Rob

Fingerprint on the reverse, possible hairline scratches on the cheek and a crud/verd in the border below the ship plus a couple of spots in the rev. field. The hair on the bun looks a bit flat too. I think you would want to see it in the hand before paying unc money for it.

I know.

That 1820 is a clear VF I'd say - a nice coin. You could do a lot worse than major on halfcrowns - as long as you don't go in for date runs, they will be generally cheaper than crowns, but are still a good size for seeing detail. For types : going forward, there are Victorian Young Head where you should avoid anything before 1874 in a good grade as they will empty your wallet! One from 1874 - 1887 in GVF should be your target (unless you can afford to bump up to EF?) Victoria Jubilee Head : 1887 in EF up to BU Victoria Old Head : 1893 in EF or better Edward VII (difficult reign) : 1902 is far and away the most affordable George V .925 silver : 1915, 16, or 18 minimum EF George V .500 silver : 1920 or 1923, but minimum EF as the head flattens very quickly on that type George V M.E. : 1927 George V new reverse issue : 1928, 29, or 36 in AUNC or better George VI .500 silver : 1944, 45, or 46 in BU George VI CuNi : 1948 BU George VI last issue : 1949 is arguably the easiest Elizabeth II : 1953 BU Elizabeth II 2nd type : 1966 or 1967 in "Gem BU"! Oh, I forgot to mention the other 'machine age' types you don't have: George III 'Bull Head' : minimum VF George III Small Head : ditto George IV 2nd type : 1823 VF or better George IV 3rd type : 1826 VF or better Those are the main types to collect, and the easiest dates to find. Thanks for all the information its most helpful. Can anyone recommend at good website to purchase nice coins? The previous three posts?

There's got to be a chance, I suppose? There would be space for the stop to be entirely hidden under that i, and there could've been more than one die re-used this way. However, I wouldn't buy it as one, though, as I'd definitely want a 'peeping stop' die-variety to substantiate the claim. There must be endless varieties out there, which are now impossible to 100% confirm, it's only in cases such as your suggested part showing stop, that you can name it. Unless other die features clearly link it to a li obverse.... Without a long-winded post, I think you know where I'm coming from. Basically, without other die identifiers, I don't see how he, or anyone else, could ever call it ii/i He can call it what he likes and that is the rub. Listings on ebay are full of spurious claims, and the higher the catalogue value the more frequently they are encountered. I too would like a little corroborative evidence in the form of an identifiably identical 1851 die to say for certain.

If you would stretch as a far as foregoing the penny change, I'm sure you could get a museum copy.

Try the link at the top of this page, or barring that, John (argentumandcoins), Stuart (coinery), Derek (redriley) or me on this forum. I don't think Clive (historiccoinage) has things this modern. Others - Michael Gouby, Colin Cooke, the list is endless. Apologies for anyone I've forgotten. You've forgotten yourself Rob (rpcoins). No I haven't.

Looks like you are throwing up after consuming one of those horrible blue designer drinks. Serves you right.

Try the link at the top of this page, or barring that, John (argentumandcoins), Stuart (coinery), Derek (redriley) or me on this forum. I don't think Clive (historiccoinage) has things this modern. Others - Michael Gouby, Colin Cooke, the list is endless. Apologies for anyone I've forgotten.

I need a Henry VII sovereign to tick the dragon mintmark box for the collection. It's a good job I can fill that slot for a mere £110K book in VF for the type IV. Better remember to do the lottery next Tuesday

My collection suddenly feels very inadequate.

And what a good choice that would be!! Don't trust this man. His name belies his true character. He accumulates farthings so prodigiously that you won't get a look in. Collect something else. I don't care what as long as it is something other than pennies - too many penny collectors at the moment.

You must have been collecting for a while now, so presumably you will soon decide what to specialise in. Farthings and fractionals by any chance?

I always take choice to mean that it has very good eye appeal. Choice for grade would probably be more accurate as it can apply to any grade.

I concur

Right about the too many. What was the attraction? I hate to think how many I would need to drink to pluck up the courage and purchase that one. Hey. That's a perfectly acceptable grade for a rare date. Mine isn't much better, if at all. We're not all stinking rich, you know! Right about the too many. What was the attraction? I hate to think how many I would need to drink to pluck up the courage and purchase that one. My one is so worn I like to upgrade...even the horrible pennies. I would like to get a top 69(wouldn't we all chaps ) The 71 was an example and I can get rid of the existing. Speckled Hen or no, I think that's a perfectly good example for the date. When I dealt I had no end of 1864's ranging from poor to VG+ - they were all snapped up. So an 1871 in Fine is not to be sneezed at. If I could afford a GVF or better example, I'd buy one. This one of those situations where I find the red felt in the bottom of the tray recess quite aesthetically pleasing. Anyway, I have an example of a bun head young features penny, so I'm sorted. Just the Minton required.

Right about the too many. What was the attraction? I hate to think how many I would need to drink to pluck up the courage and purchase that one.

I drive an asthmatic dog kennel. Keeps cutting out, the elastic band takes a long time to wind up and it starts to complain beyond 70mph. But it gets me from A to B A car salesman once commented that if I had waited two weeks I could have had a new reg car on 1st August. I replied that when I sold a car, nobody cared what reg. it was and I had never been asked how old it was either. 2 questions was the norm. First was it working, second how much MOT left on it? Usually I get rid when the engine dies.

It should say Ar or Arg for silver. I think it stands for Agent 999, who joined a hell of a lot later than James Bond The OP is correct. Ag (argentum) is the recognised symbol for the chemical element silver. I know that, but AFAIK the coin world has never used the chemical symbol for silver? Spink, for example, uses AR for silver. I'd never noticed that, probably because I don't generally collect silver coins! Better that AR incorrectly refers to silver than the chemically correct symbol for argon. You might find your investment disappears into thin air.

I concur. You have used a 5 where an s would have been more appropriate. This is a very helpful forum.

Rob you snob. We did the lounge,dining room and hall in laminate. We now have a cartoon dog. The first 20 strides he stays in the same place....especially when the front door is rung BTW I've just had a speckled hen with the remains of Fathers day brunch...trouble is it was the last one.....a cuppa then 40 winks looks on the cards. It isn't my house, just one I'm doing up. As it cost marginally more than laminate would have done, it should add to the resale value. The problem I have is that our kitchen yet again resembles a builder's yard. I recently moved a full kitchen out of our kitchen and fitted it - only to replace it with a couple cubic metres of wood.

The US one has been reduced from $85K. Maybe he thought that it was too much to ask .

They are consistently inconsistent. They also list the 1807 proof halfpennies, which were not Soho products, but made by Taylor much later. See my article in the 2007 BNJ showing how Taylor made the 1807 obverse die. The coin which provided the evidence is in the unlisted varieties section of the forum. They also list the 1848 godless florin, again a pattern, though one obverse and reverse design were eventually adopted. Golden rule - don't make rules because you will inevitably break them. Thanks Rob. It's good to know I'm not missing the obvious! A reasonable division could perhaps have be made between coins that were legal tender (currency & proofs) and those that weren't (patterns), but clearly this isn't the case. And the Petition and Reddite crowns, and the Cromwell coins which were never authorised by Act of Parliament, G3 five guineas, 1787 pattern shilling by Pingo - specifically noted as a pattern, Dorrien & Magens shilling - specifically order to be melted as they were unauthorised etc. etc. It's all over the place.

Getting replies out of the RM, museums or any academic institution is like getting blood out of a stone. I have literally dozens of questions somewhere in various institutions' inboxes which have been ignored. Rule of thumb appears to be if it can be answered without searching then ok, o/w forget it. This would be ok if the information could be obtained by some other method. Unfortunately, the status quo tells me that most things have been saved 'from the nation' as opposed to 'for the nation'. You could try an FOI request. Personally, I have found the RM museum to be worse than useless with a score of 0 in response to requests (7).

Yes, put it away and use a proper computer. iPhone pictures or any other taken on a mobile are usually too poor to be of much use.

First thing is don't clean it other than with soapy water if it is garden dirt. If it is silver and tarnished, leave it. Post a picture under 150kB using the attachment facility below the box you type into, or alternatively use a link to a hosting site such as Photobucket. When we can see what it is, we can better advise what to do.