hibernianscribe

Jerry, I must admit what you say does make sense. Maybe my recollection is blurred! I therefore need to trawl back through the correspondence to confirm exactly what was asked for by the FLO. However, I was certainly asked to obtain valuations prior to the PAS submission but since all of this was being done through my MD club (it was a club site on which I found this gold artefact) I am now wondering whether the club was asking for the valuations in order to negotiate a settlement with the landowner once the PAS process gave the all-clear which is what eventually happened. Frank

I agree, PAS does not value the item. However a professional valuation is asked for by the FLO that is inserted in his/her notification to PAS. This also assists any museum in their decision whether to express an interest. Frank

If genuine, it would be interesting to know what valuation was submitted and accepted by PAS since unless the finder was also lucky enough to be the landowner, they would have to 'buy-out' the landowner based on the PAS value in order to legally sell the coin. A good test of provenance would therefore be to see documentation to support that! Frank

Half a crow is better than no crow I suppose! Isn't there some numismatic analogy here with a Tommy Steele musical? Frank

I also asked which 'numismatic agencies' a couple of days ago - so far no answer. Frank

In view of its size and thickness as a hammered coin, I reckon the weight given may be in the ballpark for a genuine coin. However, I agree it looks 'dodgy' and could be a casting which because thicker would add weight to equate with a thinner gold coin. Frank

1650 ENGLAND UK Oliver Cromwell PARLIAMENT British ANTIQUE OLD Medal Coin i88197 | eBay He's at it again!

STEPHEN 1136-1145 AD KING of ENGLAND ANGLO-NORMAN SILVER Ar PENNY 1,55 gr. | eBay Yet another very blatant con from Eastern Europe! Frank

Further to my last post, this is a follow-up article about Richard II fakes... http://britnumsoc.blog/2021/01/02/caveat-emptor-ii-modern-forgeries-of-richard-ii-d-i-greenhalgh/ Frank

http://britnumsoc.blog/2021/01/01/caveat-emptor-some-modern-fakes-of-henry-iii-long-cross-pennies-rob-page/ This BNS-Blog article is very concerning and mentions these items showing up on eBay. Furthermore, the Eastern European fakes cited are very convincing compared to others from that region that always seem to 'jump out' as counterfeits. This is worthwhile reading for all hammy collectors! Frank

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274544880664?ul_noapp=true Who's this seller trying to kid?

If you look at his other items it seems that he is rather partial to using the Duraglit! For example, the Jersey 1/12 shilling he offers with a similar brassy shine and cheeky description. Mind you we could forgive I suppose because in somewhat Pidgin English he does say, "We believe on Collecting valuable objects uniquely rewards me with beauty, history, personal satisfaction, and more. Honesty and fairness must define every facet of our life"!!! ...and we can further forgive a bit of polishing because, "Part of our sales goes to charity for Elderly People and Young Children"! How pleasing it is to have such generous sellers on eBay! Frank

The seller of this is optimistic.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Elizabeth-I-Medieval-Silver-Threepence-Coin-1/193490871283?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

I have been collecting English hammies for nearly sixty years but have never been completely sure or confident about identifying specific date-change varieties such as the coin shown, which I have owned for a couple of years. It is a 1652 over 1 halfcrown (ESC 26) with excellent provenance, but my problem is that I really can't see for sure that it is a 2 over 1. Often where such a die alteration has been made there is a serif or other remnant that is evident, but not in this case. Indeed, I am unable to see even any 'ghost' of a 1 below the 2, unlike the clear example illustrated on page six of ESC, but is it just me I wonder? The fact that mine differs so much from the ESC illustration obviously indicates that more than one die was altered, which would be expected. What I can see is darker 'scuffing' evident around the 2 on my coin (see photo) so is this the evidence that this is a changed digit? Actually, I have never asked this question before, so maybe the answer is as simple as it being evidence of 'disturbance' around a digit. I've not seen any written account of how to identify these varieties but I have yet to trawl through BNS journals to discover if there is any recorded opinions. The 'sun and anchor' website <www.cromwellcoins.com> does not go into much detail and North does not list any of these Commonwealth varieties, just a 'general' categorisation of N2722. Regarding this coin's provenance, it was sold by Knightsbridge Coins on 11 August 1985 and then was subsequently sold by Spink on 6-7 December 2017 (lot 152) and listed in that auction as being from the 'Tisbury' Commonwealth collection. In fact the coin was illustrated on the front cover of the sale catalogue, which further reinforces my certainty about its identification - I just wish I could see it! Any advice on this would be appreciated. Frank

I picked this snippet from Cointalk concerning a discussion that was taking place on the ebay community website about 3 months ago... https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selli...w-the-sale-or-purchase-of-Coins/td-p/30666292 Does this spell the end of this thread?? Frank

Undoubtedly the latter!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1430AD-GREAT-BRITAIN-UK-King-HENRY-VI-Silver-Fourpence-Groat-Coin-NGC-i80916/233362367085?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225086%26meid%3D89d4a7567cc4414a9aa1dc14ddca03fc%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D7%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D184299768716%26itm%3D233362367085%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithBBEV2bDemotion&amp;_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 Yet another obscenely overpriced example from this seller who speciously purports to be "an expert, enthusiast, author and trusted dealer in numismatic coins", which also begs the question, what other sorts of coin are there? Furthermore, in the FAQ section of his eBay pages he claims to be "world-renowned"! This is full-blown cringing material! Even in unclipped condition, this Calais groat would be worth far less than a tenth of the asking price! Frank

I see what you mean Rob, now that you have pointed that out, although I would not have easily noticed this without foreknowledge of the variety. Frank

Thanks for this, that's an interesting point and a bit of lateral thinking. It could certainly explain how such a coin with little evidence around the concerned digit could be diagnosed with certainty. Frank

The seller also has discovered the secret of stating the obvious when he says “The condition of the coins is commensurate with their time in circulation.”

This one would be more of a bargain, but the tide's come in! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ULTRA-RARE-COIN-1902-ONE-PENNY-UK/164090631029?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D225114%26meid%3Dad364cf81d4e4e8dbc0cc57a07e949a6%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D202980311518%26itm%3D164090631029%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithBBEV1Filter&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985 Frank

I agree. This happens time-after-time with hammies - they can't get their act together with the grading, especially with respect to clipped coins. Frank

I've often squirmed about this seller's eBay title - he's been around for some time but it amazes when I think he might get any buyers at his prices! https://www.ebay.com/itm/233573333945?ul_noapp=true Don't all rush at once, he's reduced this one by $3,298.20! Frank

I messaged the seller and got an immediate response saying "Thank you very much" with a "Kind regards"!

This reminds me of my time in submarines some 40-50 years ago when from time to time we would have difficulty in clearing our 'check reports' (during non-covert ops these were mandatory signals we had to transmit during fixed time-slots to confirm to MOD at Northwood that we hadn't sunk). The South China Sea, North Atlantic and Southern Arctic were (if I remember correctly) particularly difficult areas and more often than not we could only clear the signal via say, Cape Town or some other equally distant station. This was quite remarkable if you consider that frequently we would transmit these signals while submerged at periscope depth with the radio mast only a few feet above the surface. I seem to remember references made to 'sky wave' effect. I was just a simple navigator and while I was quite used to using the equipment, the science behind radio communications was all very mysterious to me; somewhat of a 'black art'. Those were the days! Frank