Sylvester

I think Maundy money is an oft over looked area... infact i've just had an idea... I always intended (but have wisely decided not to) to make one date set of coins for every monarch from Charles II to George V (Minus the copper)... the early gold hjust prooved too elusive and expensive. But i am seeing alot of early milled Maundy stuff cropping up here and there and the later Milled stuff is available. Just an idea i thought of throwing your way... how about one complete maundy set for each monarch from Chas II to Eliz II, (Actually Elizabeth II is probably going to be the tricky one!). Four Charles coins, 4 James (and for once you have James coins that aren't too difficult to find), 4 WM, 4W3, 4 Annabels, 4 Geo I, 8 Geo II (Young & old... Did they ever use old?), 8 Geo III (early/late)... etc. It would be quite something when you've done, and i do think it's achievable!

Hmm my advice here is a mixed one... Firstly new gold proof coins will always have their gold value and some limited collector value, but you'd have to buy it at a good price to make anything on it. But the low mintage is a very good thing, look at 1989 gold coins those things are probably the best modern gold coin to go for, if you can get a 1989 gold sovereign with Queen enthroned you can be sure it will go up in value sooner or later, many people buy them cos it was a one of design, many more buy them because it's the cheap alternative to a hammered gold sovereign. But i would advise that older gold is better because it keeps it's gold value the same but as well as this it will hold it's collector value whereas modern stuff is mostly on the whim of gold (in the current market) in 60 or so years who knows people may view them the same as we view 1930s stuff now. If you think about older gold i would suggest the 1937 proof gold sovereign... that my friend is one coin that i think it's safe to say will at the very least hold it's value and quite probably increase given time too.

i don't bother with Coin News, even those price guide things they put in they seem to go round in circles... halfcrowns, crowns, farthings, halfpennies, pennies, threepences, halfcrowns, farthings, pennies, halfpennies, crowns... Haven't seen shillings or sixpences come up yet, and no sovereigns either!

Looking at the legend on the reverse as he has drawn it it looks more to say John (IOHANN), James... (IACO) Likewise no necklace, so i think it's an unofficial commemorative piece rather than a forgery as it'd never pass as a forgery! It would be spotted within minutes. (unless it's a Scottish coin?) And as far as i'm aware Gallicrow the only spelling alterations on the British stuff is with either BRI or FRA. I think the pre union ones say BR FRA, and the post say BRI FR. I can't remember from the top of my head though.

I think it's time i put forth my opinion, being that is is entirely within my area of interest. Firstly no Queen Anne coin has the interlinked C's, those are of only found on Charles II coins. Secondly and rather obviously the legend on the reverse is completely wrong. Reg was always spelt REG, either before or after 1707.

Proofs are struck from aspecial dies, sharper features and polished, so when proofs are struck they tend to be really shiny like a mirror and have very sharp features. Obviously that's simplified as proofs often tone or loose that mirror image as they get older, Victorian proofs can sometimes look like their circulation counterparts. The there are compexities such as matt proofs. But for modern coinage on the whole proof issues are struck so the surface looks very much like a mirror, whereas brand new ordinary circulation coins are just very shiny. If you wanted to know the exact difference you'd have to see what a proof looks like next to a circ strike.

Proofs have been struck for most British coins practically every year since about 1925. Some years miss here and there, but for the most part by the 1930s onward there is a proof per year right upto 1970. And the proofs go for very high prices infact £250 is a bit on the cheap side.

Based purely on metal value. The silver content is a mere 50% with the remaining 50% being made up of copper and a few other base metals. Basically the size of the silver threepence is so small, the silver content is only half of that, and silver is about; what $4 an ounce?, which is about £1.50 an ounce for pure. As for the Brass one being worth more there are other reasons, less minted probably, higher demand that for the silver one. Cos most of the silver ones that are in demand are the pre-1920 Sterling (92.5%) silver ones, which are sold by the bagful for Silver investors.

So you have one of these Spade Guineas? What is the date? the rough size? and i'd hazard a guess that if you have one then it's probably not actually a gold one but it will be one of the regularly encountered Brass Victorian Gambling pieces, usually made to look like spade gunieas. And it doesn't say 'In memory of the good old days' does it? Now if it does turn out to be a real one, we'll deal with that when we come to it.

Well the 1893 could be a sovereign, if it's shilling sized, gold, has St. George on a Dragon, weights 8 grams is 22mm in diameter. And if it looks EXACTLY like this (not just a bit like, but exactly like with regard to design and the proportions of the design, obviously the amount of shine/wear may differ) http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/forsalevic...riaoldhead.html I'd really need to see a picture of it though. Does the 1847 one look like this? http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/forsalevic...oriashield.html If so then that'as probably a sovereign too. Although forgeries exist as do what i call psuedo-coins, they look like coins but are either imitation gambling counters, fantasy pieces, tokens, patterns, toy money, commemorative pieces, replicas etc. (the list is quite endless). So i'd have to see a picture to know what you've got for sure. (Also Oli if you have a gilt crown you don't get a passed off sovereign but rather a fake £5 coin! And what made you think of a crown rather than a sovereign? Sovereign's are usually the first things that spring to mind when someone says St George reverse!)

And Kuhli's quoted the prices in cents so if you wanted them in pennies you're looking at roughly between 1/2 to 2/3rd of the prices quoted. E.g 40 cents would be about 25p. 10 cents about 6-7p. Or there abouts.

here it is... http://www.cointalk.org (i rarely post there cos it's not as good as coinpeople).

some are from cointalk!

Hello, feel free to introduce yourselves.

yes it's one of the old commemorative ones before the 1997 bimetal issue was introduced. The older ones are legal tender, take it to the bank/post office they should change it for you! Failing that you can spend them... i've spent one but they don't always take kindly to it!

A king John penny...

ain't it so! Thanks guys... and i'm posting a cheque off today for my birthday present

Well it doesn't have any face value left cos it was demonetised in 1971 when Britain went decimal. It might be worth a few quid though, but only if it's in brilliant condition. Otherwise we're talking value in pence terms.

Ah the legendary 1933 penny, yes that is true they are worth something like that, and yes only 7 or 8 were made. I still sometimes look for them when i find a whole load of pennies. I know that there's no point looking for one cos i'm not going to find one ever... but hey it's fun just thinking that one maybe out there somewhere. (I think they're all accounted for, but who knows?) 1954 pennies are just as valuable (actually maybe that should be penny cos i think only 1 was made)? [dunno not really my area]... but you never know.

Indeed that's why i declined to do them in the end.

Well i've started pulling together prices for the sixers. I thought i'd start with the most tedious and my least favourite areaof this denomination the Victorian Young head issue (there's just far far too many small varieties... and too too many years), but i'm making progress and i've added a few you didn't have. I'm going about this in a different approach, i don't have an uptodate Spink on hand... but next week i'm going to photocopy the relevant sections of the local libraries 2004 copy... cos i ain't buying one. (I mean the 2004 one will soon be superceeded by next years so it'd be a waste of money). So i've decided to put the 2000 Coincraft to use... prices were at the top end 4 years ago but they are about right now, take those prices, take those in the 2003 CCs' book and balance them out... that will give me the rough guide and then i'll amend and tweak the prices as i come across examples listed for sale on coin lists etc. Then i've got to take on George V, another area i'm not particularly fond of. I'll be glad to get to Geo III-William IV though, i actually like that area!

What's this obsession with Colin Cooke?

Ha Deep Purple that takes me to my childhood my parents played it none stop! Happy memories...

Likewise with the sixers which prices do you need most out of this lot? PHASE I = 1816-1837 PHASE II = 1838-1859 PHASE III = 1860-1887 PHASE IV = 1887-1901 PHASE V = 1902-1936 PHASE VI = 1937-1970 Lemme know the phase and i'll do them one at a time!

I agree William i think Florins are some of the nicest designs ever... Godless, Gothic, Old Head, Eddy VII... I personally love those 4 designs. I remember getting George VI and Elizabeth II ones in change regular as clockwork in the early 1990s, and of course that time when i spent that George V one... it takes me back to why i started collecting in the first place. I owe alot to the florin, infact everything!