King Kenny

Yes they are proofs. I don't know if that makes a difference. I have not seen this type of feather in any of the other years.

I know that the bronze decimal coinage does not thrill most collectors, but I have a liking towards them. Whist sorting my collection of two pence coins I noticed an anomaly. The ostrich feathers on the reverse side usually have a distinct quill running down the centre of each feather. I have noticed that on some of the 1989 and 1990 coins the quill is missing and the elements of the feather just blend into each other. Further, the 1990 coins with a quill also has a longer 'P' in PENNY. According to the records the longer 'P' was not introduced until 1993. I have not seen this mentioned in any of the articles that I have studied. I wonder if I have missed something or has anyone else has noticed this anomaly. Both photos show a 1990 two pence coin. The first is a short 'P' no quill, and the second is a long 'P' with quills.

My Grandad had this penny in his draw since the 1960's. Because of the date, 1945, he thought it was an attempted German forgery. We always know it as Fred's tin penny.

I certainly had a set of Whitman albums for my pennies back in the 1970's. They were very handy and I only stopped using them when I bought a proper coin cabinet. I think you could buy them in W H Smiths ( a famous stationers in the UK).

I have just looked at these marks under a strong light using a loupe. They seem to be surface marks as there is no is no indication of any scratching etc. Just another mystery.

It is nice to know about these differences and fun to find one, but I don't have the urge to own them. Standard coins and recognised varieties are more to my level of collecting British copper and bronze coins, but I acknowledge your expertise in this field.

Thanks Jerry. That makes a lot of sense. I have not studied die cracks much, a lot to learn.

I have just got this 1879 penny and I noticed a connecting spar on the O of ONE. I first thought it was a die crack, but it seems too wide for that. Any ideas?

Never thought of that. Goodness, it's a complicated business.

I don't want to know if I lost it!

It suddenly occurred to me the other day I had put a bid in for a nice looking penny on eBay. I had to put the bid in early as I had a long drive when it was due to mature. By the time I got home the auction was over. Now here is my conundrum. I could check with the web site to see if I had been successful or not. But if I did I might have failed in my bid and had lost the coin. However, if I don’t check it out I could still hold the winning bid, but I won’t know until I looked at the listing. Therefor, I might have won that coin, or not, until I find out one way or the other. I( I have lost the bid then I would be disappointed, so am I in a better position by not looking? Unless I have won it.

Thanks Avocet. That makes it a lot easier.

No, not at all. It's all my fault.

https://headsntails14.wordpress.com/ Ah. I got the name wrong, didn't I !

Thanks. I did look at the Pennywise site before, but I never thought I would encounter any of the varieties mentioned and did not look too closely at my coins. It will take me a long time to digest all this information. The Pennywise site is very interesting and highlights so much information throughout all the years. I would go with the Ba, but what do I know? Well, more than yesterday.