oldcopper

Might be "silvered" i.e. coated in silver or similar-looking metal, a not uncommon practice in Victorian times. I've got a young head penny version. Can you see inside the hole at the metal colour?

Thanks, but I used to visit Birmingham now and again so was hoping to combine a trip. That no longer applies. If I phone them up again I'll see if they know this Dave Symonds.

Thanks for posting, that's an interesting history about the societies. I haven't had much experience of the numismatic academia personally though the BNS journals from start (~1903) are all now freely available on the internet. Peter Mitchell produced an entertaining description of many of the personalities in numismatic life, including museum staff and dealers, which is here: https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital BNJ/pdfs/2003_BNJ_73_21.pdf I am saddened but not surprised by the Leftward tilt of academia - this has happened over the last several decades and is in general anti-any celebrating or pride in Western history, culture and achievements, though I'm sure there are many honourable exceptions. The social pressure to conform to versions of this mindset will be strong. So parts of academia will exhibit an underlying anti-Western bias and this includes pre-20th century Western achievements (which includes our coinage, both from an artistic point of view and the great technological creation of modern coinage via Soho), as it will be lumped with "elitism, colonialism", etc etc, whatever buzzwords they need to fit the ideology of equivalence i.e. every society's culture/art is the same. An example of this is in the BM's Money and Medals (formerly Coins and Medals) gallery. The display has chronological descriptions around the walls of the history of coins. Now, coming to the late 18th century/early 19th century one would expect a big emphasis on the introduction of the steam press to machine make coinage, which was of a higher and more uniform standard to anything that had gone before. Boulton and Watt essentially created modern coin manufacture, which was then exported/copied around the globe. But instead GB is lumped in with Russia (!) in the title. Reading the small print revealed that we made some coins for them, but at first glance it looks like they were equals in coin manufacture/technology! No other country in the world would so underplay its own glorious heritage. The staff are of course wonderful as I have visited the reading room on several occasions over the years to view their collection, and they couldn't have been more helpful. I made another depressing discovery when I phoned Birmingham Museums a few years ago to ascertain if it was possible to see Peck's Soho collection which he bequeathed to them. Result - I ended up talking to someone who obviously knew nothing about coins (or Peck for that matter). She told me that their last official numismatist lost his job in 2014, and access to the collection was now impossible as it was all locked away and inaccessible. I don't think Peck would have approved somehow.

As recommended by coin books at the time I bought a small bottle of benzene from a nearby chemists back in the late 70's to clean my lustrous bronze farthings. It was 25p (I still remember for some reason!) and they dispensed it from a bigger bottle at the back of the shop. Those were the days, it smelt lovely but it's now banned as a carcinogen, though it was a very commonly used solvent in industry etc 50 plus years ago, so most people seemed to have survived it.

Quite a spectacular overstrike. As Rob says, the GV/B was a discovery piece in the Nicholson collection of 2004 (lot 153), although Nicholson had lost it at the time, and was "still looking for it", so it wasn't for sale!

Yes, not helped by the fact most survive in terrible condition and most were not even properly struck in the first place.

According to Peck barred A's never occur on 1701 halfpence.

I do, but unfortunately it's not for sale. It doesn't give any more information (and neither for the pictured and succeeding lot 323 plain edged, bevelled rim type) than is quoted in L&S. I haven't got the prices realised, and there don't appear to be any estimates (either listed or with the entries) in the catalogue.

Unless it's struck on a thinner flan, a sterling silver version would be about 15% heavier than the cupro-nickel version (from the specific gravity/density comparisons).

Probably be worth more if it was a forgery. I have never come across any W&M copper forgeries. Come to think of it I haven't seen any Wm III copper ones either (though I have got one in lead from what looks like genuine dies). There were so many made at that time (£700 tons of copper coin made 1694-1701) that there was not the shortage of the mid- to late-18th century that triggered that huge production of copper forgeries.

I like the E&D/BG Wm IV coins as the busts are all taken from current Wm IV British coins, so this is his sixpence head, the guilder has the shilling bust, the 1/4 guilder has one of the maundy busts and the 2 and 3 guilders have the slightly amended halfpenny and penny busts.

Thanks. And Spinks lighting makes the marks more obvious.

Comparing the 1837 in both catalogues shows the very unflattering colour quality of the Adam's catalogue. Only fully BU coins or near so showed any orange, and the 1837 didn't look lustrous at all.

I was the underbidder, but thought hundreds would have spotted it, so didn't hold out too much hope. Perhaps I should have gone a bid or two higher.

I presume they'll still be on the CNG website archive.