Coys55

Ah, maybe I didn't refresh the screen a short time after it had finished. I turned the phone over almost straight away and went back to the final.

Really? That's very interesting. Another case for using a sniping service.

I followed the bidding right up to the end on my phone. There was little activity in the last hour and none at all in the closing seconds, so no one had put a snipe bid in, at least not a higher one. One other piece of eBay advice I have for sellers is to time it so that the auction ends at a sensible time, say afternoon or early evening at the weekend or early evening midweek. Bidders not using a sniping service are likely to be in bed or watching something on TV at 22:37 and less likely to be following the bidding. Especially when there's a World Cup final on... Maybe it's small margins, but it could mean two bidding against each other vs a lone bidder.

Probably some action in the last minute. Or seconds...

If your max bit is submitted one second before the end then anyone manually bidding against you won’t have a chance to react. And with sniping no one knows you’re bidding until T-1.

The problem with that is that someone else may keep bidding it up. With a sniper your bid is not submitted until the final 6 seconds or even 1-3 seconds with a subscription, which doesn't give then a chance to respond.

I just put my maximum bid into an auction sniper (I use Gixen) and then just ignore it until the end so I don't get drawn into a bidding war. I've won some bargains, but lost some I'd probably have bid up but possibly overpaid for.

It went for £640.

I agree, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole, but a number of bidders obviously disagree. I wouldn't even know where to start getting one of those things authenticated, apart from checking the size and weight. If those are OK then I'd be stumped.

What's the little hole at 7 o’clock on reverse" side? It looks like a screw or something under magnification. If the oil hasn't worked maybe try WD-40, although it's difficult to know what is stuck if you don't know how it should open. Another thought. Does that slot open up to the inside? If it does a small endoscope fibre-optic camera could give you a look around the inside. A 5.5mm one on eBay is less than £10. I once borrowed one to see why a previous owner of my son's Victorian house had crudely blocked up an alcove next to a chimney breast. I half expected to find a cupboard full of junk, but there was nothing there apart from some cobwebs, some dust and some very crappy-looking exposed brickwork that was best left alone.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/278153866658?_trksid=p4375194.c102727.m162921 Opinions on this one? I've always been interested in these pieces and have often thought about buying one, but I'd never buy one without provenance, and certainly not from eBay. It seems odd to me that one should turn up out of the blue in the hands of a seller of general odds and ends. I'm pretty sure there are lots of 19th century fakes out there and probably modern ones too. The description includes "this coin features intricate craftsmanship typical of the period" (hmm) and "Although uncertified"...

Here's my set. The halfpenny is the weakest of the three, but I only paid £43 for it and it's good enough for me. Weight of the halfpenny is 0.24g.

Ah. 🤡

I can’t comment on the actual coin, but maybe this could be moved to a more appropriate place than the publications forum?

The hand on the left appears to have six fingers. And presumably a hidden thumb.