Chris Perkins

One of those things where you'll have to keep checking on ebay and ringing around dealers. I don't remember seeing one on it's own before.

Here's a link to the gallery: http://www.predecimal.com/forum/index.php?...=si&img=495 I'm no Greek expert, but they look cast to me, i.e. more modern fakes. And the quantities of each one would also suggest they are fakes. Real ones don't usually turn up that are the same in multiples of 22! I'd say that if all the like coins are practically identical (in terms of shape, size etc) then they are all reproductions.

Yes, that's what it looks to be. I'd offer the current catalogue value for a Fine coin for it, which is £225.00.

It's much thicker than the normal one. Often people get confused because in 1973 the 50p's were all larger than the current ones....but not piedfort. I've never seen one but I would assume the actual VIP coins were in some kind of case possibly with some kind of paperwork. Ideally anyone selling one would need to know who it was originally given to.

You were at school with David Bowie! That's not something many people can say. I went out with a girl once whose dad went to school with Ian Paice, the drummer from Deep Purple, but that's about as good as it gets! I remember reading something about the Buff Orpington Chickens once....that they don't actually come from Orpington. And isn't there also a Dartford bird, a Dartford Marsh Warbler or something like that. I'd have to google.

Mick Jagger was from Dartford and I think he was born Dartford way. I saw him once with Jerry Hall, daughter Jade and his late father when they were opening a new wing at Dartford Grammar. I'm a member of the Bexley Coin Club, at least I was last time I looked. Do you know Richard Varnham? He's been a member ages, used to have the little shop in Blackheath with his dad. I had a stint at Orpington College of Further education in the 90s! There's a 'coin' shop in the High Street. It was called 'The Collector' then but is now 'Orpington Coins and Medals' I believe. I bought my 3rd car (A Triumph Dolomite) from a man in Orpington and it not being all that far from Sidcup, I know it well.

They crossover don't they. Many true academic numismatists are also likely to be collectors. Advanced collectors are essentially Numismatists. Dealers could even be considered numismatists and many dealers have collections too, making them collectors! I see myself primarily as a dealer but I do have a collection of Roman coins and of forgeries. And I like to weigh, measure and study the forgeries to see if I can find any that have been struck with the same dies, so I suppose that tips me over into being a numismatist too, but only when I have no orders to pack up!

Avoid anything post 1960s and especially with novelty colouring, that's my opinion. Are you in Mexico then?

Avoid them all! The 2008 set is all very well and good but is likely never to be worth $100 ever again, at least not in out lifetimes. The Britanic Cyprus is what exactly? It's bust of Edward VII is well executed, but it looks like a modern proof copy to me. i.e. a fantasy coin not a contemporary one. And the 1911 crown is clearly a modern fantasy piece as there were no real 1911 Crowns struck. Quite why anyone would want to pay $100 for that is beyond me!

Not in the usual average circulated condition. The vast majority are worth less than £20.00. Many of them are worth around £10.00.

Email me on cp@predecimal.com and I'll send you all you need to know to arange sending them.

I'd pay £4.00 for the both of them if you want to add them to the others. If the older one is in better than average condition, then I will pay slightly more. Keep the 1977 coin separately packed so it doesn't get scratched.

Nearly, it's £2.80. Offer of £31 still applies.

That would be about £3.05 face value, wouldn't it? I'd offer £31.00 and pay your postage.

Am emailing now.....

I shouldn't think there would be a huge collector following, so they are most likely to be worth the gold value. Or perhaps a bit more to a Tory Thatcher fan!

I'll second that! Of the many many images only a very small proportion have been flagged as 'could do better'. I'm currently trying to get some kind of official BNTA approval.

Penge is a bit of a grim name I admit. And there is a history of 'Penge' jokes and wordplays from over the years. I don't much like the place myself, I always find it hard to get to. Dad says he's right on the borders of Anerley, Beckenham and Penge so often uses those alternate names in polite conversation! Sidcup on the other hand is practically the centre of the universe! Even Rab C Nesbit was aparently once lost and 'trying to get to Shhidcup'. It's the birthplace of one of Led Zepellin and Sidcup station was where the Rolling Stones were formed in an agreement between Jagger and Richards. It's the home of a former PM (Heath) and was immortalised by P G Wodehouse in the Jeeves series... the Oswald Mosley dictator character was the 7th Earl of Sidcup (an entirely made up name because the actual manor was that of Lord Bexley a former Chancellor of the Exchequer). No doubt I could go one singing the praised of Sidcup! While I think of it, Eltham Palace which is about 5 miles away from Sidcup, was the favourite palace of Henry VIII and is now run by English Heritage.

If you've not put them on ebay yet, you could also start by offering them to me! And, interesting we now seem to have a Pobjoy representative here! I'll now have to try my very best not to be too rude about novelty new and commemorative issues of coins from obscure countries that seem to only exist in order to make money out of coins that no-one actually ever spends in the aforementioned obscure countries. :-) Actually the Pobjoy stuff is of good quality, but....... (lip zipped) Welcome, Pobjoy Mint Ltd.

That's interesting because 1948/49 pennies still turn up very often in BU condition. (by the way, I was born in Sidcup and my dad lives in Penge....I know Bromley pretty well)

Sent your order today. I was in England until Tuesday. That's an interesting 6d. I'd certainly sell it for a bit more than normal, but I wouldn't have though it would make it significantly valuable. When are you going to sell me any coins you have and don't need?!

Unless you have decent capital it's very difficult. I am self sufficient in 'coins' but couldn't survive on just the coins themselves (mainly because sourcing them is hard where I am), hence I publish a range of books and sell a good number of accessories. All coin related, but still not all that easy and very much a full time job for all the daylight hours at least!

Copy cat! I did a very similar thing and gave away 1966 halfpennies on the front on my 2008 Collector's Coins. I had to source over 7000 of them. I still have a couple of thousand and could send you a few hundred for the cost of posting. You'll probably need little envelopes too, so that the coins can be stuck on without actually sticking the coin. I can supply those too.

Things do sometimes slip through! Post a picture for us to verify the grade and variety.

I suspected it was something that had been sensationalised to make it sound more drastic than it is, as is often the case. There probably is a real risk for expensive ancient items with a dubious past, but I shouldn't imagine they will be going door to door or even to known collectors. I'd like to hear details about exactly what has been seized so far and from where it comes. Also if another country has to point the German authorities to a suspicious person before they do anything. I'm off to England tomorrow for about a week. I'll make an effort to understand this more when I get back.