Sylvester

Well i would say gold, chemically inactive, can be found in nature in isolation. Soft so the dies don't wear as fast... But of course these days most of it is mined at great expense. Low energy bulbs probably have mercury in them somewhere, most things like that do...

i was going to put up a picture in here, but i must admit i didn't want to drive all of Chris' customers away. That and the picture was done in 600dpi, so i'd have to rescan the thing to get it to fit on here. And that requires touching the coin again, which i am just not going to do!

That's what happens when dipping goes really wrong, then it goes and retones...

don't ask, Chris might just take you there...

See the Ugly Coin Comp on the coinpeople forum this week, there a very badly dipped sixpence on there, it's been there for the past two weeks... It's just that bad, they keep voting for it as the ugliest... and it is! Can you even tell it's a sixpence?

You can also get coins where there is a patchy surface where the acid has eaten away at the metal. These coins are truely revolting and not very nice to hold, the smell is interesting.

i must admit at the risk of getting shot that one of my least favourite must be those wreath reverse threepence, sixpences and shillings... pity they didn't put the lion on crown design on the sixpence earlier (in it's George V guise), like in 1887, instead of re-adopting the lacklustre wreath design. I see that wreath and think funeral.

Yep that crown is a beaut! Can't say i'm struck on St George though, i've seen too many of them for my liking, the shield reverses were like a breath of fresh air!

You are correct! I still like the bun head though!

With style! Nothing quite like an acid dipped coin... But look on the bright side, you'll not do it again!

Is there any other flavour?

Una and the Lion would be up there with them! But since i've never seen one in the flesh i missed it off of my list...

I think everyone likes Gothic florins and Edward VII florins!

I can't stand her. She wanted to make Britain great, but at the same time she tinkered and throughly detroyed what was left of the industry that had once made this country great. It was her that made us make the final shift from buying things made in Britain, to cheap rubbish from abroad, she destroyed the industry so we had no other choice. Hence MacMillan's comments about her selling off the family silver. Conservative my foot. Conservatives are by definition opposed to change, she did nothing but change everything with her 'new right' and all those bloody yuppies.

Crikey! 5p!!! Even if it was fake you'd probably get more than 5p for it... alright about a quid or so. But i'd say you'd got a bargin for 5p. Does the legend actually say Maria on the front? If so then it Mary.

I do remember them, but only just as i was a young 'en when they were legal tender. And we still had a female PM who shall remain nameless... Times have changed quite a bit in such a short space of time.

Well i keep voting for them so hopefully... And i prefer Miss Moore.

Since it got mentioned why not, what's you're top 5? mine... (no particular order) 1)Shield reverse sovereign 2)Charles II Silver (cruciformed shields) 3)Edward VII Florins 4)Gothic crown rev 5)£2 coin normal reverse.

What about Victoria's gothic obverse... now that is a beauty! Didn't include Victoria though because i'm not very fussed about the old head portrait. I like the Jubilee portrait. The young head is nice, but a bit simple... I mist admit Edward VII and George V are amongst my least favourite... hate grading them, cos i can't, especially Edward VII.

I'll admit i love the young head coinage of George II, not too keen on the old head stuff.

I totally agree with you Charles II-George II is a fascinating time period, with some gorgeous coins. I must admit i have a bit of a liking for half guineas and sixpences.

Anyone know anyone who sells them? Particularly from the early medieval period.

From a coin collecting point of view, name your favourite 5 monarchs (they don't have to be English/British)... (monarchs that have the best designs, nicest coins etc...) Mine would be; (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) 1) James II 2) Charles II 3) Stephen 4) William IV 5) Queen Mary, or perhaps Richard II? (I need a coin from both of these, hopefully a gold coin from the latter... one day, one day).

i must admit my ignorance here... I knew that they made Britannia Coins, but i had no idea that they changed the design every year! Do they change it for the gold ones too? I'm afraid i rarely get to delve far out of the 17th century these days... the Charles II and James II coins just keep pulling me back in, i'll never get free.

I was just about to say that! I agree Stalin was far more evil than Hitler...