wear me out having to work out what I'm actually getting at the end of the day, as with the accessories, I buy them in EUR, sell them in GB£. The Irish Euros all have a harp on them, nothing different. Boring, you're right. There are yearly standards that have to be met for a country to stay in the Euro, so if Portugal, Germany or whoever suddenly had a massive recession they would be kicked out of the Euro make no mistake. That rule applies for every country except Germant and France it seems, who have failed to meet their budget for the 2nd or 3rd year running! (but if it was serious I bet we'd be straight back with a new D mark). I don't agree with you about the current coins being uninspired junk though, I think they are far more excting than other countries coins. The Britannia on the 50p can be traced back to Roman times, most of the coins feature intricate heraldic designs that are perhaps not done justice by the ever reducing sizes but by and large what am I talking about in this non coin related area???!!??? Anyone see Eastenders lately? Chris

Thankyou Olli!! I still get bloody emails about it. I think i'll start ignoring them now. If people don't see the huge link on the top of the front page I will take no time in pointing them to it. Chris

I think there is, in fact there are loads of variety clues so i've heard. You'd have to buy a special book just on the subject of Maria Theresa Talers. I have no idea.... And I don't even know if the book's in English. Sorry. Chris www.predecimal.com

There was a little resistance to the EURO in Germany at the start, mainly in Western Germany. You see in Germany, particularly the East they have grown quite accustomed to regular currency changes, like in the East from the GDR Marks, to the Bundesrepublik D Marks in 1990 when the wall came down. So pretty much in the East nobody minded, unemployment is very high here so most of them welcomed having a single currency with the rest of perhaps richer European parts. Personally, of course i'd like to see the pound stay, instead of the stupid small generic looking Euro notes and coins, where people are even afraid to put any legend on for risk of affending 1000 people that speak a perculiar language not included in the 25 languages on the coin! But there is no doubt our future lies with Europe and probably has done since the colapse of the empire. Economically the UK is strong, there is no doubt. Wages are higher on average than most parts of Europe and even the Western German states, but we are so much stronger co operating within europe on trade and common market terms. The main objective has to be for Europe to become a larger more important ecomomy that the USA or China. You have to see the world picture, to just the UK picture. At the moment the Euro is very strong campared to the Dollar and I do believe the population, GDP and other aspects of the European economy are stronger than that of the US. I don't know why they can't somehow keep the pound but fix it's exchange rate with the Euro? Coins and notes stay the same and £1 aways = EUR1.50 (or whatever). But i'm not an economist and i'm sure i'm talking econimic rubbish there. Chris P.S. Sorry if i strayed the subject a little! Chris

Yes it is true for the 1983 'New Pence' coin. Some say there were only 20 error coins made, although I imagine the exact numbers are not known. I certainly have no intention to hide the facts from the public, and in an attempt to stop people annoying me about it (not you of course) wrote about it at length, as you'll see on this page: http://www.predecimal.com/newpence.htm Which is linked to from the top of the home page, and has been for some time. Chris Perkins www.predecimal.com

Yes! Your absolutely right, and I know who i'd rather wake up in bed next to! Chris

I know the feeling, I think as long as they are not Mainland British Edward VIII coins you're probably ok with regards to fakery! Chris

You people are so super! Thanks for coming together here. Chris

Yes! Don't you just love Dire Straits. Another one of my top 5 bands from my top 10 favourite bands in the world of which coincidently all are British. Chris

Yes horses were somehow harnessed on some kind of turnstyle I believe for the Briot and other 'French' very early milled coinages. Chris

The first Steam presses were used by Boulton in 1797 for the Cartwheels. I do believe horse power was used previously. Chris

I don't know if you can compare the very fast minting process nowadays with the minting process of those early milled coins but I imagine it would be a possibility. Chris

And of course ABBA's Money Money Money. Division Bell, is it really, well there you go. Isn't this a great place to learn about all subjects! It is truly greater than the sum of its parts! Chris

They made them in large numbers with Edward VIII on them before he abdicated. I haven't seen them on ebay but have seen other lots containing many BU examples of the west africa coins at real auction houses. They are not rare, or anything special but I would imagine they are real coins from 1936. Chris www.predecimal.com

That depends what you mean by 'milling' the edge, as it has a double and sometimes confusing meaning. Milling a coin originally meant making it with a powered machine and not hammering it by hand, that certainly wasn't Isaac Newton's idea as it was being done long before he was born. This milling process also led to the idea of putting the coin into a round collar with letters imprinted on it, so that these letters would end up around the edge after the coin was struck. This was an excellent anti forgery idea and was shrouded in secrecy at the time. This was also being done before Sir Isaac Newton' appointment as master of the mint in 1696 so I'm quite sure was not his idea. As for milling as we understand it today... ie the edge with a ridged surface, well that may well have been Sir Isaacs idea but I have yet to find mention of it in any books I have been glancing through just now to try and find out! Chris www.predecimal.com

As they've made it big now, I'm sure Hawkins can afford proper dental care! Chris

Leevan, This item is a Victorian coin weight. Coin weights were produced by the Royal Mint as well as private company's (like Avery, who are still going I think?) and were, I believe sold to merchants, shop keepers etc as a way of checking is a coin handed to them was real and not an underweight forgery. Simply by putting the Sovereign on a set of scales with a brass sovereign weight on the other end you'd know if it was a genuine 7.98 gramme sovereign. Nowadays of course digital scales are far more accuarate. Because the weight you post has a young head Victoria on it, I would imagine it dates from around 1840/50. They are collectable and I have a little experience selling Georgian coin weights but I have not sold a Victorin one, so am unsure of it's value.

Leevan, Thanks, I don't really. It's just that it's all the usual stuff that people ask about! Over the years I have simply learnt about what people always ask about. The Spanish coin is currency and I certainly find it interesting. Chris www.predecimal.com

Not sure what it is but if it were gold it would be pretty heavy. Looks brass to me, and with a hole in I wouldn't have thought it would be worth a great deal (unless it is gold?!) Chris www.predecimal.com