Rob

I've sent you a message.

If anyone is still looking for these I have an example of both reverses with dot to L

It's a wonderful demonstration of the flexibility of the English language. Nice coin? There has to be a lot better than that out there, and at a reasonable price. I bet there is a couple slabbed MS something.

It isn't illustrated in any case. It is part of lot 1258 (5).

Congratulations

They are in trouble. This is why they are shifting all the remaining stuff out of the basement. Just as in the 80s they jumped in and paid too much for stock. Couple that with the 'investment' side of things and it is quite easy for things to go wrong. What happens when investors want their money back? The odd one can be absorbed, too many and the prices crash. A good example of why coins should be for collecting and not investing in. Yes they might appreciate over time and give good returns, but given the spread between buying and selling, it is never going to be a short term investment. Every coin bought at auction should be marked down by 30% in value in the immediate aftermath because that is the combined difference between what you have just paid including the juice and an immediate resale net price after commissions. All their stamps will be priced according to their references. Does the market agree with the valuations - not at all. We all know that stamps can be picked up in most auctions for a fraction of what SG claim their value to be. Too many short term motives. My immediate thought when they announcecd they were buying Baldwins was that the top of the market was nigh. OK, I didn't guess the timing that well, but when anyone tries to corner a market and determine prices, the greater market will always win - whichever angle you come from. The steep increase in prices of the last decade has in large part come from marketing to people with access to significant amounts of money arising from quantitative easing that has no place to go, and is not related too closely to scarcity or past valuations. Kew Gardens 50ps anyone? You could probably cover one floor of Canary Wharf with the number struck.

Is the top one not a cast of the bottom coin or are they both iffy?

Hoards can come out of the ground in any colour or condition. The often individual patination of a particular location is actually a very helpful means of identifying the original find spot for a coin with an unknown provenance.

You won't find any genuine dealers passing on coins that have previously been identified as copies, notwithstanding the permanent risk of a good one getting through. Dealers also tend not to list coins as unidentified. Particularly coins that verge on the iconic - this being the very first groat.

I'm looking for the buyers of Marsham 666 (Sotheby 19/11/1888) and Rishton 122 (Sotheby 13/7/1875) if anyone can help. Thanks.

1993 1p with missing beads in places, odd striations where the beads should be and a rim that is uniformly ok in height. I'm certain it isn't post-mint.

No, it's a negro's head. What's the weight?

3rd bust, a few scrapes, you can find better without too much difficulty.

One of these two volumes is available - I will be keeping the other. Either L E Bruun part 1, British, Saxon, English, Scottish and Colonial Coins, Sotheby 18-22 May 1925, 977 lots, 24 plates. Generally good condition with slight wear to the cover. Hand priced with buyers' names. £50. Or, a very good, virtually as new copy of the above bound together with part 2, Continental Coins and Medals, Sotheby 25-27 May 1925, 443 lots, 6 plates. The binding, hardback in blue cloth boards. Supplied with a printed list of buyers and prices for part 1. £140. Postage depends on where it is going.

Doubt it. Most of those that you see are flat, knocked about a bit and generally in a state of disrepair. Hang on............

I don't think it is a 5/3 because the angle of the line is wrong. It is more likely a continuation of the flaw that goes from the 7, through the crown to the 4, or an associated one if not connected.

That's a possibility. The dies are likely to have the same locating mechanism, so if you had say 20 presses with only one having the dies the wrong way round, it would lead to a seemingly irrational ratio. Does anyone who has visited the mint know how many presses are used?

It also shows something dated 2017 whereas these coins in question are dated 2016. That is a computer generated image, so I'm not sure how much reliance should be placed on the relative position of the milling.

Both types are only slightly magnetic, so presumably the same composition whatever that may be.

I think eBay is a case of everyone wanting and expecting things for 99p with free postage. Sellers are obliging by listing things that are worth what the buyer is prepared to pay. Fees, shipping and HMRC take a huge chunk out of a small sale. A dozen or more years ago when the British listings typically numbered about 3000 at any one time, the number of quality items was as many as are listed now. The down side is that current listings are well over 100000, so the dilution of quality is certainly 30-fold and probably more. Most people have a life. From a personal viewpoint, I only look if a customer is asking for a specific item, otherwise I can't be a***d.

Bear in mind the following estimate was based at a specific point in time when I looked at prices and subsequently will have changed. The current copper price is $2.2522 per lb. The current exchange rate is GBP1 = USD1.2891. There are 453.592 grams per lb and the nominal weight of an Irish 2p is 7.12g. Therefore the intrinsic value at current spot prices is £0.02742. Old Irish currency can still be exchanged for Euros by the Central Bank in Ireland. £1 Irish = Euros 1.269738. GBP1 = Euros 1.14254. 2 Irish pence would therefore be worth Euros 0.0253948, or GBP 0.0222266 assuming no currency conversion costs. Melting it is therefore a no brainer, being at a premium of over 20% to the amount receivable should you travel to Dublin and pay it in. If it was uncirculated with full lustre, it might retail at up to a quid, but there isn't much demand.

Pence unless mint state with full lustre. The metal price is continually fluctuating, so an exact number is only a ballpark figure.

It probably means it is a normal one in similar low grade - i.e. a tenner max

The 1829 has a mark in front of the face.

Peck, Freeman, ESC, Davies, Coincraft, Linecar & Stone, Wilson & Rasmussen.........